The Fire Educator

The first day of the 32nd Annual Fire & Life Safety Conference at Chestnut Mountain in Galena, Illinois was very informative.  The day kicked off with a keynote address by Chief Dennis Compton from IFSTA and followed up by a synopsis of Vision 20/20 - A Strategic National Agenda for Fire Prevention by Deputy Chief / Fire Marshal Jim Crawford from the Vancouver, Washington Fire Department.  Both presentations put the role of public education and fire prevention into perspective at the local and national level.

Lt. Ed Dunne from the Evergreen Park, IL Fire Department and Margaret McDonnell with the Spinal Cord Injury Association of Illinois presented Think First - A Spinal & Brain Injury Prevention Program.  While this program could be presented to all ages, I found it very interesting that Lt. Dunne presents this program to 8th graders.  By reaching out to 8th grade, he has the opportunity to reach these students just prior to entering the years where they may be faced difficult choices that could affect their chances of a spinal cord injury. 

I was so intrigued by this program that I couldn’t help but implement it in my mind already.  The practical component that Lt. Dunne added to the program was a great idea, but I don’t want to spoil it for you.  Hopefully, we will have more on this great program to come in the future.

Following the Think First presentation, Lt. Scott Vaughn of the Lakewood, Illinois Fire Department and his two sons gave a presentation on Traditions of The Fire Service.  There were several things that were fantastic about this presentation. 

First of all, the powerpoint presentation used for the program was simply a compliment to the dynamic presentation style utilized by the trio.  Rather than a typical read from the slides performance, they created an interactive experience for the crowd in the form of a game show.  It was a refreshing utilization of powerpoint as well as informative.

The second thing that I took from this presentation was the knowledge displayed by and the utilizations of Lt. Vaughn’s sons in the program.  It reminded me as a educator that it is all right to have help.  That’s right, you don’t have to do it alone.  Along with your firefighters, you should remember to use cadets, family and friends to make your programs reach your audience on different levels.  Of course, it does help to have helpers who are as knowledgeable as Lt. Vaughn’s sons were.  Great Job!

Executive Director Mary Werderich from the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance and Public Education Division Manager Nereida Avendano from the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal gave the audience updates on what is new and exciting with both organizations.  This was an important element to the day because of the continuous support that these organizations provide to fire educators in Illinois. 

The afternoon wrapped up with an informal information exchange led by B/C Kevin Wiley from the Oak Park, Illinois Fire Department.  B/C Wiley stressed the importance of sharing resources with each other as a way to promote better education programs.  To help kick start the information sharing, attendees were given thumb drives with a ton of resources courtesy of Tom Lia, Executive Director of the Northern Illinois Fire Sprinkler Advisory Board.

Throughout the day we also visited with our friends from the Rainbow Valley Fire Department and Kay Ciukaj with Chicago Direct.

Coming in the future, we hope to bring you more information from these presenters, so stay tuned.  Time to get ready for Day Two!