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Governmental Affairs Committee |
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GAC Resources For GAC documents, announcements, and information please click here to visit the microsite. Upcoming Events
HELP THE GAC!
Dear FAMA/FEMSA member: In January, you received an e-mail from the FAMA/FEMSA Governmental Affairs Committee (GAC) asking you to complete a survey that will help the GAC and its consultants learn what congressional relationships FAMA/FEMSA member companies have established. This information is essential to the GAC’s work to increase FAMA/FEMSA’s dialogue with federal government agencies in an effort to educate key officials on the important role our industry plays in providing equipment and services to the nation’s first responders. To help us enhance these efforts, we once again ask you to take a few moments to complete the enclosed survey. Specifically, this survey will help the GAC compile a comprehensive list of FAMA/FEMSA members’ locations and the congressional senators and representatives for those locations, an important step in establishing an educational network with the members of Congress and the administration. Please note that the survey can be conveniently completed online here. We also ask that the survey be completed as soon as possible. We have tried to keep this survey as simple and straightforward as possible. We thank you in advance for your assistance in this important effort. Sincerely, FAMA/FEMSA Governmental Affairs Committee
Subscribe to the Fire Grant Data website Success Stories RSS (Real Simple Syndication) news feed. Click here.
The FAMA / FEMSA GAC would like to thank all the members who participated in the 2006 Home Day Program. Many of you had incredible results, and we encourage you to share those experiences with your fellow members. The GAC has posted a small website with information about some of the Home Day activities by FAMA and FEMSA member companies. Remember - Every Day is Home Day! Please click here to see the site.
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Assistance to the Firefighters Grant on House Floor, in Senate Subcommittee 2007 International Fire and EMS Safety NVFC Conducts Free Health Screenings and Unveils Cookbook at Fire Expo Heart-Healthy Challenge Winners Announced Look for AFG Awards Toward End of July FEMA Misses Deadline to Write New National Response Plan Rescue Robot Tests to Offer Responders High-Tech Help New Survey Ranks 10 US Cities for Disaster Preparedness Assistance to the Firefighters Grant on House Floor, in Senate Subcommittee As this newsletter is being sent out, the Assistance to the Firefighters Grant (AFG) which is part of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2008 (HR 2638) is being debated on the floor of the House of Representatives. The bill restores funding for the grants that the president’s budget had cut. The amendment process has tied up the Homeland Security Appropriations bill but the funding for the AFG is expected to remain intact. The bill provides $570 million for AFG and $230 million for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Program.
Source: Development Initiatives, Inc.
2007 International Fire and EMS Safety Stand Down Quickly Approaching Fairfax, Va., June 7, 2007… The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), the Volunteer and Combination Officers Section (VCOS) of the IAFC and all of our partners would like to remind you of the fast-approaching 2007 International Fire and EMS Safety Stand Down being held the week of June 17-23. The goal of the Stand Down is to better prepare firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) for their daily duties by calling attention to safety practices, proper training and usage of equipment through activities and discussion. Every firefighter and EMT should respond and return home safely from each emergency situation they respond to. “Since the first Safety Stand Down three years ago, we continue to work to bring labor and management together to make our job safer,” says IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger. “This approach of cooperation and communication must continue. We cannot and will not rest until every city manager, every mayor, every federal and state legislator—even the president of the United States and premier of Canada—cares about the health and safety of fire fighters as much as we do and commits to helping us reverse the tragic statistics we see every day.” This year, the Stand Down will take place in communities all across the United States and Canada, as well as internationally. With interest coming from places such as Saudi Arabia, it is clear that safety is on the minds of people around the globe. Many departments recognize that this event is imperative to the well-being of first responders and are taking action to improve their safety. “Departments around the world recognize the need to focus on safety in fire and EMS departments, and they recognize that the Safety Stand Down is one way to sharpen that focus,” said IAFC President Chief Jim Harmes. “During the Stand Down week, please reinforce to your members how important it is to be safe in everything they do.” “The health and safety of all of our firefighters and EMTs—volunteer, career and paid on-call personnel—are of the utmost importance,” added VCOS chair Chief Tim Wall. “It is critical that all members of the fire service take advantage of the Stand Down resources to be best prepared and Ready to Respond.” Resources to help departments plan and conduct the Safety Stand Down are available online at www.iafc.org/standdown.
Source: IAFC NVFC Conducts Free Health Screenings and Unveils Cookbook at Fire Expo The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) made its presence felt at the Lancaster County Fireman’s Association’s 35th Annual Fire Expo on May 18-20 in Harrisburg, PA. In an effort to teach firefighters, EMS providers, and their families the importance of living a heart-healthy lifestyle, the NVFC partnered with L&T Health and Fitness to conduct free screenings for blood pressure, glucose, and cholesterol. This year, the NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program and Fire Corps teamed up to provide both booths in one location. As a result, attendees were able to take full advantage of the free health screenings while also learning how to increase the capacity and capabilities of their fire/EMS department through the Fire Corps program. The booth also featured cooking demonstrations performed by Chef Kevin Harris of Food for Love, Inc. to show attendees how to make meals that are both good for your heart and taste great. The recipes are available online at www.healthy-firefighter.org. Additionally, the NVFC unveiled its new Heart-Healthy Firefighter Cookbook at the event. TheCookbook includes over 60 delicious recipes that firefighters and EMS personnel can use either at home or at the station. To order your free copy of the Cookbook, go to www.healthy-firefighter.org/page/649/Cookbook.htm. The newly-released second edition of the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Resource Guide was also available at the booth. For more information on the Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program and to view a full schedule of upcoming events, visit www.healthy-firefighter.org. To learn more about Fire Corps, visit www.firecorps.org.
Source: NVFC Heart-Healthy Challenge Winners Announced The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) and Merck/Schering-Plough (MSP) have announced five of the ten winners of the Heart-Healthy Challenge contest. The contest is part of the Sounding the Alarm for High Cholesterol program, a partnership between NVFC’s Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program and MSP’s Strike Out High Cholesterol program. The goal of Sounding the Alarm for High Cholesterol is to alert firefighters to the risks of high cholesterol and its role in heart disease. As part of this program, firefighters and EMS personnel nationwide are encouraged to take the Heart-Healthy Challenge, an online quiz available at www.cholesterolalarm.com to test how their heart-health knowledge stacks up. Ten markets across the nation were chosen to participate in a Heart-Healthy Challenge contest. The winning fire station in each market receives a $1,500 donation, as well as 75 tickets to a Minor League Baseball game and recognition at the game. The five winners are: Memphis Fire & EMS Department Engine 35, Shelby County, TN Tolliver was accompanied on the mound by Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer, the spokesperson for the Strike Out High Cholesterol program. Palmer was present to throw out the first pitch, which was followed by Tolliver throwing the second pitch. The second game took place on June 6 in Reading, PA, home of the Reading Phillies. Brian Filby, a representative of Earl Township Volunteer Fire Company #1, also took the mound with Palmer, who insisted Filby throw the first pitch. Members of the Company and their families cheered Filby on from the stands. “The experience as a whole has opened our eyes, making us aware of the seriousness of heart disease and high cholesterol and how it plays a detrimental role in our job,” said Filby. The remaining winners of the Heart-Healthy Challenge contest will be named over the course of the summer. Stay tuned to the Heart-Healthy Firefighter web site at www.healthy-firefighter.org for more information, as well as to view photos from the baseball games. To learn more about Sounding the Alarm for High Cholesterol or to take the Heart-Healthy Challenge, visit www.cholesterolalarm.com.
Source: NVFC Look for AFG Awards Toward End of July LON SLEPICKA Peer review for the FY 2007 Assistance to Firefighters Grants program (AFG) began this week and will conclude at the end of next week according to AFG Program Director Brian Cowan. He believes grant announcements will begin the last week of July. During the FY 2007 application period, 20,732 applications were submitted requesting awards totaling about $3.4 billion of which the federal share would be about $3.1 billion as the balance would be department's matches. The program has $492 million to award. Somewhat over $27 million is available for fire prevention grants. There is $115 million available for Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants. Cowan said peer review for those applications will begin soon. The greatest change in program applications this year was, in prior years, applicants were limited to submitting one single application under either the Operations and Safety or Vehicle Acquisition program areas. However, in FY 2007, all eligible applicants could submit two separate applications, i.e., one application under Operations and Safety and a second application under Vehicle Acquisition. Additionally, fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service (EMS) organizations that provide first responder services to urban and suburban communities could request multiple vehicles on their Vehicle Acquisition application while departments servicing rural communities will still be restricted to a one vehicle per request. Cowan said that 60% of the total money requested was for Vehicle Acquisition. Finally, the restriction that precluded previous vehicle awardees from receiving a subsequent vehicle award was removed. The FY 2007 AFG also allowed eligible applicants to submit a third application for a regional project, in addition to their application(s) for operations and/or vehicles (up to 3 separate applications). The result is that one applicant could address more than one operational need, as well as address issues of interoperability during one grant year. As the AFG Program awards are announced, Firehouse.com will announce each round and provide the list with state by state breakdowns.
Source: Firehouse.com FEMA Misses Deadline to Write New National Response Plan After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, now 21 months ago, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) promised to rewrite a new version of the National Response Plan. The agency gave itself a deadline of June 1, 2007. So why isn’t the plan done? In an article in Mississippi’s Sea Coast Echo, Bennie Shallbetter says as of last week, “the agency had not finalized the plan yet, and did not provide an anticipated finish date.” Shallbetter says the Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight and the Subcommittee on Emergency Communications, Preparedness, and Response, composed of eight United States representatives, held a hearing last week on the issue. But Shallbetter says the representatives couldn’t give anyone a definitive answer on when the plan would be finished. In fact, Shallbetter says, “for most of the congress members, this was their first glimpse of Katrina’s devastation first hand.” President of the St. Bernard Parish Fire Fighters Association Brien C. Ruiz told committee members that this was the first time he had even talked to anyone from FEMA. Ruiz also said after the storm FEMA went back on a promise to pay up front for needed equipment and failed the citizens of St. Bernard Parish. To read the full article, click here: http://208.62.60.4/40/article_1259.shtml
Source: Disaster Resource Guide Rescue Robot Tests to Offer Responders High-Tech Help Later this month, engineers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology will kick off the fourth test in a series of “Response Robot Evaluation Exercises” to determine whether or not we can use robots for urban search and rescue (US&R) response. According to an article on the Science Daily website, the tests, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate, are designed to check robot performance on emerging standard test methods using actual training scenarios for emergency responders. “The results will be used to refine the test methods, and in developing usage guides that match specific kinds of US&R robots to particular disaster scenarios,” the article says. The tests are taking place later in June at Texas A&M’s “Disaster City” training facility in College Station, Texas. Science Daily says exercise will use two Disaster City training scenarios. A simulated structural collapse of a municipal building will allow responders to deploy robots to search for victims and assist in “rendering the structure safe” for responders to extricate those victims. “This will require robots to face a variety of challenges as they traverse complex and confined spaces within the structure’s semi-collapsed walls, sloping floors, rubble and voids while searching for victims,” Science Daily says. “The robots will be deploying high-tech sensors such as laser scanners to capture the size and shape of interior voids to help structural engineers set up shoring supports.” To read the full article, click here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070609112916.htm
Source: Disaster Resource Guide New Survey Ranks 10 US Cities for Disaster Preparedness New York is the most prepared of 10 major metropolitan areas in the US, according to a new AT&T Business Continuity study released last week. Which cities are not as prepared? According to a ComputerWorld.com article by Brian Fonseca, Cleveland and Minneapolis/St. Paul fared the worst in the survey of the 10 cities. “The rankings were based primarily on three criteria: the state of a city’s business continuity plan; whether the city has adequately educated employees about the plan and installed systems to implement it; and on cybersecurity policies and the use of managed security,” Fonseca says. The cities rankings were: New York, Houston, San Francisco, Boston, Memphis/Nashville, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Cleveland. Survey respondents also said man-made disasters are the greatest threat to their organizations, and 82 percent said they have implemented cybersecurity plans to thwart them. Those top man-made threats were viruses and worms (75 percent), hackers (45 percent) and spam (37 percent). But the survey also found government warnings of impending disasters do not seem to carry much weight to private sector IT executives. “Of business executives that have already gone through a disaster, only 41percent said they take immediate action when alerts are issued by federal or state government agencies,” Fonseca says. “The number dropped to 33 percent for companies in cities that haven’t been hit with major disasters.” To read the full article, click here: link
Source: Disaster Resource Guide |
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FAMA/FEMSA GAC Hill Day - September 27, 2007 - Washington, DC |
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