November/December 2017

Fire ChieFM I N N E S O T A

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Our Mission: The mission of the Minnesota Fire Chief magazine is to create a stronger, more effective Minnesota fire service by engaging leaders with the best training, education and professional development opportunities available.

PublisherMinnesota State Fire Chiefs Association2704 Mounds View Blvd., • Moundsview, MN 55112800•743•0911

Editor-in-ChiefJena Noah97 Bergen Street • Kenyon, MN 55946 877•509•0911 (office) • 507•323•5939 (cell)msfcaeditor@frontier.com

Advertising Sales RepresentativesJena Noah507•323•5939 • msfcaeditor@frontier.comMaddison Zikmund763•498•1824 • msfcasales@gmail.comTom Brace651•603•8827 • trbrace@comcast.net

Communications and Policy CommitteeTim Butler, Chairman, St. PaulBob Brown, ChisholmJeff Anderson, OakdaleJohn Berg, FridleyBruce West, State Fire MarshalTim Farmer, Coon Rapids (retired)Theresa & Nyle Zikmund, Executive DirectorsJena Noah, Editor - MN Fire Chief Magazine

2. President’s message by T. John Cunningham, MSFCA President

6. The last Sunday in September by Kenneth T. Prillaman, President, Minnesota Fire Service Foundation

7. Alan Brunacini: Fire service icon remembered by John Vance, Fire Chief, Minnetonka Fire Department

9. How does the SFMD help you? Let us count the ways by Mona Dohman, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Public Safety

10.MSFCA Rochester conference a success! by Don Johnson, MSFCA Conference Committee Chair

11. Ten keys to investing your distribution and planning for successful retirement by John Rudi, Parr McKnight, CFP, Associate Vice President - Investments

12.Small solutions, big results by Wayde Kirvida, Custom Fire Apparatus

14.New station helps ‘right size’ large suburb’s volunteer department Submitted by The Wallace Group

16. The EMSRB eLicense portal by Matt Simpson, Assistant Fire Chief, Saint Paul Fire Department

17. Thank you to our MSFCA conference sponsors

18.Cancer in the fire service by Mike Dobesh, Assistant Fire Chief, City of Richfield

19.Hurricane Irma - Minnesota response community responds to Florida to assist by Scott Gerber, Excelsior Fire District, Fire Chief, IMT Member, MSFCA Emergency Management Committee Chair

20.Avoiding pitfalls - Protecting special fund assets by Rebecca Otto, State Auditor

22. Practical and sustainable solutions for railway safety by John Piper, Fire Chief, Coon Rapids Fire Department

24. Get it together - and get out! by Tim Farmer, Instructor, Fire Instruction Rescue Education

28. MSFCA conference photos

30. 2017 MSFCA award recipients

33.Winter training: Taking advantage of Mother Nature by Steve Flaherty, Executive Director, MBFTE

34.On my soapbox by Ken Prillaman, Fire Chief & Emergency Management Director, Brooklyn Park Fire Department

38.Means of egress 101: Exit and exit access doors by Forrest Williams, Supervisor, Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division

40. Transformational leadership by Bruce West, Minnesota State Fire Marshal

41.Are you ready? by David Schliek, Chairman, Minnesota Fire Service Certification Board

43.Postal Report

43.Agent transition update . . .

44.Fire Prevention ideas by Kathi Osmonson, Youth Firesetting Intervention Coordinator, Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division

46.That’s a wrap: Conference report, sponsor recognition and farewell by Nyle & Theresa Zikmund, Fire Services Consulting, Agents for the MSFCA

48. Fire in Minnesota 2016 highlights Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division

Fire ChieFM I N N E S O T A

November/December 2017 Vol. 54, No. 2

Sunday, October 8 the Dayton Fire Department hosted an open house demonstration/training at the fire station. Cus-tomized Fire Rescue Training Inc. provided a car fire prop and firefighters in training participated in four rotations demonstrating car fire response. Trainees were given the debriefings and an opportunity to correct themselves at the next rotation. Firefighters in the photo are Kirk Maroushek, Travis Henderson and Jesse Altenveg.Photo submitted by: Sharon Bogle, Firefighter, Dayton Fire Department.

IN THIS ISSUE

About the cover

MiNNESOTA FirE ChiEF (USPS #351600) Copyright © 2016 is published by-monthly by Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association; Business, Accounting and Circulation Offices: 2704 Mounds View Blvd., Mounds View, MN 55112-4366. Periodicals postage paid St. Paul, MN and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send ad-dress changes to Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association 2704 Mounds View Blvd., Mounds View, MN 55112-4366.SUBSCRIPTION RATES: In United States, $25/per year for a single subscription, $20/per year for ten or more subscriptions; Canadian and foreign, $30/per yearEDiTOriAL information and inquiries can be sent to the Editor-in-Chief at 97 Bergen Street • Kenyon, MN 55946. Contact the Editor-in-Chief for a schedule of publication deadlines. Periodicals postage paid in St. Paul, MN 55108 and additional mailing offices.OFFICE OF PUBLICATION: Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association • 2704 Mounds View Blvd. • Moundsview, MN 55112.SUBSCRIBERS: Send change of address notice to Executive Direc-tor, Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association • 2704 Mounds View Blvd.• Moundsview, MN 55112. Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the Editor-in-Chief or the publisher. The Minnesota Fire Chief staff is not responsible for claims made by our advertisers.

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Photo credit: Thank you to Tom Simmons from Aerial Horizons for the aerial photos of the vendor area used in the photo collage and Melody Thoennes for the photos from the Partners Luncheon/Winery tour.

2 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

T. John Cunningham Office: 763-635-1105 • Cell: 763-286-1288 • email: jcunningham@elkrivermn.gov

President’s message

I am honored to be writing this column as the association’s incoming President. I take great pride in this position and I am extremely excited for the future of the MSFCA, an ex-ceptional organization that is made up of incredible fire ser-vice leaders throughout the state. I remain steadfast to our mission and committed to working with and for all Min-nesota firefighters that courageously answer the call each and every day.

Our association is strong and thriving; our members contin-ue to take us to new heights and work tirelessly to advocate for the Minnesota fire service. The annual conference in Rochester brought us internationally renowned instructors,

over 125 vendors, and provided an opportunity for network-ing among 487 attendees. Rochester delivered on its promise on providing first-class service.

The awards banquet recognized the contributions and achievements of our members, including award recipients: President’s leadership awards: Mark Rosenblum (MSFDA), Chris Parsons (MPFF) and John Wolff (MSFCA Finance Chair); Service awards: Tim Butler (MSFCA Vice Presi-dent), Shannon Ryder (LODD Representative and Market-ing Committee), Marc Klaith (MSFCA Board Member), Jay Wood (MSFCA Board Member), John Wolff (MSFCA Fi-nance Committee), Gary Conrath (MSFCA Board Member),

Chuck Karl (MSFCA Board Member) and Mark Marcy (MSFCA Board Member). Mag-azine awards: Cover of the Year, Chad Ram-ler, Avon Fire Department; Article of the Year, Ken Prillaman; Public Fire Education Award - Public Educator of the Year: Lt. Eva Hansen, St. Louis Park Fire Department.;Public Fire Education Award – Community Partner: Lake Minnetonka Communications Commission: Chris Vogt, Fawn Vogt, Tyler Rabe and Erin Rabe; Officer of the Year Award – Department serving a population of less than 10,000: Dave Kicker, Menahga Fire Department; Officer of the Year Award – Department serving a popu-lation of more than 10,000: Judy Thill, Inver Grove Heights Fire Department; Life Mem-bers: Gary Sigfrinius, Tim Vadnais, Shannon Ryder and Gary Conrath. Years of Service Pins, please see page 30.

To conclude the conference, Bobby Halton, editor-in-chief of Fire Engineering magazine, delivered a powerful presentation at the sym-posium on Saturday morning. His passion for the fire service is palpable; his message of duty, courage, and country of the American Firefighter is inspiring to new and experienced officers alike.

As Chief (ret.) Halton emphasized, our people are the most important part of our depart-(President’s message continued on page 36)

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6 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

By Kenneth T. Prillaman, President Minnesota Fire Service Foundation

The last Sunday in September

Unless someone points it out to you, you might miss the hand scrawled date of 1987 in the base of Doug Freeman’s statue that sits in the center of our Memorial. 1987. Thirty years ago, using a Minneapolis firefighter and his daughter, Doug created an image of a firefighter rescuing a small child that has, for so many of us, come to be a very sacred piece of art.

I have often wondered if those who commissioned the statute ever envi-sioned that it would have the position of honor it enjoys today among the various memorials on the Capitol grounds. Like many causes, this one produced a lot of anxiety and pain over the years as various individuals and organizations attempted to find a more honorable place than the airport, particularly since its rather unceremonious relegation to baggage claim.

As we raised money to move the statue, I often joked that baggage claim would be the perfect spot for it if it was the Fallen Baggage Handler Me-morial, but it wasn’t. It was the symbol that was intended to honor all of Minnesota’s fallen firefighters and it needed a new home.

That was just five years ago and this September marked our sixth memo-rial ceremony. If you missed this year’s event, it was another successful ceremony made possible by the nearly 100 volunteers that contribute their time and talent to honor the families and the departments of our fallen heroes and nearly 300 firefighters from across the state who participated in the event.

With the addition of eight newly discovered line-of-duty deaths, the old-est dating back to 1893, the total number of Minnesota firefighters who have lost their life in the line of duty now stands at 225. As the Master of Ceremonies noted, “We long for the day that we stop inscribing names into columns of steel, but know that by doing so we bring honor to those who served so well and closure to families whose loved one is gone for-ever.”

In the tradition of the memorial, this year’s event was attended by many of our state’s leaders, including Governor Mark Dayton. Governor Dayton has made our event a priority in his schedule every year and again joined us to honor the families who had gathered on the lawn.

We have also developed a reputation of having nationally recognized fire service leaders join us and many others say that they are hopeful that they too might be extended an invitation. When Dr. Denis Onieal agreed to come and speak, he was serving as the Acting Administrator of the US Fire Administration. And in the wake of hurricanes that impacted Texas, Florida and the East Coast, he kept his commitment by being with us for the weekend.

But strip away the pomp and circumstance, the speakers, the musicians and dignitaries and what always impresses me are the firefighters and fire (The last Sunday in September continued on page 36)

On October 15, 2017 the fire service lost an extraordinary mentor, distinguished leader and friend to many, Chief Alan Brunacini. Chief Brunacini’ s contributions in Minnesota and around the world have made an impact on the fire service from leadership and management to service delivery.

Bruno, as he preferred to be called, joined the Phoenix Fire Department in 1958; he served in every sworn position in the Phoenix Fire Department prior to being promoted to fire chief in 1978. He spent an[JV1][GE2] unprecedented 28 years as chief. He was a graduate of the Fire Protection Technology program at Oklahoma State University and became one of the first college educated fire officers in the Phoenix Fire Department. He went on to get a Masters of Public Administration from Arizona State University. He was a past chairman of the Board of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the first chairman and developer of the NFPA Fire Service Occupational Safety Committee (or as many know it NFPA 1500). He was also the first Chairman of the NFPA Career Fire Service Career Organization and Deployment Committee (NFPA Standard 1710).

Bruno left Phoenix Fire Department in 2006, but he never really retired. He spent a lot of time traveling the country, spreading the word about customer service, incident command, and lead-ership. An example of his work is the Blue Card Incident Com-mand certification course which Bruno spearheaded along with his sons Nick and John.

Bruno was passionate about leadership and fire ground com-mand, writing the often referred to book on fire ground oper-ations, Fire Command. The book is used not only throughout the US, but has been translated into several languages and used throughout the world. Bruno’s mission was to teach the fire service that commanding fires should involve a standard set of behaviors for a standard set of outcomes based on fire ground critical factors. He talked about risk management before those words were well-known in the fire service, and helped firefight-ers understand that a simple approach to fire ground operations made for more successful and humane outcomes.

Alan’s other passions were organizational leadership and cus-tomer service. He taught us that if we treat our firefighters well, they will in turn treat “Mrs. Smith” well. His moniker, “Be Nice” is a simple yet effective reminder that if we treat others well, a lot of other problems get solved. Applying the term customer service to the delivery of our services was a new concept 30 years ago and his work helped us propel our avocation to an all new prominence in the communities that we serve.

Alan was never a person seeking fame and glory. He was just Bruno, a guy who talked the talk and walked the walk about how we could do better in the fire service. Many fire service leaders consider themselves blessed to have shared time talking with Bruno. Walking around with him at FDIC was like being with a rock star. People would stop and take pictures with him and have him sign books. He was completely unaffected by this. He never even mentioned it. If his popularity and following was brought up, he bristled at it.

He had a gift at conducting meetings, being a good listener and was a voracious note taker. It was not unusual for him to pull a buck slip out of his pocket and take notes, during dinner, at a class or during a conversation. This habit is what fueled him as a prolific author. He asked questions and then really listened to the answers.

We would often refer to him as the “Yoda of the Fire Service” because of the wisdom he imparted and the unmatched experiences and perspectives that were truly incredible. “Why complicate an uncomplicated process,” he would say. This simple wisdom would often get dispensed when it was needed most.

Bruno leaves behind his wife Rita, children Nick, John, and Candy (all of whom also served as Phoenix Firefighters), sev-eral grandchildren, his beloved dogs, Engine 1 and a nation of firefighters who are thankful for the impact that he made on our service and the lives of others. We will keep being nice chief – thank you for your leadership and for making the fire service safer and better for all of us. Excerpt from “Timeless Tactical Truths” by Alan Brunacini:

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO BRUNO• Show up – work hard – get the job done• Take care of Mrs. Smith• Don’t hurt the troops• Trust is everything• You own your attitude / reaction• Talk less/listen more…shut up unless you can improve

the silence• Never stop learning (from everyone)• Embrace change / respect the past• Egos eat brains• Be honest…keep it simple• If you don’t know….ask• Learn to take “yes” as an answer• Be careful of what you take seriously• Don’t snivel…whiners play alone• Be tough – get through it, then get over it (unload the

rocks)• Done is better than perfect• Play your position• Don’t do anything that feels good when you’re mad• Make up your own mind…you decide what makes you

happy• Give it away and it comes back bigger• Pick your heroes carefully• Don’t rat out your homies – fix it inside• Nobody makes it alone – don’t wreck your support

system• Lighten up, let go…relax• ….be happy

Alan Brunacini: Fire Service Icon RememberedBy John Vance, Fire Chief, Minnetonka Fire Department, on behalf of the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association

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November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 9

Commissioner’s olumn

Ramona Dohman, Minnesota Department of Public Safety

How does the SFMD help you? Let us count the ways

There are a lot of difficult jobs out there, but that of fire chief has to be near the top of the list. Your work con-sists of detailed logistics (both technical and manage-rial) punctuated by adrenaline-soaked bursts of activity. You need to be ready for anything at any time, and you shouldn’t have to do it alone.

Fortunately, that’s what the Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division (SFMD) is here for. They’re proud to be able to support you and your staff in big and small ways, so that you and your team can go about the business of saving lives and property. I thought you might be interested in some numbers that reflect the many ways in which the SFMD has your back.

Take fire investigations, for example. Local fire depart-ments ask for SFMD assistance on fire investigation cases an average of 429 times per year. Of course, some of those cases turn out to be arson. Over the past three years, 50 percent of the arson cases SFMD helped prosecute re-sulted in convictions.

The SFMD is here to help with reporting, too. In fact, 77 percent of Minnesota’s fire departments use the fire incident reporting system that SFMD provides, and we’re the first state in the nation to provide it to local fire de-partments free of charge. The information collected helps us learn more about all aspects of fire – and the more we learn, the better able we are to prevent it.

While we’re on the topic of learning, it’s interesting to note how much free training the SFMD provided to local fire departments this past fiscal year. To gain more skill in fire inspections, fire investigations, fire and life safe-ty education, and fire protection systems, 839 students throughout Minnesota attended 40 classes. Educators gave 11,029 student contact hours and earned an average student evaluation rating of 4.4 out of 5.

The SFMD also has your back when it comes to special-ized inspection services at sites such as health care facili-

ties, schools, hotels, and day cares. Together, you and the SFMD have earned Minnesota an excellent reputation on the national stage by demonstrating reductions in losses at the inspected properties. Take a look at these numbers: • The rate of hotel fires in Minnesota (fires per 1,000 hotels) is less than half the national fire rate. • Minnesota’s average hotel fire loss is 15 percent less than the national average. • The rate of school fires in Minnesota (fires per 1,000 schools) is 60 percent less than the national fire rate. • Minnesota’s average school fire loss is 70 percent less than before the school inspection program and 81 percent less than the national average.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the many ways the SFMD is here to help you and your staff. While you’re out there putting yourselves in harm’s way every day to save lives and property, the SFMD provides you with the tools and support your fire department needs to function efficiently and effectively so that your efforts aren’t in vain. Thank you for working together to keep Minnesotans safe.

Upcoming Conference Dates:2018 Fire Officers School - Alexandria

February 9-11

2018 Fire Officers School - Duluth March 16-18

10 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

By Don Johnson, MSFCA Conference Committee Chair

MSFCA rochester conference a success!

Thanks to all of those that made the trip to Rochester. If you weren’t here, you should have been. With 487 registered attendees, we exceeded the all time attendance record for Rochester. The renovations to the civic center are awesome and provided such a great atmosphere for the conference. The new classrooms and technology also added to the expe-rience. The major change to Thursday’s schedule drew sev-eral positive comments from vendors and attendees. We did miss the mark a bit on advertising the industry education tracks and roundtable discussions that occurred on Thursday afternoon. The committee will focus on some strategies to better communicate and advertise those sessions for future conferences.

Although the vendor space is relatively tight in Rochester, the arrangement was well organized and provided a positive flow. The aerial apparatus parked outside allowed for ac-tive demonstrations on a warm fall day. What a great idea that was. A job well done by Chief Madison Zikmund on working with vendors on the set up. Thanks to many of our sponsors and several of the vendors for their support of the MSFCA conference. Several aspects of this conference would not be possible without the continued support of the vendors that attend. Thank you to our Diamond Spon-sors: General Safety, Emergency Response Solutions, Cus-tom Fire/Sutphen, Emergency Apparatus Maintenance, Fire Safety USA and MacQueen Emergency Group. Platinum Sponsor: Alex Air Apparatus. Gold Sponsors: Great Plains Fire, Linstrom Restoration, Parr McKnight Wealth Manage-ment and Clarey’s Safety Equipment. A complete list of all of our sponsors can be found on page 42 in this issue.

Hats off to the educations committee members and all the presenters for MSFCA 2017. Friday sessions were a great representation of the primary purpose of this conference; to provide quality education to Minnesota’s fire service profes-sionals. The wrap up symposium on Saturday was a great way to close out MSFCA 2017 with Chief Halton and his views on the role of command. As always, Bobby’s message is driven home by his experience and passion for the fire service.

The memorial service included a special tribute to the late Chief Alan Brunacini by Ret. Fire Chief Crawford Weistling. We also recognized 14 officers that had passed during the service. This is always a meaningful and appreciated tribute to the families that attend. Chief Andrew Heger from Vic-

toria, assisted by Ret. Fire Chief Prillaman and other staff from the Victoria Fire, coordinated this year. The MN Pipe and Band, along with the State Fire Marshal’s Honor Guard never disappoint. Congratulations to all of the award recipients this year. Spe-cial honor to Chief Judy Thill and Chief David Kicker on their awards for Fire Officer of the year. The awards ban-quet closed out with a presentation of a ceremonial gavel from outgoing President Chief Esbensen to our new Presi-dent Chief John Cunningham of Elk River. Good luck to President Cunningham and Vice President Tom Miller of Pine City as they begin their terms with the closing of the banquet. In the coming days all vendors and attendees will receive surveys about this year’s conference. These surveys are ex-tremely important to the committees that coordinate all as-pects of your conference experience. Please consider taking a bit of time to fill them out. The conference and education committees will be convening very soon to debrief MSFCA 2017 and begin the planning for MFSCA 2018 scheduled for St. Paul. Special thanks to Nyle and Theresa Zikmund and all the FSC staff that work so hard in advance of the conference to make sure every detail is in place. I traveled to Rochester with Nyle and Theresa well over a year ago to meet with the conference planning team in Rochester. There is a sig-nificant time commitment, and several details, that go into planning a conference. Both have worked hard to ensure your experience was an enjoyable one. Special thanks to the members of the conference committee for their support of the conference as well.

View our MSFCA E-Newsletter online for free at

msfca.org > publications > E-Newsletter

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 11

(Keys to investing continued on page 36)

By John Rudi, Parr McKnight, CFP, Associate Vice President - Investments

Ten keys to investing your distribution and planning for successful retirementBack in February of 2014, my partner, Brian McKnight, Managing Director – Investments, wrote an article entitled, “Distributions Done Right.” It described the correct strategy for distributing retirement funds from a fire department’s re-lief association pension. If you’d like to read it, it is available on our website at www.parrmcknightwmg.com.

This article follows up with several key ideas to keep in mind when investing your distribution and planning your retire-ment. It also will answer a handful of critical questions like, “Is it smart to take some money out right away to pay down debt?” “What about distributing some money to fund a ma-jor purchase like a house or new truck?”

Key #1: Use your fire department pension to provide a smooth stream of supplemental income during retirement. This is the best way to use your distribution for a number of reasons:

1. Investment Growth: Deferring distributions allows the retirement assets to grow and compound if properly invested (we’ll get to that below). 2. Tax Efficiency: Deferring distributions defers taxation on the gains and income generated by the investments. 3. For most, it’s likely that distributions in retirement will be taxed at a lower rate than in working years: This is because taxable income in retirement, due to no longer having a paycheck, is generally lower than in working years. Having lower income means being in a lower tax bracket and keeping more of your retirement distributions.

Key #2: Don’t spend your distribution on a new truck! For the same reasons listed above, we advise retiring fire-fighters in their 50s to not spend their distribution, but rather, to invest it. Bottom-line: It’s not a new truck fund, it’s a retirement fund!

Key #3: Create a plan before you invest. This leads us to

the next question, which is how to invest one’s retirement funds. The answer, drum roll please, is it depends. It depends on your goals regarding 1) when to retire, 2) the lifestyle you’d like to have in retirement, 3) your current savings lev-els, as well as 4) how comfortable you are with investing in the market.

Key #4: Do not go it alone – get help! To help a retiree account for all of these factors in generating the ideal in-vestment strategy, we recommend seeking guidance from a qualified financial advisor. A financial advisor’s job is to help clarify your goals and values, craft a plan to meet them, and to invest your funds in a way that gives you the best odds of reaching your objectives with the least amount of risk.

Key #5: Invest in a portfolio that is diversified, moni-tored, and rebalanced annually. A good investment plan will lead to various portfolios with a handful of qualities in common: 1. They are diversified. This means having a balanced allocation of stocks, bonds and cash. 2. They are monitored and rebalanced at least annually. It’s a good idea to check your statement a few times each year. It’s a bad idea to check it online every day. 3. The overall investment strategy should evolve with a retiree over time as priorities and life circumstances change.

Key #6: Avoid early distributions to pay down debt. This leads us to another question; does it make sense to take a dis-tribution to pay down debt? There is no hard-and-fast rule or answer to this question. Generally, the answer we come to during conversations with clients is “no.” Retirement ac-counts are unlike other assets because there are laws in place that protect them from creditors, meaning that retirement accounts can often be preserved through bankruptcy in dire circumstances. Also, the costs of withdrawing funds can of-ten lead to other problems if proper planning is not done to handle the additional taxes due on the distribution.

The real issue with using a distribution to pay down debt is

12 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

By Wayde Kirvida, Custom Fire Apparatus, Inc.

Small solution, big results

As I considered a topic for this article I reached out to some fire service members for suggestions. I was encouraged to report on mini pumpers as a compelling design for fire de-partments to consider. And, while it may read with some bias, this presentation is in no way meant to influence your attitudes toward such apparatus or decry the stated alterna-tives. Furthermore, the product of focus is not proprietary to any specific manufacturer.

For those of you watching industry trends, you may have noticed the resurgence of mini pumpers. Popular over three decades ago, when it was common for a fire truck to be overweight, this new breed of compact fire trucks come with greater capabilities. Whereas years ago, a mini pumper would consist of a 1-ton GMC or Ford chassis with a small PTO pump and small equipment body and tank, today you can demand at least 750 gpm. Automatic transmissions, considered a luxury back then, are now the norm. And LED lighting, foam systems, hydraulic generators, and light towers are easily provided. The most obvious limitation of a mini pumper remains the GVW and, in most cases, the chassis selections. 250-300 gallon tanks are usually a rea-sonable ask in this category. Yet some will tout a 400-gal-lon tank with questionable merit (that is, if the NFPA and governed weights are held in high regard). And as General Motors readies their reemergence into the fray, Ford rules the roost with their F550, 650 and 750 line-up.

…you may have noticed the resurgence of mini pumpers.

A common refrain at FDIC, FRI, Fire Expo, and state con-ferences, are the old timer fire chiefs who walk the floor in disbelief of “how the trucks have grown so big”. After all, that guy probably cut his teeth on cab-over Internationals and Ford L8000’s. Nor did he ever think a quarter million dollars would ever equate to a “mini” anything. Fact is, many manufacturers are happy to build trucks with more modest proportions, but mission creep and committee dynamics can often result in a truck that fills the bay and fondles the over-head door opener. We are all capable of building a smaller truck, but it’s usually crickets when the question is asked.

“…buying a pair of half-million dollar rigs wasn’t in the cards…”

Recently, the Lino Lakes Fire Department has found success

in an old formula. Partly budget driven and largely in com-plete awareness of the capabilities of these down-sized rigs, Deputy Director Dan L’Allier is excited by the new mem-bers of his fleet. L’Allier explains, “We needed a truck for each of our stations and buying a pair of half-million dollar rigs wasn’t in the cards. And frankly, it wasn’t necessary. If you give a truck committee 500 grand, they’ll want to spend 550. So, it was important that we laid out the vision up front. And these rigs are doing everything we wanted and more.” He continues, “These trucks are impressive in their power output, pumping capacities, and overall drivability. And the capacity for gear is astounding.” L’Allier is down-right giddy when he shows off the amount of gear his truck will carry. “We haven’t missed a beat with storage capacity.”, he adds.

“…these rigs are doing everything we wanted and more.”

The economic downturn a decade ago is evidenced in Q1 2011 FAMA stats which acknowledged a 40% decline in new apparatus deliveries from the same period of 2008. That’s a drop of nearly 2000 units per year, industry wide. Many industry insiders declared a “new normal” for buying activity once the fire service learned to operate on dimin-ished resources. And perhaps the mini pumper is evidence of that trend.

Economic motivations aside, can this $250,000 rig do most of what a twice-as-dear traditional pumper provides? The Lino Lakes trucks have Class A foam systems, 1250 gpm pumps and 350 gallon tanks. In fact, they meet the NPFA 1901 Pumper standard. EXHIBIT A presents the impressive list of equipment carried on the Lino Lakes mini pumpers. Yet, while L’Allier is thrilled with such a design, he maintains that they aren’t right for everyone. “If I didn’t have a decent network of water supply, mutual aid, and a couple tankers, these trucks would be non-starters.”, he affirms. “If I didn’t have a decent network of water supply, mutual aid, and a couple tankers, these trucks would be non-starters.”

A recent (unscientific) survey of metro departments shows that most first-out engines carry 500-750 gallons of water. 

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 13

How much advantage does this extra 150-400 gallons pro-vide beyond a mini pumper?  I think we can all agree that most events do not rely on pumping capacity.  So, perhaps it’s ISO that is driving the tank sizes for these agencies.  NFPA has clearly weighed in with their position that a pumper need only carry 300 gallons and deliver 750 gpm.

Ultimately, the feasibility of such apparatus lies with the end user. What can you not do with this mini pumper? Will your firefighters accept a commercial cab? Putting the same pump/body package on a custom chassis certainly looks more

“firetrucky”, but that would add at least $100k to the cost and somewhat contradict the spirit of a “mini” pumper. And while many believe that air packs are leaving the crew area, you best not expect SCBA seating on these commer-cial cabs. There just isn’t the room for them. Will your firefighters approve of a chassis without such features? Frontal and side curtain air bags with roll over and impact protection have been standard on Spartan cabs for years, but are not available on these commercial cabs. That’s a topic that I won’t weigh in on (even though many FD’s have elected to delete the air bags from their custom chassis). EMS cabinets inside the crew area? Not usually. Front bumper

reels? Probably not. Front intake? Maybe a 2-1/2”. You can see where I’m going with this. There will be some limita-tions when building on one of these 19,500-26,000 lb. GVW chassis. And that’s exactly why Lino Lakes held their expecta-tions short of a traditional full-size pumper. And yet one can’t help but acknowledge that these trucks, which cost 50% less than a common custom pumper are delivering 80% of the value. Is that remaining 20% worth another 100% of cost? In Econ 101 we call this the law of diminishing returns.

…these trucks, which cost 50% of the cost of a very common custom pumper are delivering 80% of the value.

At the end of the day, Lino Lakes chose a model that fit their environment, satisfied their financiers, and exceeded their ex-pectations. For them, the mini pumper was the right option. And perhaps it can be for you.

Exhibit A, scan to visit equipment list

Truck is built on 26,000 lb. GVW Ford F650. Flying the requistie Black/Red livery

Photo illustrates L’Alliers excitement for gear toting capabilities.

14 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

Submitted by The Wallace Group

New station helps ‘right size’ large suburb’s volunteer department

With an eye-catching clock tower and special lighting to show respect for firefighters injured or killed in the line of duty, the newly built Eagan Fire Station No. 1 caps a 10-year process to consolidate operations for the Eagan Fire Depart-ment. Serving the west and south sections of the city, the five-bay building replaces two small outdated stations in this south suburban Twin Cities community of 67,000. The entire plan reduces six stations to three, adds some paid staff and utilizes the efficiencies of well-planned stations aided by technology, explains Eagan Fire Chief Mike Scott. The building and system are a solution to a decrease in vol-unteer firefighters, offer improved environmental elements and incorporate many useful features. Preparations began three to four years ahead of construction. The City of Eagan has a full-time crew of six and an addi-tional 90 paid-on-call firefighters. Scott said the key to the city operating efficiently is to maintain the volunteer force for as long as possible. The station is designed for both paid-on-call and full-time staffing.

Built to last for the next 50 years, the building has two ve-hicle apparatus areas, one for small units and one for the larger trucks. It is also outfitted with a wellness room donat-ed by the Eagan Lions Club, conference room, and, in the second story, sleeping rooms with a laundry, kitchen and a dayroom. The tower brings natural lighting into the kitchen and lounge areas. The emphasis was on function, starting with the location. The firm and city examined several locations in the nearly fully-developed city and, with few alternatives, approached a landowner who was involved in the first phase of a senior housing project. Could the city purchase four acres? The owner was con-vinced it would be a good partnership, and was delighted to have the fire station as a neighbor. This premise was validated when fire department staff met with residents of the senior housing facility, their new neigh-bors. The only request was to plant milkweed in the buffer area between the station and the senior complex to attract butterflies. These would not interfere with quick emergency response times of mere minutes. A path and benches were

Eagan Fire Station No. 1 features clock

tower, improved environmental safety and procedures, and LED lights forming “Thin Red Lines”

respecting injured or lost crew

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 15

installed so neighbors could safely view outside trainings at the station, said Hutson. The double-deep design is built into a hill that accounts for the slope of the site and leaves extra space where firefighters can practice tearing apart ve-hicles. The bays measure 24-feet in height and range from 70 to 90 feet in length. Seniors, firefighters and the community also may notice some unique red lighting specially used to show respect for firefighters injured or killed in the line of duty. Thin red stripes of outside LED lights represent the “Thin Red Line” known by firefighters as a symbol of respect. Red LED lights are also lit on the top of the center tower in the evening hours, and red lines can be found on the kitchen backsplash, restrooms, and on the podium in the training room. Drawing attention from the street is a large, curved concrete sign that faces the intersection of Blackhawk and Diffley roads, and a plaza. Arched apparatus door openings and full glass overhead doors are coupled with large clerestory win-dows on the sides of the bays. “At night, it allows some view inside the fire station, for the public to see the equipment sitting there and ready to go,” said Hutson a principal archi-tect. The exterior building materials they see were chosen to match other municipal buildings in the city.

Access to the building is to the side, while the main flow for fire apparatus equipment rolls directly to the street, which is close to a nearby freeway. The setup for the apparatus flow offers a clear separation between it, with painted strips and signage. On a corner, the station can trigger emergency Opticom signals on the streetlight system at the intersection. Architects received feedback from the department that the flow of the space, how it fits together, allows firefighters to get to the areas they need in the correct order. Adjoining the bays holding smaller equipment is a feature door with a steel checker plate at the bottom where firefighters can perform ladder rescue trainings.

Reducing cancer risks for firefightersThe building design also responded to growing concerns for cancer among firefighters. Several design elements fol-lowed, one focused on cleaning clothing and equipment and, the second, on reduction of cancer-causing airborne

particles in the building. A separate alcove allows for hosing and drying of water res-cue equipment, with a front-loading washer and dryer in the adjoining room for firefighter clothing. Personal cloth-ing and linens are washed and dried on the upper floor in separate units for the bunk area. Front loaders spin faster to remove water for quicker drying. Large equipment items are placed on drying hooks to drip and dry and a cabinet dryer gets larger pieces dried in three hours. The latest clothing and firefighting gear designs, coupled with cleaning proce-dures, are more focused on removing harmful chemicals. An emerging trend in fire stations is to use large ceiling fans in each bay to improve air circulation for faster drying and to reduce the impact of summer heat. The 14-foot diameter units installed in each bay area quietly move the air around all apparatus. Special care was also provided in the HVAC design to create negative air pressures in the turn-out gear area where residual contaminants are exhausted to the out-side. This reduces odors and the negative health impacts of airborne particles. These air control steps are becoming more common in buildings where contaminants are a con-cern, explains Hutson. The new station also incorporates a glass encased memorial for Eagan Fire Lt. Roy Prudencio, who died in 2010 from cancer. His locker is open and enclosed in glass so all can see his badge, personal equipment and mementos honoring his contributions to the unit. In sporting honor of the Minnesota Vikings headquarters move to Eagan, the large ceiling fans and metal tubing for racks and lockers are purple and yellow. And, a nearby fire hydrant also displays a purple coating for good measure. Epoxy paints and finished floors, stainless steel countertops, and burnished concrete block walls are designed for easy cleaning and durability. Energy efficiency is found throughout the station, from the LED lights to heated floors that assist with drying. Technol-ogy also shows up in useful places. A computer screen above the turn-out area shows firefighters the location and specific elements of the emergency call as they are getting ready. And, a software simulation program is used for training

about how a fire would engulf a particular structure. Found under a stove hood painted with a Station No. 1 logo, Cambria quartz kitchen counters are de-signed for heavy use by crews, are durable and easy to clean. A meeting room is used to share informa-tion and provide updates. On the wall, staff and vol-unteers can view Eagan Fire Department history. A total of six dorm rooms feature overhead lights that come on slowly when pagers go off, and floor lights through the hall. The setup allows for expansion if the department goes to a three-shift duty crew ar-rangement.

16 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

(EMSRB continued on page 37)

The EMSRB eLicense portalBy Matt Simpson, Assistant Fire Chief, St. Paul Fire Department

As the fire chief representative to the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board (EMSRB), please know that over these past 14 months I have heard of the challenges—and even experienced some of the same pain—as we all lan-guished through a return (or perhaps more appropriately referred to as a relapse) to a “paper and pencil” application process that was quite popular in the 1970s. Whether you are an EMR, EMT, AEMT, Paramedic, or Community Paramedic, there will come a time in the future that you will be in need of recertifying your current credential and will be thankful for what has arrived at the EMSRB. Nevertheless, with my responsibilities as a representative of the Minnesota Fire Service, I felt it best to work with the Executive Director of the EMSRB to provide some background—albeit brief—on the new eLicense Portal system. The EMSRB has delivered on their promise to produce a new eLicense Portal; it went LIVE on September 12, 2017! With the Minnesota Fire Service covering the gamut of EMS cer-tifications, we will all likely be involved with some manner of certification and recertification in the future as it relates to our EMS credentials. With the assistance of the EMSRB’s Executive Director Tony Spector, this article will walk you through the history of how it is that we got to this system and hopefully answer a few of your burning questions that you have been wanting to ask about the new eLicense Portal.

Here we go…

The EMSRB’s previous electronic licensing system actually had been part of an ambitious effort by the State’s Informa-tion Technology office (MN.IT) to create a statewide enter-prise licensing system. MN.IT had partnered with a vendor to construct this innovation where everything from an oc-cupational license to a fishing license would be processed by this new solution—at least that was the plan. There were two state agencies established as the occupational license beta testers: The Minnesota Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (P.O.S.T.) and the EMSRB. It would be fair to say that this enterprise effort struggled, and for a variety of reasons, failed to obtain the necessary traction for success.

In 2015 MN.IT notified the EMSRB that the beta test was over. The contract with the vendor was ending, the system was being pulled, and the EMSRB would need to find a new solution. The EMSRB politely declined MN.IT’s offer to build a new system and instead explored other opportuni-ties, which necessitated the “paper and pencil” process until the new eLicense Portal was selected, built, tested, and ulti-mately launched on September 12, 2017.

The new eLicense Portal is an intuitive and firefighter-friend-ly system with a simplified interface that expedites the appli-cation process. It digitally processes applications for ambu-lance service licenses, education program renewals, medical response unit registration, and provider certification and registration. Other features being built include the ability to submit requests for volunteer education reimbursement and the Cooper/Sams Longevity Award. https://mn.gov/boards/emsrb/ambulanceservices/cooper-sams-volunteer-ambulance-award-program.jsp

As a threshold matter, anyone who has ever held an EMS credential (active or expired) had his/her data migrated. Accordingly, those “anyone’s” all have an “account” in the new Portal, and the starting point for the returning users is to find, or more accurately claim, their account and obtain their new user name. Simple steps to get your new user name: on the site’s home page select “Find Account.” The site will then ask for three fields: last name, date of birth, and social security number. If the user has ever held an EMS credential in Minnesota, then the new user name will be transmitted to the user’s email address on file.

Some users, however, have received a “user not found” pop-up message. This is because the new portal utilizes a triple-factor authentication in order to verify a user: last name, date of birth, and social security number. Unfortunately, date of birth was an optional field in the former system and not surprisingly, many of us chose not to provide our date of birth. These users enter the three factors, but the Portal only finds two matches. The result is the “user not found” message.

The EMSRB has been proactive in seeking dates of birth from those users and timely updating records, thereby creat-ing access. EMSRB staff has been fielding calls and updating email addresses, telephone numbers, and other information for users. As you can imagine, this is a process…thank you in advance for your patience when working on these updates. Once the user receives the new user name and creates a pass-word, the portal presents the user with the appropriate ap-plication, whether it be a renewal EMR, renewal EMT, or an upgrade application.

For new users, as soon as they create an account, they may select the application best suited for them, e.g., an initial EMR or EMT.

Other features of the new eLicense Portal: • It seamlessly communicates with the National

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 17

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18 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

By Mike Dobesh, Assistant Fire Chief, City of Richfield

Cancer in the fire service

(Cancer continued on page 37)

I had the opportunity to attend the Fire Service Occupa-tional Cancer Symposium last September in Phoenix, AZ. This conference brought the smartest and the most well re-searched to present to over 500 from the international fire service community. While there is no “causal link” to the job of firefighting and cancer, there is enough evidence to support that the job is, “possibly carcinogenic to humans”. I will say after two days of listening and learning, I had FOUR things that I need to share with the Minnesota fire service. We have a long way to go to protect firefighters, but by be-ing conscious of these things and doing what we can with sometimes very limited resources we can make big progress against occupational cancers.

1. Scientists will argue over the statistics, but what have you seen in your organization?

Researchers volley words like, “statistically significant, pro-spective, retrospective, and sample size” when describing re-search and why or why not they support the findings. This is something that is just starting in the fire service and the limited data that is available, at the very least, supports more research. Researchers are reluctant to say that any of the current findings are significant. The fire service needs to par-ticipate in the research when available because data drives decision making. Until there is enough research, you need to look at what your experience has been.

In the Richfield Fire Department we have buried two retir-ees in the last four years because of cancer. I also know a number of firefighters that are currently battling cancer at an age less than 60 years old. These cancers are usually seen in geriatric patients and NOT people late in their career or ear-ly in their retirement. Ask other chiefs why their retirees are dying or if any of their members are fighting cancer. While “not statistically significant” these are our brothers and sis-ters and their lives ARE significant. The fire service needs to reverse the cancer trends in the fire service.

2. Physical health is important.

How we take care of ourselves directly reflects our ability to meet the demands of the job and our ability to defend against challenges the job presents. Physical fitness is impor-tant and the idea of firefighters as industrial athletes needs to be part of training. The job of firefighting requires the equivalent work of running an 8.5 minute mile. Being ready to do the job, whenever we are called, is the personal respon-sibility of each firefighter. Physical fitness is not a passive undertaking. Begin slowly and work up to the 8.5 minute mile (or similar test). Diet and exercise are the only way to

improve physical health and it is a simple as eating “real/whole” foods (avoiding highly processed/refined foods) and an exercise program that resembles the work that we do on the fire ground.

Firefighters need to have annual medical physicals. If the department cannot afford to do them, there is a great hand-out that firefighters can bring to their personal physician (A Healthcare Providers Guide to Firefighter Physicals, from the IAFC and the Safety, Health, and Survival Sec-tion). This handout highlights some of the considerations that physicians should have when their patients are firefight-ers and potential screening tools promoting the best level of care. This handout can also be used by departments to start their wellness journey because it highlights the idea of the industrial athlete and how the body’s systems apply to the job of firefighting.

3. Toxic Soup.

When organic materials burn they can create PAHs, VOCs, and Aldehydes (like Formaldehyde) and when synthetic materials burn they may produce Acid Gasses (like HCN), Phthalates, PBDEs, Dioxins and Furans, and OPFRs. All of the listed compounds are known Class 1 carcinogens. In-dustrial hygienists have tried to quantify all the compounds in a structure fire, but it is not currently possible with the equipment that is available.

Scientists believe that the super-heated environment may al-low these known Class 1 carcinogens to chemically break down and re-form with other compounds to create com-pounds that are currently unknown. This toxic soup is va-porized and sneaks into pants, over our boots, infiltrates the hoods we wear, and when cooled, is encrusted on the gloves we use. The fire service needs to do a better job of recogniz-ing these hazards both during and after the fire.

4. DECON. Best Practices are available.

While the fire service waits for definitive guidance, there are a number of things that can be done to limit a firefighter’s exposure, • Wear SCBA “curb to curb”, preventing inhalation of potential carcinogens. • FMOs should be up hill and upwind of the fire event, out of the plume. • Structural turnouts need gross decontamination before doffing, removes over 80% of carcinogens.

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 19

By Scott Gerber, Fire Chief, Excelsior Fire District, IMT Member and MSFCA Emergency Management Chair

Hurricane Irma - Minnesota response community responds toFlorida to assist

In September of 2017 personnel from the State of Min-nesota All-Hazard Type 3 Incident Management Team (IMT) which is made up of multiple disciplines (fire, EMS, law enforcement, emergency managers, finance, etc.) along with other State and local emergency man-agement personnel deployed to Florida. The personnel were deployed to the state of Florida through the EMAC (Emergency Management Assistance Compact) to pro-vide IMT support. Specifically, the IMT was deployed to Monroe County (The Keys area of Florida). The EMAC system is coordinated by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety – Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

The team deployed on Friday, September 8th and returned to Minnesota on Friday, September 22nd. The team de-ployed was a team of 16 people representing emergency management, law enforcement, EMS, communications, and the fire service. The team traveled with eight cars and three trailers to Florida. Traveling with all IMT gear and the ability to be self-sustained as needed. During the travel, the team had challenges with equipment break-downs, fuel shortages, and lack of motel/hotel availabil-ity. We were fortunate to have “fire service connections” to allow us to sleep at fire stations in Birmingham, Ala-bama and in Orlando, Florida. The team was staged in Birmingham, Alabama to stay safely out of the path of Hurricane Irma and then subsequently assigned to Mon-roe County in Florida by the State of Florida EOC in Tallahassee, Florida.

When the team arrived in the Keys they were met with very primitive conditions – no water, no sanitation, no electricity, no communications systems, no fuel, and few housing/hotel availability. The team met with local lead-ership in the EOC and were given tasks. The mission of the team once they arrived in Monroe County was to assist in setting up and operating the Point of Distribu-tion (POD) sites in the Keys. The A POD was a specific location to hand out food, water, ice, and other miscel-laneous items to the community. The team worked with

local authorities and the National Guard to set up and operate seven specific sites in various areas up and down the Keys. During the time there, the IMT helped serve over 50,000 people.

Each deployment creates opportunities for us to strengthen our emergency management training and plans in our local areas. A few key lessons learned are:• Electricity – power continues to be a key factor for individual, organizational, and government operations.• Fuel – do you get your fuel from a gas station? What happens when there is no electricity and they cannot pump fuel? Do you have a contingency plan?• POD – “Point of Distribution” – do you have a plan with how this will work in your community?• Team chemistry is important. Flexibility in assignment and mission is critical to success. • Maps for outside agencies are critical – knowledge of land marks, areas and common terminology • Technology is important – computers, printers, cell phones, specific software packages are important. However, it is important to think about paper forms, resource and logistics tracking spreadsheets, etc. if/when technology options are not available • Documentation is critical for ongoing success. • Incident Action Plans are important – if developed it should be used by everyone.• Little things make a difference – help out wherever, including things like emptying trash.• Need to be prepared with at least three days of food and water for everyone throughout the day and night.• Important to have team members complete ICS 214a forms.• When we are “training and exercising” take the “injects” that seem way out in left field to be things that can happen (flat tires, no fuel, no communications, sick team member, etc.). • Communications – Social Media is a good tool to keep others up to date on team activity and to gather other situational intelligence.

20 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

Minnesota State Auditor, Rebecca Otto • www.auditor.state.mn.us

Avoiding pitfalls - Protecting special fund assets

The Office of the State Auditor (OSA) works with and over-sees volunteer fire relief associations and other units of local government. Recently we saw an instance in which a bank allowed unauthorized checks to be drawn on a local gov-ernment’s bank account even though the signatures on the checks were not those of the authorized or required signers on the account. In one case a check was not signed at all and was allowed to be drawn on a local government’s account.

A clause in the agreement made between the bank and the local government had required the local government to promptly report any unauthorized payments. In general, Minnesota law provides that once a bank sends the bank statement to a customer, the customer must notify the bank within a reasonable time of any unauthorized payments that the customer should have discovered. Despite the lack of proper signatures on the checks in the instance above, the bank did not replace the money it allowed to be drawn from the local government’s account.

Protecting Special Fund AssetsProtection of fund assets is a fundamental fiduciary duty of a relief association’s board of trustees. To prevent the un-fortunate loss of those assets, which can occur in a situation like the one described, a relief association needs to have basic internal controls in place such as the monthly review of bank statements and prompt reporting to its bank of any unusual activity discovered.

This type of unfortunate situation can be prevented by basic internal controls that all relief associations should have in place to protect their special fund assets. Another important control which is required by statute is that a relief association have multiple signatures on its checks -- the treasurer and another trustee. When more than one person is required to sign a check, each person is verifying that the relief associa-tion’s board of trustees has approved the check for payment.

In this article we’ll show why these and other important steps should be taken to protect a relief association’s pension assets from theft, misuse, or misappropriation.

Special Fund Signature RequirementsA volunteer fire relief association’s special fund holds its

restricted pension assets. Minnesota law requires multiple signatures on checks written by a relief association from the special fund as a protection of these assets.

Minnesota law requires special fund disbursements paid by check to be signed by the relief association treasurer and by at least one other trustee who is designated as a signer by the board of trustees. Electronic or wire funds transfers are also permitted if internal control policies and procedures are established and approved by the board of trustees that pro-vide for authentication of the electronic disbursements by the relief association treasurer and at least one other trustee.

Other Important Internal Control Measures The OSA encourages each relief association to consider the following additional internal control measures that can be taken to protect special fund assets:

1. Positive Pay – Many financial institutions offer this ser-vice. The account holder supplies a list of approved pay-ments. When checks are presented to the financial institu-tion for payment, the financial institution compares them to the list, and pays only the checks on the list.

2. Timely Reviews and Reconciliations – A relief associa-tion should review its monthly bank statements promptly upon receipt. If available, electronic access to account in-formation may be helpful in facilitating timely monitoring of financial accounts. The relief association should compare the items in the monthly bank statement with the claims authorized for payment by the relief association’s board of trustees. The board of trustees should report exceptions and unusual activity to the relief association’s financial institu-tion as soon as possible. Ideally, someone other than indi-viduals who sign relief association checks should perform the review.

3. Regular Review of the Relief Association’s Designated Depository – A relief association should, whenever feasible, choose a financial institution that will include the multiple signature requirement in the depository agreement. When that’s not feasible, the relief association should make their financial institution aware that relief association checks re-quire multiple signatures. In addition, the relief association

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should annually review its agreement with the financial institution which has been designated as the relief association’s depository. The review should take a look at the required timeline for reporting un-authorized payments. The review should include assistance from a representative of the financial institution as needed.

4. Insurance Coverage – A relief associa-tion can discuss fraud risks with its insur-ance carrier to determine what coverage is available to the relief association. Al-though this measure will not prevent a falsified check scheme, it may aid in the recovery of losses.

Additional InformationThe OSA has a Statement of Position (SOP) titled “The Importance of Inter-nal Controls” that provides additional information regarding internal controls and the types of control procedures that should be implemented. To find the SOP, go to the OSA website at www.auditor.state.mn.us. Once there, choose the “For Local Officials” menu option, then select “Statements of Position.” On that page, under the “Internal Controls” heading, choose “The Importance of In-ternal Controls”.

22 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

By John Piper, Fire Chief, Coon Rapids Fire Department

Practical and sustainable solutions for railway safety

Rail safety has come to the forefront as the transportation of crude oil has increased and other states in the nation have experienced rail tragedies. As First responders, our focus has been on transparency, training and preparedness. We have worked with the rail industry, Emergency Managers and Legislators to find solutions that are practical and sustain-able.

Our ongoing areas of focus are: • The benefits of training that have already been provided, and focus on next steps of training. • The importance of having response plans and sharing that information. • The continuation of support, coordination and planning collaboration with our EM partners. • Staying connected with policy makers. • State response team support. • Having a web-based format of ‘Ask Rail’ in addition to the phone app.  At a minimum, first response agencies who have rail running through their jurisdiction should have access to Ask Rail.

In 2016, in the interest of public safety, the fire service and the emergency managers worked together with Representa-tive Hornstein to draft legislation to secure the following information for emergency planning and response:1) Detailed and local railroad planning information that would assist emergency managers in assessing rail hazards,

finding local vulnerabilities, gauging response capabilities, and identifying specific gaps; 2) Railroad response capability disclosure; 3) Information provided to emergency managers under this legislation would be local, complete and clear, and without any redaction or restriction by a non-disclosure agreement; 4) Information that is on-scene response-oriented (i.e. iden-tity and quantity of HAZMAT carried aboard rail cars in-volved in an incident) would be provided in a format useable by responders at the scene in web based format as well as the Ask Rail phone app; 5) Ongoing railroad training including emergency respond-ers, emergency planners and railroad personnel.

While this language did not pass, a good working relation-ship was forged with key railroad representatives.

In 2017 we worked on improving the 2016 language but didn’t get a hearing. Our plan is to work on this in 2018 with the goal of getting a hearing, and hopefully passage of this important legislation.

Our partners at AMEM have adopted a comprehensive Rail Safety initiative that would have assisted all 6 regions of the state with Risk Analysis, technical assistance with Evacu-ation Planning, and exercises at a regional level every two

years, which was supported by the MS-FCA.  DPS/MN HSEM has yet to act on that request and there continues to be a balance in the account that the legislature has tried to use to add Haz Mat teams that were not requested. AMEM has tried for two legislative sessions to improve the 2014 legisla-tion requiring environmental response plans to be submitted to the MPCA and have introduced changes to the law to strengthen information sharing, preparedness, and exercises, but unfor-tunately the legislature has not imple-mented those changes.

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 23

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Get it together - and get out!

By Tim Farmer, Instructor, Customized Fire Rescue Training

During some recent acquired structure live fire training sessions we have had situations which have caused me to question how well firefighters are trained to respond to un-anticipated equipment problems, or other problems which threaten their safety.

A fairly common problem I have observed - and personally experienced – is the self-contained breathing apparatus’ face-mask connection blowing off and flapping about the fire-fighter. There is a simple fix once you catch the connection, push it back into the facemask. In my most recent incident the firefighter stood fully upright and dashed for the exit despite my attempt to keep him low and assist in fixing the problem. In fact, I was knocked backwards and landed on my back. Fortunately the exit door was about ten feet be-hind him and readily visible to the panicked firefighter and he exited and was quickly checked out by the medical team.

The actions taken by the firefighter is known as fight-or-flight response or acute stress response which is a physiologi-cal reaction in response to a perceived threat to survival. If he would have been further into the building, had limited room to maneuver such as a tight hallway, or had furniture or other obstructions he may not have gotten out. What could have been done better to prevent or react to this problem?

First of all we should make a habit of checking our equip-ment prior to entering an Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health (IDLH) environment which I believe this fire-fighter did. The connection to the facemask can stay attached until our movements cause a tug on the airline. I now pull outward on the airline connection to ensure that it is fully locked into the mask.

If the airline does disconnect, stay low (less heat and smoke), re-secure the connection, or have your partner as-sist you while you hold your breath. If this does not work or you have a different problem which requires that you leave the structure, follow your hoseline and trust your partner’s guidance. Do not rely on your memory to find your way out as your brain is reacting instinctively rather than process-ing information and making good decisions. Also, if you do have smoke in your facemask your eyes will be closed. You can follow a hoseline even when you cannot see, are cough-ing, or completely out of air, the hose will take you to an exit. Once you reach the outside assess your safety, give an accountability report to the incident commander, and seek medical attention if necessary. This trained response saved my life when a wire snagged on my turnout coat and I ran out of air before becoming untangled and crawling over 100 feet through thick black toxic smoke at a metal plating busi-ness fire. As I think about how this firefighter reacted, I won-der if we are doing an adequate job of preparing them for unanticipated events in an IDLH environment.

I began flying lessons at the age of 60, and learned through online, home study and hands-on lessons what to do if faced with an inflight emergency. While flying, my instructors frequently quizzed me on what I would do if the engine failed, and later in the training, would occasionally close the throttle to simulate an engine failure. The first thing to do is establish a best-glide airspeed which maximizes your time (as does staying low in a fire) to correct the problem, identify landing options, and prepare the aircraft. Almost every flight my instructors would either verbally quiz me, or actually put the engine at idle to observe how I reacted. My point is that after a while the emergency procedure became

an unconscious reaction – what we often call muscle memory. We need to do this for our firefighters so they clearly understand that the actions they take are critical to their surviv-al. They need to act automatically and correctly, and understand that hoselines are also lifelines that need to be followed if they are faced with an unanticipated emergency so they can get it together - and get out.

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Fire Chief Dennis Edwards - Duluth Fire Department

26 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

by Honeywell

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 27

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Public Fire Education Award

Lt. Eva HansenSt. Louis Park Fire Dept.

2017 MSFCA Awards

Board Service RecognitionsGary Conrath, Marc Klaith, Jay Wood & Chuck Karl. Not pictured: John Wolff, Shannon Ryder, Mark Marcy & Tim Butler

35 Year Pin

Mark O. Warner Not pictured: Jeff Anderson

Fire Officer of the Year Population under 10,000Dave Kicker - Menahga Fire Dept.Award sponsored by MacQueenEmergency GroupDan Gage, Dave Kicker & Brad White

Rodney Maetzold, CharlesJoos & Dale Specken

David Overland, Jay Wood, Troy Schmitt, Charles Karl, John Harnois, Rich Inman & John Crelly

Leadership Academy GraduatesBack Row: Todd Messer, AdamFischer, Bart Berven, Mark Spitzack, Adam Pogatschnik & Steve Flaherty. Front Row: Kurt Rogers, Scott Allyn, Trevor DeRaad, Jeffrey Allbee, Jeremy Schwartz & Troy Thompson

Public Fire Education Award - Community Partner Lake Minnetonka CommunicationsCommissionKellie Murphy-Ringate, Chris Vogt, Tyler Rabe & Scott Gerber

Fire Officer of the Year Population over 10,000Judy Thill - Inver Grove Heights Fire Dept.Award sponsored by MacQueen Emergency GroupDan Gage, Judy Thill & Brad White

Minnesota Fire ChiefMagazine - Article of the YearKen Prillaman

Minnesota Fire Chief Magazine - Cover of the YearChad Ramler Avon Fire Department

President’s Leadership AwardChris Parsons, Mark RosenblumNot pictured: John Wolff

25 Year Pin 20 Year Pin30 Year Pin

Rick Luth and Robert Berg

Life Memberships granted this year:Gary Sigfrinius, Forest LakeTim Vadnais, White Bear LakeShannon Ryder, SBMGary Conrath, Waseca

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November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 33

By Steve Flaherty, MBFTE Executive Director

(MBFTE continued on page 37)

Winter training: Taking advantage of Mother NatureIt seems like just the other day we were talking about gearing up for the summer training season, yet here we are again bracing for what Mother Nature will dish out over the next several months. With the never-ending cold weather in Minnesota trying to impact your fire depart-ment’s training program, a successful training officer needs to be pretty flexible in their approach to provide meaningful — and safe — training throughout the year. Fortunately for you, there are a lot of training opportuni-ties that allow you to take advantage of Mother Nature instead of letting her get the best of you.

A lot of fire departments took advantage in the last fis-cal year of the Minnesota Board of Firefighter Training and Education’s record-amount of training reimburse-ment money. Departments used $8 million in reimburse-ment money to update their video libraries with DVDs and other visual aid materials for training, or subscribe to some online training programs. Consider allowing for the flexibility in your training program over the next few months. Go online or watch a couple of those training DVDs or videos you purchased (and were reimbursed for) that compliment your long-term training plan. A lot of this information can be provided at a basic level without the need for too much expertise in one particular field, but most of all, it should coincide with your personnel’s training needs.

For example, if part of your training initiative for this year is to provide highway safety training for your fire-fighters, why not take advantage of that snowy or sub-ze-ro training night and stay indoors to watch a few highway safety training videos? There are a number of resources available that are put together very well. Consider sub-ject matters like vehicle placement on the highways or vehicle entanglement with high-tension median barriers. Or simply watch a montage of distracted drivers striking emergency vehicles on the roadways to help emphasize the importance of staying vigilant while responding to these particular places.

You could also brush-up on some building construction training for your department. This is one of those subjects that you cannot get too much of, no matter how long you’ve been in this game! Here again, there are plenty of visual aids that can help provide critical information

about the buildings in your response area that will keep your firefighters safe. Consider any number of DVDs and videos, online resources and YouTube clips, or simply build yourself some props that illustrate the many types of components involved in building construction. After all, Mother Nature has been known to test the limits of many-a-structure by dumping copious amounts of snow and ice on its roof just prior to a fire department respond-ing for some kind of problem; take advantage of what she’s dishing out by preparing your team for the chal-lenges they will have to endure because of her.

In the Land of 10,000 Lakes and 779 fire departments, it’s probable your firefighters might find themselves in a cold-water rescue situation. When is the last time that you took out the Gumby suits and the floatation devices and practiced with them? If the weather doesn’t allow you to go to the lake or the river to train, spend time pulling out all of the cold-water equipment, getting familiar with it and going over your standard operating guidelines re-garding this type of response. Fortunately, these types of emergencies don’t happen on a daily basis. But they do happen. Take advantage of the great opportunity Mother Nature has given you to stay indoors and brush-up on your cold-weather response.

If you don’t feel like you have the expertise, resources, or the confidence to do these examples of training in-house, contact one of the many public and private training pro-viders in your area that stand ready to bring this service to you. Keep an open line of communication with them and get to know each other’s capabilities and challenges. You might learn that they have access to a number of resourc-es you hadn’t considered, and they might learn that you have some particular pieces of equipment or structures within your community that will enhance their training capabilities. Keep in mind that many of these training providers also know each other and talk to one another, and it’s not out of the question to have them pool their resources together in an effort to bring exceptional train-ing into a particular fire department or region.

A few of these examples that I’ve just given you might seem fairly basic, and there are countless other subjects to train on when the weather gets in your way. My point:

34 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

By Ken Prillaman, Fire Chief & Emergency Management Director, Brooklyn Park Fire Department

On my soapbox

“On My Soapbox” is a regular column intended to challenge today’s fire service leader. In this edition, we tackle the issue of “humility.”

October 15, 2017 brought the passing of a fire service icon, Chief Alan Brunacini. It doesn’t take much research to comprehend Chief Brunacini’s contributions to the fire service. He is a man who has arguably changed our busi-ness in ways that will be far felt.

I didn’t know the Chief well, certainly not as well as some of my Minnesota colleagues. I was honored that we had spent enough time over the years that he recog-nized me by name. I met Chief Brunacini for the first time, seventeen years ago, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania when I attended Command School. Chief Brunacini was the “headline” instructor. After being appointed Fire Chief in 2008 I attended the first Ex-ecutive Edge program, sponsored by the IAFC and again Chief Brunacini was the “headline” instructor. He and Chief Bobby Halton shared our stage at a State Chiefs Conference a few years ago and I routinely had an op-portunity to greet him at the annual Fire Rescue International Conference.

Chief Brunacini is credited with in-troducing “nice” into our service de-livery model. The idea that regard-less of what we encounter, despite sometimes horrific circumstances and without regard for the way we are be-ing treated, Chief Brunacini’s advice would be to “Be Nice.”

What always struck me about the Chief was his humility; which I be-lieve went hand-in-hand with his mantra of ‘be nice.” I’ve met a lot of people who have far less credentials and accomplishments who act far more arrogantly. There are times that my own arrogance has gotten me in trouble.

When it comes to leadership, I believe that staff would rather follow some-one who is always real vs always right.

Humility has a way of exposing a sense of real. Humility leads leaders to serve, to pitch in and to get their hands dirty. Humility passes the microphone, sits in the back of the room and tends to speak last in meetings and discus-sions. Humility admits its mistakes and takes full respon-sibility for their consequences.

In a world, and often a service, that can tend to promote getting ahead, every man/woman for him/herself, do it what it takes to succeed, and what’s in it for me; are we modeling humility and just being nice for those we lead? Are we teaching the art of leading from behind and the virtues of humility?

Chief Brunacini’s legacy is now set in stone, and it’s a won-

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 35

derful tribute to a man who gave his life to our service. If today was your last day, what would your legacy be? How would you be remembered? We all still have a chance to shape our legacy. As such, where does hu-mility rank on your list of attributes for yourself and the officers and staff below you?

We honor those who have served so well by preserving the contributions they have made. Perhaps we should all take a page from the Brunacini play book and learn to walk in hu-mility and simply be nice.

Resources for you to stay informed

MSFCA.ORGMinnesota Fire Chief

MagazineMSFCA E-Newsletter

36 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

(continued from page 11)Keys to investing...

(continued from page 6)

Last Sunday in September...

that is doesn’t address the real issues that led to the debt in the first place, which likely includes uncontrolled and/or unanticipated spending. These issues are not uncommon and can be handled. The solution is simple, but it’s not easy. The best way to pay down debt is the hard way. See Key #7.

Key #7: Create a “spending plan” to increase your savings, pay down debt, and create more financial stability in your life. The dirtiest word in the fi-nancial planning industry is “budget.” However, learning to plan and control spending is the most important financial skill to learn and the bedrock of creating financial independence long term. If you can control spending, you can hit your savings goals which will allow you to ac-cumulate wealth and a portfolio that can support you in retirement.

Key #8: When possible, review outstand-ing loans and mortgages for opportu-nities to lower your interest rates, and therefore lower the “cost of debt.” It is as important to review your liabilities (or debts) as it is your assets to ensure that you have the most favorable terms pos-sible regarding terms of interest rates and payments. There are often opportunities to restructure or refinance a loan which can free up cash flow for savings and in-vestment!

Key #9: Ensure there is a plan in place to take care of your family if something happens to you. Although the odds of untimely death, disability, or some other health issues are generally low, it is criti-cally important to review your insurance coverages and estate plan periodically.

Key #10: Retire “to something”not “from a job.” We like to ask our clients, “What are you doing on a Tuesday afternoon after you have been retired for a couple of years ? Having a successful retirement is not all about the finances; it’s about being fulfilled and happy while living on one’s own terms. For many clients, that is about contribut-ing their time and fortune to a charitable cause. For others, it’s “all about the grand-kids.” For other retirees, it’s about traveling the world. One of the biggest mistakes we see clients make in planning for retirement is not planning what they plan to do in re-tirement.

officers who turn out to honor our fall-en. Some come to volunteer and others just to be a part of the day’s activities, knowing that their presence shows sup-port for the families and departments who have lost a firefighter.

But can we do better? I think we can. I long for the day when every fire de-partment is represented by at least one member of their staff, where larger communities who are protected by on-station staff can send all off-duty personnel and where we all do our best to set aside one day, the last Sunday in September, to be with our colleagues and to send a message, in a resounding chorus, that Minnesota has not forgot-ten its fallen.

Every one of us has at least one friend in the fire service that we would liter-ally drop everything we are doing to respond to their aid. Imagine for a moment losing that friend in a line-of-duty death. To many of us the names on those columns are just names. But each one represents someone’s best friend, someone’s son, daughter, mother or father. Each one represents a circle of family, friends, department and community who has forever been stripped of someone dear to them.

Although the circumstances of their deaths are varied they all shared one

common thread, a thread that connects each one us to this day; the thread of selflessly serving others not for our glo-ry or recognition but for the pure act of kindness and service to others.

The Minnesota Bell Ceremony in-cludes the following lines;“When our Lord instructed us to love one another he said, ‘greater love has no man than this, that a man shall lay down his life for others.’ In the truest interpretation of that verse, the men and women who protect our commu-nities lay down their lives every time that respond to the needs of others.”

This verse refers to something beyond death. Laying down one’s life is a refer-ence to setting aside what is important right now to respond to the needs of others. It is skipping dinner, missing birthdays and anniversaries. It is being late to class, to soccer and to recitals be-cause of our willingness to respond to the needs of others. We show the great-est love to others when we make them the priority which is what we are doing every time we respond to the pager.

I am encouraging each of you to set aside everything else and come out to support the families and departments that have lost a firefighter by joining us on the last Sunday in September. Help us send the message that Minnesota has not forgotten its fallen!

See you next September.

ment. We all share the responsibly in ensuring that each and every member returns home safe. Taking care of our own is a priority both on and off-du-ty, especially as we learn more about job-related cancer, heart disease, and PTSD.

The success of the MSFCA is a result of the collaborative efforts of its members that are committed to creating a stron-ger, more effective fire service. While the strategies and tactics have changed and evolved over time, the commit-ment and compassion of those dedi-cating themselves to the profession,

volunteer and career, has not wavered. As an association, we are committed to developing current and future leaders to ensure that we deliver on our oath to serve with pride, honor, and courage.

I look forward to building on the suc-cess of the MSFCA and advocating for the needs of the Minnesota fire service. I welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions on how we can con-tinue the great work of the MSFCA. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of any assistance to you or your department. If you are interested in getting more involved with the MS-FCA, give me a call!

(continued from page 2)President’s message...

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 37

(continued from page 18)Cancer...

(continued from page 33)MBFTE...

Don’t stop training just because it’s miserable outside! Too often have I heard of (and seen) a fire department cancel their training night because Mother Nature seems to be having one of her moments. Even if the training happens to be “free,” you can’t afford to not train — especially if you are one of those departments that only trains once or twice a month. There’s just not enough time to train on everything you need to know as a firefighter — even if you are a full-time firefighter!

Training is about information gather-ing, gaining muscle memory, and then putting it into action. To gain confi-dence and competence in your trade as a firefighter you need to continue to work at honing your skill every day! That one piece of information that you took away from watching the video on a cold and snowy evening, or that one skill you had practiced over and over until you could do it better than you did the day before, or that one poten-tial hazard that your group discussed (pre-planning!) before you were called to it, just may be the training that saved your life, the life of one of your fellow firefighters, or a citizen who is depend-ing on you.

There’s an old saying about making lemonade out lemons, so when winter is upon us and Mother Nature’s sense of humor has turned a little sour, take advantage of it by flexing your training schedule and making it count.

As always, I wish you continued success in your fire service career. Stay low — stay safe!

Registry. Users are no longer required to include an

NREMT number or submit a copy of the NREMT card. Instead, the Por-tal will “ping” the National Registry’s system to verify NREMT certification. The process takes about six seconds.

• Users also are no longer required toinclude an education program numberor the name of the educator. Educa-tion programs enter the names of itsstudents into the Portal, which willthen match the verification with theapplication. This process takes mereseconds.

• Certification and registration cardsare emailed to applicants and are avail-able in the Portal at the user’s accountpage.

While the wait for the EMSRB’s new eLicense Portal was nothing short of a test of our mental toughness, paired with a friendly challenge in remember-ing our ability to handwrite an applica-tion vs. flowing effortlessly across the computer’s keyboard with our amaz-ing—perhaps, one finger hunt and peck—typing skills, we mostly enjoyed a smooth transition into the new sys-tem. That said and all humor aside, I would like to thank Executive Direc-tor Tony Spector and all of the EMSRB staff that stayed the course and assured that the new system would be firefighter friendly, manageable, and practical for the user groups across our great State. Check out the Portal at https://emsrblm.mn.gov and do not hesitate to contact EMSRB staff with your questions; they enjoy the interaction and getting you the answers you are looking for!

(continued from page 16)EMSRB...

• Turnout gear should be leftoutside to off-gas for 40-60minutes, post use.

• Washing in an extractor isthe ONLY way to returnthe gear to “baseline”.

• Individuals should “showerwithin the hour” andpreferably before returninghome.

The state of Washington has produced a booklet and resources with most of the recognized best practices, this can be found at fcsnwa.org in the “Healthy In, Health Out” tab.

These four take aways from the first Fire Service Occupational Cancer Symposium can help to advance un-derstanding and create opportunities to improve firefighter health and safety. Not only as it relates to cancer, but car-diac disease and emotional wellness as well.

Firefighters have an individual respon-sibility to show up physically ready to do the job and fire chiefs have the orga-nizational responsibility to protect their people from the unavoidable hazards of the job. When attacking cancer (car-diac and emotional wellness) the fire service needs to be aware of the current best practices and evaluate each “new thing” based upon the science and not the manufacturers’ propaganda. Work-ing together, the fire service can make a difference. Let’s get this done!

From all of us at the Minnesota State Fire Chiefs Association

Happy Holidays

38 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

Means of egress 101: Exitand exit access doors

State Fire Marshal Division

By Forrest Williams, Supervisor, Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division

The fire and building code provisions relating to a building’s means of egress can be quite complex, and many would say convoluted, especially to those who don’t work with codes on a regular basis. In fact, the means of egress chapter alone spans over 40 pages of the 2015 Minnesota State Fire Code (MSFC). The number of exit doors a building or space requires is only the tip of the iceberg. Dozens of other pieces make up the egress puzzle, including room use characteristics, exit separation distances, occupant loads, aisle and aisle accessway widths, converging travel paths, travel dis-tances, corridor ratings, stairway enclosures, and on and on….

Egress design is a bit like a puzzle, where the position of one piece determines the correct placement of an adjacent piece. The good news is that when it comes to evaluating most occupancies, some basic egress knowledge goes a long way. So let’s start at the begin-ning. Egress 101, if you will. And you can’t talk about egress without talking exits, which coincidentally is the topic of this article.

The importance of a definitionExit. It’s a simple enough word, and I’m guessing most people feel they have a good handle on what it means. Consider a typical movie theater. If the average person sitting in a theater were asked to identify the number and location of the exits, they most likely would first point to the door from which they entered the theater (the one leading back to the lobby). Next, they’d direct you to the door at front of the theater – the one that leads directly outside. Assured by the presence of illu-minated exit signs over both doors, most would confi-dently proclaim “there are two exits from this room.” But, they’d be wrong. By fire and building code defini-tion, there’s only one exit from the room. It’s the door in the front of the theater leading directly outside. The other door (the one leading to the lobby) is actually an exit access doorway. So, why is this?

The fire and building codes reserve the word exit for those egress doorways where an occupant has either

reached 1) the building exterior at grade level, 2) a fire-resistance-rated protected enclosure (such as an exit stairwell), or 3) a horizontal exit (where two sepa-rate buildings or sections of the same building are sep-arated by construction having a fire-resistance-rating of at least two hours). Conversely, an exit access door is the term used to describe doors located within the means of egress pathway leading to an exit.

Why the difference? Well, a designation needs to be made between a building’s exit (where an occupant is considered to have exited the building), and interior doors that lead occupants to an exit. The importance of this distinction may not seem obvious at this point, but the deeper one goes into egress requirements, the more meaningful it becomes. For example, the MSFC places limits on the distance an occupant can travel before reaching an exit. Thus, this travel distance ends when an occupant reaches an exterior door, rated en-closure or horizontal exit. However, this travel dis-tance measurement does not end when one reaches an exit access doorway because the occupant (or Elvis) has not left the building.

So, back to our “exit” door leading from the movie the-ater to the lobby. This is actually an exit access door-way. If one were to take this path, a true exit wouldn’t be available until the occupant travels through the lobby and reaches a door leading directly outside. These distinctions are all well and good for the code geeks out there, but the problem is the vast majority of people use the term exit to mean any exit or exit ac-cess doorway. Even seasoned code officials will revert to using exit in all cases for ease of communication. The way I solved this problem is to use the term egress door when speaking generally about either an exit or exit access doorway. Yes, I still slip up often, but I’m working on it.

Size isn’t everything…Next we’ll address what may be the most commonly asked question when it comes to egress: How many exits (or exit access doors) are required? Often people

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 39

intuitively believe that the size (area) of a space or building alone determines the number of exits or exit access doorways. And although many code officials would appreciate this level of simplicity, the area of the space is only part of the egress puzzle.

There are two primary factors to consider when an-swering the “how many exits” question. The first is the use characteristics of the room, space or building. Sim-ply put, how will the space be used? Specific uses range anywhere from business areas, assembly, and educa-tional classrooms to retail space, manufacturing, resi-dential, or storage, to name a few. Next, a design oc-cupant load for the space must be calculated based on the use. At this point access to the MSFC is necessary. Fortunately, the state fire code is available for online viewing at the International Code Council (ICC) web-site. https://codes.iccsafe.org/public/document/toc/451/

Occupant loadMSFC Table 1004.1.2 assigns an occupant load fac-tor based on the use characteristics. The occupant load factor is the specific area, in square feet, allotted per occupant. The use categories offered in Table 1004.1.2 are self-explanatory for the most part, but there are oc-casions when the actual use of the space doesn’t quite match up with anything in the table. For those cases, the code directs you to choose a category that most closely resembles the actual use.

To make things simple, let’s use a one-room, 1,500-square-foot coffee shop for our example, which is an assembly use. The coffee shop is setup with ta-bles and chairs. Table 1004.1.2 indicates that a non-concentrated assembly use with non-fixed tables and chairs is assigned an occupant load factor of 15 square feet (net) per occupant. The net area qualifier is very important here, because only the actual occupied floor area is used when calculating the occupant load. This means that areas taken by a fireplace, serving counter, or similar fixed objects are not included. Space taken by corridors, toilet rooms, mechanical rooms, and the like are also not included when determining the net area. So even though our coffee shop is 1,500 square feet (gross), the actual occupied floor area may be sig-nificantly less. For this example, let’s say our net floor area is 1,000 square feet. We then divide our net area by the occupant load factor of 15 square feet per occu-pant (taken from Table 1004.1.2), resulting in a design occupant load of 67 for the seating area.

How many egress doors?Now that we know the occupant load for the space, we can use this number to determine the required number of exit (or exit access) doors. For this we need to look at either MSFC section 1015.1 for new construction or 1104.24 for existing. These sections describe the oc-cupant load threshold at which more than one egress door is required based on the occupancy classification. So here we introduce yet another piece of the egress puzzle – occupancy classification.

Occupancy classifications are categories assigned to the

overall use of a building, or portion thereof, in the case of mixed-use buildings. Our coffee shop is classified as a Group A-2 occupancy, which is an assembly oc-cupancy intended for food and/or drink consumption. We know this by looking in Chapter 2 of the MSFC, which provides a detailed list of occupancy definitions. Occupancy classifications include Group A (assembly), Group B (business), Group E (educational), Group F (factory/industrial), Group H (hazardous), Group I (institutional), Group M (mercantile/retail), Group R (residential), Group S (storage), and Group U (miscel-laneous).

Now that we know the occupancy classification, let’s assume our coffee shop is new construction. Looking at MSFC Section 1015.1 (below), two egress doorways are required from a Group A occupancy having an oc-cupant load over 49. And because our calculated oc-cupant load for this space is 67, two egress doors are required.

1015.1 Exit or exit access doorways required from spaces.Two exits or exit access doorways from any space shall be provided where one of the following conditions ex-ists:

1. The occupant load of the space exceeds the values inTable 1015.1.

So where do these egress doors need to be located? This is an important question, because location, and specifi-cally, how far apart doors must be from one another, makes a big difference when it comes to fire safety. A general principle of egress is that exit doors (or exit ac-cess doors) are separated with enough distance to pre-vent a single fire event from obstructing more than one exit. In the case of two required egress doors, they must be separated by a distance of at least one-half of the longest diagonal of the room, space or building. And in buildings protected throughout by an automatic fire sprinkler system, this distance may be reduced to one-third of the diagonal due to the increased level of fire and life safety provided.

ConclusionNow that you have been led through several sections of code, lectured on definitions, and suffering through a bad Elvis joke, it’s my hope that you now have a basic understanding of exit and exit access doors, calculat-ing an occupant load, and determining the minimum number of egress doors. As a fire official, this small amount of knowledge is “good to know” at the very least, and at best a great starting point for further ex-ploration of egress systems and the Minnesota State Fire Code.

40 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

Transformational leadership

State Fire Marshal

by Bruce West, Minnesota State Fire Marshal

The topic of leadership styles, qualities of a good leader and barriers to effective leadership in the fire service have been researched, examined and written about for many years. In this article, I am going to discuss transforma-tional leadership, when you see transformational leaders in the fire service, and how they inspire others to higher performance. Along the way I will compare transforma-tional leadership to other styles, such as transactional and laissez-faire styles of leadership frequently seen in the fire service.

Leadership styles have been researched and studied to death many times, and effective leaders have many differ-ent styles. A common one in the fire service is transaction-al leadership, in which leaders lay out their expectations to firefighters and provide rewards when the expectations are met and consequences when they are not. In this lead-ership style, much of its focus is on supervision, organi-zation, policy, process, performance and technical skills. Transactional leadership is not a bad style of leadership, but it is not a style of leadership that causes people to perform beyond their own expectations.

Transactional leadership can also work well in crisis situ-ations where the focus needs to be on accomplishing cer-tain tasks. By assigning clearly defined duties to particular individuals, leaders can ensure that those things get done. In times of crisis, transactional leaders can help maintain the status quo and “keep the ship afloat,” so to speak.

Transactional leaders focus on maintaining the structure of the group. They are tasked with letting group members know exactly what is expected, articulating the rewards of performing tasks well, explaining the consequences of failure, and offering feedback designed to keep workers on task. Although transactional leadership can be useful in some situations, it is considered insufficient in many cases and may prevent both leaders and followers from achieving their full potential.

Transformational leadership is a different story. When us-ing transformational leadership to achieve your firefight-ers’ full potential, you will seek out their needs and mo-tives. As the leader, you will work collaboratively with them to meet their needs. As a transformational leader, you work hard to inspire, motivate and positively influ-

ence their performance to a higher standard in order to appeal to their own self-interest.

Transformational leaders are very proactive and continu-ally work to change the organization’s culture by imple-menting new ideas. As a transformational leader, you look to motivate and empower firefighters to achieve your fire department’s objectives by appealing to their higher ideals and moral values. This type of leader will work to moti-vate the firefighters by encouraging them to forgo their own interests in favor of those of the fire department.

Laissez-faire leadership style is one where the leader waits to do something until things are in crisis mode. When you see this style in the fire service, you will notice the leader will often let things escalate before dealing with an issue. These leaders do not engage in the process of inspiring the firefighters with any organizational vision, purpose, passion or dedication and show little to no inter-est in the firefighters’ needs or goals. This laissez-faire type of leadership is the most difficult for firefighters to follow.

As we all know, low morale can be traced throughout the chain of command to ineffective leadership in an organi-zation. Firefighters will leave an organization if they do not feel inspired, motivated or empowered by their lead-ership. Transformational leadership involves behavioral choices, and those choices come with hard work and can require a tremendous amount of effort by the fire chief to employ.

Transformational leadership is the process of identifying the needs, motives and values of fire chiefs and firefight-ers to facilitate what’s in the best interest of everyone in the organization. A transformational leader continually strives to inspire and foster an organizational environ-ment of motivation to create a bond through a shared vi-sion which in turn stimulates your firefighters to achieve levels of performance far beyond normal expectations.

If you want your firefighters to be transformed into amaz-ing leaders, take a look at transformational leadership to reap the benefits of inspired and motivated firefighters throughout your organization.

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 41

Minnesota Fire Service Certification Board

Are you ready?By David Schliek, Chairman, Minnesota Fire Service Certification Board

Have you noticed that the nation’s first responders are the major part of many of the day’s top news stories? Over these past few months, the country has experienced major flood-ing caused by hurricanes, mass shootings, vast devastation by wildfire, and violence as a part of political protests. The fire service has been at the forefront of all of these events. These varied responses have shown the versatility, as well as the public expectation and demands of the fire service.

Although some of these events are unique to specific parts of the country, several very easily could occur in this part of the nation. In watching the snippets of news coverage, it becomes quite obvious the many different roles the local fire department performs. Many departments across Minnesota have responded to similar type calls of varying magnitude. Have you thought about what would happen in your com-munity if events of this nature would occur? What is your level of preparation, both individually and organizationally?

Certainly, training is a major factor in preparation. Appro-priate and adequate training are paramount in the success of any incident no matter the size. Training opportunities seem to be available from a host of providers, as well as several types of venues. According to the recently completed and released training study commissioned by the State Fire Mar-shal’s office, while training opportunities are plentiful, time is a major concern. Several differing options were discussed within the study. Online offerings, mutual aid training ses-sions, and county wide coordination of training topics were but a few. Many challenges present themselves when faced with the task of building an adequately functioning trained fire department.

The NFPA standards provide a basic framework for job performance requirements for fire service personnel. Emergency medical services regulatory agencies have also outlined expectations for fire fighter first responders. Spe-cialized courses are also available for target hazards within your community and jurisdiction. Recently, much needed courses in critical incident stress debriefing and cancer awareness have become available. Put all these training offering and expectations together and the undertaking can become quite overwhelming.Availability of personnel was also highlighted as an opera-tional concern within the study. As you look to add new re-

cruits to your organization, what is the answer to the, “how do we expect to attract fire fighters when we are asking so much in time from them”, question? With that concern be-ing ever present, does the “volunteer/paid on call fire service model” need to change or be modified? If fire departments across the state continue to experience shortages in manpow-er, and the fire service continues to expand upon services, is not a change in the model warranted?

Shared services grants dealing with these issues have been available through the State Fire Marshal’s office to fire de-partments throughout Minnesota for several years. Many public dollars have been expended on shared services stud-ies with little changes in operational deliveries being altered. Even fire service personnel that have not participated in these types of studies agree the model is struggling. Efficien-cies need to and must be considered.

Sharing of services may be one way you can effectively mod-ify the model to work for you. These grants continue to be available through the State Fire Marshal’s office. Check this opportunity out. It may provide some guidance in answering ongoing concerns.

As the public demand for services continues to increase, the task before you may be daunting and uncomfortable, but I would ask, don’t the individuals and families you are protect-ing expect and deserve it? I wish you the very best. Be ready, be strong, and be safe!!!

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 43

Agent transition update . . .

By John Cunningham, President, MSFCA

Beginning in November, the MSFCA will begin the formal transition to a new executive manage-ment firm, Svinicki Association Management, Inc. (SAMI).   SAMI and Fire Services Consulting LLC (FSC) will work together diligently to ensure a smooth transition. On behalf of the Association, I wish to extend my most sincere thanks and appreciation to FSC for their countless contributions to the Association and the fire service across the State of Minnesota.  Please see their article on page 46. The January/February issue will include an intro-duction to some of the key staff at SAMI who will be serving the Association members.

2017 Postal Report

44 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

Fire prevention ideas

State Fire Marshal Division

By Kathi Osmonson, Youth Firesetting Intervention Coordinator, Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division

There is no doubt that the world is changing with escalat-ing use of personal devices, myriad apps and social media. And our fire prevention efforts need to keep up with the times, which is easier said than done. Are you looking for fresh ideas for getting your fire prevention messages to stick with your populations and their changing habits?

The Annual Professional Development Summit at the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) in Em-metsburg, Maryland, is a great place to learn from others and share ideas on the national level. The 2017 theme was “Leaving Plato’s Cave.” In the allegory, Plato likened uneducated people to prisoners chained in a cave, unable to move their heads. They could only see the wall of the cave in front of them and not the fire burning behind. Between the fire and the prisoners, there was a parapet where puppeteers cast shadows with puppets on the wall the prisoners could see. The prisoners saw shadows and heard echoes, which was not reality. The connection? We need to “leave the cave” of delivering the same old fire safety messages in the same old ways and move into the light of sending fire prevention messages in effective ways.

Personal engagement is essential for learning retention. With all of the devices and apps available today, small portions of interactive material are what will keep the public engaged. Providing access to information when and how our communities want it will increase their per-sonal engagement. But there are so many possibilities for using technology, it can be overwhelming and quite for-eign to some of us, myself included. One presentation at the 2017 NETC Professional Development Summit in-troduced making our own new flash media. Making new flash media involves animation software, some of which can be found for free. This was a very quick presentation with lots of new software ideas, many of which the State Fire Marshal Division is exploring. Look for links in our Public Educator e-newsletter for more information. If you are not on our e-newsletter distribution list, please email amanda.swenson@state.mn.us or kathi.osmonson@state.mn.us and we will add you to the list. The newsletter can also be found on our website.

Social media is a fairly common way to reach your audi-ence. Feel free to forward or re-tweet any of the Minne-sota Department of Public Safety social media messages (find them on Facebook at MnPublicSafety and on Twit-ter @MnDPS_DPS). Our Office of Communications shares messages daily. The National Fire Protection Asso-

ciation, the United States Fire Administration and Vision 20/20 also have resources for fire prevention messaging.

Incorporating themes or visuals that the audience can re-late to and hang onto also helps fire prevention messaging to stick. At the 2017 NEMC Professional Development Summit, the Tucson Fire Department talked about mov-ing Community Risk Reduction into process. The visual theme for their presentation was based on the child’s book “Our Iceberg is Melting.” The story goes something like this: One day an average penguin named Fred no-ticed large cracks in the iceberg they called home. Because he was not a formal leader in his penguin community (waddle), he addressed a formal leader about the prob-lem. Eventually Fred built up a coalition to address the problem of the melting iceberg and the waddle moved to another iceberg that was not so dangerous. The point of the presentation was that our iceberg – how (or if ) we do fire prevention education – is melting. They talked about how, after conducting a citywide community risk reduction assessment, they put it into action by engag-ing the community. They held town meetings, went into businesses to talk about how they could partner for fire prevention education, and came up with some strategies specific to their community. Partnership is the key to suc-cess; we don’t have to do fire prevention alone. Tucson partnered with everyone possible, including Big Brothers and Big Sisters, in order to get fire prevention messages out to the public.

Another option for an interactive presentation is using a PowerPoint polling system called “clickers.” The presenta-tions must be set up with the appropriate software, which the company continues to update. Information on the way different people answer questions can also be tracked. There is now the ability to use smart phones in place of the clickers rather than using separate devices.

Our own Becky Booker, Spring Lake Park – Blaine – Mounds View Fire Department Fire and Life Safety Educator, presented on cultural awareness and home fire safety visits. Learning about the various cultures residing in your community helps them to understand fire pre-vention and fire safety messages. She suggested that the United States is not so much a melting pot, but more of a tossed salad. Many different individuals with unique per-sonalities, rather than melted together, are present, each one in its entirety. Home safety visits are more effective

(Fire prevention ideas continued on page 50)

http://c.ymcdn.com/sites/www.msfca.org/resource/resmgr/Benefits/SafetyHopperAgreement.pdf?hhSearchTerms=%22safety+and+hopper%22

46 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

by Theresa & Nyle Zikmund Fire Services Consulting, Agents for MSFCA

That’s a Wrap: Conference Report, Sponsor Recognition,

and FarewellConference Report:By all accounts another successful conference in Roch-ester this year with 487 members attending. To put that in perspective our last two trips to Rochester had 437 in 2013 and 472 in 2010. This was the second year of the App which over 300 members accessed and utilized. Vendor participation was an all-time record (122) in total booths sold but also in the number of sales staff the vendors brought – 257 for a ratio of 1 sales staff for every 2 attendees. From our view, that speaks volumes about the value they see in vending at our event.

We are not scheduled to return to Rochester until 2023/2024 as we are booked in St. Paul next year and then Duluth and St. Cloud every other year for 2019-2022.

Sponsor Recognition:Over the past three years the Association has seen sub-stantive growth in our operation which has led to us having the strongest fiscal position in our history. The majority of that success can be attributed to our ven-dors and especially those who have become sponsors. Their investments in our association speak volumes to their commitment and support of our mission and all are listed in the conference directory. That support, continued; will result in you experiencing stable mem-bership dues and conference registration cost. So con-sider – strongly - supporting those who support you as this results in a very nice Return on your Investment.

Our Diamond Sponsors, which is the highest level of commitment ($12,500 a year) include Emergency Ap-paratus Maintenance, Emergency Response Solutions, General Fire Safety, McQueen Equipment Group/Pierce, Fire Safety USA, and Custom Fire/Sutphen. They deserve a second round of applause for their sup-port and we want to personally thank and recognize them.

An additional call out to Dan Gage of McQueen Emer-gency Group who graciously offered to “pick up” the bar tab at the Awards Banquet to aid in moving the line which was stalled as the contractor had significant staffing issues. This freed up the tenders from mak-ing change and the line disappeared in a rapid fashion. Thank you sir!

Farewell:This will be our final report as the transition to SAMI begins right after the conference and finishes the end of this year with SAMI taking complete control on January 1, 2018. By the time you read this, the transi-tion will be well underway. SAMI will be doing the membership renewal and handling all aspects of the Alexandria and Duluth spring schools.

While our preference would have been to continue building upon the successes over the past three years we recognize the board wanted to move in a different direction which is their right to do. We end on a high note with the successful Rochester Conference, a new membership record set this year, the Fire Office School experiencing the highest attendee and vendor partici-pation ever, the Magazine experiencing its best perfor-mance and leaving the organization with its strongest financial position in its history.

Our paths will cross again of that we are certain pos-sibly thru the certification board or perhaps in train-ing. The familiar (author unknown) poem “Reason, Season, Lifetime” explores the relationships that occur in your life and categorize them as happening for a Reason, or perhaps a Season of time in some cases, they last a Lifetime. Our Season with the MSFCA has been great, we take the greatest pride in the knowledge that we were able to serve our members in moving the organization forward and leaving it in a better condi-tion than when we found it. The pleasure has been ours, thank you and God Bless.

Last ChanCe! Last ChanCe!

48 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

Minnesota State Fire Marshal Division

Fire in Minnesota 2016highlights

• 774 of Minnesota’s 779 fire departments supplied fire incident data to the State Fire Marshal Division for the 2016 report. - This is the highest number ever of reporting fire departments.

• Fire departments responded to more incidents in 2016 than in 2015. The total increase was 6 percent.

• The number of fires in Minnesota was down by 6 percent (most of the decrease was in fires in the “other” category like grass fires, vegetation fires, outdoor fires, trash fires).

• Total dollar loss due to fires in 2016 was more than $259 million — an increase of 16 percent from 2015.

• The number of people killed in fires in the 0-19 age category and the 60-plus age category decreased from 2015 to 2016. - Four people ages 0-19 died in fires in 2016 — a 56 percent decrease. Sixteen people ages 60 ad over died last year — a 38percent decrease.

• As in past years, cooking continues to be the top cause of fires in Minnesota, with heating as thesecond leading cause and electrical malfunction as the third leading cause. Cooking remains the leading cause, mainly due to contained cooking fires.

• The top three known factors in the remaining cooking fires were: unattended equipment at 21 percent, combustibles too close at 13 percent, and equipment turned on accidentally/not turned off at 12 percent.

• There were no cooking-related civilian fire deaths but 27 civilian injuries, as well as 10 firefighter injuries. Dollar loss from cooking fires in 2016 totaled $3,070,163.

• Fires in residential property represented 77 percent of all structure fires and 52 percent of the total dollar loss.

• The majority of 2016 heating-related fires (275) occurred in residential properties.

• The total number of these fires dropped 3 percent from last year — there were 283 heating-related fires in 2015 — and dollar loss decreased by 17 percent.

For a complete digital copy of Fire in Minnesota 2016 go to: sfm.dps.mn.gov and click on “fire reporting.”

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 49

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(continued from page 42)Fire prevention ideas...

if cultural aspects are understood. Offer-ing home safety visits after a devastating fire in the neighborhood is a unique op-portunity because the neighborhood is in a highly receptive crisis situation. It is also important to understand who lives in the neighborhood and have some insight into and respect for their culture.

Remember that people learn differently. Some will want snippets of information, typically the younger crowd, but some older adults are tech-savvy too. Some will learn best through face-to-face presentations, per-haps including PowerPoint presentations or home safety visits. Consider recording a live presentation and uploading it to You-Tube. You could then connect it to social media or post it on your website. And don’t forget about the good old newspaper. Some people, young or old, still prefer to read a hard copy of the local rag. Getting timely fire prevention articles in newspapers and magazines can be effective in preventing fires.

There are many ways to creatively promote fire prevention. It is great to learn from others in the field who are providing success-ful programs for their community. The NETC National Professional Development Summit is a great place to find a national perspective and brainstorm ideas with other Fire Prevention Professionals. Save the dates for the next one June 13-16, 2018.

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 51

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16 Fire Fighter Life Safety Initiatives

1. Define and advocate the need for a cultural change within the fire service relating to safety; incorporat-ing leadership, management, super-vision, accountability and personal responsibility.

2. Enhance the personal and orga-nizational accountability for health and safety throughout the fire service.

3. Focus greater attention on the integration of risk management with incident management at all levels, in-cluding strategic, tactical, and plan-ning responsibilities.

4. All firefighters must be empow-ered to stop unsafe practices.

5. Develop and implement na-tional standards for training, quali-fications, and certification (includ-ing regular recertification) that are equally applicable to all firefighters based on the duties they are expected to perform.

6. Develop and implement na-tional medical and physical fitness standards that are equally applicable to all firefighters, based on the duties they are expected to perform.

7. Create a national research agen-da and data collection system that re-lates to the initiatives.

8. Utilize available technology wherever it can produce higher levels of health and safety.

9. Thoroughly investigate all fire-fighter fatalities, injuries, and near misses.

10. Grant programs should sup-port the implementation of safe prac-tices and/or mandate safe practices as an eligibility requirement.

11. National standards for emer-gency response policies and pro-cedures should be developed and championed.

12. National protocols for re-sponse to violent incidents should be developed and championed.

13. Firefighters and their families must have access to counseling and psychological support.

14. Public education must receive more resources and be championed as a critical fire and life safety pro-gram.

15. Advocacy must be strength-ened for the enforcement of codes and the installation of home fire sprinklers.

16. Safety must be a primary con-sideration in the design of apparatus

November/December 2017 | MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF 53

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February 9-11, 2018Arrowwood Resort • Alexandria, MN

Fun for the whole family!

Friday 8pm -11pm: • Social gathering and registration for early arrivals

Saturday • Development Training Classes 8 AM - 4:30 PM• Vendor Show - All Day• 5 pm: Family Meal & Games

Interested in being a vendor at this event?

Please contact Bill Thoennes at 320-760-2928 or

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Two Different Months...Two Opportunities...Two Great Locations...

7th Annual MSFCA Fire Officers School

Tentative Schedule:Sunday 8am -12pm: • Development Classes

• All classes are approved for MBFTE reimbursement

• Registration limited to 300 students!

• For hotel and general information go to msfca.org

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56 MINNESOTA FIRE CHIEF | November/December 2017

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