Stop the Bleed® is a course developed by the College of American Surgeons and has taught over 4 million people how to stop life threatening bleeding due to severe injury. The UM R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center has a mission for all Marylanders to know these lifesaving steps and be able to act when the time comes.
This dynamic and interactive class will provide participants with the essential knowledge and skills to effectively manage severe bleeding in emergency situations. We will discuss the importance of quickly assessing the scene and then mitigating life threats, bleeding injuries, to save someone’s life.
Participants will leave with a certification in Stop the Bleed and key knowledge in basic bleeding control skills.

"In 2023, the MTA added seven zero-emission Battery Electric Buses (BEB) to our fleet as a pilot project. There are three 60ft New Flyer SR2725 buses and four 40ft New Flyer SR2726 buses. The long-term goal of MTA is to convert the entire fleet to zero-emission buses.
Adding these BEBs to the fleet brings many benefits, including reduced carbon emissions, quieter bus operation, no tailpipe emissions, and reduced maintenance activities with no oil changing requirement. The BEBs also present new challenges to local first responders and towing recovery partners, primarily from battery-related fires. Almost all EV battery fires start with thermal runaway, which can occur when a battery cell short-circuits.

BEBs catch fire less frequently than gasoline-powered buses, but the duration and intensity of the fires can make them considerably more difficult to put out due to the use of lithium-ion battery packs. Lithium-ion batteries are notoriously difficult to keep cool. BEB batteries are essentially their own fuel source; they can burn for hours, and it can be extremely difficult for firefighters to cool down the bus. Even when a BEB fire appears to be out, it can reignite, which is why it’s so important for firefighters to be trained in putting out these types of fires. According to EV Fire Safe, an organization that researches EV battery fires and the associated emergency response, as of 2024, there have been at least 27 verifiable BEB fires. This includes a BEB fire in Frederick County, Maryland, in 2016 on a non-MTA vehicle.

To address these new challenges, MTA implemented a robust BEB First Responder Training program, which recently won the 2025 American Public Transportation Association's Emergency Management Gold Award. This training program has several elements, including classroom instruction providing an overview and response considerations to incidents involving a BEB bus. The hands-on training/bus tour will include an overview of all internal and external components of the BEB.
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We explore the how and why of our brain functions, how we use this for training, and how this often works against us and our mental health and well-being.

This presentation will do a brief dive into an emerging issue affecting communities across the country: Hoarding Disorder. Hoarded homes are a high-risk area for fire-related injury and death, both for the individual occupying the home and life-saving professionals responding to an emergency. This presentation will introduce Hoarding Disorder, provide suggestions for professionals interacting with residents in hoarded homes, and discuss creative risk reduction strategies. The presenter was previously stationed as a Public Health Advisor at a local health department in Massachusetts; intensively trained in Hoarding Disorder during her two-year fellowship, she utilized best practices to implement new city-wide programming and policies related to hoarding in her community.

Presentation will provide best practices on getting firefighters involved in public fire safety education efforts. This will be a short version of what we shared at FDIC.

Firefighter Life Safety Initiative #13 states: "Firefighters and their families should have access to counseling and psychological support." Stress First Aid (SFA), an important component of fulfilling this Life Safety Initiative, is a set of supportive actions designed to help emergency responders assist each other in reducing the negative impacts of stress. SFA was designed specifically to support firefighters, EMS, and rescue personnel.

In this dynamic session, Ryan Whittington, Community & Department Engagement Officer for the Ocean City Fire Department, will walk participants through the full process of taking a life safety program from concept to execution. From budgeting and making the initial request to managing logistics and staff, Ryan will break down how to successfully implement community initiatives such as Fire Camp, school partnerships, and public safety expos. The presentation will also highlight Ocean City’s innovative Therapy Dog Program, showcasing how the department’s therapy dog, Max, is used to connect with children and adults alike—bridging serious fire safety topics in a way that is engaging, inclusive, and impactful.

Across the country, thrilling science demonstrations can sometimes turn dangerous, leaving students and staff burned or injured when mishaps occur in school science classrooms and other laboratory settings. This workshop delves into the critical role of code compliance. Utilizing the latest codes and standards developed by global experts establishes minimum levels of safety to protect people and property, yet these standards are often overlooked in educational environments.

Join us for a compelling case study detailing how a proactive fire chief collaborated with a high school's science department faculty to overhaul policies and procedures following a disastrous demonstration. This incident didn't just result in the activation of the sprinkler system; it triggered a full-scale response from the state hazmat team. The presenter will highlight how the stringent requirements of NFPA 45, Standard on Fire Protection for Laboratories Using Chemicals, and key elements of a U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Safety Bulletin can be leveraged to ensure the health and safety of both staff and students in school settings. Attendees will gain actionable insights into how to implement a similar comprehensive approach to laboratory safety and code enforcement within their communities, preventing future "explosive" science experiments from becoming real-life emergencies.

Community Risk Reduction requires a data-informed approach. While many teams value the Community Risk Assessment (CRA) as the critical first step, some are unsure what the next steps look like. In this session, NFPA Community Risk Reduction Director, Karen Berard-Reed, will explain how to move from community data to an outcomes-driven CRR plan. Using NFPA 1300 as a foundation, attendees will explore how meaningful goals shape resource allocation and performance metrics to ensure work can stay laser-like focused on intended outcomes. This session provides a practical roadmap for shifting risk reductions initiatives from a “spray and pray” approach to data-informed, outcome-driven strategies. Participants will walk through real-world examples to build out a foundation for effective CRR.

This session will present a national perspective on the growing threat of wildfire and its
impact on people and the built environment. Attendees will gain an understanding of the
scope of the wildfire crisis, including case studies of recent catastrophic events such as
the Marshall, Lahaina, and Los Angeles wildfires. The session will include a review of
wildfire history and trends in the mid-Atlantic region, present real-world wildfire
mitigation strategies, and offer science-based recommendations for building in wildfire-
prone areas.

Did you know that the manner of death in 89% of all home fire fatalities is smoke inhalation? Did you also know that residential fire sprinklers can reduce the risk of dying in a home fire fatalities by more than 90%? Smoke alarms can also double your chance of surviving a home fire! Together, residential fire sprinklers and operational smoke alarms are an unbeatable combo. Home fire fatalities can be lessened, we just need this unbeatable team, and we need it everywhere in the United States, we need advocacy for both residential fire sprinklers and home smoke alarms to lessen our fire risk because America is still burning. In short, we need both, we need home smoke alarms, and we need residential fire sprinkler systems and we need to be the voice for both, to actively address America’s fire problem as we have the best seat in the house to see it, we need to push the agenda towards our favor to actively address strategies to reduce the fire fatality problem. Although smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers are an unbeatable combination, they are without an advocate unless the fire service takes a more active role in pushing them to the front of the line, and as America’s fire service, we should be.

This presentation is a collaborative effort with Master Firefighter Tim Beatty from the MCFRS Swift Water Rescue Team and aims to enhance police officers' understanding of how to handle water-related emergencies. As of 2024, MCPD has responded to over 600 critical missing cases, with the number continuing to rise. In these cases, individuals with mental illnesses often tend to "wander." From June to October 2024 in Maryland, four children with autism, aged between 3 and 6 years old, were tragically found deceased in bodies of water. Additionally, since 2000, 47 police officers have drowned while attempting to assist others.

Training and development are key to attracting and retaining the best employees. A focus on operational skills isn’t enough. In order to recruit high performers and reduce turnover, fire departments must train people in areas that boost their autonomy, engagement, and purpose.

Critical thinking skills are one of the most sought-after competencies in today’s fire service. Every day we face rapid change and unpredictability while undergoing intense public scrutiny. The ability to evaluate information, question assumptions, explore alternatives, and make reasoned decisions—often under pressure—can directly impact performance, safety, outcomes, team coordination, and more.

Critical thinking is a skillset that can only be taught through delegation and experience. People don’t learn to think critically by following a leader’s instructions; they need the opportunity to make choices, take risks, and learn from the consequences. Session attendees will discover tactics and best practices to:

• Empower teams to hone their critical thinking skills by giving them the autonomy to make decisions
Create a culture of curiosity, inquiry, and continuous improvement in the firehouse
Teach their teams to thoughtfully respond, instead of reacting
Normalize evidence-based thinking and respectfully challenge others’ viewpoints
Help team members become more self-aware (including identifying assumptions and misconceptions that might be influencing their thinking and decision-making)
Encourage reasonable risk-taking (which leads to growth and innovation)

Learning Objectives:
• Define critical thinking and explain its importance in the fire service
• Identify the challenges that emerging leaders face in developing critical thinking skills
• Discover and apply practical, actionable tactics and techniques to develop and strengthen critical thinking in fire service teams
• Encourage a culture of continuous learning and inquiry by modeling critical thinking, providing feedback, and promoting peer-to-peer knowledge sharing
• Recognize and mitigate the influence of bias, assumptions, ego, and tradition in decision-making and organizational processes

This presentation tells the story of how one fire department changed its way of planning for the future, and how other departments may benefit from similar thinking.