WFCA has had yet another busy quarter! We were able to meet with many of the Western members this August during the IAFC’s Fire-Rescue International event held in San Antonio, TX. Thank you to those that were able to attend our social event and Division Lunch. Congratulations to our new Board Executive Committee: President Mark Niemeyer, Vice President Bob Horton, and International Director Doug Schrage.
We also hosted our annual Presidents’ Forum in beautiful Sisters, OR. Attendees of this event included representatives of each State Chiefs Associations as well as key industry leaders. Wildfire and Technology Innovation were the main focus of the conference, supplemented by group discussions addressing the biggest challenges each state is currently facing.
WFCA’s Fire Map
WFCA announced the introduction of Phase 2 of its Fire Map, which launched in July this year. Phase 2 includes 3D map views, reporting of active fire-fighting aircraft in real-time, and Fire Integrated Real-Time Intelligence System (FIRIS) specific to the state of California. These new introductions provide an even higher level of detail to keep lives, land, and property safe.
The latest updates on the Fire Map can be found on our website in the News & Publications section.
WFCA’s Damage Assessment Program
At the start of this year’s fire season, WFCA set a goal to engage its partners in technology to find a solution that would significantly decrease the turnaround time in producing digital damage assessments post-incident. The current processes in place vary, but can take up to 2 weeks to deliver visuals and data that help determine the damage of homes impacted by a wildfire.
We ran three pilot scenarios over the summer, the third being the Mill Fire in early September. We drove around the affected areas with cameras, processed the imagery and data, and provided our damage assessment online all within 24 hours. We consider it a success and will continue to grow this program over the coming months. Stay tuned for more updates.
Almost three years ago, Sourcewell became your FireRescue GPO. You saw a significant amount of information and support for this new cooperative partnership through you fire chiefs associations and in conference materials. Many presentations were made on the topic of cooperative procurement and the transition of FireRescue GPO to Sourcewell. This was the beginning of a long intentional campaign to transition the FireRescue brand into the Sourcewell cooperative procurement program which is more widely known and adopted.
Sourcewell has worked to significantly expand their contract portfolio with more than 80 public safety specific contracts (out of 600+ total contracts) and strategically partnered with most of the fire chiefs associations across the country.
There are now more fire departments, cities and counties using Sourcewell contracts than ever before with approximately 50,000 government agencies actively using Sourcewell contracts across the United States and Canada. Last year more than $6 billion was spent through Sourcewell contracts, representing a 20% increase from the previous year. Industry analysts predict this trend of increased cooperative contract use to continue in the coming years. With increased contract use and interest from virtually all aspects of the market including fleet, technology, fire station construction and more, the sky is the limit for cooperative procurement and its ability to help government and nonprofit entities save time and money in their procurement process.
Sourcewell, your FireRescue GPO strives to:
- Be proactive in soliciting appropriate contracts for your needs
- Make contracts and products easily accessible
- Educate both suppliers and fire departments on the value of cooperative procurement
WFCA Introduces Weekly Wildfire Articles
Reliable and easily accessible fire information is more important than ever. As one of our many efforts to protect from the effects of wildfire, the Western Fire Chiefs Association is publishing weekly wildfire articles through our website. Each post covers relevant topics and questions about wildfire, and offers solutions for how communities can prepare for and mitigate potential damage.
Our most influential pieces to date include California Fire Season: In-Depth Guide, Wildfire Evacuation Levels Explained, How to Keep Wildfire Smoke Out of Your House, and Effects of Wildfire on the Environment. You can read these and many more by visiting our Articles page here.
We strive to pave the way to faster, more efficient, and better-informed emergency response – and we aim to do it in style! With the help of our experienced leadership and creative staff, each article is reviewed by a fire service professional and illustrated with original artwork.
Follow and Share
We post each weekly article on our social media pages: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We welcome your agency to follow us and share this free educational content with your community members!
Top 4 Most Clicked Stories
Similar to most news organizations, the Daily Dispatch tracks clicks to gauge interest and identify the types of stories that catch our readers’ attention. We know our readers especially enjoy articles that include multimedia such as video and photos. We hope you enjoy revisiting the most clicked stories from this quarter.
#1
Fire trucks crash racing to put out New Jersey fire, 3 firefighters critically hurt
SOURCE: WNBC-TV NBC 4 NEW YORK
#2
VIDEO: Patient dead, paramedic critically injured after apparent explosion in ambulance outside Hawaii hospital
SOURCE: HAWAII NEWS NOW
#3 Meet the woman who smashed a Minnesota fire department’s physical test record
SOURCE: STAR TRIBUNE – METERED SITE
#4 Video captures house explosion that killed 3 in Indiana; coroner identifies victims
SOURCE: USA TODAY
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Don’t let legal backyard burning turn into an out of control wildfire. Join the Burn Permits App community and see where the smoke is coming from. Available to agencies within the Western Division.