Monthly Minutes & Other Information including upcoming training (Spread the word about the AIRCRAFT RESPONSE TO YOUR LOCAL POLICE & AMBULANCE)
Lisa Winger
FYI: Monthly Minutes first and NATIONAL FALLEN FIREFIGHTERS FOUNDATION REGIONAL NEW ENGLAND GOLF TOURNAMENT second –
Hancock County Fire Fighter’s Association
February 15, 2011
Host: Orland FD
Secretary’s Report: Minutes from December 2010 were accepted; no January 2011 meeting was held
Treasurer’s Report: $2565.71
Committee Reports: County Coordinator – west tower is having problems again; Chief Robertson, Blue Hill & Chief Marshall, Ellsworth went and looked at the equipment and have ordered the equipment (duplexer) to make it work and Chief Carter, Sedgwick has given a location in Sedgwick for this to be placed.
Snow lightening hit some equipment – Rick from Brown’s went up the mountain and found that everything had been tripped; he reset. In the spring, different sites will be tested. County Fire is in pretty good shape with the three current repeaters.
Radio Committee has been a big help.
Chief Robertson, Blue Hill read some minutes from the HCFFA meeting in 1949 – it included member dues for $1 and the idea that they were doing a school for firefighting for $224 and ½ of this will be paid for by the government. Also, in 1950 at a meeting in Sedgwick, a mutual assistance agreement was discussed for the towns from Surry to Deer Isle.
Radio Committee – nothing to report
Budget – nothing to report, budget was passed.
Training – Franklin has secured a house for T & E to use, on June 25 & 26th there will be training for county wide participation – this training will include ladders, ventilation, rescue, command system and live burns.
More information will be coming regarding advanced extrication with busses coming this spring; rehab training and Air National Guard “Not in my backyard” aircraft training.
RCC – Bob Conary has presented a radio class to District 3 Chiefs and it was very well received, so much that he was invited back to Sedgwick and then on March 31st will be at the Schoodic Area meeting. Bob discusses proper radio protocol (everyone not 10-8ing to a scene, use a cell phone instead of the radio to call in slippery roads or calls in other towns, RCC from TOWN FIRE NUMBER so that the dispatchers know who is calling, etc)
Agency Reports:
Emergency Management – no report
Forest Service – Town warden meeting was held last week; Courtney Hammond is the acting district manager; Wildfire training – flyers went out for the state class; Rick had the update district phone numbers.
If departments or districts want to have chain saw or wildland classes, contact Courtney, Rick or John.
Lt. in Old Town said they would like to do a basic weather & wildland class – they need 15 commitments/10 students for the S-130/180 class.
Looking ahead, the fire season it looks very much like last year – spring & summer, last year’s fires were minimal; much of that was due to folks like yourself not giving out permits when there was wind and very dry conditions.
Acadia National Park: No report
Maine State Federation: Newsletter is out; you can get it at www.msfff.com. Bim had five things come to him that came from newspapers or news that they were not able to be use. It needs to come directly from the departments – including things for sale.
Federation is having a fundraiser at Texas Roadhouse on March 8th. 10% of the proceeds will go to the federation.
Is the Federation currently doing telemarketing? Yes, and it will end in June. 15% will go to the Federation. And once this has finished, it will be done away with.
Chiefs Association – No report
Regional Communications Center – voting was done for the advisory committee; two nominees – Sam Friend & Chris Holmes. Sam Friend was voted in.
Sick Call: Steve Bowden, Bucksport; Kris Bearscove, Trenton; & Mike Hangge, Ellsworth
Unfinished Business: None to report
New Business:
Next meeting: Osborne at the Community Center next to the Fire Station with food and program
Incidents: Southwest Harbor – Electrical meter on a store in town went up in flames, no room between building – fire ended up being only outside and did not extend into the building – they were lucky.
Jack Martel also mentioned that recently NY Firefighters had hand injuries because of their gloves that were not manufactured as they had been tested, now the company has gone out of business – the story is at http://www.firehouse.com/news/top-headlines/fdny-replace-gloves-after-firefighters-burned (Firehouse.com web site)
Sedgwick had a couple of stove/kitchen fires – one was a heating element and one was a LP Gas fire – Both were put out by the home owners, they did a good job putting them out with dry chemical Extinguishers.
Lamoine had an interesting call – the call came in as an electrical smell, it ended up that a kitten urinated on a plug strip and shorted it out, the kitten is fine even though the incident scared the #2 out of it.
Orland/Bucksport had another fatal vehicle/pedestrian accident
Frenchboro had a fire that Swans Island and Tremont responded to help; Swans Island Co-op shut the power down once the ferry landed on Frenchboro. Fire was contained to the building of origin.
Remarks for the good of the company:
Frenchboro has now taken possession of the Orland brush truck and other equipment.
2013 Convention Fundraiser is the gun ticket raffle from Ellsworth FD. If you are interested in the Gun a Day in May raffle, contact Richard Tupper. There is a limited number of tickets are available.
The next convention committee meeting is Thursday, Feb 24th. Everyone is invited and everyone can be a part in one way or another.
A Cookbook fundraiser is under way – if you have a favorite recipe, please submit it with your name on it.
A lot of different events are being planned this next year including a Haunted House at the Moore School in October.
Bucksport has a 1991 GMC truck for sale
Jack Martel asked how many departments have Facebook pages. He recommended that the Association should have one. Julia and Lisa will work on revitalizing the website creation.
RCC does have a Facebook page, but don’t friend them as they do accept friends, just listing information.
A Southwest Harbor video for 2010 is on their website – it is 20 minutes long.
Lisa mentioned that Chief Holmes, Hancock, shared that he had a member get hurt once they had been released from a scene and was told that workman’s comp would not cover the injured person, he was told that there is a supplemental insurance that covers members when they are doing something other than incidents toned out. There was discussion that MMA has one for $45 per person and a Hartford version for $5, which also will cover civil servants.
Equipment: Ellsworth’s new ladder truck should be in service in the next couple of days.
Brooklin has received a compressor and 2-bottle fill station
Meeting was adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lisa Winger, HCFFA Secretary
Subject: National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Regional New England Golf Tournament
As members of a LAST team, you understand the important role that the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation plays in assisting fire departments and survivors in their time of need. In order for that assistance to be available, funding is very important.
We are hosting the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Regional New England Golf Tournament at Dutch Elm Golf Course in Arundel on July 1, 2011, and I am asking for your help in spreading the word in departments throughout New England to truly make this a regional tournament. This will be one of approximately 40 tournaments throughout the country. I have attached a registration form for the event that is for golfers and sponsors. I have requested sponsorships from many of the major fire organizations in the state of Maine (Maine Fire Chiefs Association, Professional Firefighters of Maine, York County Chiefs Association, etc.) & I am hoping to be able to get similar sponsorship opportunities out to organizations in each of the other New England states as well, with your help. You will notice on the registration form that there is a block of rooms reserved at a discounted price for those traveling a distance.
There is also a need for many hole sponsors, and the more of those we can get, the more money we can raise for such a great cause. I would appreciate you forwarding this information to your respective departments and anybody you feel may be interested in golfing, sponsoring, donating prizes and volunteering. We will need lots of volunteers the day of the tournament so if you don't golf, we would appreciate your participation as a volunteer. It should be a fun day! Please contact me if you plan to volunteer.
The tournament is posted on the NFFF website http://golf.firehero.org/me/arundel/ and there is a link to the registration form on there as well.
In addition to the tournament, we have just secured training through the NFFF for the day before the tournament, June 30, 2011. It will be the officer level training for the Everyone Goes Home program through NFFF. The training is called LACK (Leadership, Accountability, Culture & Knowledge) Training & is designed to help fire officers begin the journey towards embracing the 16 firefighter life safety initiatives and incorporating them into their own personal and organizational structure while improving Leadership skills, recognizing the importance of Accountability, the impact of Culture and the need for continuous Knowledge. I will let you know where this training is going to be held along with the times (it is a 4 hour program) as soon as I have finalized everything. There is currently a maximum limit of 50 students in the class, however I am attempting to get that limit increased due to an already overwhelming interest. I will update you with any changes and identify the time and location for you once it is confirmed.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely, Prudie Duross
Prudence B Duross Biddeford Fire Department / Old Orchard Beach Fire Department Coordinator, NFFF Regional New England Golf Tournament |