Happy Summer, along with Happy Independence Day! I hope you took time to reflect and appreciate what our great country “America” is. I know I sometimes get discouraged by what I see and hear and what is happening across our nation. But my spirit is renewed when I pull up behind a law enforcement or fire vehicle across our state and read “In God We Trust”! I truly enjoy when I attend fire events across our state, we begin by standing and pledging our allegiances to the flag and a prayer. “Thank you” to our Missouri Fire Service who continue to demonstrate patriotism throughout your fire departments. The thin red line continues to carry a strong presence across our communities demonstrating we believe in America! May God continue to Bless America!
We have hired a statewide fire mutual aid coordinator! Joshua Couture. Joshua resides in the Moberly area. He has been involved in the fire, EMT, and emergency management services for several years. Feel free to reach out to Joshua with any fire department registration issues, mutual aid, or work compensation grant questions. His work number is 573-751-1601 and his cell is 573-821-0937 email him at Joshua.couture@dfs.dps.mo.gov.
Great things are taking place in the Training Unit. Chief officers from across the state attended the second and final pilot course of the new Fire Officer IV. This level of fire officers training will create better and stronger chief officers across our state who led or will be leading our Missouri Fire Service. If you are looking at your fire service future and maybe entertaining becoming a chief officer, I strongly encourage you to consider taking the fire officer 1-4 training and certification, it will make you a well-rounded chief officer, and help you prepare you for that very critical role. We need strong fire leaders across our state!
We received an AFG grant to purchase exterior burn props and a trailer. Adding these props will support our mission on the 13th floor to assist our Missouri Fire Service by allowing you to gain firefighter training at no cost to your department. I would like every Missouri firefighter to have whatever level of training they desire and the ability to get it at their local department. These firefighting props can be brought to your department to meet your training needs. We want well-trained firefighters serving and protecting life and property across our state. Thank you for investing in your education and training which will make us the “Best boots on the ground” and “Leaving things better than we found them!
We also took possession of a new Mobile Fire Investigations Training Trailer. The new fire investigator prop will allow us to have two fire scene investigations going at the same. This prop will allow us to change the fire scene investigations periodically. We feel it is a great investment in our training toolbox for the new revised 80-hour Fire Investigator course.
We also have received a grant to replace equipment for our Technical Rescue – Rope Rescue trailers. The rope rescue equipment being replaced has been in use since 2015 and was utilized in over 50 classes attended by more than 1000 students in the disciplines of low and high-angle rescue. Please continue to submit your training request. Let’s demonstrate to our legislators, we ask, they listened, and have added $500,000 to the firefighter training fund.
There has been a lot of conversation across the Missouri Fire Service about the proposed OSHA 29 FR 1910.155 & 156 Fire Brigade standard changes. I have been working with a task force of high-level fire officials from across our state on this topic. I will say “The sky is not falling”. The task force is doing its homework and peeling this OSHA onion back. The goal is to create a platform that your agency could use to comment on OSHA. Watch for an email coming soon.
In closing, August 5th is the primary election in our state. I encourage you to get out and vote, your vote matters.
It is an honor and privilege to serve as your State Fire Marshal. Thank you for everything you do across our state. I appreciate you!
FFAM
