Happy 249th Anniversary to America. What an excellent place to live, work, and enjoy my freedom. I pray God will continue to bless America and the Great State of Missouri!
The gavel fell on May 16 to close out the 2025 Legislative session. I was pleased with how both chambers worked together to pass several bills. Some passed bills were SB 81, which will update the present fireworks statute. Senate Bill 71 has two items for the Missouri Fire Service and the other public safety first responders. The bill establishes the “Public Safety Recruitment and Retention Act”. The snapshot of the Act will allow firefighters to attend college (when funding is appropriated) to obtain a higher education. I am very pleased to report that the “Line of Duty Compensation Act” was attached to Senate Bill 71, with an emergency clause. The Line of Duty Compensation Act was scheduled to sunset this year, which would have stopped the Line of Duty Death compensation for our first responders’ families. The “Missouri Emergency Response Commission” (MERC), which sunsetted last year in statute, was also in this bill. The MERC will now be able to get back to its business of providing hazardous material training to our first responders. Governor Kehoe, who strongly supports our first responders, immediately signed this bill into law!
If you are a tax-based agency, I suggest taking time to educate yourself on Senate Bill 3.
These are some examples of work accomplished by your legislators. “Thank you” to each of you who took the time to speak to your local legislators or came to Jefferson City and visited the halls of the Capitol advocating for our Missouri Fire Service.
I have shared that a new federal incident reporting system is coming. Joshua Couture has been working every day to get our state ready for the activation of the new system. NERIS is replacing the old system (NFIRS). If you have questions, please get in touch with Joshua at 573-751-1601 or visit the Division of Fire Safety Incident Reporting Information webpage: dfs.dps.mo.gov/programs/resources/fire-incident-reporting-system.php.
I want to take a moment to express my appreciation to our state fire departments and the regional fire mutual aid coordinators for everything you have done across our state in the first six months of the year. I feel the great work and coordination across our state during the large grass and brush fires, six tornadoes, and massive floods have been paramount. Working across district and county lines when requested exemplifies that when the calls come in, we serve and protect our fellow Missourians! Thank you very much, it has not gone unnoticed.
I was reading articles in fire magazines recently. Three articles caught my attention, each dealing with technology becoming available to protect our firefighters and serve our customers and communities more efficiently. The articles were titled “Drones May Become First Responders,” “Firefighters Implement Technology for Special Needs Residents, “ and “Alerting Technology to Help Keep Firefighters Safe on Roadways.” I am excited to see these opportunities being explored and tested. It appears drones are being deployed by 9-1-1 communicators at the same time fire/police or EMS receive the call in some areas of our country, transmitting critical information in real-time, back to the first responders to make better decisions on their responses. That is awesome! Look into some of these articles, it’s coming!
In closing, I want to remind the Chief officers to ensure your firefighters have a current Public Safety Officer Benefit (PSOB) form on file. I cannot express how crucial this form is for your firefighters and you as a Chief officer.
It is an honor to serve as your state fire marshal. Thank you for all you do day in and day out! If you need anything, feel free to reach out to me, cell: 573-645-2069, email: tim.bean@dfs.dps.mo.gov.
FFAM
