When surveyed, many organizations single out leadership development and succession planning as their most glaring organizational weakness. Leadership development isn't mysterious, accidental, or something that can be postponed. Whether it's the leadership of a municipal department, a business, a community group, or a non-profit organization, succession planning is a systematic process that nearly every organization can implement. Attendees will learn how they can transform their organization into one which is highly effective in developing a strong internal pipeline of future leaders. Discussion will include the difference between mentoring and succession planning.

A dynamic introduction to different door types, special locking arrangements and the relationship with your community partners.

The South Adams County Fire Department on behalf of the City of Commerce City in Adams County Colorado adopted the requirement for residential sprinklers in November 2023. The adoption did not go smoothly and much of the preparation required for this adoption was not done ahead of time. As the months progressed, the City and Fire District struggled to keep the ordinance afloat and build the process as they went. Commerce City and SACFD learned the hard way and almost lost the ordinance more than once, threats of lawsuits, moratoriums, and exceptions were rampant throughout the nearly year-long process. This presentation will explore how the ordinance went into effect, the challenges, and ultimately how the ordinance survived, and Commerce City is now becoming a sprinklered community without exception. This presentation will demonstrate the lessons learned between the City of Commerce City Building Safety Department and the South Adams County Fire Department presented from both the Chief Building Official, Brian Kelly, and the Chief of Fire Prevention, Brittany Brown presenting jointly on how we learned how to actually get this requirement not only in place, but thriving within our community.

This 90-minutes presentation will focus on the critical need to address first responder mental health and wellness, from both a self-care and leadership standpoint. We will discuss components of an effective health and wellness program and how to make resources accessible and trusted by your first responders. A focus on the use of peer resources will be highlighted. Results from the first National Wellness Survey for Public Safety Personnel will be discussed, and a preview of the next survey will be introduced. Lastly, the Foundation for First Responder Wellness and Resiliency will be introduced, discussing its mission to bring mental health and wellness care to our first responder community in a holistic and confidential manner.

This presentation will focus on the fire and life safety issues facing our country today and into the future. Community risk issues such as climate change, provider health / wellness ? safety, community behavioral / mental health responses, wildfire, and youth firesetting will be discussed. NFA current and future courses related to each subject area will be highlighted.

The presentation will discuss the thoughts of the “day when the rescuer that you turn to needs more assistance than you”. The audience will experience a day in the life of the person that has to make the life or death decisions when they matter the most to everyone but the rescuer. Many times the rescuer has to place everyone’s else’s wellbeing above theirs. What happens when it’s time for the rescuer to make that call for him/herself. Using personal life experiences combined with case studies the audience will be brought into what deciding factors are needed to make that decision, and when and why many times we don’t make it for ourselves.

This course is designed for Fire/ Arson Investigators to better know the principals of wood construction and how a thorough knowledge of wood construction can benefit an investigation. It will review key sections of NFPA 921. The program will highlight provisions of the International Residential Code to call attention to possible code violations that could possibly cause unusual or rapid-fire spread and failure of an assembly. The course concludes with a case study.

This presentation provides an update to the fire service regarding new equipment and tactics required for firefighting in high-rise buildings. With the increase in high-rise construction across cities worldwide, including mixed-use, podium-based towers, and timber frame construction, there is a pressing need to update tactics and training methods. Unfortunately, there is no single solution for tackling EV car fires. However, we have a strategic plan to fight them in underground parking lots. Cities struggle to find firefighting solutions for catastrophic failures, exterior cladding, and EV fires. We have plans in place to address these concerns.

This session will share the findings from a recent Fire Protection Research Foundation project to identify challenges that the fire service faces in fighting fires in storage facilities, identify the knowledge gaps, share the research plan to fill the gaps, and develop any needed guidance. Storage facilities, including bulk merchandising retail buildings, have undergone many transformations over the past several years, including the introduction of automatic storage and retrieval systems (ASRS), storage of new hazards such as lithium-ion batteries, use of multiple row racking, elevated walkways within storage racks, among other new factors. The presence of any of these variables can pose a challenge to responding fire departments, and in many cases, there is a lack of guidance on how to handle these situations.
Automatic sprinklers are commonly used in many storage facilities, including large warehouses and bulk merchandising retail buildings and the presence of automatic sprinkler systems should be accounted for during firefighting efforts. When a fire occurs in these types of buildings, automatic sprinklers are intended to control the fire. While sprinklers may suppress the fire in some cases, it is anticipated that fire service intervention will be needed to achieve final fire extinguishment in most incidents. For the fire service to achieve final fire extinguishment, a complex sequence of events occurs that begins with the development of a pre-incident plan in conjunction with the property owner and ends once final fire extinguishment is achieved and salvage operations are completed.

Brad Cronin of Strategic Code Solutions will be co-presenting.

“ We Hire For Competence; We Fire For Character”, Dr. Kimberly Young Milani’s quote highlights why we have performance issues in organizations in general, including the fire service. Whether it’s poor tactical performance or disruption in the firehouse, It very rarely is due to a lack of competence, it’s due to a lack of character, poor attitude, and/or values that do not align with the fire service. We continue to primarily hire for, and emphasize tactical proficiency in the fire service. Very little emphasis on Character, Attitude, & Values. While tactical skills are vitally important, however, overwhelming complaints related to firefighter performance are related to Character deficiencies. In addition, over 80% of the time that firefighters are on duty they are not using their tactical skills, they are interacting in the firehouse or in the community where their interpersonal skills impact organizational performance. Daily media reports of firefighters behaving badly is a regular occurrence. Officers regularly complain of firefighters lacking the above attributes as they relate to the fire services’ mission, as well as negatively impacting tactical competency. When there are tactical errors and injuries on the fireground, many times it’s due to behaviors firefighters exhibit due to attitudinal projections. These deficiencies are a systemic lack of plans, programs, and processes in place to address interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, & organizational values. The class will use the Fire Engineering article, Character, Attitude & Values, Defining the Good Firefighter, (https://bit.ly/2M8cFD1) as the framework for this discussion. This program will bridge the gap between tactical competency and interpersonal attributes. It will provide a structured road map of how to correct these deficiencies to create a high-performing firefighters and fire service organizations, with a healthy culture on and off the fireground.


Learning Objectives
-Understand the importance of Character, Attitude, & Values in firefighters and fire departments and how they impact personal and organizational performance through discussion of evidence-based best practices.
-How to create, organize & sustain personal and professional development plans
-How to integrate personnel development with organizational expectations
-How to create a sustainable & relevant Mission, Vision, & values towards a cultural ethos that promotes service, respect, understanding, and compassion in and out of the firehouse.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless non-irritating gas that is imperceptible to human senses and accounts for about 20,000 ER visits each year, making it a leading cause of poisonings in the United States. In this course, you will learn about the National Carbon Monoxide Awareness Association’s (NCOAA) recommendations in the prevention of CO poisoning. Specifically, this course covers new equipment in the detection and suppression of CO, national CO poisoning datasets and trends, proposed CO safety code changes, and how to educate your community about CO safety. You won’t want to miss this session!

The number of unwanted fire alarms that fire departments are experiencing unfortunately, continues to grow. This session will address the most common reasons for why unwanted fire alarms occur and provide ways code officials can address and reduce the number of unwanted fire alarms in their community.

You arrive to an already chaotic scene when you encounter and individual who is clearly in crisis and doesn’t appear to understand what is happening. Could this person have a developmental disability? What do you do if they refuse to follow your directions? The presentation addresses how to identify developmental disability characteristics; behaviors you may witness during a crisis situation; and accommodations and de-escalation techniques.

NFPA 241 is adopted my many jurisdictions but is often overlooked and poorly understood. This presentation is an overview of the concepts and requirements in NFPA 241, with particular focus on topics relevant to fire officials and those in the fire protection field.

:NFPA 25, 2023 edition This seminar reviews the roles and responsibilities of the property owner, AHJ, and service provider as spelled out in NFPA 25. A detailed review of the property owner’s responsibilities as outlined in Chapter 4 are provided along with the required interaction of the AHJ and service provider. The seminar concludes by examining the needed characteristics of today’s inspector along with their duties. This seminar benefits property owners, AHJs, contractors, and individual inspectors.

I have delivered iterations of this presentation several times, and it has consistently been well-received. This dynamic and interactive presentation centers on fostering collaboration between older and younger generations to advance the volunteer fire service. However, our discussion encompasses more than that. We delve into recruitment and retention challenges, thoroughly examine the reasons behind generational gaps in the "workplace," and identify potential sources of conflict that can lead to "growing pains." Furthermore, we propose solutions to overcome these obstacles.

This presentation is highly adaptable and can be tailored to fit various time slots, ranging from 30 minutes to 1.5 hours.

While it is based on PowerPoint, it incorporates interactive elements to maintain audience engagement. I have recently presented similar versions to the West Virginia State Fire Commission. The presentation aims to prompt attendees to reflect on their perceptions of working across generational lines and inspire them to implement effective strategies and ideas within their respective departments. Depending on the allocated time, I may delve into the realm of social media, specifically exploring how Generation Z utilizes it as their primary source of daily news content. This knowledge can be leveraged to enhance recruitment efforts.

Ensuring your social and digital media content is accessible is crucial, especially during emergencies when time is precious. Join us for a fun, interactive session designed for emergency management professionals! Discover how to use trending AI tools to create, test, and streamline accessible content across platforms, including videos, social media, and graphic design. Bring your cell phone and participate in real-time polls and hands-on activities as we guide you through step-by-step processes to develop inclusive posts, videos, and graphics. Learn how to test your content for accessibility and get tips to save time without sacrificing quality. By the end of the session, you'll be equipped with practical skills to post accessible digital content quickly and efficiently. Make your emergency communications inclusive and engaging with AI tools, ensuring no one is left behind when every second counts.

This presentation will identify the common uses and risks associated with lithium-ion batteries, share resources for risk analysis and mitigation, and will inform participants about researched-based education, safety messaging and resources available through FSRI’s Take C.H.A.R.G.E. of Battery Safety campaign.

Recruitment and retention have been identified as a major issue facing the fire service. This presentation will talk about the causative factors. It will also show how the ways we train and interact with new firefighters is potentially adding to the problem. We have five generations in the fire service when you consider volunteers, combination, and paid.
The way we relate, the way we train can’t be the same old way we have been doing it. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators may be different, ways of learning are different, and the use of technology is not like that of other generation in the past.
The use of simulation based learning will be explored as well as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality, (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR) implementation in the fire service.
This new generation is one that feeds on information looks for the “8 second fix”. We must adapt our way of looking at things. Change our approach so that we build the next leaders in public safety.
New tools will be explored, immersive learning products demonstrated in the new training environment. New ways, new approaches, and new ideas for success.

This seminar is intended to empower fire service professionals with the tools and strategies needed to successfully engage with decision-makers at all levels, from the departmental and local levels to the state and federal levels. This seminar will discuss strategies for effective communication, ways to cultivate and build partnerships both in government and in the community, and tips for engaging in advocacy at various levels of government.

Very few fires and emergency incidents go perfectly, some even have poor outcomes that injure or kill firefighters. In these incidents we don't adequately analyze and review the root cause, as well as planning for improvement. Many after-incident critiques become a blame game that causes distrust and disharmony. Using an objective and proven process to review the incidents helps not only correct problems but even improves future performance. Conducting an after-action review, or debrief, enables crew members to analyze what happened, why it happened during an incident, and what improvements can be made. It also provides department leaders with a roadmap for improvements.

After-action reviews in the formal sense were originally developed by the military and all effective leaders have used them as they support a culture of accountability. The Military has implemented a successful After Action Review process which is also utilized by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. This concept will be the framework for this class. I will also use my own experiences of conducting, as well as, participating in After Action Reviews. After Action Review debriefs can be structured and formal (appropriate after a large complex event) or informal, run by a company officer for a quick review.

After Action Reviews are about fixing the process first, the people second. Most root cause analyses find that the cause of a problem is flaws in the process, not primarily the people. This program will provide the framework to conduct a structured and objective After Action Review that will outline corrective actions to reduce errors and improve future performance.

The benefits of using this process are:
It’s a proven process
This process emphasizes correcting the problem, not the person. What process was inadequate or ineffective?
It provides a consistent process for all who use it.
The goal of the process is for continuous improvement
It’s a tool that allows incidents to be learning opportunities for others.
There is an online program on how to best use the AAR process
There are online resources online that can be shared to make it easier to conduct an AAR
It can be used on any type of incident, by any service.

Join Karen Berard-Reed, NFPA CRR Lead, in Baltimore, the home of the iconic Old Bay Seasoning™, for an engaging session designed to spice up your Community Risk Reduction (CRR) strategies. Just as Old Bay combines a unique blend of ingredients to enhance flavor, this session will blend essential CRR components to create an effective and comprehensive approach to community safety.
Discover how the principles of NFPA 1300, the Standard on Community Risk Assessment and Community Risk Reduction, are as foundational to your CRR efforts as celery salt is to Old Bay. Learn to use data and community profiles to add the necessary "spice" to your prevention strategies, ensuring they are tailored to your community's unique needs. Attendees will also get to see the Maryland CRAIG 1300™ dashboard in action. This demonstration will showcase how this digital assistant simplifies your Community Risk Assessment process and provides actionable insights.
Through practical examples, you'll see CRR in action and understand how to implement these strategies effectively. With opportunities for interaction, questions, and networking, you'll leave with a robust recipe for enhancing community safety.
Join us to blend tradition with innovation and bring a flavorful approach to your CRR efforts, inspired by the rich heritage of Old Bay Seasoning.

This presentation, instructed by ATF Engineers, ATF Special Agents and local investigators will detail two recent firefighter Line of Duty Death (LODD) investigative case studies to review potential failure modes of Corrugated Stainless Steel Tubing (CSST), forensic investigative techniques, and several firefighting tactical considerations that resulted from the analysis. ATF provided technical assistance to the Howard County Maryland Office of the Fire Marshal at the scene of a large residential fire located at 7005 Woodscape Drive on the morning of July 23, 2018. A fire occurred in the 8,400 square foot single family residence that resulted in LODD of Firefighter Nathan Flynn after the floor collapsed into the burning crawl space below. ATF personnel utilized engineering analysis methods including field fire testing, large-scale laboratory fire testing, advanced computer fire modeling and electronic data sources to assist with determining the origin and cause of the fire, the route of fire spread throughout the structure and the events that led to the firefighter MAYDAY and LODD. A video timeline including computer fire modeling, fire testing and electronic data will be shared, along with the methodology used by investigators to generate this data. A fact-based comparison between the Woodscape Drive LODD and the Ball Road LODD incident three years later will be discussed. Both fires originated due to lightning-induced arc failure of CSST. The presentation will conclude with detailed review of the types of CSST, modern methods of mitigating arc-induced hole formation, and a hands-on demonstration of arc-induced failure of CSST.

This course will discuss community risk reduction including the 5 E’s, and how education should be the most prominent part of any fire prevention program. This course will introduce CRR programs and how they can be used by the fire department to more proactively engage their community to ultimately reduce injuries, fatalities, and property damage. The intent of this course is to demonstrate that education is vital to the sustainability of a community. This course will discuss how SELLING life safety is a fundamental concept in the development of a community risk reduction program. The intent of this course is to show quantitatively how to assess your community to find the areas of need, analyze the issues present, and develop the best intervention means to address your community's issues. This presentation will address how through research-based practices we can assess our issues within our community and how to find funding, resources, and partners to address those issues. Overall, life safety must be sold in a manner in which the community wants to invest in life safety as a means of self-preservation to initiate buy-in to establish the domino effort toward progressive safety-based practices that multiply. This course is based on how these efforts can quantitatively and qualitatively be measured to present actionable numbers to assess vulnerabilities, and action points to begin. From there, action can be taken, and partners, resources, and funding is then needed. This presentation will discuss specific means and methods in which how to achieve buy-in from stakeholders to achieve the end results, of successful and effective community risk reduction programs with minimal costs to the agency, the fire department. The concept of this presentation is that community risk reduction programs are a fundamental part of a fire department's mission to best serve their citizens and that lack of adequate forethought into mitigative measures is a disservice to the community.

Complex investigation review of entire case

The Enclave Learning Group was a joint, multi-agency effort developed to take a deep dive into core issues affecting the life safety of the tenants of the Enclave apartment complex. The group consisted of members from the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS), the Department of Permitting Services (DPS), and the Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA).

This work illustrates the department’s strategies of “can notice, can relate, and can adapt,” and allows us to develop and implement meaningful changes, in partnership with other County departments, to create and enhance public safety and improve outcomes for at least one community.

The work group allows us to better understand the context and environment in which we all operate to work toward the County Executive’s vision of a more equitable and inclusive Montgomery County, which includes safe neighborhoods and thriving youth and families.

This program will provide an overview of the revised "Remembering When" program that was updated for the next generation of older adults. It will provide individuals and organizations with the path to be able to deliver this program and materials locally. We will also cover the new programs and resources available to the fire safety community form NFPA to support their CRR efforts and public education initiatives.

This Course introduces firefighters and fire inspectors to tall mass timber (TMT) buildings (that can be constructed up to 18 stories in some cases), the history of cross laminated timber (CLT), how it is made and its properties. The Course outlines the new code requirements in the International Building Code (IBC) and discusses the extensive fire testing that was conducted. The program addresses specific fire service concerns

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Peer support in the Maryland (MD) Fire Service will be defined as part of the Maryland Public Safety Code § 7-404's requirement of a best practices report enacted in October 2024. Many will view the MD Behavioral Health Administration's (BHA) report as a program requirement. That can create just checkboxes and possibly miss the mark so our members can access vital resources for their wellness. Mike and Margaret will lead an evidence-based discussion on ways leaders can embrace a peer support program within their organization at little or no cost and discuss the established relationships around the State and Region. This discussion would be a great way for attendees to network within the Maryland Fire Service behavioral health community.

In July 2023, a commercial building fire occurred at the Advance Auto Parts in Reisterstown, Maryland. The fire quickly grew to 3 Alarms and two career firefighter MAYDAYS were transmitted within the first twenty-two minutes of initial onset. Detective Sergeant Vaccaro shares a unique perspective of this incident, having conducted nearly forty in-depth interviews with fire fighters who were at the scene when the MAYDAYS occurred, as well as the “hands on” aspect of the origin and cause investigation. Fire ground audio, video and photographs will be presented, as well as interviews from the actual fire fighters who survived the MAYDAY, and those tasked with rapid intervention related to the incident. Crime scene photographs and video will also be presented.

Discission of the Assistance to Fire Grants, best practices and the award process

Li-Ion emerging contaminants and what all products of combustion are produced by Li-Ion fires covering research from FSRI and others like RISE, EV Bikes, cars and large scale BESS Installations