St. George Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Chad Roberson has been accepted into the third year of the Fire Service Executive Development Institute, the International Association of Fire Chiefs announced.

Roberson competed with new fire chiefs and chief officers from across the country to become a member of the 2015 program. Roberson also has been awarded a scholarship to cover the expenses for attending the program, a news release from the St. George Fire Department said.

The Fire Service Executive Development Institute is a yearlong leadership development program created and implemented by the IAFC to provide new and aspiring fire chiefs with the tools needed to have successful and productive tenures, the release said.

The institute will meet in May for its first six-day session, in addition to two other sessions six months apart. The group will communicate between sessions using an online community.

Roberson has 27 years of experience and rose through the ranks of the St. George Fire Department.

He holds an associate degree in fire science, a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree. He also has completed the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and, in 2011, was awarded professional accreditation as a certified fire officer, the release said.

In addition to being assistant fire chief, Roberson serves as the technical rescue coordinator for the department.

He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and serves on its Emergency Management Committee. In addition, Roberson is an executive board member of the Louisiana Fire Chiefs Association, the Louisiana Fire Chiefs Foundation and the Louisiana Municipal Association. He served for six years as an executive board member of the States Urban Search & Rescue Alliance.

Roberson is married and the father of two elementary school-aged sons. He is a volunteer coach at his sons’ school, St. Jude, and the YMCA. He is also a member of the St. Jude Catholic Church Men’s Club and a member of the St. Jude Church Fair Core Committee.

The Motorola Solutions Foundation has provided the IAFC with a grant to fund the program.

Story from The Advocate

Photo provided by Eldon Ledoux -- The International Association of Fire Chiefs announced that Assistant Fire Chief Chad Roberson, of the St. George Fire Department, has been accepted into the third year of the Fire Service Executive Development Institute.

The National Volunteer Fire Council has released six new videos on the proper use and maintenance of personal protective equipment for firefighters.

The short videos, available on both NVFC's YouTube channel and its equipment resources webpage, cover the following topics: The importance of PPE during overhaul, PPE cleaning guidelines, Guidance on replacing PPE, Protective clothing and equipment standards, Securing grants for PPE and New PPE regulatory standards. 

Just a couple of weeks ago at a meeting in Florida, the final public comment revisions were made to NFPA’s new Confined Space Guide (NFPA 350). The document now goes before the NFPA Board for final approval. If all goes well, the new standard may be available next year.

Back in August 2013, we first made you aware of the proposed NFPA 350 document regarding working in and around confined spaces. (Read original post here) Designed as a “best practices guide,” it goes further in explaining what needs to be done to protect workers who make entry or work around confined spaces. We also made the draft document available on our website and encouraged your input, which many of you did. 

NFPA 350 will be an excellent resource for larger companies and municipalities with well-established permit systems, as well as smaller organizations that may not totally understand what is needed to safely work in and around confined spaces. Hopefully, this guide will fill-in some of the gaps or questions that arise when deciphering OSHA 1910.146 (Permit-Required Confined Spaces) as well as provide a better understanding of identifying hazards, ventilation, control measures, atmospheric monitoring, rescue requirements and rescue team qualifications, just to mention a few.

So, to all of you who participated by providing public comments, our hats off to you for taking an active role in providing a best practices guide to help protect others that do a dangerous job!

Washington – On April 3, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) completed its review of OSHA's Confined Spaces in Construction Standard, paving the way for the final rule to move forward. The rule (29 CFR 1926.36) has been in the works for more than a decade. An OIRA review is one of the last steps a federal agency must take before it can publish a final rule. According to OSHA's timetable, the confined spaces final rule was originally scheduled for publication in March.

In 1993, OSHA issued a general industry rule to protect employees who enter confined spaces while engaged in general industry work (29 CFR 1910.146). This standard has not been extended to cover employees entering confined spaces while engaged in construction work because of unique characteristics of construction work sites. Pursuant to discussions with the United Steel Workers of America that led to a settlement agreement regarding the general industry standard, OSHA agreed to issue a proposed rule to protect construction workers in confined spaces.

Source: Membership News Alert from National Safety Council

UPDATE: Roco is hearing that a final ruling will be released within the next 6 weeks. As soon as the information is provided, we will be sure to post for you!

Maintaining proficiency when building rescue systems requires skills and experience – that’s why regular practice is critical!

With continued practice in keeping it safe and simple (KISS), rescuers can learn to be more efficient with their equipment as well as in selecting and setting up rigging anchors. Proficiency with this allows them to get a running start in constructing the foundation of all rescue systems.

1.  Use an area that has a variety of simulated anchor opportunities. Try to create a mix of bombproof, substantial, and inappropriate anchors.

2.  Clearly state the objectives and point out exactly where the lines have to fall in terms of plumb line, and whether it’s to be set up as a lowering system, safety line belay or static line (rappel line).

3.  Have a variety of anchoring material and equipment available, such as utility straps, webbing, extra rope shorts, carabiners, tri-links, etc. Lay out limited amounts of this equipment.

4.  Here are the rules:

• For each rotation, define the type of system to be built (lowering, static or belay) and the type of anchor system such as: bombproof, substantial (multi-point) or self-equalizing.

• After each rotation, participants must give up a piece of equipment they used (i.e., if they used utility belts as anchors, remove the belts from available equipment for the next rotation).

• Repeat as many times as participants can come up with solutions as you switch between anchor types, systems and available equipment.

5. With a little planning, you can come up with an order and number of rotations possible along with an equipment list that should end with just the rope and a device. This drill can be adjusted to help newer team members better understand rigging principles and techniques, or to challenge more experienced team members based on the number and type of rotations and equipment available.

6. Another way to challenge more experienced team members is to limit the knots to be used by providing a master list of knots. Then, eliminate a knot from the list after it has been used.

This drill will help new rescuers better understand their options while taking a good anchor rigger to the next level.

Next in this series: QUICK DRILL #8 - Petzl ID