ifsi newsletter spring 2007 · als to: ifsi newsletter, 11 gerty drive, champaign, il 61820 or...

IFSIIFSIIFSIIFSIIFSI NEWSLETTERSPRING 2007

Richard JaehneDirector

2007 has arrived and with it the drumbeatfor NIMS and mutual aid. As you may know,Illinois has been a leader in fire service mu-tual aid for years. The fire service mutual aidmodels built by MABAS and CART have ledto the creation of mutual aid systems for lawenforcement, public health, emergency man-agement and public works. These five re-sponse disciplines must work together beforeduring and after an incident, in order to havethe best chance to save lives and protect prop-erty. As IFSI has worked with the Illinois Ter-rorism Task Force (ITTF) and Department ofHomeland Security (DHS) to present trainingto bring these response disciplines to a com-mon understanding of Unified Command andNIMS, it is clear that there are individuals ineach community who are standing up to leadthe local effort. We want to help your leadersbring NIMS into everyday usage for planning,response, and recovery operations.

A key product of NIMS is the Incident Ac-tion Plan (IAP). At IFSI, we have made theIAP a fundamental part of the way we do busi-ness. For every major event (Fire College, Vali-dation, Technician-level courses) we developand use a written plan using the IAP format.This has the advantage of teaching NIMS aspart of everyday planning and operations.Since we have to plan for and conduct theseevents anyway, we have found that we areactually reducing the confusion and stream-lining our efforts by operating off a commonlyformatted IAP.

Through the ITTF, we have developedseveral courses to help you, your department,other response organizations in your commu-nity and your community leaders put NIMS intoaction. The Unified Command Course is a two-day course designed to bring the disciplinestogether in a focused workshop and transitionfrom routine operations to a significant eventin your community. Many communities haveprovided specific scenarios as the basis forthe exercises and tabletop exercises, whichhave helped kickoff joint planning efforts.

The Command and General Staff courseis designed to help create a team of interdis-ciplinary first response officers and leaders

who will actually develop written plans andconduct operations during a complex emer-gency involving multiple shifts, respondersand mutual aid organizations.

Both of these courses emphasize the ap-plication of the NIMS to your local needs. Tobe useful and effective, you need to use itroutinely and as the Home Depot advertise-ment says “We can help.” The registrationsfor Unified Command training have fallen offfrom what we have seen in 2005 and 2006,but are picking up again.

Please contact Bill Farnum([email protected]), if you are interestedin the class in your community. If you areinterested in more advanced IAP trainingplease contact Joe Gasparich([email protected]).

To make NIMS live and work when weneed it most, we have to use it in everydayplans, operations and interagency dialogue.We have to make our elected officials com-fortable in receiving information and makingdecisions based upon the IAP format. Unfor-tunately, there is no shortcut. The more youuse it the more useful it will become to youand to the effective operations of the manyand varied-response discipline’s mutual aidsystems now in operation in Illinois.

Last Fall, I presented the 17 priorities weestablished to guide IFSI this year and intothe future. I want to ask you for some feed-back on our priorities. Are these the priori-ties you would establish for us to help youand your department? How are we doing inmeeting your needs? What are we not doingor offering that you need for training, educa-tion and information services? Please takea moment and e-mail me directly [email protected]. I promise that your feed-back will be taken seriously and kept confi-dential.

Thank you for your continued support. Ilook forward to your thoughts and comments.

See page 19 for information on ICS300 and Command &General Staff classes.

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

DirectorRichard L. Jaehne

Deputy DirectorDavid F. Clark

Associate DirectorJohn McCastland

Assistant DirectorBrian R. Brauer

The Illinois Fire Service Institute Newsletter is the official publica-tion of the Illinois Fire Service Institute, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Newsletter is published twice a year and is solely aneducational and advisory aid to the fire service and individuals work-ing to establish and maintain a fire safe environment in Illinois.

Opinions expressed in the Illinois Fire Service Institute Newslet-ter are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent theofficial opinions of the Illinois Fire Service Institute unless otherwisenoted in the article.

The Illinois Fire Service Institute will consider for publication ar-ticles or items of interest to the fire service of Illinois and encouragesmaterials from all fire-related professions for consideration.

Persons interested in furnishing articles, should forward materi-als to: IFSI Newsletter, 11 Gerty Drive, Champaign, IL 61820or E-mail information to Terri Hopper at [email protected]. Pleaseinclude appropriate graphics or digital photos.

Materials in this newsletter may be reproduced or republishedprovided credit is given to source and author.

The University of Illinois is an affirmative action, equal opportunityinstitution.

From the Director

News & Notes

Table Talk

Fire Fighting Training Programs

Cornerstone Programs

Rescue Programs

HazMat Programs

Northwest Region

Agricultural Program

Vehicle/Machinery Program

Officer Training Program

Women in the Fire Service

Investigation and Prevention Program

ICS300 and Command & General Staff

Wildland Program

Firefighter II Academy

E Learning

Research Update

Library Update

Explorer/Cadet Conference

Corporate Relations

Contacts

1

3

4

5

6

8

9

10

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

16

17

18

19

20

22

23

Our website has the most current class information

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

Table of Contents

Want your own copy of the IFSI newsletter?

Ask to be added to the mailing list by email to Terri Hopper ([email protected])

OR

A copy is available on our web site.

Illinois Fire Service Institute Spring 2007

& & & & &NotesNotesNotesNotesNotesNews

David F. ClarkDeputy Director

IFSI has added a new class to help offic-ers and acting officers run a fire or emergencyscene. The National Fire Academy has pro-vided us curriculum to teach their 12-hour“NIMS ICS for the Fire Service” class. It meets100 and 200 levels of NIMS ICS training re-quirements. We will offer this course at no feeunder the “Cornerstone” Program.

We will continue to offer “Fireground Man-agement for Small Career & Volunteer Depart-ments.” This is a very basic entry-level classfor those who currently do not use any type offormal incident command system. It is beingupdated to be compatible with NIMS, but itshould be followed by more formalized NIMStraining, so departments can meet require-ments, and also understand how to fit into thestate response plan when either receiving orgiving mutual aid.

For years IFSI has offered hands-on firecompany officer training classes. Theseclasses evolved into our “Fire Company Of-ficer / Fire Command Officer” classes. Themost recent class included officers from theNetherlands, Canada and Tennessee as stu-dents. We are encouraging enrollment by bat-talion and other chief officers in the Commandsection of this class. Initially in the week, com-pany officers and chief officers attend special-ized sessions focused on them, and later thegroups join for numerous multi-company evo-lutions in the burn buildings. It is a great op-portunity to both learn and share experience.With the nation-wide general decrease in work-ing fires, this hands-on live-fire training forofficers has become even more important.

In spite of the cold weather and Super Bowlfever we held another successful Winter FireSchool, with a variety of classes and a newevening opportunity to ask questions of expe-rienced fire chiefs. Attendees at both were wellpleased according to the CEQs.

We have made a further adjustment inthe management team for our HazMat Pro-gram. Ray Palczynski will remain as the full-time Program Director, but Chris Downey hasreturned on a part-time basis to help Ray asProgram Manager. Either of them can assistyou, and they are working together to improvethe quality of service provided to you.

Work is continuing on our series of “Down& Dirty” training packages that we producewith support from the Illinois Firefighter’s As-sociation and Underwriter’s Laboratory. Weexpect to distribute “Fireground Support andAerial Operations” late this spring. This willbe followed, hopefully this fall, by “Fire Sup-pression.” The new packages will be in DVDformat, so we can include more video foot-age.

InstructorJames T. Berggren

IFSI Field Instructor James Berggren died November 17,2006. Jim had struggled with cancer in recent years, but thatdid not stop him from taking a leading role in the productionof our “Rural Water & Tender Operations” CD project. He lasttaught at Fire College in 2005.

Jim started teaching for IFSI in 1969 when it was knownas Firemanship Training. He was a nationally-known experton Rural Water Supply, and taught Essentials, House Burns,Pumps, and Rural Water Supply classes throughout Illinois.For many years he presented at FDIC and state and regionalfire schools across the nation. Jim was a mentor and rolemodel for many firefighters and instructors. He also servedas Chief of the Serena FPD. A memorial scholarship hasbeen established at IFSI in his name.

However, overall Winter Fire School at-tendance was down slightly from previousyears. We’d like your feedback regarding whyyou did not attend, or what we can do to makeWFS more appealing to you.

What classes would you like to see? If the date of the event is a problem,

when would you prefer?Any other comments you would like to

share?

Please contact Eddie Bain at 217-333-9014 [email protected] with your comments andsuggestions. We want your input to makeWFS and our other classes better.

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

‘MAC’McCastlandAssociateDirector

TableTalk

The day you are reading this is a muchbetter day than the day it is being written.The finger is hacking away at the magicmachine on 13 February 07. In looking outthe office window, the snow is being pro-pelled sideways with wind bursts in the40mph range, the 8 plus inches of snow isblasted into major drifts — not on the yard— but right smack in the driveway. As I sit inthe warmth of my office, my thoughts goback about a year or so, when I had the op-portunity to speak with a CandidateFirefighter who was at the tail end of recruitclass and looking forward to being assignedto a Company.

The thing that makes this short conver-sation so memorable was the serious toneof the young man’s voice when he statedthat he was hoping to get a “slower com-pany” where he could sit back and collect allthe benefits the Department provided. Wait— it gets better, he went on to say that hewas second generation and the very solidadvice he received from his father — areyou ready for this — “ remember you don’tget paid by the run??”

It’s tough to think that if you start out asa “slug,” things are going to kindle a pas-sion within you for the job. I wonder if theday will arrive for this young man that “whileyou may not get paid by the run” on anysingle run you can collect your final pay-check.

Across the country fire duty is down,gentrification is alive and transforming theinner city landscape. Fire Companies thatused to be solid nuts and bolts “basic skills”masters have lost many of thoseproficiencies. On the other side of the coin— no one has told Mother Nature that sheneeds to create a friendlier, kinder fire. I’mnot smart enough to predict where the youngman I spoke with will end up. I also doubt

that he will have the courage to admitthat he could better serve the world

by working at K-mart. I do feel thatthe attitude displayed by this Can-

didate is all too often thenorm rather than the ex-

ception.And now let’s talk a

little about the world ofIFSI. We just put the cap

on a very good year of pro-

viding training to the Fire Service commu-nity. Internally there were some changes inpersonnel, realignment of duties, and get-ting a better handle on the needs of thosewe serve.

In mid ’06, IFSI entered into a partner-ship with IAFF-Local 2, the InternationalIAFF, and a local company OAI to provideHazMat Tech “A” training to members of theChicago Fire Department. This program isongoing with the training being provided atLocal #2 headquarters on 43rd Street.Teams of IAFF instructors and IFSI field staffare providing the instruction. Additionally, weare continuing to work with the Chicago FireDepartment on the delivery of training tonewly-promoted Officers, as well as Com-pany level and specialized training.

During the Fall of ’06, we had membersof the Milwaukee FD , HURT (Heavy UrbanRescue Team) attend the Structural Col-lapse Technician program at IFSI. Theselads have been around the U.S. taking all ofthe Collapse programs being offered (yes,even the “big named “ ones) and they toldus that the IFSI program was the most real-istic and demanding they had attended. Thisis a reflection on the group of IFSI field staffwho have put their hearts and souls into thisprogram. Thanks “DOGS.”

From the team training aspect, we aregathering all the updated team training ros-ters for the State deployable TRT & HazMat.June is going to be a rather busy month withthe fourth annual TRT validation and the firstannual HazMat validation.

By the time this edition hits the street,the ITTF will be in the process of negotiat-ing the ’07 Federal HSGP (Homeland Se-curity Grant Program) funds. These mon-ies will be used to provide training to therostered members of the State HazMat andTRT Teams. If you are a Team Leader or ateam member, let’s make every effort tocash in on this training opportunity, while thefunding is still being allocated.

Well this should fill up a column or two,so we’ll strike it out.

Take care and stay safe,

MAC


Once again, the Annual Illinois Fire Col-lege is on the horizon. The brochure has beenmailed to all Illinois Fire Departments, and isavailable for download on the IFSI website.In this issue of the IFSI newsletter, I’d like tobring you up to speed on what’s been changedfrom previous years.

The first change is the cost. For the firsttime in four years, I have had to increase thefees for Fire College to keep the program at abreak-even level. Even with the increasedfees, I offer that this program is the most “bangfor your buck” that is available for fire servicetraining in a conference of this size, or larger.Compared on a cost-per-hour basis to otherschools with our audience, the Illinois FireCollege remains $5 per hour less expensivethan the next comparable school. Addition-ally, with registration, each student will receivea pass for one Fire College T-Shirt and lunchon Friday and/or Saturday. These two itemsreflect your feedback from previous Fire Col-lege course evaluations.

I understand that as public agencies anyfee increase is dramatic, but the reality is thatcosts to run the event have increased since2003 with no corresponding increase in thefees. Wherever possible, we have added ad-ditional value to programs. Note classes suchas the Incident Command 300 Train-the-Trainer, Advanced Response to LPG Emer-gencies, and Basic Wildland class where IFSIhas partnered with other state and federalagencies to offset costs. If you have sugges-tions for other partnerships, please let meknow.

This year also marks the return of Fire Col-lege to more familiar hotels. While the event

is still larger than any single venue inChampaign-Urbana can support, the Fire Col-lege Team and I have worked to make theprocess as friendly to you, the students, aspossible. In the brochure, you can identifywhich locations your classes will be held at sothat you may select rooms at the correspond-ing hotel. The Hilton Garden Inn will host mostof the classroom sessions, with some classesinitially meeting at the Hawthorne Suites.Lodging rates and information is available onthe IFSI web site.

The University of Illinois Assembly Hallreturns as the registration and transportationhub for the event. All students MUST check inat that location at least one hour prior to thestart of their first class.

While all classes are listed in the brochure,there are a few that bear special mention. Thisyear IFSI will be offering a basic Critical Inci-dent Stress Management (CISM) class to helpthe statewide CISM teams meet this initialtraining requirement. Additionally, we haveseveral classes that are crafted as refreshertraining for members of Statewide Weaponsof Mass Destruction Response Teams andIndustrial Fire Brigade Members. We havemaintained the majority of the hands-on firefighting programs while expanding our EMSand Officer offerings, including a new panel-format class on current issues in the fire ser-vice across our state called Table Talk.

I look forward to seeing you in Champaignearly this summer, and welcome yourthoughts and feedback about the direc-tion *Your* Annual Fire College can head.

Fire College Here Before You Know ItBrian R. BrauerAssistantDirector

Fire FightingProgramDirector

www.fsi.uiuc.educontinued on next page

Greg Fisher

CornerstoneProgramDirector

Fish Stories -- Cornerstone UpdateAs I begin my 28th year at the Illinois Fire

Service Institute and reflect on all the growthin facilities, staff and curriculum I can’t helpbut look at the concept behind the CornerstoneProgram. Formerly referred to as the “Reim-bursable” Training Program, Cornerstone be-came the moniker after examining the purposeof the Grant from the Office of the Illinois StateFire Marshal. It’s goal tracks very well withWebster’s definition: “that marks the beginningof building, the basic, essential or most im-portant part; foundation.”

Since its inception with the four Essen-tials and basic water supply and movementclasses, a number of “hands-on” practicalclasses have been added as a part of that foun-dation to provide safety and competence onthe fire ground and rescue scene.

Fire department inquiries and the IllinoisDepartment of Labor’s “two in, two out” gen-erated the need for a class on Firefighter Res-cue & Survival Techniques, Thermal ImagingCameras and Basic Rapid Intervention TeamOperations.

Increasing calls related to vehicular andagricultural emergencies have expanded theBasic Rescue classes beyond the Basic AutoExtrication to include larger vehicles, grain binand agricultural machinery, as well as hazardsrelated to new car technology.

Response to the aftermath and hazardsof methamphetamine labs and determining theorigin and cause of these and other firesbrought about classes on these subjects.Grant initiatives providing new engines, ten-

ders, brush trucks, rescues andaerial devices generatedclasses in their opera-tion, deployment, tactics

and relatedfundamentals.

Federa l ly -m a n d a t e dcourses onNational Inci-dent Manage-ment System(NIMS) andrenewal of ef-forts in theFire GroundManagementfor Small Ca-reer and Vol-

unteer Fire Departments provide a preliminaryunderstanding of managing emergency re-sources. The hands-on tactical level classeswere added to introduce the tactical prioritiesand associated tasks to the new company of-ficer and to strengthen the ability of the work-ing supervisor already functioning in that role.

The decreasing stock of safe, structurally-sound acquired structures for live burn classesmake the IFSI house burns more important inlight of recent tragedies in the East wheredeath and injuries have occurred apparentlyas a result of improper preparation and pro-cedures.

Some other grant initiatives on the Cor-nerstone Request for Training Form provideno-cost classes from the National Fire Acad-emy, the Illinois Department of Natural Re-sources, and the Illinois Propane Educationand Research Council. Command-levelclasses for the company and department of-ficers, wildland fire fighting, and dealing withfires involving liquefied petroleum gas are toname a few.

The Certified Firefighter II classes in Mod-ule Form are currently no longer available.Departments providing their own “in-house”certification can obtain help with practical in-struction and signoff through the many Es-sentials and assorted Cornerstone classes.

Another Cornerstone change is that of theupcoming addition of Technical RescueAwareness Online. With 38 Technical RescueTeams now deployed throughout the state viaIllinois Emergency Management Agency andthe Terrorism Task Force, non-affiliated de-partments are encouraged to have this courseto prepare for the arrival of a team to main-tain control and safety of a scene. Arrange-ments must be made after a web class to testwith the Office of the Illinois State Fire Mar-shal.

The course can be provided for county,regional, and MABAS Divisions schools pro-vided there are multiple departments involvedwith a minimum of 24 pre-registered students.The post-test administered at these classeswill be the State Certification Test.

Input and ideas for classes that are fun-damental for fire departments to “do their job”at the task and tactical level are welcome.Cornerstone is all about getting it done on thescene.


I would be remiss in writing this article if Idid not mention a Cornerstone of the Fire Ser-vice Institute that passed away late last year.For many of us getting involved in the fireservice in the 1970s 1980s, Jim Berggren wasTHE expert on getting “the wet stuff on thered stuff.” A chief in a district without water,he created ways to store, transport, and sup-ply water on the fire ground in ways that ri-valed some folks with class one water sys-tems.

In my first Fire College class as an instruc-tor, I was assigned to assist Jim in a RuralWater Supply class. He made me feel I couldcontribute by using me as his assistant andwalking me through the set up. He talked...Iworked and learned in the process.

In the class, Jim talked me through check-ing out the valves for leaks, tightening the hardsuction line, operating the priming device,drawing water and maintaining a supply. Hefurther managed to make it an entertainingclass. Chief Larry Kearns from Tolono Fire De-partment provided the “tanker” and he and Jim“walked” me through the process: place the

low level strainer on the hard line ... makesure I was IN the port-a-tank placing the de-vice in the lowest portion of the “pool” withmy 3/4 boots on ...and then when leaning overto attach a tether to the strainer ...I receiveda 250 gallon per minute wake up call. Wel-come to instructing at Fire College...ego nowin check, students and staff getting a goodlaugh out of it. I learned more about ruralwater supply that day than I ever thoughtpossible.

The number of fire service representa-tives that braved the cold and aftermath of ablizzard to attend Jim’s memorial in Serenawas impressive. As I sat and listened to themany eulogies at his memorial and lookedaround the room, I saw many former studentsin their dress uniforms with a lot more snowon their mountain tops. A picture of Jim wewill never have, since he never aged to thoseof us that learned so much from him.

Jim’s dedication to his two families —Bette and the kids — and the Illinois Fire Ser-vice will be missed terribly. God Speed, Jim.

Cornerstone RegionsNorthwestRay Palczynski563/[email protected] Chicago Metro Area

Paul Segalla,815/[email protected]

Central and East CentralGreg Fisher217/[email protected]

Metro-EastDuane Bales618/[email protected] Southern

Les Albert217/[email protected]

NortheastRandy Schlichter847/[email protected]

Champaign CampusBrian Brauer217/[email protected]

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

Greg FisherRescueProgramDirector

As the Program Director for the Rope andConfined Space Rescue classes, I can saythis coming calendar year will be busier thanthe last — with more than 40 classes on theschedule. Information is available on the IFSIweb site.

As the Institute strives to bring all IllinoisEmergency Management Agency (IEMA) andIllinois Terrorism Task Force (ITTF) Techni-cal Rescue Teams to the baseline level of pro-ficiency, funding has been maintained to com-plete this task for the 2007 calendar year. Thefunding also allows for maintenance of thoseteams as members step down. The TaskForce’s goal to continue the investment ismanifested in Department of Homeland Se-curity approved curriculum, equipment, ma-terial and Regional Training Centers. This in-vestment includes the course fee.

IFSI and ITTF have forged partnershipswith many different departments to provideTechnical Rescue Training props in various

locations throughout Illinois.This regional approach re-quires some advanced plan-ning. IFSI must make a deci-sion on classes 30 days out —to confirm staff, line up equip-ment, and secure facilities.Many of the students need a30-day window to make the ar-rangements with their admin-istration to provide the backfillor address overtime issues.Students taking the class on

their “own dime” often arrange their vacationsand shift trades well in advance, as do someof the instructional staff. With so many re-gional choices the class enrollments are, lit-erally, all over the map. This often meanscancellation due to small enrollments in manyclasses. Classes have been cancelled two tothree weeks out, only to have additional en-rollments received five to ten days from class.Please plan ahead and have the registrationforms in 30 days before the class begins.Team members should confirm their statuson the training team roster prior to enrollmentto avoid being charged. All other issues per-taining to reimbursement are in accord withcurrent ITTF policy. Specific questions shouldbe directed to ITTF in Springfield.

With the facilities now available in Frank-fort and the Northern Illinois Public Safety

Training Agency in Glenview, a link to theteams in that part of the state will allow forbaseline training in the approved courses, aswell as bringing up to speed, those designated“Train the Trainers” within the teams.

Confused?Occasionally students sign up for classes

and do not meet the prerequisites for a givenclass. Often the confusion revolves around ourclass requirements and certification require-ments from the Office of the State Fire Mar-shal. The certification program is a tremen-dous vehicle in which to develop skills andtrack training throughout a given discipline.This should not be confused with the IFSI pre-requisites for actually taking a training coursefor the purpose of fulfilling the required train-ing to meet the IEMA Illinois Terrorism TaskForce designated teams.

An example where confusion may existis our SWMD: Rope Rescue Operations class.Participation requires being a member of afire department or emergency service agencythat signs off on student involvement.

To certify with the Illinois State Fire Mar-shal currently, you must be a CertifiedFirefighter II, certified at Technical RescueAwareness level, and successfully completedand tested for either Vertical Rescue I, RopeRescue Operations, OR Ropes and Rigging.The IFSI - SWMD: Rope Rescue Operationsclass meets or exceeds the OSFM require-ments for these classes.

When you move on to a Technician levelclass there are other practical “hands-on” is-sues involved. An example is the SWMD: Con-fined Space Rescue Technician class. RopeRescue Operations (OR equivalent), RopeRescue Technician OR Vertical Rescue II,AND Confined Space Operations are all re-quired classes prior to enrollment. (Hazard-ous Materials and Vehicle Machinery Opera-tions are recommended but not yet required).Again, certification with OSFM is NOT re-quired. Having the skill sets from each of theprerequisite classes is required.

For team members delaying enrollmentdue to certification, I would invite you to con-tact the Rescue Program Coordinators or goto the IFSI website to verify prerequisites forthe discipline you are interested in. Feel freeto e-mail me at [email protected] and I’llbe more than happy to forward the inquiry tothe appropriate person.

Rescue Program Update

Web navigation for RescueProgram Classes

www.fsi.uiuc.eduCoursesBrowse CatalogChoose subjectChoose classScroll down to find upcom-ing dates


Last year saw many changes in the Haz-ardous Materials Division at the Illinois FireService Institute (IFSI). As 2007 unfolds I’dlike to share the makeup of the IFSI HazMatteam.

Chris Downey has returned as the part-time Program Manager. Chris will be in theoffice several days a week as his shift sched-ule allows. His responsibilities will be curricu-lum management and development along withbudget maintenance. Chris will also work withthe team that manages and deploys theHazMat equipment.

Ann Jack-Haluzak is the oil that keeps ourHazMat machine running smoothly Mondaythrough Friday and is the main point of con-tact at the Institute for hazardous materialsprograms. She takes care of all class sched-uling and instructor assignments, and man-ages printed materials and kit distribution forInstitute and state classes. I could fill ten para-graphs describing Ann’s many other abilitiesand responsibilities but there isn’t space. Thankyou for the courtesies you have extended toAnn during the transition period. She truly car-ries more than her share of the load and is aprized asset. Contact Ann for questions abouttypes of classes, scheduling, locations andtimes.

Mark Berg is the manager of the continu-ally growing IFSI rolling fleet and plays an in-tegral role in keeping the vast fleet of HazMatvehicles and trailers running and getting themin the right place at the right time. He and histeam build and stock our units and have donea terrific job from the chlorine trailers up tothe top-of-the-line fifth wheel tech trailers.Without Mark’s efforts and those of Joyce, Tim,Randy and Mike, your experiences on the roadwould be much different.

Jody Beccue is the person who processesall the paperwork for HazMat programs Mon-day through Friday. Questions related to IFSIregistration and certifications should be di-rected to Jodi.

Thank you for your continued professional-ism when dealing with these folks.

I am currently occupying the Director’sseat. I share space with Chris at the Instituteand continue to maintain my home office. Aswe move through 2007, we are going to con-tinue to deliver classes based on customerneeds. Needs will be cross-referenced againstlocation of similar training and length of timesince the last similar training occurred. In otherwords, you in the fire service need to let usknow what you need and when you need it.We will do our best to meet your needs solong as you give us a reasonable amount oflead-time. The bottom line — we want to placethe training where you tell us it needs to be.We anticipate supporting the T-T-T efforts ofthe state TRT and HazMat teams. With tentrainers built into each team, our mission maychange. Please feel free to share yourthoughts and ideas on how the hazardousmaterials division can support your trainingefforts.

Stay Safe!Ray Palczynski

Ray PalczynskiHazMatProgramDirector

Who You Gonna Call for HazMat?

How to reach the HazMat team

Chris Downey 217-202-0879 [email protected] Jack-Haluzak 217-244-6228 [email protected] Berg 217-333-2905 [email protected] Beccue 217-244-6674 [email protected] Palczynski 563-332-0819 home office [email protected].

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

The 2007 training season is off to a faststart in the northwestern and western regionsof the state. The Quincy Regional TrainingCenter (RTC) hosted its first ever regional fireschool March 2nd and 3rd. A Quad-City RTCfire school will be held Saturday, May 19 andSunday May, 20. The annual GalesburgSchool will be Saturday August, 25. There arealso many weekend events being heldthroughout the region. Most have severalclasses offered over the course of a week-end. Remember, all are welcome to ANY Cor-nerstone class ANYWHERE! Check the webcalendar for the latest classes and locations.

I want to thank those departments and or-ganizations in the region that I serve for theirpatience and understanding as I adjust to the

dual responsibilities of Hazardous MaterialsProgram Director and Northwest RegionalRepresentative. My counterparts in the Cor-nerstone Program all wear two hats. Now, Ido too. With the various means of communi-cation at our disposal I will continue to try toreturn any contact within a 24-hour period. If Ihave to be away from the office, I will postaway messages on both telephones and one-mail.

Keep in touch & stay safe!

Ray

Ray PalczynskiNorthwestRegionalRepresentative

Duane BalesMetro-EastCornerstoneRepresentativeandAgriculturalProgramDirector

The Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) willonce again be participating at the FarmProgress Show in Decatur at the end of Au-gust. If you have not ever been to one it iswell worth going to at least one of these whenit is held in Illinois. The show consists of theequivalent of three square city blocks of tentsand displays in addition to all of the equip-ment agriculture manufacturers display out-side of that area. People from all over NorthAmerica and beyond fly in for the three-dayevent to see what is the latest in agricultureequipment and supplies. This show is similarto the Detroit auto show — but with farm equip-ment. The one difference is that if you want to

try out a piece of equipment,there are fields that you cantake that piece of equipmentout to test. IFSI will be par-ticipating at the show display-ing how we can help the res-cue personnel in agriculturerescue training. Last year, GSI donated aportable grain bin prop to IFSI.This allows us to take the propon the road to train personnelin proper ways to safely andrapidly make openings in thebin using various types of res-cue tools. In addition, thisprop can be used in teaching

Agricultural Program — Out There for Rural Communitypersonnel the proper way to secure a ladderto the bin for using it to raise/lower personneland equipment safely into the bin.

Farm rescue training, offered by IFSI, cancover all kinds of rescues on a farm and beadapted to the needs of the local department.

Anhydrous Ammonia Awareness is an-other class being offered. This is a three-hourclassroom that can be expanded if we haveaccess to an anhydrous facility. The facilityprovides a venue to learn how the loading/offloading procedures are handled.

These classes are all offered under theCornerstone Program at no cost to the De-partment. Should you want one of theseclasses for your department, fill out a Corner-stone request for training form and send it into us.

To find out what Agricuturalclasses are being offered nearyou, visit the IFSI web site atwww.fsi.uiuc and follow theCOURSES links to BROWSECATALOG.

See IFSI at theFarm Progress ShowAugust 28 - 30, 2007Decatur, Illinois

Northwest Region Cornerstone Update


A new year has begun with all new hy-draulic tools donated to us from the manufac-turers. Amkus, Centaur, Genesis, Holmatroand Hurst have all given us their most up-to-date tools to use for extrication training. Thisway we have the best tools available to trainwith. We thank the Equipment ManagementCompany, AEC, MES, 5 Alarm and Towers fortheir involvement in helping us acquire thelatest tools

Many times departments send personnelto our classes to help them determine whichtools they are most comfortable with. Now wecan show them the latest tools on the market,in addition to getting the best training we canprovide. With this in mind, the tools do notjust stay at the Institute, through the Corner-stone program or Request for Training, we willbring our tools to your facility depending onthe request.

State Farm Insurance is offering us vari-ous components of vehicles for us to cut on.Even though we may not have a complete newvehicle most of the time, the areas of concernfor cutting will be available for us to look atand practice cutting on. Hopefully, this yearfor our 40-hour extrication classes, some ofthe vehicles in the class will be the newer oneson which to practice.

Tools, New Vehicles and Vehicle ProgramRemember, the three-hour class on New

Car Construction, all classroom, is availablethrough Cornerstone. With the Basic Autoclass, we will spend most of the time doinghands-on training — learning different tech-niques to follow because of the ways the carsof today are built. With the Advanced Autoclass, we will practice techniques on vehiclesthat are rolled over, lying on the side, on topof another vehicle or involved with other ob-stacles. Once again these techniques will chal-lenge the rescuer in making sure safe proce-dures are performed while testing their abilityto do the extrication procedure.

Duane BalesVehicle/MachineryProgramDirector

MARK YOUR CALENDARGalesburg Summer Fire SchoolSaturday, August 25thGalesburg Regional Training Center

Upcoming Vehicle/Machinery Rescue ClassesStarts

Vehicle/Machinery Operations Kankakee May 4 (over two 3-day weekends)Vehicle/Machinery Operations Melrose Park May 7 - 11Advanced Auto Extrication Neoga May 18 (over two 3-day weekends)Vehicle/Machinery Technician Champaign May 21 - 25Vehicle/Machinery Operations Glenview June 25 - 29Vehicle/Machinery Technician Kankakee August 3 (over two 3-day weekends)

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

Do Officers Need to be Re-Trained?As we contemplate rewriting the curricu-

lum for the Fire Officer 1 and Fire Officer 2series courses, it has become apparent thatwe are in an ever-changing world and dealingwith new issues each and every day.

The core courses in this program consistof four management classes that try to reflectwhat the majority of the officers work life en-tails. These four classes present 160 hours ofmanagement theory and practice, using a va-riety of teaching methods and applications. Thebackbone of the program is to complimentdepartment training which prepares the officerto lead others functioning in rare life and deathsituations.

In reviewing the contents of the fire officertraining program, an interesting paradox hasto be contemplated. If we deliver new mate-rial for future students to be better preparedfor life as an officer, what do we do with theofficers who are currently functioning in thefield? We have to also consider that somecurrent officers have never attended one for-mal training course, but have learned to begood officers through their own experiencesand intuition.

One of the problems with learning onlythrough experience is the lack of consistency.A standardized curriculum allows for a reliablemethod of delivering management trainingbased on hundreds of years of varied experi-ences and proven theories. The problem withapplying theories to the fire service is that theydon’t always fit the situation very well.

So what is the best solution? We think thatrefocusing the management courses to ad-dress more leadership type issues will be ad-vantageous. Has the fire service evolved to apoint that leadership should be the main focusof 160 hours of training?

The past few years have shown that thecurrent content in all of the officer classesneeds a fresh look and a definite need existsfor addressing the emerging workforce or thenext generation of firefighters. The issues thatare presented by rookie firefighters sometimescan baffle even the most seasoned fire officer.The new firefighters are coming to us as amuch more educated group overall and with

expectations that some veteran firefighterscringe at.

Are these management issues or leader-ship issues and what impact do they have onproviding emergency services? As someonewho entered this service with a college de-gree and several years of firefighting experi-ence, I can feel for both the seasoned officerand for the new employee. The demands onofficers have increased over the years andthe expectations from the bosses (both fireservice and the public) are difficult to stayahead of. As a member of the “new breed”some 20 years ago, I had to deal with officerswho were shocked at someone who startedon day one with a Firefighter 3 certificate, acollege diploma and felt that officers shouldtrain, challenge and provide a safe workingenvironment for me.

So are the challenges really different fortoday’s officers? The “20-something’s” of to-day have been brought up with a different setof circumstances and are a much more de-manding and critical group than we are usedto. They have been exposed to much moretechnology and expect that knowledge willcome to them through the use of a number ofmultimedia experiences. Generally, they aremuch more intelligent than the previous gen-eration and when they enter the fire service,they are not really stimulated by the fact thatwe are putting them through an intensive train-ing academy that will allow them to functionas a member of a firefighting and rescueteam. A normal part of their daily routine in-cludes e-mail, text messages, I-Pod music,video games, wireless communication, andinstant information. The Calgary (Canada)Fire Department has recently added a full-time position of “Cultural Change Manager”to its ranks. This was done to try and help thenew firefighters adapt to the culture of the fireservice and to try and help the veteranfirefighters understand the culture of theirnewest members.

A common theme reflected by officer stu-dents is that the role of the fire officer can beclosely associated with that of a babysitter. Istrongly disagree with that. There are certainlywives, families and even parents who haveentrusted us to care for their loved one whilethey are away from them. The difference is

Paul SegallaOfficer ProgramDirector

continued on next page

The difference is that no parent would ever trust a babysitterto take their child into a burning building and knowingly riskboth of their lives.


that no parent would ever trust a babysitter totake their child into a burning building andknowingly risk both of their lives. Perhaps theofficer is a little closer to a camp counselorwho is entrusted to build confidence, providesafety, learning and bring a little bit of calcu-lated risk and a lot of fun. This person is viewedas fair, unbiased and caring and also servesas a role model. But most of all, this “counse-lor” chooses to lead and the side benefit is thatfollowers follow.

One of the biggest challenges officers faceand will continue to face comes with the issueof discipline. As a service, we have a certainexpectation of discipline and the newfirefighters have been self disciplined for agood part of their lives. In a world where peoplecount on rescuers to come and serve withoutprejudice, a certain amount of discipline is re-quired for these actions to be successful. Ournew members are part of modern society, citi-zens who have a great deal of freedom andrights. The discipline that is needed commonlycomes to us in the form of orders that must befollowed. Officers must be the ones to traintheir members with the discipline that you justcan’t choose on a whim which orders or poli-cies you will follow. There simply is not time to

coninued from previous page try to determine this while working at an emer-gency scene.

So we cannot go back in time, and wecannot make the time from the past fit thepresent circumstances. We have to changethe training that officers get so that they canfunction better as the leaders of their forcesand ultimately affect the outcome of a life-threatening situation. Officers will need tolearn as a group how to face some of the reallife situations that are becoming commonplacetoday. Therefore, look for some changes inthe program that will focus much more onleadership and much less on management. Itis our hope that the content will be usefulenough to guide new officers to success andstimulating enough to bring in established of-ficers who are struggling with the changingwork environment interested in making a dif-ference.

In its simplest form, leadership addresseshow to get people to do the things that needto be done and make them feel good about it.One constant for officers that has transcendedtime and will be useful for the future is apply-ing the golden rule. Treating others, as youwould like to be treated has been good ad-vice and will continue to help form the foun-dation for future officer training.

Fire Service Women of Illinois in conjunc-tion with the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI)will be sponsoring our 4th Training Weekend.Reserve the dates of Saturday, October 13and Sunday, October 14 to join us for train-ing. This weekend training is full of hands-onand classroom sessions set on the IFSI Cam-pus. We plan to offer a wide variety of classesthat will appeal to women in the Fire Service.This weekend also allows you to train withmany other women in the state who fight fireand work in the EMS field.

Fire Service Women of Illinois NFP is anot for profit organization. Our focus is two-fold — help support the career growth of Illi-nois female fire fighting professionals andsupport training that will lead to the confidencethey need to become the best firefighters theycan be. By advancing the education, network-ing and professionalism among the women of

the Fire Service, we are helping to shape thefuture of fire fighting.

More information on the training, and ourorganization can be found on these websites:

http://www.fswi.org/orhttp://www.fsi.uiuc.edu/

Fire Service Women of Illinois Plan Fall Training Programby Alicia McCoy

MARK YOUR CALENDAROctober 13 - 14, 2007IFSI Champaign Campus

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

Eddie BainFire InvestigationFire PreventionProgram Director

“Prevention?”The Fire Service continues to face many

changes regarding workloads and demands.Homeland security issues now require manydepartment resources and have presentedchallenges never before imagined. A reactiveresponse to community dangers is often seenas the major focus of a fire department. But Iwould suggest that one issue remains as anunder-addressed focus of most fire depart-ments and emergency agencies. That issue isPrevention!

Prevention strategies have long beenstudied and analyzed. It has often been re-ported that prevention-focused solutions tocommunity dangers is one of the most valid,cost-effective and successful approaches tohelping solve a community’s safety needs.One challenge that continues to evade manydepartments is how to approach the many fireprevention needs in a community. Small andlarge departments alike often find the work offire prevention confusing and sometimes over-whelming. When budgets are challenged, itmay be difficult or seem inappropriate to as-sign funding to programs that appear to chan-nel support away from emergency response.It can sometimes be difficult to justify theseprograms because immediate results don’talways appear. So how can a department be-gin prevention initiatives? Where do you start?

IFSI offers classes that will help you un-derstand and tackle the fire prevention needsin your community. There are a variety ofFirefighter, Fire Officer and Chief Officer pro-

grams designed to help you tackle the areasof inspection, investigation and public educa-tion. Some of these classes are available ona regular basis through the IFSI scheduledprogram. Others are available on a depart-ment-focused basis and can be designed tofit the needs of your community.

These classes include: Fire & Arson In-vestigation, Origin & Cause Awareness, FirePrevention Principles, Fire Prevention Officer,Honor Guard Training, Public InformationOfficer, All Risk Public Education, Fire Pre-vention Public Education, Police Officer By-Pass Workshop and Practical Fire Inspection.

Some of these classes function at theOffice of the Illinois State Fire Marshal certifi-cation process level or coordinate with theprogram taught at the National Fire Academy.While others don’t involve a certification com-ponent, they still remain an important train-ing and education option for all fire depart-ments.

If you are interested in any of theseclasses or have a prevention need you’d liketraining or instruction about please contactme. I can be reached by email [email protected] or by telephone at 217-333-9014. I look forward to working with youon your prevention instruction needs.


Joe GasparichHomelandSecurityProgramDirector

If the whole point to the National IncidentManagement System (NIMS) is to foster co-operation among responding agencies, thenshouldn’t the course delivery parallel the in-tent? That is the question that has led to theestablishment of a joint training venture be-tween the training department of the IllinoisEmergency Management Agency (IEMA) andthe Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI). Thesheer number of responders that have to betrained to the 300 level of ICS makes this nosmall venture. As ICS 300 courses are sched-uled throughout Illinois, there has already beena real interest in bringing the classes to vari-ous communities. From March through De-cember of 2007, 25 ICS 300 and 16 Commandand General Staff Classes have already beenscheduled.

The ICS 300 Course is designed for indi-viduals who may assume a supervisory rolein expanding incidents. These incidents mayextend into multiple operational periods.Some of the topics covered in the ICS 300course include: unified command, incidentassessment and development of objectives tohandle the incident, the incident action plandevelopment process, resource management,transfer of command and demobilization plan-ning and execution. The NFA Command andGeneral Staff Class covers many of the sametopics, but places an added emphasis on theactual command and general staff positionsin the ICS and the development of severalincident action plans.

ICS 300 courses are scheduled throughIEMA. Command and General Staff Classesare scheduled through IFSI. The interestingthing is that if a person were to take ICS 300and later take the NFA Command and Gen-eral Staff classes, they might see many of thesame instructors. The truth is that the list ofinstructors who teach both classes is the same!The content of both courses is similar and thisallows instructors to teach both classes. Thegoal of both courses is to teach the studentsto prepare for an event that lasts for severaloperational periods. The goal that the instruc-tors attempt to achieve in both classes is notto teach people how to do a better job with thetactical elements of their responses, but how

to do a better job of managing the resourcesthat they have available to them in those re-sponses.

It was but two short years ago that 34people came together at IFSI to take the AllHazards Incident Management Class andmany of those people went with respondersto the Gulf Coast in September to help man-age the responses in Mississippi and Louisi-ana in the aftermath of Katrina. Many of thoseresponders returned with a new mission andthat was to help enlighten other respondersto the management skills that they had learnedand used in their travels. ICS 300 and NFACommand and General Staff are helping tomake many of those ideals a reality.

The ICS 300 course is part of the requirements that manysupervisors must meet for their jurisdiction to be consideredNIMS-compliant. A list of the requirements for Federal FiscalYear 2007 can be found on the Illinois Municipal League websiteat:

http://www.iml.org/dbs/nims/.

Local response agencies can find a listing of the ICS 300Course offerings at:

http://www.state.il.us/iema/training/Calender.asp.

The NFA Command and General Staff Classes can be found onthe IFSI website at:

http://www.fsi.uiuc.edu/then follow these links:

CoursesBrowse CatalogHomeleand Security

IFSI and IEMA Partner to Deliver ICS 300Courses Throughout Illinois

See the IFSI web site forcomplete list of

Fire College classes

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

In March 2006 the Illinois Fire ServiceInstitute (IFSI), in partnership with the IllinoisDepartment of Natural Resources (IDNR), in-troduced its first-ever Wildland Fire FightingProgram, to better prepare firefighters through-out Illinois to mitigate incidents both in the ruralsetting and in the Wildland-Urban Interface.The Wildland Fire Fighting Program delivered15 classes in 2006, covering 13 Illinois coun-ties and completing over 7,500 hours of stu-dent training. Participating students were notonly members of career and volunteer firedepartments, but also from public agenciesand the private sector. The Basic WildlandCertification program includes the NationalWildfire Coordinating Group’s S130/190courses, as well as a live-burn component.This course is designed to train structuralfirefighters to safely mitigate wildland fires intheir jurisdiction, but does not fulfill all NWCGrequirements for a “red card.” In 2006, depart-ments burned over 1,000 acres during theirwildland training, encompassing every type of

wildland fuel found in the State of Illinois.The IFSI Wildland Program has been well

received by the state and national wildlandcommunity. The United States Forest Serviceand the Illinois Department of Natural Re-sources have actively participated in thecourses and acknowledged their benefit forresponders across the state. Indeed, in 2006,crews from a variety of public agenciesthroughout Illinois, including both career andvolunteer firefighters, were dispatched to TypeI wildfires in Idaho and Minnesota, where theirtraining proved to be on par with the nationsmost experienced wildland firefighters.

IFSI Basic Wildland classes are fundedentirely through a grant program with the IDNRand are available at no cost to the hostingdepartment. In addition, departments whoserve a population less than 10,000 receivea free Nomex jumpsuit for each member com-pleting the course. Beginning in Fall 2007, theWildland Program hopes to offer 200-levelcourses, training Illinois firefighters to serveas Wildland Incident Commanders, improvetheir understanding of wildland fire behavior,and operate more effectively in the Wildland-Urban Interface. As the dangers of wildfiresspread from a national to a local level, theIFSI Wildland Program is providing Illinoisfirefighters with the training and experiencethey need to protect their communities andthemselves.

For more information on the IFSI Wild-land Program, please contact Program Man-ager Tom Richter at [email protected] orAssistant Fire Fighting Program Director EricGoldstein at [email protected].

Eric GoldsteinAssistant FireFightingProgramDirector

IFSI Wildland Program

Over the past several months, the IllinoisFire Service Institute’s (IFSI) fire fighting pro-gram staff has examined the schedule of ourFirefighter II Academy, as we attempt to pro-vide the best training experience for recruit-level firefighters in Illinois. In order to providea renewed emphasis on the task and unit-levelskills of the basic firefighter, the Firefighter IIAcademy has been slightly reorganized, toinstill a basic understanding of the firegroundroles expected of the recruit firefighter.

In the new schedule, the first few days ofAcademy are devoted to gaining competencyin SCBA usage. The remainder of the firstweek is dedicated to the task-level skills ofthe Engine Company — pulling and advanc-

Firefighter II Academy Schedule is Modifieding lines and securing a water supply. In weektwo, the students are instructed in Truck Com-pany skills, such as ladder work, forcible en-try and search procedures. In weeks threethrough six, students will work on specializedskills and techniques, and continue to prac-tice and gain proficiency on the skills theyhave learned throughout Academy.

Our goal of this new delineation is not torestrict firefighters to a given role or appara-tus assignment, but to instill in new firefighters,some of whom have no prior experience inthe fire service, an understanding of the tasksthat they will be assigned on the fireground.

coninued next page

Tad SchroederAssistantFire FightingProgram Director


Ideally, this process will also allow students todevelop an inherent understanding of basicfireground tactics and the evolution of eventsduring a fire.

In addition, IFSI staff has created a newmechanism for gaining feedback relative tothe ability of Academy to meet the needs ofthe firefighters and the departments it serves.At the conclusion of the Spring 2007 Acad-emy, two questionnaires will be distributed.The first of these will be sent to the fire chiefsof the departments represented in recentFirefighter II Academies, gauging the abilityof Academy to adequately prepare its candi-

continued from previous page dates for service on a fire department. Thesecond questionnaire will be directed to re-cent Academy graduates, inquiring as towhether they feel that their experience in Acad-emy enabled them to operate effectively as aline firefighter. These questionnaires shoulddeliver useful information, allowing IFSI to in-crease its level of responsiveness, and en-sure the quality of the programs it provides.As IFSI continually re-evaluates its programsto provide the highest level of training avail-able to Illinois firefighters, it is both useful andnecessary to alter programs to fit the ever-changing needs and requirements of the fireservice.

Spring always brings new beginnings, andthis is the case for E-Learning at Illinois FireService Institute (IFSI), when we will see therollout of several new learning tools. One ofthem will be a new online course. A secondwill be the next edition to the Down & DirtyFirefighting Training packages. The third willbe a unique new learning tool that can be ac-cessed by all who wish to learn something newor brush up on some old skills. IFSI is nowoffering all of our Awareness level onlinecourses at no fee to the student.

Origin and Cause Awareness Online is inthe test and evaluation stage and will be avail-able for delivery starting in May. Origin andCause Awareness Online includes basic fireinvestigation information for firefighters andfire officers. The program is designed to teachfirefighters how to support the fire investiga-tion process, when to call for an investigator,what to do when arson is suspected, and howto protect the scene and potential evidence.Students are provided with all learning mate-rials online and will complete an online test atthe end of each unit.

Our next new offering is Down & DirtyFirefighting Skills “Fireground Support andAerial Operations.” This addition to the Down& Dirty series is in a DVD format, which is anew format and allows the use of full-lengthinstructional videos. Learners can movethrough the DVD and select instruction fromtopics that include aerial construction, limita-tions, and safety information from Underwrit-ers Laboratories. After gaining a thoroughknowledge of aerials, the viewer can move toviewing videos on the practical use of aerialsin topics such as proper positioning, use forrescue, masterstream deployment, and roof

operations. To round out training with aerialdevices, a portion of the DVD will concentrateon fireground support operations — ones thata truck company would perform. Even thoughnot all fire departments operate truck compa-nies, these operations are still important forsafe and effective fireground work. Viewerscan choose from such topics as roof opera-tions, forcible entry, and search and rescue.As with past Down & Dirty Training packages,the project will be provided to fire departmentsfree of charge through the generous contribu-tion of the Illinois Firefighter’s Association anda new partner, Underwriters Laboratories. Lookfor a late spring mailing of this project.

The third rollout this spring will be a learn-ing tool we are calling “Quick Hit Training.” Aswe all know, putting a quick hit on the red stuffis very effective. Well the same can be saidfor training during these busy times. Quick HitTraining will be provided to all visitors to theIFSI website. An inventory of short, ten to 15-minute training segments will be posted inVirtual Campus. Training topics will includeOfficer Training and Development, Fire Fight-ing, Rescue and Special Operations such asHazMat, Terrorism, and EMS, to start with.Over time, emergency responders will havenumerous titles and subjects to choose from.A quick visit to the IFSI site will offer trainingas needed.

Finally, as the University of Illinois workstowards providing Global Campus, IFSI andE-Learning will work as partners to providethe best in computer-based training and edu-cation.

Rich ValentaE-LearningProgramDirector

E-Learning

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

This March, the National FallenFirefighters Foundation hosted the 2nd Na-tional Line of Duty Death (LODD) PreventionSummit in Novato, California. Fire Service,research, and industrial representation fromIllinois were very strong among the more than200 attendees. The goal of this summit was toresolve action items for each of the 16 LifeSafety Initiatives developed by a similar con-ference almost two and a half years ago. Sadly,by inspecting the fatality and injury trends overthese 2 1/2 years, there has not been a sig-nificant change in either of these statistics.While affecting a change in culture has beenidentified as the most pressing issue, severaltasks were laid out for Fire Service research.

At the same time, the IFSI research pro-gram is focused on studying the leading sourceof fatalities (heart attacks) and injuries (slips,trips, falls and overexterion/strain), and theoutcome of this summit only strengthens ourcommitment to these issues. However, onlyby a direct linkage between the research andtraining programs can laboratory science betranslated to fire science and distributed tothose who can directly implement it: firefightersand officers. The strong collaboration between

these programs at IFSI has this Institute well-placed to help achieve the desired reductionin line of duty deaths and injuries.

To learn more about the 2nd National Lineof Duty Death Prevention Summit, please visithttp://www.everyonegoeshome.com/re-sources/. Some critical initiatives to bringawareness to the LODD issues facing the FireService were highlighted at this event and in-clude:

Visit the rolling memorial to Fire Servicefatalities and learn first hand about each ofthe 16 Life Safety Initiatives from the WhistleStop Tour, which is coming through the Mid-west in mid-April. There will be opportunitiesto meet up with the tour in St. Louis (April 13),Chicago (April 14), and FDIC in Indianapolis(April 18-19):h t tp : / /www.everyonegoeshome.com/whistlestop/

Take a simple pledge to use everyday tech-nology that currently exists, which has prom-ise to eliminate up to 10-15 LODDs per year:http://www.firehouse.com/mz/images/2006/6/pledge.pdf

by Gavin HornResearchProgramManager

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation - 2nd National Line of DutyDeath Prevention Summit

Fatalities (2005 breakdown and trends)From: NFPA Journal. July/Aug 1991-2006.

Injuries (2005 breakdown and trends)From: NFPA Journal. Nov/Dec 1991-2006.

Weather (1.8%)

continued next page


Lian RuanHead Librarian

IFSI Library Updates & HighlightsReference/Circulation Services: Diane

Richardson, Reference Librarian, and herteam handled 4,041 reference requests in Fis-cal Year 2006 (July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006)-- a new record high. Library users borrowed2,480 items during that time. To learn moreabout how to navigate the online catalog,please feel free to contact Diane [email protected], or 217 333-8925.

IFLODD Grant Project: Lian Ruan, HeadLibrarian, received an LSTA (Library Serviceand Technology Act) grant, entitled “In Memoryof our Heroes: Developing a Digital Image Col-lection of Illinois Firefighter Line of DutyDeaths (IFLODD)” from the Illinois State Li-brary in October 2006. Archivist Adam Grovesand a project student team have worked hardon the project and reached out to a variety ofpartners throughout the state. Illinois Fire Ser-vice Institute field instructors assisted in iden-tifying more than fifty additional line of dutydeath firefighters previously unknown to IFSI.As of February 2007, the number now reaches765 LODD firefighters from 106 different or-ganizations. We expect that the number willcontinue to grow, especially as team mem-bers undertake field research and site visitsthroughout the spring. To view the database,please visit http://www.fsi.uiuc.edu/content/li-brary/IFLODD/. If you have any informationabout LODD firefighters missing from the da-tabase, please feel free to contact AdamGroves at [email protected], or 217 265-6207.

Information Use and Needs of IFSIField Instructors Survey Project: With ap-proval from Director Jaehne and the ResearchReview Board of the University of Illinois atUrbana-Champaign, Lian Ruan, is conduct-ing a study as Principal Investigator, entitled“Information Use and Needs of Field Staff In-structors of Illinois Fire Service Institute.” Thisresearch study involves 500 field staff instruc-tors throughout Illinois. The purpose of thisstudy is to understand the IFSI field staff in-structors’ information needs and uses, andtheir information- seeking behavior. Throughthe study, we hope to conceptualize the typeof information environment that best supportstheir activities and clarify the IFSI Library’spriorities for the development of rich informa-tion environments that are responsive to the

context of their work. To fill out the online sur-vey and know more about the project, pleasevisit http://www.fsi.uiuc.edu/content/library/in-structors/. If you need a hard copy of the sur-vey, please contact Lian Ruan [email protected], or 217 265-6107.

Gift Materials Donated to the IFSI Li-brary: The IFSI Library frequently receivesgift-in-kind donations from the fire servicecommunity. We appreciate your support! If youwould like to make a donation, please contactLian Ruan at [email protected], or 217 265-6107.

Featured Titles Added to the IFSI Library

For lending information, please contact theLibrary ([email protected] or 1-800-437-5819).

American Heat: The Art of Smoke Reading(VHS and CD-ROM) — Trinity WorkplaceLearning.

American Heat: Reducing Deaths in Appara-tus (VHS and CD-ROM) — Trinity Work-place Learning.

Fire Prevention: Inspection and Code Enforce-ment (Book) — by David Diamantes.

First Responder, Your First Response in Emer-gency Care, 4th ed. (Book and DVD) — byDavid Schottke.

Fundamentals of Firefighter Skills: Skills andDrills DVD Series (8 DVDs -IAFC and NFPA.

Leading from the Front: No Excuse Leader-ship Tactics for Women (Book) — by AngieMorgan and Courtney Lynch.

Locomotive Emergency Response Operations(DVD) - U.S. Department of Transportation.

Pulse: Bloodborne pathogens (VHS and CD-ROM) — Trinity Workplace Learning.

Terrorism and Homeland Security: An Intro-duction with Applications (Book) — by PhilipP. Purpura.

Vehicle Extrication (7 DVD set) — ActionTraining Systems, Inc.

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in FourActs (VHS) — Directed and produced bySpike Lee.

You Need it like a Hole in the Head:Firefighters and Cancer: An Interview withMark Noble (DVD) — Ergometrics & AppliedPersonnel Research.

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

The National Fire And Emergency Ser-vices Exploring Conference is off and running.The Memorandum of Understanding has beenstruck with Learning For Life in Irving, TexasThe gathering will kick off on Monday evening,

June 18th at the University of Illinois andthe Illinois Fire Service Institute(IFSI).

Last Fall’s newsletter featureda center pullout on the conference-- and we have included it againthis issue. The individual and teamcompetitive events are listed witha call for volunteers to staff theseevents. As a result of last Fall’s in-sert, I am extremely pleased thatAurora, Champaign and Charles-

ton Fire Departments have commit-ted almost a dozen “on duty” person-

nel to assist or coordinate many ofthese competitions.The “hands-on” training seminars will be

staffed by IFSI personnel and volunteers. In-structors and advisors who have assisted inthe Illinois Fire Service Institute - Explorer-Cadet Fire Schools in the past are being calledupon to assist in this portion of the conference.These practical rescue, fire, EMS, and HazMatevents will be slightly different from our tradi-tional summer event but they all will be “hands-on” in nature. The additional disciplines willprovide youth with exposure to the many mis-sions beyond fire fighting in which their localagencies may be involved.

We continue to look for financial support.State Farm Insurance headquarters inBloomington has been generous and othercompanies have promised donations as well.The Illinois Fire Chief’s Association haspledged financial support to offset some of theinstructional package expenses. We are ex-tremely grateful for these donations.

In-kind donations are also welcomed. Thecompetitive events will require things likepocket masks, replaceable lungs or facepieces for the CPR events. Helmets and moun-tain bikes for the paramedic mountain bikingcompetition, two or three identical 24- or 28-ftladders, and various brands of breathing ap-

paratus. Latex gloves in all sizes, cervical col-lars, back boards and straps for the patientpackaging events, clip boards and stopwatches are a few items that will be required.Please contact me if you have equipment youare willing to assist with or have funding avail-able to earmark for such purchases.

The Thursday demonstrations will be veryvisual in nature. These include commitmentsby MABAS 28 members to demonstrate anumber of events. The Savoy FireDepartment’s Ranking National Extricationteam will stage a mock accident scene withsevere trauma requiring Carle’s Air Life heli-copter to fly out a lucky Explorer as a mockpatient. The Champaign Fire DepartmentHazardous Materials Team will put on a LevelA chlorine leak simulation with some youthassisting in the decontamination process.

Urbana’s Technical Rescue Team willdemonstrate a mock river rescue with ahighline demonstration from the tower to thetechnical rescue prop. The rescue will stop inthe middle, lower to the water below and pickup a lucky Explorer for a ride on the highline.Edge Scott Fire Department will be staging aroom and contents fire using a trailer or mo-bile home to demonstrate standard companyfunctions and incident command. Live line,burn cell, and LP gas fires will round out themany demonstrations.

Although we would like to have vendorsset up shop, we anticipate a lean showing dueto the conflict with the Illinois Association ofFire Protection Districts Conference that startsthat Thursday in Springfield. If you know ofvendors not participating in the Springfieldevent, please have them contact me. We areinviting various colleges and universities withBomb and Arson, Fire Service Management,Public Administration, Fire Protection Engi-neering and other comparable offerings to setup booths. We hope that this will expose theyouth to other emergency services relatedoptions beside the line functions of fire fight-ing and EMS.

2007 National Fire and Emergency ServicesExploring ConferenceJune 18- 22, 2007by Greg Fisher

You or yourdepartmentcan beinvolvedthroughin-kinddonations.

continued next page

.


Get involved by volunteeringYou can use the form below or download a copy from the IFSI web site by clicking on the 2007 National Fire and

Emergency Services Exploring Conference link under NEWS. Fill out and fax to Greg Fisher at 217-244-6790. Theneed for help is most critical for Tuesday, June 19 and Wednesday, June 20 from 0715 to 1730. You won’t gohungry and the feeling of accomplishment you’ll have in mentoring youth interested in the Fire and EmergencyServices will be immeasurable.

Last Fall, wecompleted a survey ofour corporate andbusiness partners todetermine their cur-rent needs as it re-lates to industrialtraining. As a result ofthe survey, an indus-trial advisory boardwas formed and thefirst meeting was held last September. Welearned a lot about training needs and ex-pectations from the group when they met atthe Institute for the one-day meeting. An in-dustrial training forum is being planned forlater this year, tentatively planned as a one-day meeting in Champaign. More informa-tion will be provided as the final plans arecompleted.

In addition to working on the industrialtraining program, IFSI has continued to workwith corporate partners throughout Illinois.Cooperative programs continue to grow andexpand within the private sector withMotorola, State Farm, Underwriters Labo-ratories, GSI, Illinois Propane Education andResearch Council, Illinois Petroleum Re-sources Board, Hurst, Amkus, Genesis,Homatro, Milwaukee, Paratech,

SearchCom, American Forest &Paper Association, DelmarPublishers and many others.

The IFSI staff and trainingfacilities bring a unique

opportunity to compa-nies involved in thefire service indus-try to conduct fieldtrials on productsin a “real world”environment. Itis our intent tocontinue to ex-pand andbroaden our rela-

tionships with cor-porations not only in

Illinois, but throughoutthe United States, as well

as internationally.

Another initiative underway tostrengthen IFSI global corporate partner-ships is the development of the Illinois FireService Institute Learning Resource and Re-search Center. This new facility will be builtadjacent to the current building headquar-ters in Champaign. Once completed it willhouse an expanded library, an Illinoisfirefighter memorial hall and laboratoryspace. This expansion will allow IFSI to con-tinue its cross-campus translational re-search in a variety of areas critical to en-hancing the health, safety and security offirefighters.

The Center will be a focal point for ourcorporate partners to work with IFSI on col-laborative research that will improve prod-ucts for the marketplace. We will be takingresearch from the laboratory directly to thefire-training field.

This is an innovative project that is re-quiring the help of our colleagues within theuniversity, the State of Illinois, Illinoisfirefighter organizations and our corporatepartners.

If you would like to learn more about theCenter, industrial training or for more waysyou can be a part of the exciting changes atthe Institute, please contact Dennis D. Spice,Director of Corporate Relations at 217-359-0671 or by email at: [email protected].

Dennis SpiceDirector ofCorporateRelations

Building Corporate Relations

www.fsi.uiuc.edu

ADMINISTRATIONRichard Jaehne, Director217/[email protected]

David F. Clark, Deputy Director217/[email protected]

John (Mac) McCastland, Associate Director815/[email protected]

Brian R. Brauer, Assistant Director217/[email protected]

Marcia MillerDirector of Budget & Resource Planning217/[email protected]

Harry CloreBusiness Operations Coordinator217/[email protected]

AGRICULTURE PROGRAMDuane Bales, Program Director618/[email protected]

CORNERSTONE PROGRAMGreg Fisher, Program DirectorCentral Illinois217/[email protected]

Les Albert, Southern Illinois217/[email protected]

Duane Bales, Metro-East618/[email protected]

Raymond Palczynski, Jr.Northwest & West Illinois563/[email protected]

Paul Segalla, Chicago Metro Area &North Central Illinois630/[email protected]

Randy Schlichter, Northeast Illinois847/[email protected]

E-LEARNING PROGRAMRichard Valenta, Program Director847/[email protected]

EMS PROGRAMSharon Dotson, Program Manager217/[email protected]

FIRE FIGHTING PROGRAMBrian R. Brauer, Program Director217/[email protected]

Tad SchroederAssistant Program Director217/[email protected]

Eric GoldsteinAssistant Program Director217/[email protected]

FIRE INVESTIGATION PROGRAMFIRE PREVENTION PROGRAMEddie Bain, Program Director217/[email protected]

HAZMAT PROGRAMRaymond Palczynski, Jr., Program Director563/[email protected]

Chris Downey, Program Manager217/[email protected]

Ann Jack Haluzak, HazMat Program OperationsSpecialist217/[email protected]

HOMELAND SECURITY PROGRAMJoe Gasparich, Program Director217/[email protected]

INDUSTRY PROGRAMBrian R. Brauer, Program Director217/[email protected]

Jon Rogers, Downstate Coordinator217/[email protected]

LP, OIL AND GAS PROGRAMMark Clapp, Program Manager217/[email protected]

NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMBill Farnum, Unified Command217/[email protected]

Joe Gasparich, Incident Mgmt. Assistance Teams217/[email protected]

OFFICER PROGRAMPaul Segalla, Program Director630/[email protected]

Les Albert, Downstate Coordinator217/[email protected]

RESCUE PROGRAMSGreg Fisher, Program DirectorRope & Confined Space Rescue Program Manager217/[email protected]

Duane Bales, Vehicle/Machinery Program Director618/[email protected]

Jeff Hilligoss, Trench Rescue Program Manager217/[email protected]

Mike McCastland, Structural Collapse RescueProgram Manager630/[email protected]

CURRICULUMKurt Glosser217/[email protected]

LIBRARYLian Ruan, Head Librarian217/[email protected]

Diane Richardson, ReferenceAdam Groves, Archivist/Metadata Librarian

RESEARCH PROGRAMGavin Horn, Program Manager217/[email protected]

Steve Petruzzello, Associate [email protected]

Denise Smith, Health and Safety [email protected]

CAMPUS SUPPORTBarry Wagner, Faciliites Manager217/[email protected]

Mark Berg, Operations Specialist217/[email protected]

BUSINESS, INSTRUCTIONAL & STUDENTSUPPORT STAFFJodi Beccue, Program Secretary217/[email protected]

Kristy Berbaum, Program Secretary217/[email protected]

Ellen Conrad, Program Secretary217/[email protected]

Nicole Hopper, Business Operations217/[email protected]

Terri Hopper, Chief Registrar217/[email protected]

Christie Ingleman, Business Operations217/[email protected]

Beth Niswonger, Business Operations217/[email protected]

Jan Rusk, Program Secretary217/[email protected]

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYKevin Kessler217/[email protected]

Tim Lash217/[email protected]

DIRECTOR OF CORPORATE RELATIONSDennis Spice217/[email protected]

DIRECTOR OF MARKETINGMary Auth217/[email protected]

List of classes and complete details available on the IFSI web site.

www.fsi.uiuc.eduIMPORTANT DATESApril 27: last day to register without late feeMay 18: last day to cancel without penaltyMay 25: last day to advance registerMay 30: on-site registration begins

Illinois Fire Service Institute11 Gerty DriveChampaign, IL 61820

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage Paid

Champaign, IL.Permit No. 499

ifsi newsletter spring 2007 · als to: ifsi newsletter, 11 gerty drive, champaign, il 61820 or...

Documents