Important Information

March 20, 2011, [Maryland]… David See, Treasurer, MFCA and Pete Mellits, Secretary, MFCA, were invited to serve as national representatives to the National Volunteer Fire Service Summit hosted by the International Association of Fire Chief’s Volunteer and Combination Officers Section (VCOS).

The goal of the Washington, D.C. - based summit was for fire and emergency service leaders to address the challenges facing the volunteer fire service today and explore ways to move volunteer and combinations departments forward in the 21^st century—inclusive of volunteer, on-call and part-time personnel. Chiefs See and Mellits were part of just 125 fire and emergency service leaders from the U.S. and Canada who participated in an unprecedented three-day gathering of public safety and other government officials, held two blocks from the U.S. Capitol, from March 17^th to the 19^th.

“The opportunity to be invited to participate, in an industry changing program, is an honor and helps one realize the importance of our work,” Mellits said.

“Many volunteer fire departments are at a crossroads: the economy, the increasing demand for local and regional emergency services, new roles in national preparedness and response and changing social norms are creating shifts in the way we do business,” said Chief Tim Wall, Chair of the IAFC’s Volunteer and Combination Officer’s Section. “These changes aren’t necessarily good or bad in-and-of themselves, but it’s clear that if we are dedicated to continuing our tradition of service and excellence, we need to bring the community together look at what works in this new environment and what new ideas are out there.”

Among the topics addressed in the summit were the impact of the new economy, recruitment and retention, firefighter health and safety, local government relations, and national legislative issues impacting volunteers. Participants, who were largely nominated to attend by State and National fire service organizations; spent the majority of the time in smaller group work sessions which were tasked with developing recommendations that will be incorporated into a national report issued by VCOS, later this year.

Chief See was a 30 year member of the Salisbury Fire Department (Ret.). He is a current member of the Delmar VFD. He also currently serves as the Treasurer for the Maryland Fire Chief’s Association and one of the Board of Directors for VCOS.

Deputy Chief Mellits is a 24 year member of the Bowie Volunteer Fire Department (BVFD) and is a past Chief of the BVFD. He also currently serves as the Secretary for the Maryland Fire Chief’s Association and 2^nd Vice President of the Eastern Division of the International Association of Fire Chief’s.

For those of you with Physio-Control LifePak CR Plus AED's, please see the recall information below

FYI –
Physio-Control Inc., LIFEPAK CR Plus Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)

DOT MAKES AVAILABLE TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION GUIDE TO EMERGENCY MANAGERS
The guide outlines recommendations for how to communicate with the public during transportation disaster and includes an assessment toolkit to aid in how to deliver critical and useful information for major no-notice events or disasters. The guide, Communicating With the Public Using ATIS During Disasters A Guide for Practitioners may be found at the Department of Transportation
website at http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/atis


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