Fire Fighters Association of Missouri

State Fair Fire Department

Larry Eggen, News

Why do we attend the Missouri State Fair? What things do we do at the Missouri State Fair? Fair fire department members said they attend the fair for the friends they make, the food, and to be a part of something great. It’s an experience you cannot have anywhere else in the nation.

The Missouri State Fair Fire Department is the only eleven-day functioning fire and EMS department in the nation. It is made up of firefighters and EMS personnel from all parts of Missouri. Making friends from all parts of the state makes going to the fair a great experience! Let’s not forget the food, while at the fair we are fed three meals a day and it is true home cooking.

August will be here before we know it and the State Fair EMS team is ready to make this year great again. Our team is working to bring new educational opportunities in hopes that everyone will leave the fair knowing they have served a great service, earned lots of CEU’s, and most of all had fun while doing so. First aid will be open daily for walk-in basic first aid. Come join our team and have one of the best experiences in Missouri.

Be a part of something that is only offered in Sedalia, Missouri. The fair offers networking with volunteer and career EMS personal. You will learn new skills to bring to your home departments and make forever friends while doing it. Do you know someone who may want to be part of this experience? Come join the State Fair Fire Department family. Applications are due June 1, 2020, and are available in this newsletter.

History’s Corner – May 2020

Bill Westhoff, News

In the last newsletter, my article featured several apparatus that had more than one life and a couple that had more than one home. It should be apparent to even the casual reader of my history articles that fire apparatus, old and new, fascinate me. It goes without saying, the folks that operated the apparatus equally enamor me. One isn’t effective without the other.

Over the last month or two, it seems that we have all had some extra time on our hands. So, in a normal red-blooded American style, I have turned to Facebook for entertainment. I only have a page because my grandkids shamed me into having one but recently I have found fire truck sites that have saved my sanity.

One of these is the Towers Fire Apparatus Historical Society – Freeburg, IL. I found a few apparatus photos there and got hooked into a complete article about my involvement with Towers. Which goes back to when I was about ten years old.

The Boone County Fire Protection District (BCFPD) purchased this unit from Towers Fire Apparatus Company in Freeburg, IL. It spent most of its life as Engine 501 or as some folk’s called it, maybe once, “rescue engine 501.” Station five is north of Columbia and serves the Prathersville area.
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Gudde Retires from Holden Fire and Rescue

From Around The State, News

Holden Fire and Rescue would like to announce the Retirement of Chief Michael Gudde. Chief Gudde has served Holden Fire and the Holden Community for forty years. We wish him the best in his future endeavors. Battalion Chief Andrew Watkins has been promoted to Chief as of April 1, 2020. Chief Watkins has been on Holden Fire for over ten years and will bring a lot to the Department and the Community. Congratulations to both!

Chief Michael Gudde Retires After 40 Years.
Andrew Watkins is Promoted to Chief.

Chillicothe Stay Strong Parade

From Around The State, News

With the recent stay at home order by the Governor, the City of Chillicothe was promoting a stay strong parade for the citizen of Chillicothe on April 6. This included the Chillicothe Fire Department, Chillicothe Police Department, Parks Department, Street Department, and the Mayor. There were 12 vehicles included and covered every ward and went by every nursing home. We wanted everyone to keep up their social distancing and asked them to stay either on their porch or in their yards as we went up and down the streets.

Knob Noster Fire Department Birthday Parades

From Around The State, News

On the first of April, the Knob Noster Fire Department (KNFD) found that due to the modified EMS responses for first responders in our area and because of the COVID-19 virus, that we were becoming disconnected from the citizens of our community.

So in observing what other departments across the nation were doing to stay connected with their communities but still practicing social distancing, KNFD decided that like our motto “Being There” states, we needed to be there for our community. We began birthday drive-bys throughout the city to brighten some of those little one’s days. We have also embarrassed a few 2020 seniors due to their parents asking them to be wished happy birthday at work. To date, KNFD has made ten birthday parades, including our very own Assistant Chief Ben Fundaburg.

KNFD would also like to thank Johnson County Ambulance Service for assisting with these birthday parades, their support is always appreciated. Hopefully, everyone is doing their part during these trying times by staying home whenever possible, washing your hands frequently, and practicing social distancing! Stay healthy and be safe!

Contest Rescheduled

Gary Berendzen, News

Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the 2020 Convention was rescheduled to July 10-12, 2020. The convention contest will be held Saturday, July 11 at 8:00 a.m. The contest committee would like to invite all teams to participate. All team members need to be members of the FFAM or auxiliary and you must be registered for the convention. All information can be found on ffam.org under contest.

To compete in the contest, you need to submit a registration and signed release form for each team. These forms can be found in this newsletter and online. The deadline to submit these forms is Wednesday, July 8, 2020. The contest registrations and signed release forms can be e-mailed or mailed to me at any time, no need to wait until the last minute. We need time to resolve membership issues and for the committee to get the brackets and competition evolutions setup.

We would like to invite all director and assistant directors that are not competing in the games and would like to help assist with the judging or other such duties are welcome. It takes a lot of people to keep things running in a timely manner. We will meet at 7:00 a.m. on the contest grounds Saturday morning.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time at 573-680-2452 or gberendzen@ccfpd.net or any contest committee member.

New Deputy Fire Chief

Clinton Fire Department, News

The Clinton Fire Department is pleased to announce that Lieutenant Matt Willings has been named Deputy Fire Chief of the Clinton Fire Department.

Matt Willings named
Deputy Fire Chief of
the Clinton Fire Department.

Deputy Chief Willings began his career with the Clinton Fire Department in February of 2006. Since that time, Chief Willings has worked his way through the ranks of the Clinton Fire Department serving for the last four years as a Lieutenant. Deputy Chief Willings holds several certifications from the Missouri Division of Fire Safety. Several of these pertain directly to his new position such as Fire Service Instructor II, Live Fire Instructor, Fire Investigator and he is currently in the process of obtaining his EMT National Registry.

Deputy Chief Willings is a long time resident of Clinton. He and his wife Melissa are parents of three sons, Wesley, a 2019 graduate of Clinton High School, currently attending State Fair Community College, Hunter, a Freshman at Clinton High School, and Owen, a second-grader at Henry Elementary. Chief Manuel and the Clinton Fire Department are excited about what the future holds for the CFD as Deputy Chief Willings steps into his new role.

Clinton Appoints New Fire Chief

Clinton Fire Department, News

Mayor Greg Lowe and the Clinton City Council are pleased to announce that Deputy Fire Chief Mark Manuel has been named Chief of the Clinton Fire Department (CFD).

Mark Manuel named
Chief of the Clinton Fire Department

Chief Manuel began his 27 years of service with the CFD as a volunteer firefighter in March 1993. He became a career firefighter in October 1995. Since that time, Chief Manuel has served in every position at the CFD. He was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief in October 2017, being named Interim Fire Chief in December 2019, upon the retirement of Chief Leo Huff.

As Deputy Fire Chief, one of the many responsibilities assumed by Manuel was the administration of the CFD training program. Under his leadership, the CFD recently attained full compliance with ISO training requirements, for the first time.

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