FireWork - Women in Fire€¦ · Wednesday, June 6, 2012 iWomen Announces 2012-2014 STRATEGIC PLAN...

iWomen Announces 2012-2014 STRATEGIC PLAN

The iWomen Board of Trustees has been working to enhance and finalize the Strategic Plan since their

February Board meeting in Tampa. After a great deal of discussion and input from the membership the

Trustees are proud to present the final document to the membership and begin work to strengthen our voice

and to continue to provide a proactive network that supports, mentors, and educates current and future

women in the fire and emergency services. iWomen is dedicated to improving the fire service through the

involvement and success of women.

Long Term Goals:

1. Increase the value of the organization through membership and services; thereby increasing the

capacity of the organization. Trustee Susan Tamme will Chair this Task Force.

2. iWomen will become the resource for fire and EMS professionals regarding the issues and interests of

women in the fire service relating to policy guidance, educational opportunities, mentoring, networking

and leadership development. President Jeanne Pashalek along with the Marketing Committee will be

responsible for this goal.

3. Identify, develop, and implement a national recruitment, retention, promotional process that

offers equal opportunities for women. Trustee Karen Simpson along with the Membership Committee

will be responsible for this goal.

Short Term Goals:

1. Increase membership will be led by the Membership Committee Co-Chairs Simpson and Secretary

Carol Brown

2. Address women’s health issues pertaining to fire & EMS. Trustee Simpson will lead this Task Force.

3. Develop an extensive iWomen communication plan utilizing social

media. This goal will be coordinated by Trustees Tamme and

Simpson.

“On behalf of the iWomen Trustees we would like to encourage our

members to get involved and join one of the Committees or Task Forces

responsible for our long and short term goals. The Trustees can not

accomplish these goals without the support and input from our

members. In partnership with each of you we will make this strategic

plan a reality,” stated President Jeanne Pashalek.

Find out more or join the team by contacting the iWomen office at

[email protected] or call 703-896-4858.

Volume 1, Issue 44 Wednesday , June 6 , 2012

FireWork iWomen’s Member Newsletter

Inside this issue of FireWork

President’s Corner………………… 2

Danger of Abandoned Structures 3

Meet New Trustees ..………...…..5

Power Bases…………………….…...7

President’s Corner

iWomen

Board of Trustees

Jeanne Pashalek

President

Laura Baker

Vice President &

Treasurer

Carol Brown

Secretary

Open

Trustee, North

West Division

Helen Graham

Trustee, Wildland

Section

[email protected]

Becky Hartley

Trustee, Volunteer

Section

Janet Chatelain

Trustee, South West

Division

[email protected]

Karen Simpson

Trustee,

International

Division

karen

@karensimpson.ca

Michelle Stanbury

Trustee, North

Central Division

[email protected]

Susan Tamme

Trustee, South East

Division

Chair, Newsletter

Deborah Pender-

gast, Trustee,

North East Division

Mary Ann Hubbard

Trustee, South

Central Division

FireWork—June 2012

On May 15th, 2012, I participated in a conference call with Ken Willette, who is a

Division Manager with NFPA, to discuss the research project on women's fire-

fighting gloves.

Ken has been a strong advocate and voice in assisting iWomen move forward

with our glove initiative project - along with others within the NFPA. Mr. Willette

informed me that he has a summer intern who he has tasked with the glove pro-

ject.

The intern, Jacob, will gather any available past information, any research on this

issue, speak to manufacturers, and touch base with former iWomen trustee

Brooke Hildreth who started this project several years ago. The plan, as relayed

to me, will be to gather the information in June, review the information in July,

and prepare a report for review in August.

A small advisory group will meet and review all of the collected data and insure

that all stakeholders have a voice. The voice for iWomen will be me, as your pres-

ident, and Brooke as the project manager. Other stakeholders include the IAFF,

IAFC, NFPA, and any others that Ken believes have a vested interest. The project

will be a division activity under the supervision of Mr. Willette's, which has been

redirected by the Research Foundation Activity.

The key thing to reiterate to everyone involved and the membership is that wom-

en's gloves must be researched to take into account the differences in the ratio

of palm to finger distances and circumferences as well as any other physical dif-

ferences. The idea of taking a man's glove and just making it smaller doesn't

work. We are on solid ground with this project due to the relationships’ iWomen

has made with key players in critical roles and the work and persistence of many

others.

It has been with Brooke’s diligence and the involvement of an officer of her de-

partment, on one of the NFPA Committees, who knew about her past involve-

ment and helped to spur this on. As a result of the two efforts and iWomen's pre-

vious work, I am confident that we will see progress in this research and develop-

ment. I will keep all of you informed on this project as we move forward.

JOIN THE iWOMEN BOARD OF TRUSTEES

IN DENVER, COLORADO

July 31 - August 4, 2012

Visit the iWomen Booth #5067

mailto:[email protected]



www.i-women.org

By Kevin Dippolito

As if cut backs in funding and staffing weren’t

having enough of a dangerous affect on the fire ser-

vice, the current economy has lead to an unprece-

dented number of abandoned structures in the Unit-

ed States. Abandoned buildings and homes, which

were once isolated to the more economically de-

pressed cities, can now be found in many communi-

ties across the United States. Commercial buildings

that once provided a stable income, and homes that

once symbolized the “American Dream”, have in

some cases become a threat to firefighters, civilians,

and nearby occupied properties. While these struc-

tures often sit deteriorating as a result of exposure

to the elements, they also become targets for not

only arsonists, but also drug addicts or thieves look-

ing for anything they can “scrap” for a few dollars;

for vagrants looking for shelter; or for vandals simp-

ly looking to destroy property.

As we have seen time and time again, many of

these structures become the scene of fires, some-

times more than one. In most cases, we respond to a

reported structure fire with the intention of initiating

an aggressive interior attack, coordinated with sys-

tematic ventilation by the truck company. However,

when dealing with abandoned structures we must

approach these properties cautiously.

By no means am I suggesting an exterior attack on

all abandoned properties. And yes, there could be a

vagrant or a juvenile in that building. However, eve-

ryone from the company officer to the incident com-

manders must evaluate each of these incidents be-

fore committing crews to the interior or on the roof

to ventilate. As shown in these photos the condition

of a vacant building can be deceiving from the street.

A thorough 360 degree survey must be conducted to

evaluate structural stability, as well as fire condi-

tions.

A structure that has been exposed to the elements

will often have rotted flooring and joists, and mortar

may be deteriorated or missing. In addition, the

physical damage caused to these structures by van-

dals or people removing copper pipes, wiring, or

whatever else they can scrap, can often compromise

the structural stability.

Abandoned, unsecured buildings must be reported

to our code enforcement authority. We, the fire ser-

vice, can not ignore unsecured, abandoned buildings

as simply “a sign of the times”, or “the way it is

around here”. When we report these structures to

code enforcement, we are not only looking to have

them properly secured, but to also create a paper

trail against those who are responsible for the struc-

ture should something tragic occur.

Company officers and incident commanders must be

assure that by initiating an interior attack, we are

putting our personnel at risk for justifiable reasons.

We’ve all heard the saying; “Risk a lot to save a lot,

Risk nothing to save nothing”. Nothing could be fur-

ther than the truth when referring to abandoned

structures. When structural stability is in question,

an exterior attack may be the only acceptable option.

Top Photo: Front view. Bottom Photo: Rear view.

Kevin Dippolito, IAAI-CFI, NAFI-CFEI, CVFI

is Chief Fire Marshal in Bristol Township, PA, and a 28 year

veteran of the fire service. He is also Chief of the Fairless

Hills (PA) Volunteer Fire Co., and a Pennsylvania State Fire

& EMS Instructor. Kevin can be reached at kdip-

[email protected].

ABANDONED STRUCTURES – Another Dangerous

Affect of Today’s Economy




www.i-women.org


www.i-women.org

North East Trustee

Deborah Pendergast

Chief Pendergast works for Laco-

nia Fire Department in Central

New Hampshire and has been in

the Fire Service for 20 years. She

is currently second-in-command

of her department as Deputy

Chief of Operations.

Over the course of her career,

Deborah has focused on firefight-

er safety, health and wellness as

well as issues regarding the be-

havioral health of firefighters. She

has been a longtime volunteer of

the Granite State Critical Incident

Stress Management Team. She

has been involved in Labor/

Management Relations, having

served several years as an IAFF

Local President and currently Ad-

ministration in charge of Labor

Relations. Also, fire service diver-

sity is on the forefront for Debo-

rah. She is currently President and

one of the founding members of

the New Hampshire United Fire

Service Women; a new fire service

diversity organization much need-

ed in the North East as it is an ar-

ea of the country with one of the

lowest percentages of women in

the career fire service ranks.

Deborah is civic-minded and en-

joys giving back to her communi-

ty. She is currently a member of

the Board of Directors for the lo-

cal community mental health cen-

ter and a member of the city’s

Refugee Connections Committee.

She is also active at the State level

where she serves as senior board

member, appointed by the Gover-

nor, on the Electrical Safety and

Licensing Board under the direc-

tion of the NH State Fire Marshal.

Deborah is also Vice-President

and bagpiper for the Professional

Firefighters of New Hampshire

Pipes and Drums. She enjoys be-

ing a State Fire Instructor and get-

ting involved each year with the

CPAT and entrance exams where

she mentors and encourages

young women to succeed.

Deborah holds a Bachelors Degree

in Psychology, is an Executive Fire

Officer Program graduate and is

currently pursuing her Master’s

Degree in Public Administration/

Emergency Management.

Chief Pendergast represents the

members in the following States:

Connecticut, Delaware, Maine,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire,

New Jersey, New York, Pennsylva-

nia, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

She can be reached at:

[email protected].

Trustee, Volunteer Section

Becky Hartley

Firefighter Hartley is a volunteer

firefighter for two departments,

which are Aurora Ross Fire De-

partment and Hardin South Mar-

shal Fire Department in Kentucky.

Becky joined the fire service at the

encouragement of her husband of

8 years, Tim. He has been a volun-

teer since 1982.

Firefighter Hartley is also the Sec-

retary/Treasurer for the Women

Firefighters of Western Kentucky

(WFWK). The group formed in

2009 as a way for women fire-

fighters to get together and train

to be proficient with all the tools

of the trade. The WFWK meet

twice a month for training and

meetings at which they discuss

what the needs are for women

firefighters.

Becky is in the process of training

a cadaver dog named Harley for

the Marshall County Rescue

Squad.

Firefighter Becky Hartley will rep-

resent volunteers and the issues

facing them in the fire service for

iWomen and can be reached at:

[email protected].

iWomen Would Like You To Meet The Newly

Appointed Trustees

North West Trustee

Position Open

If you are an iWomen member in

good standing who is a current

member of a Fire Department

please consider joining our Board

of Trustees.

The North West Trustee represents

the States of Alaska, Idaho, Mon-

tana, Oregon, Washington and Wy-

oming. Deadline June 15, 2012,

email: [email protected].


www.i-women.org

2012 Bessie Hudson

Scholarship

Seventeen years after her historic

hire at Orange County Fire Res-

cue, Bessie Hudson was promot-

ed to Battalion Chief, the highest

rank of any Black woman in the

department – that was in 2010.

This year she was recognized for

her accomplishments during her

nearly 20 years of firefighting.

Chief Hudson has overcome some

serious obstacles of racism and

cultural differences. She has been

at the forefront of Breast Cancer

Awareness and other fundraising

efforts and of the Unity in Uniform

program (a non profit organiza-

tion consisting of diverse, uni-

formed professionals from the

Central Florida Region). The schol-

arship, named after her, is given

to eligible individuals pursuing

education in emergency services

and healthcare. This year’s recipi-

ent was given to Katie Chrisman.

Congratulations to

Captain Susan Tamme

Tamme was recently appointed as

a Principal member of the NFPA

Technical Committee on Fire Ser-

vice Occupational Safety and

Health representing the Interna-

tional Association of Women in

Fire and Emergency Services.

The Committee shall have primary

responsibility for documents on

occupational safety and health in

the working environments of the

fire service. The Committee shall

also have responsibility for docu-

ments related to medical require-

ments for firefighters and the pro-

fessional qualifications for the

Fire Department Safety Officer.

(NFPA 1521, NFPA 1582, NFPA

1561, NFPA 1500, NFPA 1583,

NFPA 1561, NFPA 1584).

NFA

The application period for the first

semester of National Fire Acade-

my resident classes opens April

15. The application period closes

June 15. The first semester in-

cludes those classes scheduled

from October 1 – March 31, 2013.

Applications must be postmarked

between April 15 and June 15,

2012. All information about

courses, applications and sugges-

tions for successful completion of

the application can be found at

the following sites: Course Cata-

log and schedules

www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa/catalog/

index.shtm. For more infor-

mation, please call the Admis-

sions Office at (800) 238-3358,

ext. 1035 or (301) 447-1035.

EFO

The Executive Fire Officers (EFO)

program is now accepting applica-

tions for the Federal fiscal year:

October 1, 2012 through Septem-

ber 30, 2013. Deadline to apply is

June 15, 2012. For more infor-

mation and to apply visit: http://

www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/efop/

Leadership Conference

Hampton Fire & Rescue will host

the 2012 SEAFC 84th

Annual Lead-

ership Conference to be held at

the Hampton Roads Convention

Center from June 13-16. The con-

ference theme is, “With Challenge

Comes Opportunity.” Please make

your arrangements to attend with

us and share the information with

your fellow fire service profession-

als at all levels. Online registra-

tion and more information is

available here: http://

hampton.gov/fire/seafc.html, or

on the SEAFC site, www.seafc.org.

MEMBER NEWS

Job Posting

Fire Chief

Grand Prairie, TX

$125,000+

Deadline: 06/09/2012

The City of Grand Prairie is seek-

ing a strong, innovative and pro-

gressive leader with a collabora-

tive management style who will

engage employees through team-

work and motivation, and pro-

mote diversity within the depart-

ment. The Grand Prairie Fire De-

partment is an all-risks emergen-

cy response organization that

provides fire suppression and res-

cue, fire prevention and investiga-

tion, first responder emergency

medical services, ALS, emergency

medical transport, hazardous ma-

terials awareness response, con-

fined space and water rescue ser-

vices.

The department’s budget is

$22M. Each year the department

receives approximately 18,000

calls for service including 7,200

patient transports to emergency

rooms.

To be considered, please email a

cover letter, with critical items

included as identified below, and

resume to: Lisa Norris, GPHR HR

Director, lnorris@ gptx.org, or fax

to 972-237-8192. Your cover let-

ter must include your current sal-

ary, size of your dept., number of

employees you supervise, de-

mographics of the community you

serve, your current position and

highlights in your tenure related

to the requirements requested.

The position is open until filled;

however the first review is ex-

pected in early June. Residency

within the City is preferred.

Visit www.gptx.org to view/

download the recruitment bro-

chure.

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa/catalog/index.shtm

http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/nfa/catalog/index.shtm

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/efop/

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/nfa/efop/

http://hampton.gov/fire/seafc.html

http://hampton.gov/fire/seafc.html

http://www.seafc.org/


www.i-women.org

By Susan Tamme

In the business community, there are bosses, col-

leagues, senior management, and office staff mem-

bers – and - an employee who wants to be success-

ful!

That employee in the pursuit of success has the diffi-

cult task of winning respect; influencing people and

cultivating the cooperation of everyone he/she

meets. One of the biggest challenges for that em-

ployee is that often, the interaction and office staff

can change on a moment’s notice. So it is very im-

portant to adapt quickly and work well with ANYONE

to achieve that desired success.

In the business world – a POWER BASE – is created.

A POWER BASE consists of those associates with

whom you have created a positive reputation and

who are willing to speak to you and help you. It is

an individual who may have an expertise in which

you do not and is willing to provide you assistance.

It can be a person who has influence or authority and

who is willing to cooperate with your requests. These

are just a few examples of individuals who could

have a place in your POWER BASE.

How can members in the fire service capitalize on

this Power Base concept?

In the fire service you are often asked to function in

a higher position – to operate as an Acting Officer or

an Acting Captain / Lieutenant / Battalion Chief.

Just like the employee in the business world – you

had created a list of “go-to” people that you placed

on your telephone speed dial. The people on your

list are willing and available to answer and assist you

with those sometimes-unfamiliar situations – as you

learn your assignment. Sometimes you just needed

help to recall the path you needed to use for paper-

work. Sometimes it was to double-check the stand-

ard operating guidelines that you may have forgot-

ten. Sometimes it was for technical information.

The contacts and fire department members that you

consistently find accessible and helpful in your path

– to becoming a Leader – is called your “POWER

BASE”.

Regardless of the contact – it becomes unique to you

– to your strengths and your weaknesses. It is the

list that you create during the course of your employ-

ment/training that you find valuable. It is YOUR list

of reliable contacts that are the lifeline to your devel-

opment as a competent and expert officer.

My “Power Base” contact list - in my cell phone –

(with addresses, emails and phone numbers) on my

path to Captain, contained some of the following:

District Chief

Personnel Division Chief

Fire Department Training Center

Local Union President/ or Secretary

Employee Assistance Program

Captain of the Hazmat Truck/Shift

Captain of the Truck/ District/Shift

Occupational Health RN

A Prior Captain/

A RN Friend at the Local Hospital

My list contained these numbers for a variety of rea-

sons (i.e. Hazmat Captain). All of these contacts

gave me permission to speak to them during those

“as needed” moments. Over time, I learned from

each conversation and each contact in my POWER

BASE. My list has morphed and I now have new num-

bers and passed on some of my old numbers to

those officers just starting out. I am even on a few

cell phone “Power Bases” as well.

POWER BASES are vital to your growth within your

department and they sometimes begin as early as

your first year on the job. They are a vital link on

your path to promotion.

Susan Tamme is a Fire Captain for Tampa Fire Res-

cue (FL), with more than 18 years of fire service ex-

perience. She’s a fire instructor at the local VoTech

EMS/Fire Program and Instructor for Five Bugles Inc.

She has been teaching fire technology and EMS clas-

ses since 1995. She is a state-certified Fire Instruc-

tor, and has earned a bachelor’s in organizational

studies and a master’s degree in education. Susan is

the i-Women South East Trustee. She can be reached

at [email protected].

POWER BASE: What are they and why are

they important?

You have received this newsletter because you are a member of the International Association of Women in Fire and Emergency Services (formerly,

Women in Fire Services and Women Chief Fire Officers). If you would like to opt-out of this type of communication, please log into your member

account on our website and select “unsubscribe” or contact our staff office via email at [email protected].

MEMBERS INPUT NEEDED

As a follow-up to my recently pub-

lished book On the Line: Women

Firefighters Tell Their Stories, I

will be doing presentations at na-

tional conferences later this year. I

would greatly appreciate it if you

would take a few minutes to re-

spond to a few questions. Feel free

to expand on your answers in any

way you wish. All responses will be

kept confidential. You can return

your responses directly to me at

Linda@ rwtraining.com.

Thanks in advance for your assis-

tance! Linda Willing

1. Many fire departments report

fewer women taking their hiring

test, and many departments have

fewer women among their ranks

now than they did ten years ago.

Why do you think this is happen-

ing?

2. What has changed since you

have been on the fire department

that has made it better for women

on the job? (Things such as new

policies, improved facilities and

gear, better training, enforcement

of existing policies, better leader-

ship etc.)

3. Has anything changed for the

worse in recent years that makes

the fire department less welcoming

and inclusive to women?

4. How many years have you been

with the fire department?

5. What is your rank? 6. Type of department: Volunteer,

combination, career under 100

members, career 100-500 mem-

bers, career over 500 members.

In an effort to reduce home fire fatalities, the International Association

of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) today introduces an online toolkit, "Smart Choices

for Smoke Alarm Placement". The toolkit provides fire chiefs, fire offi-

cials and public fire educators with

materials to educate themselves

and their communities about the

different types of residential smoke

alarms and how the placement of

alarms may maximize their utility.

The kit was developed in conjunc-

tion with Kidde, the largest manu-

facturer of residential fire-safety

products (a part of UTC Climate,

Controls & Security), with the sup-

port of the IAFC’s Fire and Life

Safety Section.

The toolkit is available at

www.smartalarmchoices.org

iWomen is the voice of women in fire and emergency services.

4025 Fair Ridge Drive, Suite 300, Fairfax, VA 22033

www.i-women.org

703-896-4858

iWomen is Helping Moms Keep Their Families Safe

Safemoms.org

We recently worked with the Division of Health Promotion &

Sports Medicine at Oregon Health and Science University to

create two educational videos designed to reduce home inju-

ries. The Home Safety and Fitness for New Moms videos and

discussion guides are now available for viewing and download

at safemoms.org.

Please help us distribute this free information to your com-

munity!


FireWork - Women in Fire€¦ · Wednesday, June 6, 2012 iWomen Announces 2012-2014 STRATEGIC PLAN...

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Transcript of FireWork - Women in Fire€¦ · Wednesday, June 6, 2012 iWomen Announces 2012-2014 STRATEGIC PLAN...