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Welcome From the President
Welcome
to the home page of the Fairfax County Professional Fire & Rescue Officers
Association. Our organization is a bona fide, recognized employee
group within the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department. Our
Department
consists of over 1200 uniformed personnel serving in 37
fire stations with a coverage area of slightly over 400 square miles
occupied by over one million full-time residents. Membership in our
Association is voluntary, and is limited to career fire and rescue officers
of the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department (and retired officers, as
well). Out of approximately
400 officers in our Department, over
200 are members, and our membership continues to grow.
Our goal
for this web site is to provide relevant and pertinent information to our
members, prospective members, and fire and rescue service members worldwide.
In our Links section you will find websites which lead to information on the
latest in educational opportunities, new technology, strategy and tactics,
hazards, and miscellaneous
items that may be of interest. If you find a link which you think
would be of interest to other officers, please e-mail the site address to
our Webmaster.
I assumed
the position of President in November 2004, having previously
served for two years as Vice
President. Our Association is actively engaged in many facets of the
Department's activities, and most of the Department's Senior Staff are also
members of the Association. My personal vow, and that of each of
member of our Board of Directors, is that I will represent us to Senior
Staff, the Fire Chief, and our elected officials, in a professional,
discreet and businesslike manner. This is your Association, and as
such, democratic principles apply. I will make every effort to solicit
the input of the membership before stating an official position. By
the same token, I call upon each of you to be active, provide input when
asked, and most importantly to remember that we are professionals and should
conduct ourselves in that mode at all times. I look forward to the
exciting times that lay ahead, and I thank you
for having the faith and confidence in me to carry forward our agenda.
more...
President's Message!
Safety,
Professionalism, and Situational
Awareness
How many times have we seen something done
incorrectly or unsafely on an incident or in the
station and then not said anything about it,
joined in or encouraged the known incorrect
behaviors or actions, or simply shrugged our
shoulders and decided that it's another
supervisor's crew, issue, or problem to solve?
How many times have you sat in an incident
review or read an account of an incident in
which you participated and then wondered if you
were at the same event being discussed? How
many of you have sat back and looked at a crew
or an individual and wondered "where the heck
did they learn to do that?!?" The linchpin
item, of course, is what did you then do in
response to your observations....in any of the
above items?
Retired Chief Alan Brunacini recently wrote an
article in Fire Engineering titled "Showtime."
If you haven't read it, you should. It speaks
to the unwavering requirement that we execute
the basic components of our jobs flawlessly when
the time comes to perform them. Whether it is
advancing a hoseline to the seat of a fire,
administering medications to a patient in
cardiac arrest, shoring the walls of a collapsed
trench to extract a trapped worker, or steering
a swift water boat up challenging rapids to
reach a hapless victim in raging river waters,
if you lack an appreciation for safety, if you
cannot manage your crew and resources with
utmost professionalism, and if you get tunnel
vision and lose your situational
awareness....you will fail. You will fail
yourself. You will fail your crew, and you will
fail the citizen that is paying you to be there
for them. It's that simple.
Being an Officer in the Fire & Rescue Department
is not easy. The gold badge did not come with a
promise that every day will be easier than the
day before, and it certainly did not come with a
free pass on continued learning or an
expectation of decreased professionalism and
performance standards. Every one of these
(continuing education, enhanced professionalism,
and higher performance standards) is rightfully
expected of us by the agency, our co-workers and
subordinates, and the citizens we serve.
Complacency is, and should be, your personal and
professional enemy. "The great menace to the
life of an industry is industrial
self-complacency." (Joyce Carol Oates, American
author and two-time Nobel Prize nominee)
Although NIOSH reports often lag by six months
or more from the time of a firefighter LODD, a
recent grouping of them was released, and in
reading through them, a very common theme
emerges: lack of an appreciation of the safety
considerations of the actions taken/tactics
employed and a complete loss of situational
awareness. As paid professional Fire & Rescue
Officers, these are and should be regarded as
unacceptable behaviors. We know better. We
know that we know better. So, why are we so
reluctant to call out complacency, error, and
dangerous or inappropriate behaviors whether on
the incident scene, in the office or station
setting, or even in public? It's a slippery
slope, and when something bad happens we all
tend to shake our heads and say "yep, saw that
one coming." Well, if you "saw it coming," then
it was preventable. If you didn't act to
prevent what you foresaw, then are you really
exhibiting true professionalism?
I came across this speech given by the current
Federal Aviation Administrator at a recent
industry group luncheon. If you substitute
"fire & rescue service" for "aviation industry,"
and substitute "Fire & Rescue Officer" for
"pilot" or "Captain and first officer," I think
you will find an eerie carryover of
applicability to what we do. The "bumps"
referenced by the Administrator are happening
here, every day. If you think they are not, you
are fooling yourself. They are happening all
around us...all around the US and throughout the
fire & rescue service. It's how we smooth out
the ride, and minimize our "bump" encounters,
that will make the difference between someone
living and dying.
I hope you enjoy the brief read as much as I
did. I find Administrator Babbitt's candor,
especially in addressing many of his former
peers, inspiring.
Please stay safe and focused. Be "in the game"
at all times. Continue to take care of
yourselves and those entrusted to your
supervision.
Chuck
========================================================================
FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, a former head
of the Air Line Pilots Association, recently
weighed in on the subject of pilot
professionalism in a speech at the International
Aviation Club in Washington entitled "Bumps in
the Road." Stated the veteran airline
pilot now charged with U.S. air safety:
Lately, aviation has had quite a few bumps in
the road, and if we're candid with ourselves,
many of these bumps are indeed self-inflicted.
When you look at today's headlines, you see that
aviation has been hit with a wave of bumps we
can label quite appropriately as an extreme need
to refocus on professionalism. And perhaps we
even need to develop a better understanding of
professionalism.
The overshoot of Minneapolis is a very sad
example. As a pilot, it doesn't matter much
whether they were using their laptops, or
re-enacting the Lincoln-Douglas debates -- what
they did was wrong and they lost total
situational awareness and that's why their
Airman's Certificates have been revoked. There
is no substitute for situational awareness. They
knew a lot better and they were trained a lot
better. And they ignored it. But especially in
the context of our push for professionalism,
this whole incident is extremely disappointing.
The passengers aboard that airplane sat
comfortably because they assumed that the people
up front were paying attention. Being distracted
by compound problems is always a risk in the
cockpit, which is why the captain and the first
officer are trained and professional paid
positions. You get paid to be a professional.
That's actually the definition of the difference
between being a professional and an amateur.
But I think that this is a sign of a much bigger
problem. I can't regulate professionalism. With
everything we know about human factors, there
are still those who just ignore the common sense
rules of safety. At the top of the list is
something every pilot has heard over the years
from their flight instructors: Remember to first
always fly the airplane.
I wish this were the only instance of a loss of
focus, but it's not. Listen to the cockpit tapes
from the (Colgan Air) accident in Buffalo. Same
problem, the one thing those two were supposed
to do is the one thing they didn't: pay
attention. Juxtapose that with (hero of the
Hudson USAirways) Captain Sullenberger. There
was not one second of less than total
concentration. That crew was the epitome of
professionalism and a textbook case of focus by
everyone, including the controllers. That is an
example of being in the game especially when the
stakes are so high.
2009 Seminar An
Unqualified Success!!!
The 7th
Professional Development Seminar closed this afternoon on a
high note with a motivating and inspiring presentation on
leadership by professional speaker and published author,
Kimberly Alyn from Fire Presentations. Her topic, "Real
Fire Service Leadership Is Not For Wimps!!" rang true to all
attendees, and she used highly applicable, real-life
examples of good and bad leadership to illustrate where
officers and future officers in the fire and rescue service
need to be focusing their efforts assure they project REAL
leadership skills and traits, and not positional-based
leadership premised on badge-thumping. Also presenting to
the 161 attendees over the course of two days were Chiefs
Billy Goldfeder and John Salka, and retired Chief Bobby
Halton, now editor-in-chief of Fire Engineering magazine.
We were also treated to motivational opening remarks by
United States Fire Administrator Kelvin J. Cochran, and an
insightful keynote address by Dave Statter of WUSA-TV and
STATter911.com.
Despite
difficult economic times, 161 members of the fire and rescue
service, civilian government service and academia registered
for the seminar held at the Marriott Hotel in Tysons
Corner. This was our third year at the Marriott, and the
cooperative partnership formed with the hotel's executive
team and events staff grows closer each year. Our Platinum
Sponsors this year ($5000 or more in support) included
Singer Associates Fire Equipment and the Virginia Department
of Fire Programs. VDFP Executive Director Billy Shelton and
Division 7 Chief Melvin Byrne were in attendance at the
seminar, as well. Other sponsors included our friends at
PBI Performance Products, Gannett Corporation, W.L. Gore &
Associates, Globe Manufacturing, Whelen Emergency Equipment,
Doron Precision Driving Systems, Fields Consulting Group,
and tyco/Scott. Without our sponsors and the support from
the Fire & Rescue Department, this marquis educational event
could not occur. Thank you!!
Our
attendees represented fire and rescue departments, career
and volunteer, throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia,
members of DoD/Military fire departments, and fire
departments in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, South
Carolina, and Georgia. NIOSH was represented in the
audience as was George Washington University. Our
exhibitors included Globe, Fields Consulting, Doron, and
Firegeezer.com was on site delivering a real-time blogcast
from the seminar!
The
speakers were everything we expected they would be: direct,
honest, thought-provoking, and offering "no holds barred"
views of things the fire service is doing right as well as
areas where we need immediate improvement. Chief Goldfeder,
as always, was engaging, humorous, and dead serious. Chief
Halton really challenged our thinking on the statistics
surrounding firefighter fatalities and injuries, and raised
the concern over an numerically-supportable "drift into
failure" that must be corrected! Chief Salka used a FDNY
LODD case to illustrate the point of fireground
responsibility and bluntly talked about what makes us all
uncomfortable....who's at fault when a firefighter dies on
the fireground? (His handout can be
accessed here.) Finally, Kim Alyn, in upbeat and direct
fashion gave us tools to further hone our leadership and
mentorship skills.
As I
type this, we are already in the early stages of the
planning process for Seminar 2010. We are excited about the
interest we have received from speakers asking us
(yes.....speakers contacting us) if we would consider
including them in future programs. We will post the dates
for 2010, and the preliminary line-up of presenters, in the
near future. Until then, take what you learned this year
and put it to use tomorrow. If you could not make it in
2009.....we'll look for you in 2010, and my charge to
everyone who attended this year and enjoyed their experience
is to come back next year and bring one more member of your
department with you!
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Officers Association Challenge Coins for Sale!
 Just in
time for the holidays, the Officers Association Challenge
Coin has arrived! These were a hit at the recent
seminar, and we are now ready to offer them for sale to the
membership at large.
Each coin is $5.00. LT Mike Regan,
Training Academy, is your point of contact for all coin purchases.
Please deal
directly with Mike on all Challenge Coin sales. Email -
michael.regan@fairfaxcounty.gov Phone - (703) 803-3858
Click on the photos for larger images.
Current Department DROP Statistics!
The current numbers of DROP
participants listed by rank and month of projected departure
now listed in
Member News.
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Welcome to New Association Members
The following new members were voted in at the 3rd Quarter
meeting: Captain II Bradford Cochrane, Jr.
Lieutenant Mathew Barnhart
Lieutenant Caldwell Clarke
Lieutenant Derrick Colden
Lieutenant Brian Edmonston
Lieutenant Dustin Rice
Lieutenant John A. Smith
Lieutenant William Vannoy Congratulations and welcome! |
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Congratulations to All Recent Promotees!
Click here to see a list of the most
recent officer promotions within the department. See the
current promotion lists
here. |
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Check Out Our
Links Page!
We try to maintain
the most current links of sites that we think will be of
interest to our members.
Click here to visit
our "Links" page. Webmasters - please email our
webmaster with your current link information so that we can
list your site. |
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News, Videos, and Photos
Needed!
We'd like to recognize all of the "happenings"
in the department that are pertinent to our member's interests.
Please submit any news, photos, or videos to the webmaster so that
we can keep our membership apprized of "all the news that's fit to
print." |
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| Attention Webmasters!!
Webmasters, send us your links to add to our "Links"
page. We're always trying to find new sites that
might be of interest to our members and visitors.
Send an email to
webmaster@fairfaxfireofficers.org today! |
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Member News
The place for happenings that affect our membership.
Click here...
Become A Member!
Click here
for a membership application.
Activity Calendar
Click here
for a list of upcoming activities.
Current Promotional Lists

Click here to see updated
promotional lists for all ranks. New Battalion Chief
list now in effect.
Videos
Click here for some videos shot
during training evolutions. (More to come ... )
Department History
Click here
for a brief history
of the Department.
Firefighter Survival
Click here to view a
PowerPoint presentation on firefighter survival.
(Mouse-click to advance slides)
Remembrance
Click here
for a presentation honoring our injured and fallen and reminding us
to never forget.
Mission Statement
The objective and purpose of this association shall be
to .....
more
Meeting Minutes
Click here
to read the latest meeting minutes
Association Bylaws
Click here
to read the Association's bylaws
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