As I start this article it is a whopping 8 degrees, “Let it be known, I hate cold weather!” Man, I feel better just saying! My oldest son Nathanael who is a Fire Captain with Joplin Fire Department sent me a picture of him and the crew after battling a structure fire in the arctic weather. It brought back memories of my firefighting days. I’m shivering while I type this! “Thank you” to each and everyone who has been out during this inclement weather doing what we do as the Missouri Fire Service. “Neighbors Helping Neighbors”!
Here in Jefferson City, our legislators are working in harmony. Both chambers have been productive with committee hearings and good floor debate. There are several bills that pertain to the fire service, and the first responder community. Some bills I have my eyes on are House Bill 72 (Work Comp), HB 365 (Line of Duty Compensation), HB 70 (MERC), HB 210, HB 751, HB 930, (Unmanned Aerial Systems), HB 533 (Probits fire protection district boards from enacting ordinances that subject agriculture buildings to certain fire safety requirements). I again encourage you to get involved with what is going on at your state capitol.
I was looking over the reported 2024 fire fatalities from across our state. Our data shows (we do not get visibility on all fire deaths) that we had 107 Missourians perished from fire. Some of the higher causes of death are, smoking while on oxygen, suicide by fire, improper use of smoking material, and hoarding in homes. Fire fatalities are up in our state from 2023. We have some work to do to educate our communities about fire prevention. We still have homes consistently that do not have smoke detectors.
I love data, it tells the true story! We need your help across our state to report fire fatalities. Many of you call us to work on your fire fatalities. I am asking those who do not use us to please use the QR code I have provided to capture your fire fatality event. With your assistance, we can use this data to create what messages we need to focus on across our state about Community Risk Reduction CRR. Thank you for your assistance with this!
We have big things coming shortly every fire department will need to participate in. The U.S. Fire Administration will be rolling out the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS). The old reporting system will be leaving this year. We will be sending information to you across the fire department registration platform. It will be very important for you to watch your email. We will be working on having Web-ex workshops to assist everyone in the transition. Please be patient with us as we learn alongside you. We will all need to work together to be successful!
Firefighters’ Day at the Capitol
Firefighters’ Day at the Capitol is March 27th. In the previous article, I had March 25th, that is incorrect! We invite one and all to come to your state capitol and visit with your legislators. We start the day with a briefing here on the 13th floor at 9:30 a.m. followed by going to the capital to visit your legislators. At 12 p.m. we will gather in the rotunda for our annual ceremony. Our theme this year is “Recognizing your Spouses, and our 9-1-1 Telecommunicators. Please help get the word out. Let’s make it the best ever. Bring your spouse or significant other and reach out to your local 9-1-1 telecommunicator and bring them with you. Let’s show them how much we appreciate them supporting us in their individual ways! Lunch will be provided after the event.
In closing, I will continue to be your Missouri State Fire Marshal. Governor Kehoe gave me the nod to continue doing what we are doing. Thank you, Governor, for the opportunity to continue serving our Missouri Fire Service and the Division of Fire Safety. If I can be of any assistance please feel free to contact me at tim.bean@dfs.dps.mo.gov or 573-751-1742.
FFAM
