Make sure your membership is up to date so you can get a discount rate for the 2023 Leadership Conference. If your name is not on our current list you need to renew to get the discount.

Spaces are going fast!

Put your company and products in-front of the decision makers, Fire Chiefs.

All truck spaces and double booths sold out.

Single booths are available.

Make sure you have a space reserved.

Do you know a fire chief worthy of being the Kentucky Fire Chief of the year? Now is the time to nominate that chief. The Kentucky Association of Fire Chiefs is proud to announce its 2023 Fire Chief of the Year awards that will be presented at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Leadership Conference in Bowling Green, KY on August 22, 2023. We will be honoring both a Volunteer and Career Fire Chief from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. We know how hard all Fire Chiefs are working across the Commonwealth and we feel it is the least the Kentucky Association of Fire Chiefs can do to recognize two outstanding public servants.

 Individuals who are eligible for nomination and selection as Fire Chief of the Year are limited to active chiefs of departments.

Selection criteria will emphasize leadership, innovation, professional development, integrity, service to the public and contributions to the fire service. All a nominee's fire service activities and accomplishments will be considered, but, because this is the Fire Chief of the Year award, special emphasis will be placed on the period from June 2022 through June 2023. A nominee's command role at a major emergency incident, while relevant, will not be enough to place that individual into contention for the award.

The committees and chairs are listed below. If you are interested in serving on one of the below committees please click the email link and  send and email of interest.

Education Committee - Chair, Chief Michael Morgan EMAIL

EMS Committee - Chair, Deputy Chief Mike Sutt EMAIL

Conference Committee - Chair, Asst. Chief David Howser EMAIL

Health & Safety - Chair, Asst. Chief James Gifford EMAIL

Legislative Committee - Chair, Chief Adam Jones EMAIL

If you have any questions or comments please reach out to one of the Legislative Committee Members.

Chair – KAFC Legislative Agent, Adam Jones – Fern Creek Fire/EMS Email

KAFC President, Cathy Rigney – Winchester Fire/EMS Email

David Howser - St. Matthews Fire/EMS Email

Wayne Briscoe – Frankfort Fire/EMS – Email

Michael Brown – Prestonsburg Fire Department – Email

Steve Futrell – Hopkinsville Fire/EMS – Email

Steve Kyle – Paducah Fire Department – Email

Rick Millikan – Morganfield Fire Department – Email

Nathan Mulvey – Fern Creek Fire/EMS – Email

Rob Rothenburger – Shelbyville Fire Department – Email

“Lithium-Ion Batteries: Are You Ready?”

Announced as Theme for Safety Stand Down,

June 18-24, 2023

Lithium-ion batteries power a vast range of products and equipment, from laptops and smartphones to micro-mobility devices, electric vehicles, and energy storage systems. As the use and presence of lithium-ion batteries continues to grow, so does the potential risk for first responders who are called upon to mitigate associated fire incidents and hazards. To help ensure firefighters’ safety when handling lithium-ion batteries in a variety of situations and scenarios, the theme for this year’s Safety Stand Down campaign, June 18-24, 2023, is “Lithium-Ion Batteries: Are You Ready?”

The week of Safety Stand Down will cover topics relating to lithium-ion battery response and safety, which will be broken down into five daily focus areas: recognition of hazards, firefighting operations, firefighter safety, post-incident considerations, and public education.

Safety Stand Down is a joint initiative of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Safety, Health and Survival Section, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), the National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®), and the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA). Held each year during the third week of June, the campaign works to reduce the number of preventable injuries and deaths in the fire and emergency services. In support of this year’s Safety Stand Down, responder agencies are encouraged to suspend all non-emergency activities during the campaign week to focus on training and education related to lithium-ion battery safety awareness and education.

Resources and training videos will be made available at www.safetystanddown.org in advance to help departments plan for and implement Safety Stand Down strategies.

In addition, NFPA will once again host the Fire Service Safety Stand Down Quiz to raise awareness and foster a greater understanding of this year’s theme. Everyone who completes the online quiz will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes; 200 randomly selected participants will win a commemorative Safety Stand Down challenge coin.

Stay tuned to www.safetystanddown.org for more information and resources in the months leading up to the campaign. New information will be added periodically. 

A lithium-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that is known for being small, lightweight, and long-lasting. They’re often used to provide power to a variety of devices, including smartphones, laptops, e-bikes, e-cigarettes, power tools, toys, and cars, and now homes.

Adapting the fire service response plans through training, research, and experience is critical in the fire service. As consumers continue expanding use of the batteries and systems and sales of electrification increase for: electric vehicles (EVs), mobility devices, home energy storage systems (ESS), the fire service must continue to modify our tactics to properly respond and protect firefighters. Fighting vehicle and home fires is inherently dangerous but now a new technology changes the risk profile. When responding to an incident involving a lithium-ion battery system fire there are additional challenges responding crews must consider.

KAFC elections will follow the procedures laid out in the bylaws. The First Vice President will move up to president and the 2nd Vice President will move to First Vice President. These two Offices will not be on the ballot for election. The Kentucky State Director of the SEAFC is an appointed position and will not be on the ballot.

ARTICLE III

Section 1.

The officers of the Association shall be a Chief Officer  elected from the active membership and or Honorary Life membership and shall consist of: President, First Vice-President, Second Vice-President, Fourteen (14) District Vice-Presidents one for each Fire Rescue Training District, Secretary, Treasurer, Kentucky State Director for SEAFC, Chaplain, and Sergeant-at-Arms, all of whom shall hold their respective offices for a period of two (2) years or until their successor shall be elected or qualified. However, officers shall not be precluded from being re-elected to serve successive terms of office. Attendance requirement to retain office is 50% of the meetings per year, one of which is the Annual Conference. If attendance is not met an officer may be asked to step down. An appeal can be submitted to the Executive Director for just cause. The final decision will be made by the Executive Committee.

Section 2.

Officers shall be nominated via email using our Constant Contact Survey email system. Notice for nominations will be sent to entire email list the first week of June. Nominations will be accepted for a period of three (3) weeks. Once all nominated officers are verified to meet Article III, Section 3, they will be added to the ballot for the office nominated. Qualified candidates may be nominated for only one office.

Voting will be conducted using our Constant Contact Survey email system. All qualified candidates will appear on ballot and sent to Active, Honorary Life and Retired Non-Active members for voting. Voting will remain open for a period of two (2) weeks. Results will be verified, and membership will be notified of the results via email. The elected officers will take office the first meeting after the election and be sworn in at the Annual Conference.

Any questions as to the results of the election will be directed to the Executive Director.

Section 3.

At the time of their nomination, candidates for office in the Association shall be actively engaged in one of the positions set forth in Article II, Section 1, Part A or Article II, Section 1, Part E.

ARTICLE II, Section 1, Part A

Active members shall consist of Chief Officers of a regularly organized fire department in any municipality or county, private and government installations, paid or voluntary who provides fire and EMS services in the State of Kentucky Active membership shall carry one vote on matters requiring such.

ARTICLE II, Section 1, Part E

Honorary members shall be any active member of the Association as defined in Article II, Section I-A, who shall be honorably retired or honorably severed from active firefighting service and a member in good standing in this Association. This honor is automatically bestowed upon the member, who shall be exempt from the payment of dues and eligible to hold office and shall otherwise retain all the privileges of an active member.

The EMS Committee is looking for KAFC members of Fire Based EMS services to serve on the committee to help move EMS forward in the Commonwealth. 

If you are interested in serving, please contact

Deputy Chief Mike Sutt at [email protected].  

The Fire Commission has continued to stay busy with all of our programs and team members are working very hard. It has been a busy time during the Legislative session and we appreciate all the support given by our Fire Chiefs and Firefighters across the state.

The Fire Commission has a long and successful history of supporting the Fire Service and its firefighters, and our team here at the Fire Commission will continue to do that. We have a lot of programs and grants we will be pushing out again this fiscal year.

I truly appreciate the support of the Kentucky Association of Fire chiefs and all the other fire organizations in our state. Being a chief myself for 24 years I know the importance of such organizations here in our state. We are blessed to have such fire organizations that support our firefighters on a daily basis, and I truly appreciate all of our staff that work to help make your jobs a little better.

Our 2^nd Fire Academy class is getting ready to graduate on May 12^th and we will be putting out a flyer Monday for the next class which will begin in August. Our new classroom facility is slated to be complete the first of December which will allow us to add more students and a great facility along with all of our great instructors. That class in the new facility will begin in February 2024. 

I am so excited for the future of the Fire Academy and the new facility and training we will be able to provide to our fire departments in our state.

Again, thank you for all you do and if you need help on anything please do not hesitate to contact myself or any of our staff.

Sincerely,

Larry Potter

Executive Director, Kentucky State Fire Commission

FIRE COMMISSION MEETING SCHEDULE

June 14 - Burlington, July 29 - Louisville

October 11 - Paris, December 6 - Paris

KENTUCKY

FIRE FIGHTERS

ASSOCIATION

UPDATE

I just wanted to say “Thank You” to the Kentucky Association of Fire Chiefs for all the great collaboration we have experienced this year. We have worked on several projects together and still have much work to be accomplished as we move forward.

The KFA continues to research options to address the PTSD issue and will not stop until we get a viable program established across the entire state. We have made some positive steps forward, but still have much to do. We look forward to continuing to grow in our relationship with the Chiefs Association as we all strive to better the fire service in Kentucky.

It’s that time of year again and the KFA Conference is right around the corner. It will be in Louisville from     July 29 – Aug. 1. The hotel does have a few rooms left if you plan on staying. If you haven’t registered and plan on attending, please do so as soon as you can. The Conference Committee needs to get a good number of participants for many of the events, so they will be ready with supplies and refreshments.  Please check on the website below for our scheduled event and to register. 

One of the major events is the KFA Memorial Service. It will be held at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Norton Commons on July 30 at 1:30pm. You do not have to be registered for the conference to attend. It is at my home church, and the capacity is 1,200. I would love to see the pews filled for this service to honor our fallen firefighters across the state.

www.KFA2023.com

We have a link on the website for the 2023 Conference Book as well. The book is open for all ads for your departments including hiring notices, fire safety messages, training information or just to promote your fire department. This catalog helps us fund the events happening at the conference this year. The ads can be submitted electronically or by mail. Get them in soon, the deadline will be early June.

Respectfully,

KFA President 

Rick Bobo

FIRE PREVENTION

ARE YOU HOSTING A TRAINING OR FIRESCHOOL?

WE WOULD LOVE TO GET THE WORD OUT FOR YOU.

SEND US A ONE PAGE PDF PRIOR TO THE 27th OF THE MONTH AND WE WILL INCLUDE IT IN THE NEXT MONTHS NEWSLETTER. EMAIL YOUR INFORMATION TO THE LINK BELOW.

HONOR, BENEFITS, and FIRST STEPS is a class for all who would have a significant role following the line-of-duty death of a first responder – especially leaders.

It examines the steps leaders must take in advance to prepare for such a tragedy and the important information they need to know to make the difficult decisions that will most certainly follow.

It is not a funeral planning class.

If you are: a chief or chief officer; someone who might be tasked with taking, guiding, or assisting in taking or guiding first steps following a line-of-duty death; developing policy, procedures, or agency values for dealing with a line-of-duty death; or if you just want to know more about these most important topics, we encourage you to join us for...

HONOR, BENEFITS, and FIRST STEPS

FEBRUARY 7th: LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

Supporting Heroes Office

11400 Decimal Drive #1002

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern)

APRIL 27th: CAMPBELLSVILLE, KENTUCKY

Taylor County Fire Department

1563 Greensburg Road

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern)

ARE YOU HIRING?

WE WOULD LOVE TO GET THE WORD OUT FOR YOU.

SEND US A ONE PAGE PDF PRIOR TO THE 27th OF THE MONTH AND WE WILL INCLUDE IT IN THE NEXT MONTHS NEWSLETTER. PLEASE MAKE SURE IT INCLUDES AN APPLICATION DEADLINE. EMAIL YOUR INFORMATION TO THE LINK BELOW.

Want to build a better career? The Department of Housing, Buildings & Construction in the Public Protection Cabinet has seven jobs open in various locations: THREE building code plan reviewers to be located in Frankfort (2) and the Louisville area (1) ; a plumbing inspector in Louisville; and a manufactured housing inspector that covers the state. HBC also needs two hazardous materials inspectors-one in west Kentucky and one in east Kentucky. Check here for job descriptions and to apply to be part of Team Kentucky: https://kypersonnelcabinet.csod.com/.../search.aspx...