 Photo by Jen Underwood |
Written by Jo Ellen Kelly
 Photo by Jen Underwood |
The first I-PASS Summit for the Everyone Goes Home regional and state advocates was held at the National Fire Academy on March 14-16, 2008. In attendance were state and regional advocates who had come for both instruction and time to meet to discuss goals and plans for the advocates program. EGH advocates serve as volunteer ambassadors from the Everyone Goes Home program to local fire service departments and organizations. The state advocates are organized into ten regional teams who are coordinated by a regional advocate In addition to the advocates, approximately thirty general attendees were invited to listen to the lectures and take classes.
The Summit opened on March 14th with a welcome and greeting by Chief Ron Siarnicki, Executive Director of the National Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation, and by Chief Charlie Dickinson, representing FEMA and the United States Fire Academy. Both charged the advocates to take back to their regions a renewed and reinvigorated passion for reducing firefighter line-of-duty injuries and deaths. Chief Richard Anderson, Program Director for the EGH program, overviewed past year's progress and previewed this year's agenda. Chiefs Rich Marinucci, Steve Kimple, Advocate Program Managers; Ernie Mitchell, Organizational Liaison and Courage to Be Safety Program Manager, Bob Colameta, presented a review of their respective programs.
 Photo by Jen Underwood |
Speakers throughout the day offered the participants opportunities to learn more about the impact of culture on firefighter injuries and LODDs. Dr. Denis Onieal, Superintendent of the National Fire Academy, gave the first lecture of the day which asked the question "Where Do We Go From Here?" in terms of raising awareness and adopting prevention in our daily lives. Chief Bill Pessemier presented an overview of his doctoral work on fire service safety management systems, provocatively entitled, "Is Our Culture Killing Us?" Steve Austin of Responder.Safety.com spoke to the issues surrounding highway safety for first responders, and previewed his organization's new initiatives.
During the afternoon session several speakers asked the EGH advocates to encourage the fire service to move into other advocacy arenas. Vicki Pritchett, Facilitator of the Common Voices Coalition, explained how important firefighters could be as burn community advocates. Mike Dubron, President of the Firefighter Cancer Survivor Network, spoke to issues surrounding firefighters and occupational cancers. Mike McEvoy gave a presentation on the MRSA, the virulent staph bacteria that has found its way into the American fire station.
 Photo by Jen Underwood |
To round out this very full day, Peter McBride, an Incident Safety Officer for the Ottawa (Canada) Fire Service, gave an overview of building construction deficiencies in his talk, 'You are Fire-duh!" Finally, the I-PASS audience was fortunate to have Larry Sagan, Executive Director for Fire 20/20 discuss his organizations commitment to multi-cultural understanding and diversity in the fire service. Their motto is, "understanding leads to safety."
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During Saturday and Sunday, March 15 & 16, advocates and general attendees took one or two of the five classes offered. On both the evenings of the 14th and 15th, advocates gathered to discuss their program goals, and to talk about how the EGH advocate program could increase its outreach within the American fire service.
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