PUMPING AND AERIAL APPARATUS DRIVER/OPERATOR HANDBOOK FIRE INSPECTION AND CODE ENFORCEMENT
FIRE PREVENTION APPLICATIONS
AIRCRAFT RESCUE AND FIRE FIGHTING ESSENTIALS OF FIRE FIGHTING® FACILITY FIRE BRIGADES PRINCIPLES OF PASSENGER VEHICLE EXTRICATION LEADERSHIP FOR THE WILDLAND FIRE OFFICER
ND COVER FIRE FIGHTING FOR STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTERS
STRUCTURAL FIRE FIGHTING: HIGH-RISE FIRE FIG
PATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS
THE FIRST 90 YEARS BUILDING CONSTRUCTION RELATED TO THE FIRE SERVICE FIRE INVESTIGATOR YOUTH FIRESETTING PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION FACILITY FIRE BRIGADES PUMPING APPARATUS DRIVER/OPERATOR HANDBOOK STRUCTURAL FIRE FIGHTING: INITIAL RESPONSE STRATEGY AND TACTICS ECTION AND CODE ENFORCEMENT INTRODUCTION TO FIRE ORIGIN AND CAUSE LIVE FIRE INSTRUCTOR PLANS EXAMINER FOR FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TECHNICIAN
CHIEF OFFICER
PUMPING AND AERIAL APPARATUS DRIVER/OPERATOR HANDBOOK FIRE PREVENTION APPLICATIONS FOR THE COMPANY OFFICER
GROUND COVER FIRE FIGHTING FOR STRUCTURAL F
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS
SEARCH AND RESCUE
COMPANY OFFICER’S HANDBOOK
PRINCIPLES OF HEAVY VEHICLE EXTRICATION
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INTERACTIVE COURSE
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS
TO FIRE ORIGIN AND CAUSE
FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES INSTRU
RE SERVICE HYDRAULICS AND WATER SUPPLY
FIRE PROTECTION, DETECTION, AND SUPPRESSION SYSTEMS
FACILITY FIRE BRIGADES
GROUND COVER FIRE FIGHTING FOR STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTERS
DING CONSTRUCTION RELATED TO THE FIRE SERVICE
CHIEF OFFICER
FIRE INSPECTION AND CODE ENFORCEMEN
PUMPING AND AERIAL APPARATUS DRIVER/OPERATOR HANDBOOK
FIRE PREVENTION APPLICATIONS
AIRCRAFT RESCUE AND FIRE FIGHTING ESSENTIALS OF FIRE FIGHTING® ACILITY FIRE BRIGADES
GROUND COVER FIRE FIGHTING FOR STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTERS
STRUCTURAL FIRE FIGHTING: HIGH-RISE FIRE FIGH
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS
OUTH FIRESETTING PREVENTION AND INTERVENTION
STRUCTURAL FIRE FIGHTING, HIGH-RISE, MULTI-CASUALTY, HIGHWAY, AND MANAGING
Cover Photo by Timm Dower, Rogue Monkey Media, Tulsa, OK.
Published by Fire Protection Publications Oklahoma State University
SENTIALS OF FIRE FIGHTING® AND RESCUE CTURAL FIRE FIGHTING: INITIAL RESPONSE STRATEGY AND TACTICS
PUMPING AND AERIAL APPARATUS DRIVER/OPERATOR HANDBOOK
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
APPENDICES: Appendix A — IFSTA Executive Board ........43 Appendix B — Everett E. Hudiburg Award Recipients.......................................................... 44 Appendix C — Marvin T. Austin Award Recipients.......................................................... 44 Appendix D — John W. Hoglund, Jr. Award Recipients.......................................................... 45 Appendix E — Dr. John Granito Award (Research Journal)...........................................45 Appendix F — Legacy Award (Research Journal). ............................................................ 46 Appendix G — FPP Mission and Values........46 Appendix H — IFSTA Constitution and Bylaws................................................................ 47 Appendix I — Early IFSTA Leaders...............52 Appendix J — References.................................58
Introduction...................................................5 The Evolution of IFSTA/FPP........................5 The Prelude.......................................................6 IFSTA is Born...................................................8 Beginning the Modern Era...........................11 Fire Protection Publications Today.............14 Recruitment, Leadership, Collaboration (RLC) Project.............................................16 Manual Development Process Through the Years .........................................................18 Changes to the Validation Process..............22 Supplemental Products................................25 IT Operations and e-Products.....................26 Early Computerization of FPP — Business Functions....................................................26 IT Operations Today......................................27 The Evolution of e-Products..........................27 Essentials of Fire Fighting........................... 30 What Makes IFSTA/FPP Unique?...............35 What Does It Mean to the Fire Service?......36 IFSTA and FPP Recognize Excellence.........36 USFA and Other Externally-Funded Research. ....................................................37 Supporting the Mission of OSU..................38 Supporting Other Organizations................39 The West Point of the Fire Service...............40 Conclusion. ..................................................41
2 IFSTA /FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS
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IFSTA/ FPP STAFF
Leslie Miller Libby Snyder Lindsey Dugan Lucy McCoy Newlin Lynn Hughes Matthew Keith Mike Sturzenbecker Michael Wieder Missy Hannan Misty Daniels Reinaldo Sanchez Ryan Cramer Samantha Dawson
Desirea Leaver Erick Reynolds Erin Portman Errick Braggs
Adam Finley Allen Jenkins Alyssa Williams Amber Watts Amy Kimmel Angel Muzik Audrey Kindred Beckie Bigler Ben Brock Beth Ann Fulgenzi Brad McLelland Caitlin Cundiff Chyla Rucker Clayton Griffith Clint Clausing Clint Parker Colby Cagle Craig Hannan
Garrison Covington Gwenlynn Budzene
Holly Clapp Janice Moore
Jeff Blocker Jeff Fortney Jennifer Weaver
Jessica Busby John Haynie John Konrad Jon Bubke
Sarah Palmer Sherri Buntin Tammy Ratcliff Tommy Marcum Tony Peters Torey Widener Vallory Vencill
Julie Edmondson Kevin Todhunter
Kim Edwards Koua Chang Kyle Lomenick Lashell Phillips (Williams) Laura Kreutzer
David Eller David Hicks David Krone David Teague
IFSTA/FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS 3
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Introduction This publication was developed to provide an overview of the history of International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) and Fire Protection Publications (FPP) at Oklahoma State University (OSU) on the occasion of their 90 th anniversary. These organizations have a dynamic history of providing firefighters and fire departments with the most current and reliable information on providing fire protection services to their communities. No other organization has had the same level of influence in preparing firefighters and other first responders in performing their jobs effectively, efficiently, and safely than IFSTA/FPP. We hope that you enjoy this report. The Evolution of IFSTA/FPP In the year 2023, IFSTA will mark the 90 th year since a few people saw a need and got together to fill a need for quality fire training materials as best they could. Former Managing Editor Everett Hudiburg remembers what it was like then on those hot July days in the mid-1930s when a group of firefighters first began writing down how to be a firefighter:
We met in a steaming hot upstairs recreation room of the downtown fire station in Stillwater, OK. A heavy haze of fetid cigar and cigarette smoke hung suspended over the heads of a mere dozen delegates. Most of their shirts displayed great stains of sweat as badges of discomfort. Mostly, ties were undone and collars open. Jackets were a “no-no,” displaying an assortment of suspenders and bellies hanging over non-existing belts. This marked the beginning to validate someone’s concept of a draft for a fire service training manual.
These first meetings were part of a growing movement in the fire service. Firefighters wanted to know how to do their jobs better, whether they were career or volunteer firefighters. Though some were content to go on throwing water on a fire as they had in the past, others had recognized that the times were changing.
IFSTA/FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS 5
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Motorized apparatus had replaced the horse-drawn pumper. Heavier population densities in congested urban areas demanded quicker response times. New materials and chemicals used in building construction and industry, particularly the petroleum industry, required new techniques for fire prevention and suppression. The age of technology had come, and the firefighter had to become a part of it. The Prelude Training schools and short courses began to appear in most states in the 1920s and 1930s, but written descriptions of how to fight fires were still rare. The Oklahoma Fireman’s Association (OFA; known today as the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association [OSFA]) actually began conducting firefighter training classes as part of their annual state firefighter’s convention as early as 1917. By 1926, these sessions grew into a 4-day fire school. As the fire school continued to prosper and grow, it became increasingly difficult for the leadership of the OFA to manage it. In 1931, the OFA leadership approached the administration of Oklahoma A&M College (now known as Oklahoma State University) and asked them to assume the full-time role of running the annual fire school and providing year-round training for Oklahoma’s firefighters. The college accepted this duty and initially assigned the program to the Oklahoma State Department of Vocational Education, which was part of the college at that time.
In that same year of 1931, the first training manual emerged from the annual state convention fire school. John E. Taplin, a former school teacher and fire chief from Blackwell, Oklahoma, had written a small manual called The Essentials of Firemanship (Figure 1). This manual was published with support from the OFA, the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma A&M College, the Oklahoma Municipal League, and the State Board of Vocational Education, and it was endorsed by the National Board of Fire Underwriters. The manual was not a true training manual in today’s sense. It was more of a compilation of various fire equipment manufacturer’s product descriptions and use instructions. However, the manual quickly gained national recognition and orders for the little book flowed in. Another significant event in the history of the OSU fire programs occurred in 1931. Chief John Raymond “Ray” Pence had moved to Stillwater from Healdton, Oklahoma, and had set about making the Stillwater Fire Department a model in the nation (Figure 2) . A devout believer in firefighter training and education, Pence was an officer in several state and regional firefighters’ organizations and had supported fire training schools and their move to Oklahoma A&M. Pence quickly integrated himself into the Stillwater and college communities and his influence on the development of the fire programs would be a major factor in years to come. In 1932 and 1933, the fire schools operated successfully in Stillwater. In 1933, Oklahoma A&M College moved the fire training program from the Department of Vocational Education to the College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology (CEAT). It remains attached there to this day. The Department of Vocational Education would soon be removed from the control of Oklahoma A&M College and become an independent agency within the State of Oklahoma government structure. Its offices remain in Stillwater to this day and it is the only state agency in Oklahoma whose headquarters is not located in Oklahoma City. Meetings took place at the Stillwater fire station at Ninth and Lewis, with Pence acting as host. Knowledgeable persons from outside the fire service were
Figure 1
Figure 2
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invited to speak at the school, including Col. Clarence Goldsmith, chief engineer of the National Board of Underwriters; Harry K. “Smokey” Rogers and Richard Vernon of the Western Actuarial Bureau, a regional subdivision of the National Bureau of Fire Underwriters (NBFU); Professor H.R. Brayton of the inorganic chemistry department at Texas A&M College; and Ed Stewart of the Kansas Inspection Bureau, and H.J. Clark of the Oklahoma Inspection Bureau, representing the state fire insurance industry. During the 1932 meeting when one of these outside speakers was called home unexpectedly, a member of the audience was asked to replace him. That was how Fred Heisler came into the fire service.
Heisler, a veteran teacher in the Ponca City, Oklahoma, school system, had come to the trade and industrial education department at Oklahoma A&M as an itinerant teacher trainer in 1932 (Figure 3) . He firmly believed that workers, even in unskilled jobs, would work better and with more satisfaction if they understood the basic processes and purposes behind the job. As fire fighting then was considered unskilled or barely skilled work, Heisler was interested in the fire training schools. That he knew nothing about fire fighting mattered little because he brought a peculiar talent to the sessions of the fire school. Heisler knew instinctively how to draw ideas out of others, collate them and present them in a logical, learnable manner. Heisler’s talent became especially useful as an old problem re-emerged from the discussions at the training schools. The firefighters attending the schools needed training manuals to train in their hometown fire departments. Since no one knew a firefighter’s job better than a firefighter, several experienced chiefs were asked
Figure 3
to return to Stillwater to participate in a series of meetings to analyze the business of fire fighting. Because Heisler had successfully handled the earlier meeting, a committee consisting of Pence, Taplin, and Edward Haley of Ada, Oklahoma, asked him to design a course of study for firefighter training. Under Heisler’s leadership the chiefs, working with Brayton, Clark and Goldsmith, met in July 1933 and discussed all aspects of fire fighting — its tools, techniques, and terminology. Together, they identified 10 basic fire fighting skills: • Forcible entry, rope and portable extinguisher practices • Ladder practices • Hose practices • Salvage practices • Fire stream practices • Fire apparatus practices • Ventilation practices
• Rescue practices • First aid practices • Inspection practices
Heisler took this raw information and compiled it during the winter of 1934 to produce An Introductory Course, the first of a long series of manuals (Figure 4) . This first manual, and a second one on ladder practices that followed in the spring of 1935, were simple 8½ x 11 inch, handbound, mimeograph productions that were sold in the college bookstore for 35 cents each.
Figure 4
IFSTA/FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS 7
SENTIALS OF FIRE FIGHTING® AND RESCUE CTURAL FIRE FIGHTING: INITIAL RESPONSE STRATEGY AND TACTICS
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IFSTA Is Born Word spread quickly about what was being done in Oklahoma. Pence had a network of contacts in the fire service throughout Oklahoma, the southwest, and the nation because of his membership in several fire service organizations. He also sent out a newsletter full of information and reports of fire fighting activities. Word of his accomplishments frequently appeared in the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA’s) Volunteer Fireman magazine through his friendship with the organization’s chief engineer, Horatio Bond. Thus, word of Oklahoma’s attempt to produce training manuals to support their training programs reached a wide audience and soon led to a further movement to improve firefighter training. It was not surprising that the next move came from the fire insurance industry. Naturally, the industry saw the benefits of better-trained firefighters and was willing to help prepare the necessary written materials. In November 1934, an insurance industry trade group named the Western Actuarial Bureau sponsored a conference in Kansas City, Missouri, to showcase the activities that were going on in Oklahoma to representatives from other states. The representatives of four state rating bureaus were: • Milt Parker of Missouri • Ed Stewart of Kansas • Walter Plyngman of Arkansas • H.J. Clark of Oklahoma Also in attendance were numerous fire chiefs and officials. These personnel met with Heisler and Emmett T. Cox of the Western Actuarial Bureau to determine how best to publish and distribute training manuals beyond Oklahoma. Since they knew of Heisler’s work at Oklahoma A&M, they decided to form an alliance that would develop and validate the training material as a group and use the Oklahoma organization to finish and distribute the work. They named this alliance the Fire Service Training Association (FSTA) and word spread quickly from one state rating bureau to another. By the next meeting of the conference a year later, membership had already grown to 16 states, roughly the middle third of the continental United States. This unified effort had several benefits. The manuals developed could be wider in scope than any produced by a single agency and publication costs could be reduced. Oklahoma A&M was willing to publish the manuals if they were allowed to retain the copyrights. Oklahoma had already found an experienced and capable writer in Heisler. Because of these assets, Stillwater and Oklahoma A&M were the logical headquarters of the new association. Thus, began what came to be known as the validation conferences that have convened annually ever since. At some point early in the life of the association, the second full week in July was chosen as the annual meeting time and Stillwater as the location. As the loosely organized Fire Service Training Association had no policies for choosing delegates, attendance was voluntary and at each person’s expense. ‘The delegates came because of their interest the organization,’ said Glenn Boughton, a retired Stillwater assistant fire chief and Kansas state fire training instructor. It was an organization that a person came to give rather than to receive. Those who attended soon came to share something of a revival spirit. The best known and respected members of the fire service came to Stillwater each July: fire chiefs, state fire marshals, and state training directors. With them came representatives of the insurance industry (Cox of the Western Actuarial Bureau was always there), educators from colleges and universities, government agency officials, delegates from firefighter organizations, and manufacturers of fire apparatus and equipment. Only a handful came at first, of course, but veterans of the conferences recruited colleagues who brought still others. Many came year after year into a second generation. Accommodations and entertainment were unsophisticated in the early days. Delegates stayed at the fire station or at local hotels and motels for about $3 a night (Figure 5) . Nightly entertainment was usually a poker game, and delegates enjoyed eating watermelon and “apple-less” pies at the Heisler’s home.
8 IFSTA /FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS
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Figure 5
The conferences also followed the pattern Heisler laid down in 1934. Between yearly meetings, Heisler compiled the information contributed at the last conference. He wrote the text on yellow legal paper, then had it typed up and sent it out to area fire chiefs and other knowledgeable people for their comments and criticism. Some manuals or parts of manuals were written by others in the field. Hudiburg wrote some sections and so did Chief Lothar Smith of Edmond, Oklahoma. It should be noted that Smith was the father- in-law of Harold Mace, who later became Director of the fire programs at OSU. Revised drafts were then presented at the
next conference for validation. Delegates met at Stillwater’s No. 1 (Central) Fire Station until 1938 when the No. 2 Campus Fire Station was constructed (Figure 6) . After the Student Union was built on the Oklahoma A&M campus, delegates worked in the basement “Howdy Room,” dodging the posts to see the speaker. Until the last move, Heisler himself sat up front and read the draft aloud word for word to the whole group. When anyone objected to a point in the draft, the participant spoke up. Discussion (or argument) followed until the question was resolved. Then the reading continued. New material could be created this way, and in time, older manuals were revised. As Heisler initially knew little about fire fighting, the material in the manuals had to come from those who did. From their experience, conference delegates gave expert advice about equipment and techniques, but some material came from other sources. Professor R. J. Douglas, head of the Department of Firemanship Training at Oklahoma A&M,
Figure 6
IFSTA/FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS 9
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provided some information (Figure 7) . Formed in 1937, this degree program is now known as the School of Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology. A chemist and high school football coach before he became a volunteer firefighter and fire chief in West Virginia, Douglas was respected as a researcher in fire prevention and control. As head of the first academic program for fire fighting in the United States, he sometimes turned to his students for the “how-to” of the job. He also liked to film his students in practical exercises with his movie camera. At times, fire protection students contributed information directly to Heisler, who liked to give them problems to solve using some piece of equipment. It should be noted that the first actual fire protection-related degree program in the U.S. dated back to 1911 at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago. However, this was a fire engineering program, not a fire service program. Longtime OSU Fire Protection and Safety Professor Pat Brock was an alumnus of the IIT program. That program was ultimately discontinued. Whatever the source of the material in the manuals, demand for them soon allowed their production to move out of the amateur class. In 1937, Heisler’s secretary, Doris Walton, began typing the manuals on a specially purchased long-carriage typewriter. The typed text was illustrated by a young architecture student, Fred Pojezny. After review by Heisler’s expert advisors, the drafts were professionally printed and bound in the red covers that became a tradition for IFSTA manuals. Eventually, ten (10) “Red Books” covered each of the 10 basic skills identified at the meeting in 1933, and many others were added later, as the need arose (Figure 8) . Note that the red covers were not something that Heisler chose. They were actually the stock cover material that was used to bind all texts at the Oklahoma A&M printing shop where the manuals were produced. The connection of red to the fire service was merely a coincidence. However, red remains a major component of IFSTA manual covers to this date.
Figure 7
Figure 8
By 1945, the manuals were an indisputable success. Delegates to the validation conferences took a proprietary interest in the manuals and recommended them to colleagues. The Western Actuarial Bureau also encouraged use of the manuals in local firefighter training programs as a way to lower a city’s insurance rating. The NFPA also publicized the availability of the manuals in Volunteer Fireman magazine and announced the appearance of each new manual addition to the series. Several states adopted the “Red Books” as their official training manuals and distributed them under their own cover. Pennsylvania was the first, followed by Arkansas, New Mexico, Indiana, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, and Missouri. The U.S. Armed Forces also began using the manuals. Heisler reported an order from the military for 2,000 copies in April, 1945. The manuals had also gone overseas to military installations and foreign officials. By 1953, an estimated one-half million copies were in use. This growth continued for several years as the demand for training materials increased. Following the example of Oklahoma A&M (which became Oklahoma State University in 1957), many colleges and universities began offering academic credit for new courses in fire protection. Many of the returning World War II veterans who inundated college campuses in the 1940s and 1950s enrolled in these courses. Since most of these new programs preferred to avoid the expense of producing their own texts, many adopted what was already available — the “Red Books.”
10 IFSTA /FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS
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The manuals also remained popular with state and municipal training programs. Two (2) Canadian provinces adopted the “Red Books” as their official training materials in 1955, and the alliance changed its name to the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA). By 1962, firefighters in all 50 states and several Canadian provinces used the manuals, 28 states had officially adopted them and the Army and Navy used them on bases all over the world. In spite of such growth, basic production had not changed since 1934. Heisler still edited the manuals, even though his official university position changed over the years, and Oklahoma A&M (State) still published them. The manuals were put together and published from a wing added to the Industrial Arts Building for Heisler’s offices in 1937. The method of distribution was still the same, too. Orders were handled by the university bookstore. What had changed was the number of titles. In the 1950s, other changes began to take place. The distribution of the books came under new management. CEAT Dean Melvin R. Lohmann, who had the ultimate responsibility for publishing the manuals, believed a new distribution method would improve their growth. There was no objection from the university bookstore, since its management did not care for the additional responsibility. So Lohmann advanced funds from his own college to set up a new distributor and placed Douglas in charge of it. This required building an addition onto the sprinkler laboratory at the Campus Fire Station and hiring one part- time and one student employee to handle the manuals. The part-time employee was Stillwater firefighter
Richard Giles. He would serve in that role until he retired from the fire department and became the head of OSU Fire Protection Services in 1960. The new arrangement worked so well the loan was paid off in five (5) years. Douglas hired Everett Hudiburg in 1952 to serve a three-year apprenticeship as associate editor before Heisler retired in 1955 (Figure 9) . Hudiburg had attended all the validation conferences and had written parts of some of the earlier manuals, so he was already familiar with the publications and the process. When he took over as editor in 1955, he was able to maintain the continuity of the program. By 1959, the university offered 29 IFSTA manuals and several packages of visual aids. All of the fire programs suffered a tragic setback on January 22, 1962, when Professor Douglas suffered a fatal heart attack at his home. The programs went through a variety of leaders following his passing. Beginning the Modern Era
Figure 9
As the fire programs continued to grow in the late 1960s, Dean Lohmann realized that a stronger leader would be required to organize and lead the effort. In 1969, he hired Harold R. Mace as that person. At the time, Mace was an elementary school principal in Oklahoma City. Although he had worked in the insurance industry for a short time before getting involved in education, his knowledge of the fire service was limited. He was able to glean some information from his father-in-law, Lothar Smith, who was the fire chief in Edmond, Oklahoma, and a major figure in Oklahoma state fire organizations. Oklahoma State Firefighter’s Association Executive Director Andy T. Miller told Lohmann that if he wanted a true leader, he had one for him. He was right. Mace was originally hired to lead OSU Fire Service Training (FST), but Dean Lohmann soon recognized his leadership potential and also placed FPP under Mace’s leadership. Both organizations prospered under Mace’s leadership. By the time Mace retired in early 1992, his list of accomplishments was prolific. Some of the more major ones were: • Serving as the chair of the first NFPA Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications (1001) committee. • Increasing the sales of IFSTA and FPP products from $300,000 per year in 1974 to over $5 million per year at the time of his retirement in 1992.
IFSTA/FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS 11
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• Increasing the staffing of both operations. Hudiburg’s FPP staff consisted of himself, an associate editor, an artist, and full-time and part-time secretaries. There were about 40 full- and part-time employees, as well as 6 student employees, at the time of Mace’s retirement. Similar growth occurred at FST during this period. • Building the current FST Professional Skills Training Center, west of Stillwater. • Moving FPP and FST from the Quonset hut on campus to a new building that housed both operations, including the warehouse, in the Technology Park on the northwest side of campus in 1976. • Building the first portion of the stand-alone FPP warehouse in 1980. • Building the current FPP front office building in 1989. • Creating the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) in 1990. • Serving as the department head in OSU’s School of Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology program from January 1986 until the time of his retirement. During his tenure in that position the enrollment in the program increased nearly 300%. Publication of the manuals remained much the same through the 1960s. Hudiburg carried on Heisler’s methods. Mace’s reorganization work, coupled with an administrative transfer to Engineering Extension in 1973, resulted in the department in charge of producing the manuals officially becoming known as Fire Protection Publications (FPP). Later, Fire Service Training and Fire Protection Publications were split into separate organizations, each with their own manager. Once Mace split FPP into a stand-alone organization, the position of Managing Editor would be the direct leader of daily FPP operations. This position was held by Hudiburg until he retired in 1975. He was replaced by Charles Thomas from July 1 to December 1, 1975. John Paige assumed the position on January 1, 1976, and held it until December 31, 1977. Jerry Laughlin was Managing Editor from January 1, 1978, until Gene Carlson took over on January 1, 1980. Carlson would hold the position for more than 15 years, before switching to a position involving growing IFSTA’s presence outside of North America. The validation conferences went on as before. Many of the same people returned and brought with them a new generation. They, like the earlier delegates, took a proprietary interest in the manuals they helped produce and thus encouraged the sales of the books. However, as more people wished to participate in the IFSTA validation process, it was clear that some changes would be needed. In the early 1960s, the organization created an advisory committee to help plan and structure the validation conference. The members of this committee were self-appointed but approved by Hudiburg and Cox. Following the incorporation of the organization as a legal nonprofit organization in the early 1970s, a formal, elected Executive Board and Executive Director were established. The Executive Director must be an employee of FPP. Today, most board candidates are nominated by a Nominations and Election committee that considers criteria such as geographical location and fire service specialty to get a fair and equal representation on the board. The Executive Board now serves as a sounding board for the editorial and administrative staff of Fire Protection Publications. Board members are also concerned with the philosophy of the organization, the policies and procedures pertaining to the manual committees, and any practical matters, such as changes to the validation process or conference. A Constitution and By-Laws change in 2004 allowed for a potential increase in the Board size to 18 members, with up to six of those positions being appointed (with full board approval) by the Executive Board Chair, Vice Chair, and the Executive Director. Appointed Board members typically represent other major fire service organizations with which IFSTA and FPP have important relationships. The full board meets twice a year, at the January IFSTA Winter Meeting and during the July IFSTA Validation Conference. The IFSTA Executive Board members in 2022 are listed in Appendix A.
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FIRE SERVICE HYDRAULICS AND WATER SUPPLY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TECHNICIAN PRINCIPLES OF PASSENGER VEHICLE EXTRICATION GROUND COVER FIRE FIGHTING FOR STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTERS
By 1980, the conference had outgrown the available facilities and resources and several important changes were made. The first was limiting attendees to an “invitation-only” basis. It was soon also determined that Heisler’s method of having all the attendees work on the same book together was not feasible with the growing scope of work facing the organization. That forced IFSTA to organize the participants into separate committees for each manual being written or revised. Although it has been refined considerably, the basic concept of an invitation-only conference and manual-specific committees remains in place today. Even on an invitation basis, the number of projects that were being developed continued to grow. Stillwater’s hotel and OSU’s campus resources were soon stretched to their limits of their ability to host the validation conference. The first crack in the tradition occurred in 1990, when the Oklahoma State 4-H Convention was scheduled in Stillwater for the same week as the IFSTA Conference was traditionally held. This meant there would be no hotel rooms available for IFSTA delegates, nor meeting space in the OSU Student Union. After a variety of options were explored, the decision was made to relocate the 1990 IFSTA Validation Conference to the Sheraton Kensington Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At the time, this was foreseen as a one-time adjustment. In 1991, the conference returned to Stillwater. However, staff and delegates determined that the one held the previous year in Tulsa had a number of advantages over the traditional OSU/Stillwater location. This included: • A more modern hotel facility with meeting spaces in the hotel • Nicer meeting rooms as compared to the Student Union • No transport was needed between the hotel and meeting site • Easier transportation from the airport to the meeting site • More options for restaurants and evening activities • FPP employees felt more a part of the conference since they were staying in the hotel with the delegates, as opposed to returning to their homes each evening. Thus, in 1992 the conference returned to Sheraton Kensington Hotel in Tulsa. Since then, it has been held in variety of hotels, in either Tulsa or Oklahoma City, every year. Shortly before his retirement, Mace altered the role of the Managing Editor to strictly management of the editorial functions. By now, the Editorial and Graphics Units of FPP had grown to more than a dozen people. Lynne Murnane was the first person to hold this modified position in 1991. In 1998, former Managing Editor Jerry Laughlin returned to assume his old position. In 2000, Laughlin returned to his native Alabama and long-time FPP employee Mike Wieder was promoted to replace him. Following Mace’s January 1992 retirement, Douglas Forsman assumed the role of Director of FPP, FST, and IFSAC in the summer of 1992. Control of the academic program was returned to CEAT at that time. Forsman was an OSU School of Fire Protection alumnus who had served as Chair of the IFSTA Executive Board and at the time of his hire was the Fire Chief in Champaign, Illinois. Forsman remained the Director of the three programs until his departure in 2000. Following his departure, CEAT administration decided to eliminate the overarching position of Director of all of the fire programs and placed a Director or Manager in each of the three (3) units who reported directly to the CEAT Dean of Extension Programs. In July of 2001, Chris Neal was hired as the director of FPP. Neal, also an OSU fire protection alumnus and former IFSTA Executive Board member, was working in OSU’s Fire and Emergency Management Master’s Degree (FEMP) program when he was hired by FPP. He had previously served as the fire chief in Stillwater and Claremore, Oklahoma. Following Neal’s departure in 2009, Craig Hannan was promoted to Director of FPP. Hannan previously served the fire department in his hometown of Colbert, OK. He was also a nationally registered paramedic and worked in EMS operations in southern Oklahoma and northcentral Texas. Craig held an undergraduate
IFSTA/FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS 13
SENTIALS OF FIRE FIGHTING® AND RESCUE CTURAL FIRE FIGHTING: INITIAL RESPONSE STRATEGY AND TACTICS
PUMPING AND AERIAL APPARATUS DRIVER/OPERATOR HANDBOOK
CHIEF OFFICER OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS FIRE INSPECTION AND CODE ENFORCEMENT
VE FIRE INSTRUCTOR
degree in accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA). He had also previously served FPP as an accountant and the Editorial Manager. Both of the previous FPP Directors chose to also serve as the IFSTA Executive Director. Upon Hannan’s hire, he and CEAT Dean Carl Reid agreed that the roles should be split and Mike Wieder was recommended to, and approved by, the IFSTA Executive Board to serve as the IFSTA Executive Director. This more evenly split the roles of these two duties. At the time of this report, both were still handling those positions. Wieder had the dual role of FPP Associate Director/Managing Editor (as well as IFSTA Executive Director) until 2018 when Colby Cagle assumed the role of Managing Editor. Wieder maintained his role as Associate Director of FPP and Executive Director of IFSTA. Fire Protection Publications Today
As much as the IFSTA organization grew and changed based on need, so has Fire Protection Publications (FPP). The first OSU fire program, Fire Service Training (FST), was originally organized within the Oklahoma State Department of Vocational Education in 1931 and by 1933 it was moved to its present home in OSU’s College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology (CEAT). The first office was located in the OSU Industrial Arts building. This is where FPP was first located when it was started in 1934. Following completion of the Campus Fire Station (CFS) in 1938, all of the fire programs were moved to that facility. They would remain there until FPP and FST were moved to Quonset #2 on the OSU Campus in 1965. These Quonset huts were located on land that is now behind the CEAT Advanced Technology Research Center (ATRC) where the ramp to the lower level of Boone Pickens Stadium is located. The Fire Protection and Safety degree program would remain housed in the CFS until a move to Cordell Hall in 2003 and later on to Engineering North. In 1976, a modern facility was built in the Technology Park on the northwest part of the OSU campus (Figure 10) . This facility, called the Fire Building, would house all the offices of FPP and FST, as well as the warehousing operation for the books and materials. By 1980, it was necessary to build a stand-alone warehouse immediately west of the Fire Building and covert its old space to offices (Figure 11) . The warehouse would receive significant additions including high-rack storage in 1985 and again in 1995. Today, it boasts nearly 30,000 square feet of space, much of it high-rack storage (Figure 12) . The spectacular growth of FPP through the 1980s required the construction of new and larger office facilities. A modern two-story office building, known
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
14 IFSTA /FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS
FACILITY FIRE BRI FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES INS FIRE PROTECTION, DETECTION, AN
FIRE SERVICE HYDRAULICS AND WATER SUPPLY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TECHNICIAN PRINCIPLES OF PASSENGER VEHICLE EXTRICATION GROUND COVER FIRE FIGHTING FOR STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTERS
as the FPP Building, was constructed and occupied across the street and immediately west of the warehouse in 1989 (Figure 13) . Some portions of the FPP operation remain in that building today. Due to increasing growth and lack of office space to support it, the Editorial and Curriculum Units were moved to leased office space in west Stillwater in the mid-1990s. The building that they were located in previously served as the original headquarters office for Frontier Engineering, Inc. (Figure 14) . FPP only used part of that building. Other office space was used by the OSU Athletic Department during the Gallagher-Iba Arena construction project, as well as the local office for the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). FPP staff would remain there until the old FPP space in the original Fire Building became available and was renovated for them in 2001. The number of staff members continued to grow as time moved on. Both the Editorial/Curriculum space in the Fire Building and office space in the FPP building were stretched to their limits. It was determined that the best solution would be to construct a new building containing office and meeting space that would be attached to the west side of the existing FPP office building. Following the design of the new facility, construction started in March of 2015. The building was officially dedicated on July 6, 2017, although staff members had moved in prior to that date (Figure 15) . The original FPP Building currently houses the administrative functions of the organization, as well as the electronic products, information technology, sales/marketing, and customer service. The new building is home to the Editorial, Curriculum, and Graphics units, as well as extensive meeting space. The meeting space is dedicated to former Director Harold Mace. The individual meetings rooms are named after Everett Hudiburg, Fred Heisler, and Ray Pence. Bios of these four (4) gentlemen can be found in Appendix I . From its origins of one editor and a secretary shared with FST and the degree program, at the time this document was developed, FPP employed more than 80 full-time, part-time, and contracted employees. FPP is a fully functional, professional publishing firm. With two (2) exceptions, FPP performs all of the functions of producing and distributing fire training manuals from within their
Figure 13
Figure 14
Figure 15
IFSTA/FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS 15
SENTIALS OF FIRE FIGHTING® AND RESCUE CTURAL FIRE FIGHTING: INITIAL RESPONSE STRATEGY AND TACTICS
PUMPING AND AERIAL APPARATUS DRIVER/OPERATOR HANDBOOK
CHIEF OFFICER OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, HEALTH, AND WELLNESS FIRE INSPECTION AND CODE ENFORCEMENT
VE FIRE INSTRUCTOR
own house. The exceptions are the development of manual indexes and printing and binding the manuals. The development of manual indexes is sent to contractors skilled in this practice. FPP does not have the printing capabilities to produce final print products in-house. Smaller projects can be printed at the Oklahoma Career Tech printing operation located a few blocks from the FPP Building. The majority of the projects are produced at the OU Printing Services located at the University of Oklahoma (OU) in Norman, Oklahoma. Because this operation is also a state agency, FPP can send projects to them without going through a bid process. This saves a number of weeks in getting the manuals on the press and out to the users. Essentials of Fire Fighting does continue to go out for bid by commercial printers. This was primarily due to the OU printing operation not having the equipment to print extremely large manuals in a large enough quantity to make it economically feasible. This is expected to change when the 8 th edition of Essentials is released and OU will likely print that as well. As it has since 1934, FPP remains as an integral outreach part of the OSU College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology (CEAT). At the time this document was written, CEAT was being led by Dean Dr. Paul Tikalsky. Assistant Dean Ed Kirtley has direct, daily responsibilities for all of the Engineering Extension programs, including the non-academic fire programs FPP, FST, and IFSAC. Prior to assuming his role at CEAT, Kirtley served as the Editorial and Curriculum Supervisor at FPP and also Director of Fire Service Training. Recruitment, Leadership, Collaboration (RLC) Project The Recruitment, Leadership, and Collaboration (RLC) Project was formed in 2019. The purpose of the RLC project was to identify organizational/personal leadership opportunities and work collaboratively to complete initiatives established by the group. It came about after a group of FPP employees attended a seminar titled “Leadercast” that was presented by the Meridian Technology Center in Stillwater. The program was packed with information and ideas for organization growth, culture, and leadership. Following the seminar, FPP Director Craig Hannan asked the attendees to identify “three for me and three for FPP.” This meant that they should identify three ways that they can better themselves and three ways they can better FPP. The information obtained through this process would help shape the needs that the RLC needed to address. The group met every two weeks to discuss ideas and work on a plan to implement them. Progress was slowed as a result of the COVID pandemic response that resulted in changes to work schedules and locations. The project moved ahead full-force once the office operations returned to normal. A number of committees/ initiatives resulted from these meetings and discussions. These are summarized below: • FIT Team — This team was charged with refining and improving the hiring process for new FPP employees. A detailed plan was developed to guide the selection and interview process. This was designed to ensure that FPP was a good fit for the selected candidate and the candidate had a high chance meeting FPP’s needs for the position. The team’s moto was “hire tough, manage easy.” • Onboarding Process/Improve Communication Group — This group’s mission was to develop a process of familiarizing a new employee with policies, their role, and the organization’s culture. The goal was to create a workplace that the employee is comfortable enough to interact with colleagues and establish social relationships. This included developing and implementing initiatives and activities that increase the exchange of important and relevant FPP information. The goal was to also communicate successes, activities, project outcomes, and other information relevant to the individuals within and outside of FPP. • Sustainability Task Group — The type of work performed by FPP employees can at times be stressful and wear down their performance and job satisfaction. This group was assigned to work hand-in-hand with FPP’s Healthy Committee to help build and maintain a sustainable workforce. The Healthy Committee was actually formed prior to the start of the RLC project. The Healthy Committee found ways to promote
16 IFSTA /FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS
FACILITY FIRE BRI FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES INS FIRE PROTECTION, DETECTION, AN
FIRE SERVICE HYDRAULICS AND WATER SUPPLY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TECHNICIAN PRINCIPLES OF PASSENGER VEHICLE EXTRICATION GROUND COVER FIRE FIGHTING FOR STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTERS
healthy options for the workplace. This includes presentations on health considerations, healthy snack options, fire prevention week activities, various relaxation options, and informational monitors in the two buildings. As well, it was determined that the staff needed a space, outside of their offices and meeting/conference rooms, where they could go to refresh themselves and collaborate with other employees in a less formal way than sitting around a conference table. This idea also came out of the Healthy Committee. Following the retirement of the two FPP librarians, it was determined that the contents of the library would be shipped to the National Fire Heritage Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. That made the library space available to be repurposed into the Staff Development Center (SDC) (Figure 16) . The center was equipped with various furniture and video options to provide staff with an array of options on how they wished to use the space. Mental health weeks were established as one way to combat this condition. The weeks occur quarterly, including the weeks following the IFSTA meetings in January and July. During these weeks no meetings are scheduled, internal emails are prohibited, and a variety of social activities are held that employees may choose to participate in. • Community and Collaboration Group — This group’s mission was to establish horizontal collaboration and connections that strengthen the sense of community at FPP. A commitment was made to bring a “growth mindset,” learning all we can to help folks feel they are an important, valued part of our organization, and that individuality is an asset! • Telling our FPP Story Group — This group was charged with communicating the FPP story to internal staff and suggest information to tell the IFSTA story externally to the fire fighting industry. • Mission, Values, and Culture Evaluation Group — This group’s charge was to survey employee perception of the work environment and discover organizational needs. The results would help
management shape organizational improvement plans. Their purpose was as follows: — Draft a revised FPP mission statement based upon feedback from the RLC — Present draft mission statement to the RLC for discussion and review — Lead discussions about the new mission statement — Revise and finalize new mission statement based upon RLC feedback
Figure 16
IFSTA/FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS 17
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