Congratulations to all of the 2011 SHS Section award winners and thank you to our sponsors!

Alan Brunacini Fire Service Executive Safety Award – cosponsored by Provident Insurance Chief Rick Kane, Manheim Township (PA) Fire & Rescue

Chief Kane’s accomplishments are significant since his appointment as the inaugural Chief of Department in Manheim Township. Chief Kane has literally created a world class combination volunteer– career organization whose primary mission includes both service to the citizens coupled with a equal commitment to the safety of operating members. Examples abound. Chief Kane produced Standard Operating Guidelines for the entire department and color coded them to correspond to the level of risk to personnel. Low risk and/or high frequency activities that pose a low risk are coded in white. Guidelines printed on yellow paper will signify the High Risk / High Frequency and the High Risk / Low Frequency (Discretionary Time) events within the organization. Some guidelines included as yellow are Harassment, Incident Reporting and Documentation, and Exposure Control Plan. Finally, Guidelines printed on red paper will signify the High Risk / Low Frequency Non-Discretionary Time events within the organization. Red guidelines may include: Rapid Intervention, Apparatus Backing, and Operating within Traffic.

In addition to the establishment of standard operating guidelines that yield measurable results in terms of ensuring the safety of all personnel, Chief Kane supervised the establishment of minimum training standards for all career and volunteer personnel.  Training is one of the key cornerstones to the safety of personnel and Chief Kane’s commitment in this area is exemplary.  By setting the bar of excellence at a high level, Chief Kane has elevated the position of firefighter within his community to one of significant positive standing.  Recruitment is at an all time high as volunteer firefighters recognize this demonstrated commitment to their safety through his actions.

Billy Goldfeder Fire Service Organizational Safety Award – cosponsored by VFIS Prince William County (VA) Department of Fire and Rescue

On November 9, 2008, Volunteer Firefighter Cecilia Turnbough died in the line of duty while participating in a training exercise at the Prince William County Public Safety Training Center. Immediately following the loss of Firefighter Recruit Turnbough, the Department formed a multi-dimensional Investigation Team to conduct a thorough investigation and report. This report was developed in a coordinated effort between agencies within Prince William County and other fire and rescue departments similar to Prince William County. The objective of the LODD Investigation Team was to examine the events that occurred at the Prince William County Public Safety Training Center and to identify the factors involved with the line-of-duty death of Firefighter Recruit Cecilia Turnbough.

The number one recommendation from the LODD report was to require all operational members (career and volunteer) to receive a medical evaluation in accordance with NFPA 1582. In 2009, after collaboration with Fire and Rescue Association and as part of the new requirement and mandate set forth under Chapter 9.1 of the County Code, every Fire and Rescue member, whether career or volunteer, will be subjected to an NFPA 1582 medical physical, an OSHA Respiratory Questionnaire, and a Fit Test for their issues SCBA mask. All three of these components will be required annually for members to be permitted to participate in firefighting activities.

Garry Briese IAFC Safety Performance Award
Retired Chief Gary Morris

Chief Morris has authored nearly one hundred articles, many related directly to firefighter safety, which have been published in fire and emergency medical service journals. Chief Morris is the past President of the National Fire Service Incident Management System Consortium. During the 1990s, the Consortium completed work to merge the two most popular Command systems used by the U.S fire service - Fireground Command and the Incident Command System. The Consortium has released seven model procedures guides reflecting the merger. Chief Morris has lectured to over three hundred state, national and international conferences, including conferences in Great Britain, Ireland, Finland, Australia, South Africa, Venezuela and Canada.

Most recently, Chief Morris spearheaded one of the boldest firefighter safety initiatives to date, the IAFC’s Rules of Engagement for Firefighter Survival and the Incident Commander’s Rules of Engagement for Firefighter Safety. The original concept was his. Under his guidance, a working group of structural firefighting experts was convened through the Safety, Health and Survival Section and undertook the arduous task of building consensus on the subject of firefighter safety on the fireground. The 2007 version, “The 10 Rules of Engagement for Structural Firefighting” was well received but in his typical fashion, Chief Morris was not satisfied with just getting something out to the fire service. Numerous revisions were to follow, with Chief Morris always driving the process forward. In 2010, the current version of the “Rules of Engagement” debuted at FRI in Chicago.

Safety Officer of the Year – cosponsored by Elsevier and FDSOA
Training and Safety Officer Dave Zinther, Westmont (IL) Fire Department

In 2005 the ISFSI developed a 40 hour Safety Officer certification program that was adopted by the Office of the State Fire Marshal. This program was comprehensive in its scope and covered subjects both on and off the fireground. Shortly after this program was developed, Dave Zinther was asked to take the position of Program Chair and begin delivering classes. The demand for this program was immense and Dave and his handpicked team of instructors went about the task of delivering as many classes as was reasonable. In the eight years since the program was released over 1,000 firefighters and fire officers have been trained and certified. Dave has displayed genuine leadership and passion for the material and has been diligent about keeping the program on the cutting edge of fire service education.