WFCA Quarterly Newsletter 2024 | Q2

Published:July 24, 2024
Edited:January 8, 2025

Learn more about what the Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA) and its partners worked on during Q2 2024 in this edition of the WFCA Quarterly Newsletter.

President’s Message

Dear WFCA Members,
As we move into the third quarter of this year, I am thrilled to share with you the remarkable progress and dedication demonstrated by our team. Our staff has been working tirelessly to drive forward our mission and deliver outstanding results across all areas of our operations.

Celebrating Staff Achievements
I want to highlight the incredible work our staff have accomplished over the past few months:

Learn more about what the Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA) and its partners worked on during Q2 2024 in this edition of the WFCA Quarterly Newsletter.

Enhanced Professional Development Programs: Staff at the WFCA have been feverishly getting ready to deliver at our next FORCE conference to be held in Sisters, Oregon at the end of September. This year we engaged each WFCA represented state for a list of current or emerging leaders that we then used for this invite-only conference. Each state delivered, and we look forward to welcoming these state leaders to a great line-up of speakers. Another exciting opportunity just announced will be our Inaugural IGNITE Symposium – featuring an extension of our great educational offerings over a 2-day conference. Space is limited to the first 250 registrations, so don’t delay!
National outreach: Staff and our Board of Directors continue to be involved and provide feedback on two pivotal issues affecting the West – the Congressional Wildfire Commission report and the proposed OSHA changes found within the proposed Emergency Response standard (currently called the “Fire Brigades” standard).
State Conference engagement: Members of the Executive Committee continue to visit our great State Associations during their annual conference. A continued great opportunity to hear from our members about their success and challenges. As always, the WFCA stands ready to help them meet those challenges!

Introducing Emergent

I am excited to introduce a new partner who plays a pivotal role in our journey toward innovation and excellence. Emergent is a cutting-edge first responder software provider specializing in next-generation solutions for Fleet Management, Incident Command, and Records Management Systems (RMS). Their expertise and innovative solutions will significantly enhance our capabilities and streamline our processes.

Emergent Partnership Key Benefits:

Advanced Technology: Emergent brings state-of-the-art fleet and operations solutions that improve data management and accessibility for our members.
Increased Efficiency: Their systems are designed to optimize workflows, reducing the time and effort required for records management all while quickly enhancing departments’ situational awareness across every apparatus, building, and call.
Access Driven, Security Enhanced: With an emphasis on interoperability and security, our members can be assured that their data is protected with the highest standards.

We believe that this partnership will not only elevate our operations but also provide immense value to our members. Stay tuned for more updates as we integrate Emergent’s solutions into our systems.

Looking Ahead

As we continue to build on our successes, I encourage all members to stay engaged and take advantage of the resources and opportunities available. Our collective efforts are what make WFCA a thriving and supportive community.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication.

In Service –

Chief Mark Niemeyer, City of Boise
WFCA President

The WFCA IGNITE Symposium – February 11-12, 2025 – Las Vegas, NV

Take advantage of the early bird pricing for IGNITE, registration available now for just $450 but will increase to $550. Don’t delay, space is limited to the first 250 registrations!

Visit us at this year’s Fire-Rescue International!

We are excited to see all our Western members at the Fire-Rescue International event next month in Dallas. We’ll be located in the IAFC Pavilion (booth #2541) and at a larger booth (#1523), where we will showcase our latest technology advancements in partnership with our collaborators. Enjoy live podcast interviews, say hello, and enter our contest for a chance to win some new Western swag!

Sourcewell for Fire Departments – Purchasing Support for All Items, Big and Small

As fire departments face extended lead times and rising costs, cooperative purchasing through Sourcewell is emerging as a strategic approach to efficiently secure vital equipment and supplies for the largest career to the smallest volunteer departments.

Cooperative purchasing can be a highly effective tool for streamlining the purchasing process for everything from office supplies to large vehicles. Examples of products and services specific to the fire and emergency services include: Fire Apparatus and Ambulances Turnout Gear and SCBA Firefighting Tools and Equipment Software and Communications Equipment EMS Equipment including Cots, Cardiac Monitors, and Supplies By using Sourcewell contracts, departments with specific requirements satisfy their procurement requirements, and others like volunteer departments can use Sourcewell contracts knowing they are getting competitive best value pricing. This ensures they are using the public money donated to them in the best way possible.

To view Public Safety contracts available through Sourcewell, click HERE.

To check your Sourcewell member status or to view all contracts available to you through Sourcewell, visit the Sourcewell website, email [email protected] or call 877-585-9706.

June 2024 | 5×5: The Public Safety Innovation Summit | *Photo Credit: First Responder Network Authority*

Partnership with GeoCam and the Public Safety Communications Research Division (PSCR)

In June of 2024, we at WFCA, in collaboration with GeoCam, presented our work at PSCR’s 5×5: The Public Safety Innovation Summit. We shared progress on our grant project titled “Rapid, Scalable Outdoor and Indoor Machine Learning-Based Mapping of Fire Department Pre-Plans.” This project showcases GeoCam’s system, which creates accurate outdoor and indoor “streetview” maps without relying on complex LiDAR technology. Our combined efforts focus on simplifying and automating key areas:

Automated Fire Pre-Plan Mapping: We’re at the forefront of utilizing Machine Learning and computer vision to automate the creation of fire pre-plan maps, which include detailed floor plans of critical infrastructure.
GeoCam 360 Camera Usability: Geocam’s streamlined system facilitates automatic data upload from their 360 cameras to the GeoCam Managed SaaS platform for processing. This innovation eliminates the cumbersome process of manual data handling by pre-incident planning teams.
Validation through Testing: Recognizing the scarcity of research on the impact of pre-plan maps and virtual training on fire response, we’re starting efforts to fill this gap. Our project includes developing a testing program to assess the effectiveness of combining pre-plan maps with immersive imagery in training scenarios. We want to quantify the impact the technology can have.

Our journey has yielded significant insights, particularly in the evolution of fire pre-plans. Contact Dave Van Ballegooijen at [email protected] for more information.

Our Preplan Hub

The Western Fire Chief’s Association is proud to provide resources and tools in our new Preplan Hub to aid our fire service members in the protection of our communities. Whether you are looking for vital information on emerging technology, incident management or strategic planning, the Preplan Hub has articles and checklists to enhance the efficiency of your agency!

Here are some of our newest articles to provide insight and guidance to fire service leaders:

“Fire Incident Command System: Your Ultimate Guide” – Enhance fire department operations with our comprehensive guide to the Incident Command System (ICS). Streamline coordination for efficient emergency response.

“How Satellites Help with Fire Detection” – Uncover the important role of satellite technology in wildfire detection. Learn how these orbiting eyes offer early warnings and enhance firefighting efforts.

“Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC) in Firefighting” – Delve into the innovative use of Thermal Imaging Cameras (TIC) in firefighting. Discover how this technology enhances safety and efficiency in challenging environments.

It is crucial for our industry leaders to be in the know with what is new and upcoming, let the Preplan Hub be your provider of today’s top and trending information.

Follow us on Social Media

Join our social media community! The Western Fire Chief’s Association is active on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X. Our followers get a peek in on what is happening at WFCA. We share our latest Wildfire and Preplan Articles, conference appearances, and the latest information on our upcoming IGNITE Symposium!

Have a question? Let’s hear it! Send us a direct message (DM) or leave a comment on one of our latest posts and we’ll answer it personally! Don’t be the last to know, follow us on social media today and be engaged with what’s new at WFCA.

Struggle Well Training

At Boulder Crest Foundation — a national, nonprofit organization — we’re dedicated to ensuring our nation’s first responders, service members, veterans, and family members can thrive in the midst of lives filled with stress, struggle, hardship, and trauma.

Every year we lose more first responders to suicide than in the line of duty. For far too many of these remarkable public servants, the cost of service to their community is the quality of their lives. We can and must do better.

To that end, we’ve spent the last decade training over 100,000 firefighters, law enforcement officers, veterans, military, and others on the front lines of society to transform their struggle into lifelong strength using the Science of Posttraumatic Growth (PTG).

Our PTG based program for first responders, Struggle Well, is centered on prevention and cultural transformation. The comprehensive training normalizes struggle and prepares participants to manage the stress and hardships of their jobs; reducing the need for significant interventions in the future.

What we’re seeing is a tremendous impact as evidenced by quantitative, qualitative, and anecdotal feedback that demonstrates the effort is facilitating fundamental personal and cultural transformation.

Bring Struggle Well training to your Agency. Visit BoulderCrest.org.

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WFCA Quarterly Newsletter 2024 | Q2

Published:July 24, 2024
Edited:January 8, 2025

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