OAFC highlights

• The inaugural Beyond Helmets
  and Hoses leadership program for fire officers Friday night and Saturday
  with, among others, come-from-aways Jody Price, president of the New Brunswick Association
  of  Fire Chefs and Vince MacKenzie,
  president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Fire Services.
  (See Fire Fighting in Canada, May 2010.)

Vince MacKenzie (left) president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Fire Services, first vice-president of the Maritime Association of Fire Chiefs and a director with the CAFC, and Jody Price, president of the New Brunswick Association of Fire Chiefs and CAFC director, at the OAFC memorial service on Sunday.

• Billy Goldfeder Sunday
  morning – his presentation has evolved to include dozens of photos of
  grandson Henry (Henry with a fire truck, Henry in his fire truck bed,
  Henry playing with fire truck toys . . . you get the picture) but the safety
  message and the passion remain.

Billy Goldfeder’s shtick is entertaining but his message is clear: safety on the fire ground. His Ohio fire department sends five chiefs and 30 firefighters to all first alarms.

• Fire training at the Toronto Fire Academy Sunday afternoon with DC Dennis
  Carter, Capt. Bill Millar Jr. and a crew of very helpful and patient
  training staff along with retired Toronto deputy chief and chauffeur Terry
  Boyko.

Municipal counsellors from Moosonee, St. Clair, Cobourg and Stirling-Rawdown, and one editor/blogger (right), pay close attention to the vehicle extrication explanation during training Sunday at the Toronto Fire College.
Capt. Bill Millar adjusts SCBA mask for the civilians.
A little worse for wear (it was 23 degrees and extremely humid) after vehicle extrication and vehicle fire training, the smoke house and small-space challenges. Advertisement

• Lessons
  on leadership from Major General Lewis MacKenzie (retired) – a fellow Cape Bretoner,
  and one of many I met this week! – on Monday;
• The
  official unveiling of the Emergency Response Support Plan in partnership
  with Home Depot of Canada Inc.
• Happy
  vendors at the very busy trade show Monday afternoon.
• The
  Simcoe County Fire Chiefs in their matching attire.

Fire officers from Simcoe County with the new Dependable-built rescue-command truck for Wasaga Beach.

• On
  Tuesday, Vickie Pritchett and Shane Roy from Tennessee
  (and I thought the Cape Breton
  accent was something!) explaining how to get councils and builders to buy
  into residential sprinklers;
• Ontario
  Fire Marshal Pat Burke revealing a long-awaited new company officer
  training program to much applause.
• FEMA/FEMSA
  governmental affairs committee reps John Granby and Steve Lawrence
  explaining the importance of lobbying – er, advocacy – for the fire
  service – in other words, how to get money from Ottawa!
• Circus
  night Tuesday. See below. ‘Nuff said.

Presidential behaviour? New OAFC president Tim Beckett finds out what it’s like to be in the spotlight.

• The
  presentation of the AJ Stone Memorial Award to a surprised and emotional Kingston
  Chief Harold Tulk.

Kingston Fire Chief Harold Tulk accepts the AJ Stone Memorial Award for outstanding service from Bill Stone while Richard Boyes looks on.
Kingston Fire Chief Harold Tulk said he was humbled and honoured to receive the AJ Stone Memorial Award at the OAFC banquet Wednesday night.

• The
  passing of the torch Wednesday night to new OAFC president (and Fire
  Fighting in Canada
  columnist) Tim Beckett from Richard Boyes.

–

Clearly other things have been
going on the fire service since last Friday when we kicked off the OAFC with
our annual Fire Fighting in Canada
golf tournament but it’s tough to keep track while sequestered in a
hotel/conference centre.

Chief among other fire-related
news stories of late is Michael Ignatieff’s announcement on Tuesday that a
Liberal government would introduce a $3,000 refundable tax credit for volunteer
firefighters across the country.

Clearly the Liberals were listening
during the CAFC’s government relations week in Ottawa
in March.

Ignatieff said the $3,000
refundable tax credit will apply to all volunteer firefighters who log a
minimum of 200 hours of volunteer service during the tax year. The plan has a
value of about $450 per volunteer firefighter and will cost a federal government
about $40 million annually.

When’s the election?