Montcalm County Fire Chiefs Association

Montcalm County Fire Chiefs Association

Chiefs Meeting Minutes

February1st, 2012

Call to Order at 19:05 hours (Public Safety Complex)

Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call

AmbleDayLakeviewSheridan

Belvidere GreenvilleMaple ValleyStanton

Carson CityHome Montcalm

CrystalHoward CityRichland

*Bold = Present

Guests:

Officers:President Linton (Present), Vice President Dickinson (Present), Secretary VanHolstyn (Present)

Others: Training Coordinator Sgt. B. Blomstrom (19:50), Firemen’s Assoc Secretary J. Johnson (Present)

Administrative

Approve Minutes from December 2011 meeting – Motion by Chief Rockafellow and 2nd by Chief Carr to approve minutes. Motion carried.

Aaron Johnson, owner/operator, of Code 3 Cleaning, LLC spoke to the group about their services. Business cards and a magnetic were handed out with contact information and services provided. Mr. Johnson continued to explain what there company does including crime scene/traumatic scene clean up, distressed property clean up, odor abatement, hoarding clean up and more. He provided related fire service examples such as riding of smells after a fire and that the company was fully insured and bonded as well as the billing process for services. He thanked the group for their time and offered his services anytime.

Committee Reports

EMAC/Emergency Management/LEPC - Interim Director G. Valentine (GDPS) reported that Jerry McCoy was designated as the Solution Area Planner for the remainder of the grant period in place of Pamela Boody, who recently left the position.

Firemen’s Association – Vice President Van Holstyn reported the last Association meeting was held at the Crystal Township Fire Department and the training for the evening wasDet./Trooper Chris Frayre from the Central Michigan Enforcement Team (CMET) who had a presentation on dealing with different types of illegal drugs and drug labs as well as “booby” traps as 1st responders. The next meeting will be at Day Twp Fire on March 14th with an unknown subject matter at this time. VanHolstyn also reported that the “2 the Rescue” educational program was brought before the Association, but was tabled to March because not enough information was available as Sgt Blomstrom was unable to attend the meeting.

County Fire Training Report – Sgt Blomstrom updated the group on the scheduled trainings (See Upcoming Events/Meetings). FF Johnson stated the Fire Academy is going well and students will be taking their Mid-term in the next few weeks. He also reminded those that had personnel who would be challenging either FFI or II to let him know soon and get them registered.

Company Officer I and II has completed and all six (6) candidates passed. There is some discussion and planning in process as to if there is enough interest to hold another program in the Fall.

Fire Officer III:A class is tentative for 2012 at Montcalm Township.

Sgt. Blomstrom asked if there was any interest in bringing an ice rescue training course to the county. It appeared there were several departments that already have some training and/or need the training including Crystal, Greenville, Lakeview, Montcalm and Stanton. He will research some pricing and develop a plan to bring back to the Chiefs for budgeting purposes. The thought was to hold a 2-day class to help save travel expenses.

IS 300 and IS 400: These are scheduled for March 9th-11th (IS300) and March 24th-25th (IS400) and are being instructed by Sgt Blomstrom and FF VanHolstyn. There is no cost for this training.

LPT – Chief Callison reported the status on the open grants. Currently, we have 23 pagers at $295.24 each, and 3 more pagers that were purchased with remaining funds at $430.00 for a total of $1,585.00. It was decided to purchase 2 more pagers at a cost of $174.66 each for a total of 28 pagers (2 per department). The Association will be asked to cover the majority of the funds and a bill will/has been sent to the Fire Departments for the remaining money owed to the County. (This issue is very confusing, so any questions should be directed to Chief Callison on where and who owes money to whom and how much).

R.I.T./Survival – Nothingto report. .

By-laws Committee – Nothing to report

Election Committee – Chief Kain received nominations from four (4) departments for two (2) names. One of the nominees declined the nomination leaving Randy Linton the sole nominee. Motion by Chief Kain, 2nd by Chief Car, to reappoint Chief Randy Linton for another term as the Chiefs Association President as he was the sole nominee. Motion carried.

TAC – Secretary VanHolstyn was unable to attend the last TAC Meeting because of a scheduling conflict, but did submit a report. A reminder to have the fire department pagers programmed with the ALL CALL tone soon, so that the paging program can be utilized in the Spring; we are running out of time. Chiefs Callison, Brasington and Wyczesany have offered their programming service to anyone who wanted it or would train someone else to assist them.

There was an incident recently that involved a carbon monoxide alarm. The Dispatcher told the caller to open the windows and ventilate the home until the fire department arrived. When questioned, the Dispatcher said this was the policy from TAC after their last meeting. VanHolstyn indicated that he was not at the meeting and to his knowledge, there is no policy for the handling of carbon monoxide alarms. VanHolstyn asked if the Chiefs wanted a policy drafted and if so, what elements did they want included as far as procedures. The Chiefs asked for a policy to be drafted and it will be forwarded to the Chiefs for review and then presented at the March TAC meeting for approval.

VanHolstyn circulated a new signature page to replace the current one in the County Mutual Aid Agreement that needed updating. Once completed by all parties, a copy will be circulated and the original will be maintained with the Secretary.

Legislative Update – Sgt. Blomstrom reported the Fireworks Bill had passed. He stated they are still working on and evaluating Part 74 and the issues of “training hours”, “certification/qualifications” and hopes it will be resolved soon.

Old Business

Identification Cards – Secretary VanHolstyn reports that he has made contact with Sue Gilbert from the Sheriff’s Office. They have met and are in the process of programming the template into the system. An example was circulated among the group and the suggestion to add the department logo on the front of the card and the Association logo on the back was suggested and approved. Sue Gilbert has spoken to the Sheriff about the “security” issue and it has been resolved, so the end is near!!

Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) – Sgt Blomstrom commented on any developing interest for a Tender Task Force in the county based on the conversation from the MABAS issue last meeting. There was no interest at this time to continue looking in to this matter.

Resource Forms – Secretary VanHolstyn did not receive the Fire Department Resource Forms from Amble, Carson City and Day Fire Departments. The completed ones will be emailed out to the Chief’s next week.

New Business

None

Upcoming Meetings/Events

Firemen’s Association – March 14th, 2012 – Day Twp FD

Fire Chiefs Meeting – April 4th, 2012 – Public Safety Complex

IS300 Training – March 9th-11th – Greenville Central Services

IS400 Training – March 23rd – 25th – Greenville Central Services

Clandestine Drug Labe – May 6th – Montcalm Community College

Firefighter I/II FINAL EXAM – May 12th – Maple Valley Complex

Round Table

Amble – Absent

Belvidere – Chief Rockafellow expressed interest in hosting the Weather Spotters class in 2012. VanHolstyn will forward his request to EMD.

Carson City - Absent

Crystal –Nothing

Day – Absent

Greenville DPS – Nothing

Home – Chief Linton reported that a representative from Fire Tools will be at his department on February 18th at 10:00am to provide an update on the software program. Everyone is welcome to attend to ask questions or learn more about the fire reporting software program from Fire Tools.

Howard City – Absent

Lakeview – Chief Carr asked how other departments were handling the “controlled burning” of structures. Several Chiefs expressed how they are dealing with them, but no general consensus was received. It was suggested to consult the DNR and DEQ website for some alternatives.

.

Maple Valley – Nothing

Montcalm - Nothing

Richland – Nothing

Sheridan – Absent

Stanton –Nothing

Adjournment

Motion made by Chief Rockafellow, 2nd by Chief Carr, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 20:34 hours.

Respectfully Submitted,

Steven D VanHolstyn

Secretary