Welcome to the National Volunteer Fire Council report.
NEW Partnership
The NVFC has teamed up with Nutella on their Stacks for Giving Back program. This launched on March 1 and will include two components. Fire departments can apply for a chance to receive one of five $5,000 grants to help support department necessities, and members of the public can nominate a local fire department for the chance to win a Pancake Breakfast Kit to help pull off their next fundraiser.
Cancer Study for Women
The Fire Fighter Cancer Cohort Study (FFCCS) is conducting a Women Firefighter Study. The FFCCS is a prospective cohort attempting to identify and evaluate risk factors specific to women firefighters that are associated with adverse health conditions including mental health conditions, adverse reproductive conditions, cancer and plans for effective interventions to mitigate these conditions. They are enrolling career and volunteer women firefighters who are 18 years and older to join the study. ffccs.org/projects/women-firefighters Enrollment in the study consists of a study visit by the FFCCS team in which they will collect blood, urine, and a detailed survey. All participants will receive their personalized anti-mullerian hormone (AMH), a marker of ovarian reserve and results from the enrollment visit. Participants will be asked to follow up for routine biologic collections every 18-24 months. Participation in the study is completely voluntary and participants may withdraw at any time.
Other Updates
Anheuser Busch has verbally partnered with NVFC for another year of water donations. To date, they have delivered over 9 million cans of water through this partnership. Sarah Lee, Chief Executive Officer of NVFC was able to network with several senior Anheuser Busch staff in early February including their CEO as well as several distributors and she formally thanked them for this partnership. Stay tuned for the notice to apply online.
NVFC has launched a Leadership Track in their Virtual Classroom. The response has been astounding with 290 registrations in just the first month. It’s clear that NVFC hit an area of high need with this initiative.
As part of the training plan approved by the NVFC’s Health, Safety & Training Committee, these training tracks are designed to take the guesswork out of which courses to take and provide departments with an easy method of assigning or recommending courses to help individuals grow and develop in their roles. This leadership track consists of the following new and existing courses and instructed by several NVFC Directors:
- Finding the Leader Within – Kim Sylvia
- Volunteer Fire Service Culture: Essential Strategies for Success – The Role of Leadership – Dave Lewis
- Leadership for the Fire and Emergency Services – Quentin Cash
- Fire Chief’s 10 Commandments – Chris Barron
- Fire Department Budgeting – Brad Schull
- Fire Service Ethics – Quentin Cash
- Social Fitness: Skills to Improve Community Relations for the Volunteer Firefighter – Tom Merrill
- The Leader’s Guide to Overcoming R&R Challenges – Joe Maruca
- Bridging the Divide: A Diversity & Inclusion Training – Dave Denniston
- Creating a Psychologically Healthy Fire Department – David Ballard
If you are not an NVFC Member and want more information on the many other benefits or ready to complete the process for just $21 per year, go to nvfc.org/join-nvfc/
The National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) is replacing the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS). They are reported to be on target for a launch in the fall of 2024. They are planning a soft launch and then NERIS will be the national reporting system of the US fire service moving forward. They have an informational website that also offers training at fsri.org/programs/neris
I will close by redirecting you to the article regarding OSHA’s New Emergency Response Rule Update. This proposed change in OSHA Federal Regulations is very sweeping. If fully enacted, it will substantially change the fire service and it may be the most impactful regulation that small fire departments have ever had to adapt to. “This proposal is a mile wide and a mile deep.”
Thank you for your time and for allowing Rob and me to serve on your behalf.
FFAM
