W S E S I   NEWS BRIEFS – March 25, 2024

 

64th ANNUAL INSTRUCTORS CONFERENCE – Plans are already beginning for our return to Janesville in February of 2025 for our 64th Annual Instructors Conference.

 

Our Call for Presentations is now OPEN – details and the proposal form are posted on the Events submenu: www.wsesi.org/annual-conference-proposals

 

WSESI has requested two National Fire Academy (NFA) courses to be delivered at the 2025 Conference:

F0322 — Incident Command System for Structural Collapse Incidents

F0146 - Supervising Emergency Medical Services

To inquire or to add your name to our contact list, check in at our Conference webpage.

           

NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY (NFA) COURSE OFFERING – WSESI is sponsoring the NFA two-day course Decision-Making for Initial Company Operations (F0457), hosted by the Altoona Fire Department, Sat.-Sun., May 18-19, 2024. PRE-REGISTER by submitting your name, agency and FEMA Student ID on our Events page.

   

FILLING UP FAST – Madison College is proud to host the International Society of Fire Service Instructors two-day water mapping course. This Train-the-Trainer event will be held Saturday, April 27 AND Sunday, April 28, 2024 --8:00am - 5:00pm – at Madison College. A full PDF flyer has been posted on our Events webpage.

 

CLOSING SOON – Applications will continue to be accepted for the William E. Clark Memorial Scholarship through April 1, 2024. Visit the Scholarship webpage for application and instructions:

           

LIVE LINKS to our events, and any sent in through our associates, will be posted on the WSESI Events webpage.

             

FROM OUR FRIENDS at Jones & Bartlett – Korie Gospodarski at Public Safety Group has sent links to two articles, one of them featuring a familiar Wisconsin name:

 

In “NFPA 1010: What Fire Instructors Need to Know,” Michael A. Smith, an author of the upcoming Fundamentals of Firefighter Skills, Fifth Edition, discusses NFPA 1010’s primary benefits, ease of use, adaptability, and—most importantly—emphasis on safety.

 

Chief Joe Knitter spoke with us recently on how firefighters can best prevent cancer today. In "'Clean Is the New Salty': Preventing Cancer in Firefighters Starts with Better Training," Chief Knitter gives fire instructors specific tips to improve the culture of safety and make the profession safer for new recruits and longtime firefighters—before, during, and after calls. A cancer survivor himself, he's extremely knowledgeable about the everyday dangers and what it takes to keep firefighters healthy.

 

These links will be posted in the sidebar of our home page.

 

WSESI MEMBERS: VISIT OUR REPOSITORY for information on our Inventory Retirement campaign, which will continue from now through the end of the calendar year 2024. More details are posted on our Repository webpage (found under the ‘Members Zone’ tab):

            www.wsesi.org/repository

            Watch for another general update of the New Old Stock titles list. Thanks!

2024 MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL CYCLE – Renew-O-Meter – As of Mar. 25:

            26 – new and returning members (paid & complimentary)

            63 – members of 12 Partner Agencies

            8 – Life members

            115 – paid Active member renewals

            13 – members responded and pending payment

            59 -- ?????

 

            Past Due notices were emailed on or about Mar. 1, 2024. If your notice got diverted into Spamland, you may call or email for your membership status.

Don’t delay – renew TODAY!

           

VISIT OUR LINKS PAGE to check out the many online resources available from our colleagues around the state and across the country. This includes the State of Wisconsin’s Department of Safety and Professional Services -- https://dsps.wi.gov/ -- which offers as one of its new resources the DSPS Community Risk Assessment Dashboard for agencies that seek new efforts in community risk reduction.

       www.wsesi.org/links

 
STATEWIDE FIRE SERVICE EVENTS – WSESI will continue to share information that we receive regarding events and programs of Wisconsin’s Fire / Emergency Services organizations throughout the year ahead. Please be encouraged to advise us of any of your agency’s / organization’s plans for events in the coming months, or of any changes that you are aware of. Thanks!
 
ACTION NEEDED! – From our friends at International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI):

 
           AFG/SAFER/USFA Reauthorization -- We are at a tipping point with AFG/SAFER/USFA reauthorization and we need to build a wave of pressure to convince Congress to enact the legislation before the programs expire on September 30th. The time to act is NOW. We need everyone to keep pushing until this passes.

 
           Unless action is taken NOW to save AFG and SAFER, they will EXPIRE. The grant programs face a statutory sunset on September 30, 2024 -- just a few months from now. The national fire and emergency services organizations have collectively been working hard to enact the Fire Grants and Safety Act (S.870/H.R.4090), which would reauthorize AFG, SAFER, and the U.S. Fire Administration, but WE NEED YOUR HELP.
           Please call or write your Representatives and Senators today.

 
WISCONSIN FIRE & EMS COALITION (WFEC), hosted by Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin (PFFW), met Thursday, January 4 in Madison and via Zoom.
Several pieces of legislation related to emergency responders are being considered. The Coalition’s next meeting is pending, subject to availability.
 

Please be encouraged to engage legislative issues that concern you and your agency using our Members’ Forum, or by email at our Contact Us webpage.

Information on current legislative activity will be posted on our Links page.
          
      Our representation in the Coalition relies on our members being active in our advocacy of public policy issues. Contact President David Yakowenko, or WFEC delegates Jim Flanagan or Kevin Gerarden.