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<title>AFA Communicator Newsletter</title>
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<p align="center"><b><font COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE="18"><b><i><i><img SRC="images/afa.gif" HEIGHT="217" WIDTH="231"></i></i></b></font><br>
<font SIZE="7"></p>
<p>A<font SIZE="5">rkansas</font><font SIZE="4"> </font>F<font SIZE="5">ire</font><font SIZE="4"> </font>A<font SIZE="5">cademy</font><font SIZE="4"></p>
</font>
<p>COMMUNICATOR<font SIZE="1"></p>
<p>______________________________________________________________</font><u></p>
</font><font FACE="CG Times,Times New Roman" SIZE="4">
<p>Volume III Number 1 January 31, 2000</font></u></b></p>
<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ARKANSAS FIRE ACADEMY ADVISORY BOARD MEETING &#150; </b></font>The next
meeting of the Arkansas Fire Academy Advisory Board will be held at the Camden Training
Site on April 6, 2000 at 1:00 p.m.<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"></p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">INSTRUCTOR HOUSING &#150;</b> </font>We encourage any department
requesting training from the AFA and who has available dormitory space to allow the
visiting instructor(s) to stay in your dormitory. We ask this in an effort to keep the
overall cost of training down and, at the same time, we hope to be able to deliver more
classes overall. The costs of setting our instructor(s) up in a hotel is very costly and
we could certainly cut down on that expense by having our staff member(s) join your
on-duty personnel during their stay. The end result is that we hope to get those same
instructors out to visit you more often.<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"></p>
<b><i>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">NEW </i><u>VOLUNTARY</u> RURAL AND VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER II STATE-LEVEL
CERTIFICATION PROGRAM </b>&#150; T</font>he AFA has developed and is hoping to implement
in the near future a <u>new</u><font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"> <b>TOTALLY</b> <b>VOLUNTARY </b></font>program
for rural and volunteer firefighters that will lead to a <u>state level certification</u>
as a Firefighter II. We are currently seeking funding to implement this NEW program. The
program includes training that would be conducted in each of the seven fire training
region on a very flexible schedule. Again, this program would be TOTALLY VOLUNTARY, NOT A
MANDATORY REQUIREMENT. (This program would be in addition to [not taking the place of] the
IFSAC Self Study programs &#150; see item below.)<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"></p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">FIREFIGHTER I AND FIREFIGHTER II SELF STUDY PROGRAMS &#150;</b> </font>The
revision continues on the self study programs to update them to the 1997 edition of NFPA
1001 and the 4<sup>th</sup> edition of Essentials. The revised programs will be re-titled:
the Arkansas Fire Academy Firefighter I and II IFSAC Field Training Preparation Programs.
We now anticipate a mid-April release date<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2">. </font><em><i>Once
the revised programs are released, personnel enrolling in them will then be tested out of
the 4<sup>th</sup> edition of Essentials. </i></em><font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><b></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">UNIFIED FIRE SCIENCE DEGREE PROGRAM &#150; </b></font>The Unified Fire
Science Degree Program was approved by the SAU Advisory Board and the Academic Advisory
Board of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. This brings this program another
step closer to helping firefighters across Arkansas complete a two-year degree.<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"></p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ISO INFORMATION &#150; </b></font>We frequently receive calls asking
for information on ISO ratings. Since we don&#146;t handle such information you might try
to contact ISO&#146;s Chicago Office for information. Their address is:</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ISO Services Office, Inc.<br>
Public Protection Department<br>
111 North Canal Street, Suite 950<br>
Chicago, IL 60606-7270<br>
Telephone #: 1-800-930-1677 (Sandy Enright ext. 6214) (Tom Geibel ext. 6208)<br>
Fax #: 1-800-711-6431<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"></p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">COMPUTER GRANT PROJECT STATUS &#150;</b> </font>The Arkansas Department
of Information Systems has received and is reviewing the grant proposal. We have not
received any further information from them as of this date. We'll keep you posted on
further developments in future Fire Watches and Communicators. As soon as we hear back
from them, we'll let you know more.<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="1"></p>
</font><font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"><b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">FIRE SERVICE INSTRUCTORS&#146; ASSOCIATION MEETING &#150;</b> </font>The
Fire Service Instructors&#146; Association will meet in Conway at the Conway Fire
Department at 10:00 a.m. on May 29<sup>th</sup>. Personnel interested in attending can
contact Captain Kyle Rhone at 501-982-5048 for further information.<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"></p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">REMINDERS &#150;</b> </p>
<ol>
<ol>
<b>
<li>Wildland Fire Fighting Certificates</b> </font>are not printed by Sylvia Langley, the
Arkansas Fire Academy Registrar. These certificates are done by the folks at the Arkansas
Department of Forestry. If your Wildland certificates are over due, please contact the
Forestry people.<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"></li>
<b>
<li>Cover letters for Intro and Protective Equipment classes</b> </font>are not generated by
Sylvia Langley but by your AFA Regional Instructor/Coordinator. Please contact them for
such cover letters when you conduct these classes.<font FACE="Arial" SIZE="2"></li>
<b>
<li>Arkansas Fire Academy Hours:</b> </font>Our regular hours (third week of August until
mid-May) are from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays and 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon
on Fridays. Our summer hours (mid-May to the second week of August) are 6:30 a.m. to 5:00
p.m. Mondays to Thursdays.</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tom Forbes, Director <br>
Jeff Fortney, Deputy Director<br>
Arkansas Fire Academy Phone: 870-574-1521<br>
P.O. Box 3499 Fax: 870-574-0817 <br>
Camden, AR 71711</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>E-Mail:&nbsp; <a href="mailto:director@arkansasfireacademy.org"><font face="Brush Script MT" size="6">The Academy</font></a></b></p>
<font FACE="Arial"><b>
<p ALIGN="CENTER">- - </b>Check out our web site at <a href="index.html" target="_top"><b>www.arkansasfireacademy.org</b></a>.
<b>- -</b></font></p>
<hr>
<p align="left"><b><font SIZE="4"><u>Volume II Number 5 November 10, 1999</u>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</font></b></p>
<font SIZE="2">
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></font>Since the October issue of the Communicator is running late
we&#146;re decided to combine it with the December issue. As we close out another year and
prepare to enter the year 2000, we want to wish each and everyone of you and your families
a Safe and Happy Holiday Season. We look forward to serving you all in the new Millenium. <b></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">PERSONNEL CHANGES &#150;</b> There have been some personnel changes
lately at the AFA. To help us with our outreach into the East Central part of the start,
Bill Hellard has become the Regional Instructor/Coordinator for Region VI. Bob Edwards
will continue in Region III. Rachel Nix has moved up into the Chief Instructor position
for the Officer Level Courses. Jason Wills has moved up into the Chief Instructor position
for the Firefighter Standards Course. Russ Hargiss will assist with the Firefighter
Standards Course and continue teaching our Hazardous Materials and Industrial courses as
time permits. Bill Simpson is now working in the academy&#146;s EMS Program. (See new
Regional Map on opposite page.) </p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">INSTRUCTOR JASON WILLS &#150; </b>There have been some ugly rumors
floating around the state questioning Jason Wills&#146; educational and experiential
backgrounds. We&#146;re taking this opportunity to dispel these rumors. Prior to working
for the AFA, Jason Wills worked as a technician for the Oklahoma Fire Service Training
Academy in Stillwater, Oklahoma. He served on the Oklahoma City Document Management Team
and was responsible for research and documentation of the Murrah Federal Building Bombing
Report. Jason worked at the OSU Department of Environmental Health and Safety and <b>was a
firefighter with the Ingalls Fire Protection District in Ingalls, OK, the Kennett Fire
Department in Kennett, MO, and Rural Metro at Eaker Air Force Base in Blytheville.</b> He
is IFSAC certified as a Firefighter I and II and Instructor I and II. Jason holds an
Associates in Arts degree through Mississippi County Community College and a Bachelors of
Science in Engineering - Fire Protection and Safety through Oklahoma State University. He
currently serves as Chief Instructor for the Firefighter Standards Course and <b>as a
volunteer firefighter with the Camden Fire Department</b>. Jason is a member of the
Arkansas Firefighter&#146;s Association, National Fire Protection Association, Society of
Fire Protection Engineers, OSU Fire Protection Society, OSU Alumni Association, National
Fire Academy Association, and SAU Tech Faculty Senate. In all, Instructor Wills has over 9
½ years of operational fire fighting experience.<b></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">UNIFIED FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE ASSOCIATE IN APPLIED SCIENCE DEGREE
PROGRAM -</b> We continue to move forward with our articulation project with other
two-year colleges across Arkansas. We spoke recently with Steve Floyd from the Arkansas
Department of Higher Education about the benefits of such a program and he asked us to
prepare a written proposal to present to ADHE at their annual meeting in February. He
seemed very positive about approval being granted for this proposal.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">IFSAC RE-ACCREDITATION VISIT &#150;</b> The recent IFSAC
re-accreditation visit went very well. Our three Site Team Members had many positive
comments about the AFA Firefighter I and II Certification Programs and even suggested they
review our Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations Programs while they were here. We
were the first fire training academy to go on line with the new </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">NFPA Job Performance Requirement format. Arkansas First, just the way
it should be! The team members offered us many valuable recommendations that should ensure
our re-accreditation at IFSAC&#146;s annual meeting in April 2000 in Lexington, Kentucky.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">COMPUTER GRANT STATUS &#150; </b>Terry Harcrow just received an update
on the Computer Grant Proposal. Our proposal has completed the Qualifications Stage and is
ready for review by the Review Panel. This panel should complete their reviews by
December.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">GRAND OPENING &#150; </b>The Grand Opening of the new Fire Training
Facility at Cossatot Technical College in DeQueen, Arkansas will be held on December 6,
1999 at 3:00 p.m. Fire chiefs, officers and firefighters are welcome to attend. Questions
can be directed to J.C. Lambert at 870-584-4471.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">FIREFIGHTER I AND II SELF STUDY PROGRAMS &#150; </b>Work continues on
our re-write of the Firefighter I and II Self Study Programs to meet the training
requirements of NFPA 1001, 1997 edition and IFSTA Essentials of Fire Fighting, 4<sup>th</sup>
edition. We hope to have them ready for printing and distribution by January 2000.
Remember, if you are enrolled in our current FFI and FFII Self Study Programs based on the
1992 edition of NFPA 1001 and IFSTA Essentials, 3<sup>rd</sup> edition, you will continue
in them and be tested out of 3<sup>rd</sup> edition of Essentials.<font SIZE="2"></p>
</font>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tom Forbes, Director <br>
Jeff Fortney, Deputy Director<br>
Arkansas Fire Academy Phone: 870-574-1521<br>
P.O. Box 3499 Fax: 870-574-0817 <br>
Camden, AR 71711</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>E-Mail:&nbsp; <a href="mailto:director@arkansasfireacademy.org"><font face="Brush Script MT" size="6">The Academy</font></a></b></p>
<hr>
<p align="left"><b><font SIZE="4"><u>Volume II Number 4 September 10, 1999</u>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
</font></b></p>
<b><font SIZE="2">
<p></font></b>This issue of the Communicator is going out a little late but we&#146;re
determined not to skip an issue. <b><font FACE="CG Times,Times New Roman" SIZE="2"></p>
</font></b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>INTRO AND PROTECTIVE CLOTHING COURSES &#150; </b>CTOs must ensure
they spend adequate time conducting these courses to their fire department personnel. The
importance of these two courses for our rural and volunteer firefighters cannot be
emphasized enough. We do anticipate upgrading these two courses in the very near future.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>NEW INDUSTRIAL PROGRAM CURRICULUM DEVELOPER AND INSTRUCTOR JOINS AFA
&#150; </b>Steve Smith, well known to many of you, has joined the Arkansas Fire Academy as
our new full-time Industrial Curriculum Developer and Instructor. He is a welcome addition
to our faculty and will bolster our ability to deliver quality instruction.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>ACCREDITING NEW COURSES &#150; </b>Once IFSAC re-accredits our
Firefighter I and Firefighter II courses, we will be seeking IFSAC accreditation for our
Hazmat Awareness, Hazmat Operations, Fire Officer I, Fire Officer II, Fire Inspector I,
and Fire Instructor I courses, as well. We hope to have these courses accredited within
the next two years.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>NFA COURSE VACANCIES &#150; </b>The National Fire Academy has some
vacancies in October 31 through November 5 classes. If interested contact Ora White at
870-574-1521 or the NFA Admissions Office at 301-447-1000. The courses are: R802 &#150;
Fire Service Planning Concepts, R810 &#150; Leadership &amp; Administration, R811 &#150;
Fire Cause Determination, R814 &#150; Haz. Mat. Incident Mgmt., R815 &#150; Challenges for
Local Training Officers, R816 &#150; Community Education Leadership, and R817 - Emergency
Response to Terrorism: Incident Management.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>STATEWIDE FIRE AND EMERGENCY DEGREE PROGRAM ONE STEP CLOSER &#150; </b>Our
project to articulate our Associate in Applied Science in Fire and Emergency Response
degree program moved a step closer to reality this past week. We met with Dr. Steve Floyd
of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to discuss having a common fire science
degree plan shared by numerous two-year colleges across the state and working in
conjunction with the programs at Black River Tech and Northwest Arkansas Community
College. Dr. Floyd felt the project would be quite beneficial to the firefighters of
Arkansas. Our next step is to send a written proposal to Higher Education and then meet
their board in February 2000 to discuss it. </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>ARKANSAS FIRE CODES NOW AVAILABLE - </b>The AFA Bookcenter now has
the two-volume 1997 Standard Fire Prevention Code and Standard Building Code with Arkansas
Addendum. Unit price for these codes are $92.85 plus tax. (Total cost is $99.00.)
Volunteer fire departments are exempt from the sales tax. The 1999 Arkansas Addendum can
be purchased separately for $15.19 plus tax. Contact Sarah Hixson at 870-574-1521 to place
your order.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>NFIRS 5 IS HERE! - </b>Fire departments with Internet access can now
download the new NFIRS 5 program for loading onto their computers. This new reporting
system can greatly improve your department's ability to report incidents via the Internet.
Terry Harcrow is preparing NFIRS 5 program CDs for those departments not on the Internet.
For further information, contact Terry Harcrow or Kilatha Pickett at 870-574-1521.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>COMPUTER GRANT PROJECT STATUS &#150; </b>We&#146;re still waiting to
hear back from the Department of Information Services on the status of our Computer Grant
Proposal. We&#146;ll keep you informed as we receive information back from them.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>AFA CERTIFICATES &#150; </b>We&#146;ve hired a new part-time
assistant, Dottie Sharp, to help Sylvia Langley process our certificates faster.
We&#146;ll be upgrading the software that the firefighter training database is run on very
shortly. We anticipate little or no down time but we do ask that you be patient.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>FIREFIGHTER I AND FIREFIGHTER II SELF STUDY PROGRAMS TESTING - </b>The
<i>current</i> versions of our Firefighter I and II Self Study Programs are referenced
against the 3<sup>rd</sup> edition of IFSTA's Essentials of Fire Fighting. <u>Personnel
enrolled in our current versions of these programs will be tested out of the 3<sup>rd</sup>
edition of the Essentials manual.</u> The FF I and FF II Self Study Programs ARE being
revised to meet the newest edition of NFPA 1001 and the 4<sup>th</sup> edition of
Essentials. <i>Once the revised programs are released, personnel enrolling in them will
then be tested out of the 4<sup>th</sup> edition of Essentials. </i></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>REMINDER - </b>AFA policy prohibits students from wearing beards or
facial hair that could interfere with a proper seal forming between the student's face and
a SCBA facepiece during our live fire training evolutions. </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tom Forbes, Director <br>
Jeff Fortney, Deputy Director<br>
Arkansas Fire Academy Phone: 870-574-1521<br>
P.O. Box 3499 Fax: 870-574-0817 <br>
Camden, AR 71711</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>E-Mail:&nbsp; <a href="mailto:director@arkansasfireacademy.org"><font face="Brush Script MT" size="6">The Academy</font></a></b></p>
<p ALIGN="CENTER">&nbsp;</p>
<p ALIGN="CENTER"><b>- - Check out our web site at <a href="index.html">http://www.arkansasfireacademy.org.</a> - -<font SIZE="2"></p>
<hr>
<p><u><font SIZE="4">Volume II Number 3 July 6, 1999</font> </u></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></font></b><strong>GOOD NEWS!</strong> - The money for hiring of
adjunct instructors has improved as a result of increased sales of industry fire training
courses. Thanks to Paula Hickman and all of you that have helped steer industry sales to
her. Don't stop now! We're still not near the goal of reaching ALL of our rural and
volunteer firefighters with training so KEEP ON helping Paula. Her new phone number is
870-574-4593. REMEMBER A CLASS SOLD TO A LOCAL INDUSTRY WILL, ON THE AVERAGE, OPEN THE
DOOR TO THREE CLASSES FOR OUR RURAL AND VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">INDUSTRIAL ADJUNCT INSTRUCTORS NEEDED - </b>If you are a CTO and would
like to earn some extra income (as much as $25 an hour or $400 a weekend), contact Paula
Hickman at 870-574-4593. Let her know you would like to outreach into Industry
instruction. This transition may require you to attend special training events. Paula can
help guide you in the right direction.<b></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ACCREDITING NEW COURSES - </b>As you are aware, the International Fire
Service Accreditation Congress (IFSAC) accredits our Firefighter I and Firefighter II
courses. These courses are up for reaccreditation this Fall. In the very near future, we
will be seeking accreditation of our Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations, Fire
Officer I and Fire Instructor I courses, as well.<b></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">CORRECTION - </b>An item in our last AFA Communicator said we mail out
approximately 1250 copies of each issue of our two newsletters (the Fire Watch and the
Communicator). The article should have said: we mail out more than 1250 copies of each
issue of our Communicator and 10,000 copies of each issue of our Fire Watch. Please feel
free to make copies of our Communicator to share with other firefighters or download it
from our website. <b></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">UPDATING CHIEFS LIST -</b> We're still asking folks to send in their
department's information to help us update the Chiefs List. Please provide us with the
following information: your FDID #, fire department name, address, city, zip code, chief's
name, and business and home phone numbers. </p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ARKANSAS FIRE CODES NOW AVAILABLE -</b> The AFA Bookcenter now has the
two-volume 1997 Standard Fire Prevention Code and Standard Building Code with Arkansas
Addendum. Unit price for these codes are $92.85 plus tax. (Total cost is $99.00.)
Volunteer fire departments are exempt from the sales tax. The 1999 Arkansas Addendum can
be purchased separately for $15.19 plus tax. Contact Sarah Hixson at 870-574-1521 to place
your order.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">CONGRESSIONAL GRANT FUNDING NEEDS SUPPORT -</b> The U. S. Congress is
looking at funding a grant for the fire service to help departments acquire arson
detection training and equipment. This measure requires support from the fire service
across the Nation. For more info contact Bill Hellard at 870-574-0893 or Jeff Fortney at
870-574-1521. </p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">ARKANSAS WEEKEND AT NATIONAL FIRE ACADEMY - </b>David Davis and Jason
Wills said the Arkansas Weekend at the National Fire Academy went very well. We had 68
Arkansas firefighters in attendance.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">NFIRS 5 IS HERE! - </b>Fire departments with Internet access can now
download the new NFIRS 5 program for loading onto their computers. This new reporting
system can greatly improve your department's ability to report incidents via the Internet.
For further information, contact Terry Harcrow or Kilatha Pickett at 870-574-1521.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">COMPUTER GRANT PROJECT STATUS -</b> Terry Harcrow has finished writing
the grant proposal and we're ready to submit it in to Arkansas Department of Information
Systems. We'll keep you posted on further developments in future Fire Watches and
Communicators. As soon as we hear back from them, we'll let you know more.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">FIREFIGHTER I AND FIREFIGHTER II SELF STUDY PROGRAMS TESTING -</b> The <i>current</i>
versions of our Firefighter I and II Self Study Programs are referenced against the 3<sup>rd</sup>
edition of IFSTA's Essentials of Fire Fighting. <u>Personnel enrolled in our current
versions of these programs will be tested out of the 3<sup>rd</sup> edition of the
Essentials manual.</u> The FF I and FF II Self Study Programs ARE being revised to meet
the newest edition of NFPA 1001 and the 4<sup>th</sup> edition of Essentials. <i>Once the
revised programs are released, personnel enrolling in them will then be tested out of the
4<sup>th</sup> edition of Essentials. </i></p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">REMINDER -</b> AFA policy prohibits students from wearing beards or
facial hair that could interfere with a proper seal forming between the student's face and
a SCBA facepiece during our live fire training evolutions.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tom Forbes, Director <br>
Jeff Fortney, Deputy Director<br>
Arkansas Fire Academy Phone: 870-574-1521<br>
P.O. Box 3499 Fax: 870-574-0817 <br>
Camden, AR 71711</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>E-Mail:&nbsp; <a href="mailto:director@arkansasfireacademy.org"><font face="Brush Script MT" size="6">The Academy</font></a></b></p>
<hr>
<p><b><u><font SIZE="4">Volume II Number 1 February 22, 1999 </font></u></b></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">We at the Arkansas Fire Academy hope all of our readers had a safe and
happy holiday season and we wish to welcome you back to another year with us. We&#146;re
moving the publication of this issue up a few weeks to get some breaking news out to you
soonest.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>AFA INSTRUCTOR BILL SIMPSON </b>had a heart attack just before our
Christmas break and had to have bypass surgery just a couple of days later. Bill is at
home now. He&#146;s doing well and is in good spirits. Bill called us recently to let us
know he should be back to work around February 1<sup>st</sup>. So please keep Bill in your
thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery. - Jeff Fortney</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUEST ABOUT TO PAY OFF - </b>As many of you
know, we've requested supplemental funding for the Arkansas Fire Academy&#146;s budget.
Well, the good news is that hard work coupled with your support has begun to pay off. We
expect to receive the supplemental funds we asked for very shortly. Thank you for your
diligent support in helping us but please remember, the academy has other money issues
being brought before the legislature, so keep on helping! - Tom Forbes</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>NEW INDUSTRY PROGRAM SALES PERSON AND PHONE NUMBER - </b>The AFA
recently hired Paula Hickman as our new Industry Program Sales Person. She has experience
in fire equipment sales and in the fire service which will greatly boost our Industry
Training Program. <i>The majority of the money generated through this program will be used
to augment our current funding for our outreach training programs across Arkansas</i>. If
you know of a business needing fire and/or safety related training, please call Paula at
1-800-210-6505. <u><i>This phone number is for the Industry Programs only.</i></u> - Tom
Forbes</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>FIRE CHIEF RAY JACKS RETIRING - </b>Ray Jacks, Fire Chief of Pine
Bluff will be retiring soon after 50 years of service to his community and this state. A
retirement party for Chief Jacks is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, March 6,
1999 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center. All fire service personnel from across Arkansas
are welcome to attend. - Tom Forbes</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>AFA PERSONNEL AND PHONE NUMBERS - </b>There have been some personnel
additions and changes in duty titles and phone numbers here at the AFA. To help you reach
our people easier, we&#146;re printing this information here:</p>
<table border="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td width="50%"><strong>Advanced Courses Manager/Training Site Manager</strong><br>
Bill Hellard<br>
870-574-0893</td>
<td width="50%"><strong>Apprentice Course Manager/Chief Instructor</strong><br>
Rachel Nix<br>
870-574-0865</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><strong>Industry Training Program Sales Manager/Coordinator </strong><br>
Paula Hickman<br>
1-800-210-6505 <em>(Industry calls only)</em><br>
Pager #:&nbsp; 870-801-3060&nbsp; Cell phone #:&nbsp; 870-814-5947</td>
<td width="50%"><strong>EMS Program Manager</strong><br>
David Myers<br>
1-800-574-2062<br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><strong>Hazardous Materials Instructor</strong><br>
Russell Hargiss<br>
870-574-2996</td>
<td width="50%"><strong>Risk Management/Basic School Instructor</strong><br>
Jason Wills<br>
870-574-0893</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><strong>Industry Training Program/Basic School Instructor</strong><br>
Bill Simpson<br>
870-574-1521</td>
<td width="50%"></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>FIRE EQUIPMENT SALE - </b>Southern Fire Equipment Company, Inc. is
having a BIG sale on vehicles and equipment. Everything is priced to move. They can be
reached at:<br>
</p>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>Southern Fire Equipment Company, Inc.<br>
P.O. Drawer 12308<br>
Jackson, MS 39236-2308<br>
1-800-733-6055<br>
601-944-1112<br>
Fax: 601-944-1122<br>
Email:&nbsp; tcferg@netdoor.com</b></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b><br>
LESSON PLANS TO BE ON NEW WEB PAGE - </b>We are in the process of rewriting all lesson
plans for our courses starting with the Firefighter Standards Course. This task is being
perform to bring us up to the most current standards and at the same time to help prepare
us for our upcoming IFSAC reaccredidation. The task is a difficult one as it is time
consuming and manpower draining. The end result however will be quality lesson plans that
we plan to place on the Internet on our new web page to be available for all you training
officers and CTOs to use any time you need them. You would only need to download them off
your computer, at NO COST TO YOU. We will also be placing advertisements from various fire
equipment companies on the lesson plans on the Internet to help keep you abreast on the
latest and greatest in fire equipment and merchandise. - Tom Forbes</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b>COMPUTERS FOR FIRE DEPARTMENTS - </b>Sheila Self of SAU Tech and
Jeff Fortney are working on a grant proposal to assist Arkansas fire departments in
getting one computer for each of their fire stations. These computers would be Internet
ready to assist the fire departments in incident reporting, record keeping, official
email, and Internet access for members wishing to take college courses over the Internet.
Departments wishing to be a part of this grant proposal need to submit the following
information to Terry Harcrow at the Arkansas Fire Academy no later than February 26, 1999:
fire department name, address, phone number, name of a point of contact, and number of
fire stations . - Jeff Fortney </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Have a fire safe day!</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tom Forbes, Director<br>
Jeff Fortney, Deputy Director<br>
Arkansas Fire Academy Phone: 870-574-1521<br>
P.O. Box 3499 Fax: 870-574-0817 <br>
Camden, AR 71711<br>
<br>
<b>E-Mail:&nbsp; <a href="mailto:director@arkansasfireacademy.org"><font face="Brush Script MT" size="6">The Academy</font></a></b></p>
<b><font SIZE="7">
<hr>
<p>A<font SIZE="5">rkansas</font><font SIZE="4"> </font>F<font SIZE="5">ire</font><font SIZE="4"> </font>A<font SIZE="5">cademy</font></p>
<p>COMMUNICATOR<font SIZE="1"></p>
<p>_______________________________________________________________</font><u><font SIZE="4"></p>
<p>Volume I Number 3 October 20, 1998</font> </u><font SIZE="2"></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></font></font></b>Hey, our third issue and we&#146;re going strong!
We&#146;ve had a lot going on in the past couple of months.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><strong>THANK YOU</strong> - We would like to thank all the departments
who have donated pictures for our dormitory rooms. You have provided us with some very
beautiful images of your departments and they certainly brighten up the rooms. Again,
thank you very much. - Tom Forbes </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><strong>AFA BUDGET </strong>- Things are moving along to improve the
budget for the AFA, however, we face a big hurdle in November. The Arkansas Fire
Academy&#146;s budget is tied into the budget for Higher Education. If Amendment 4 is
voted in, we have been informed that we could lose up to $372,000 in operating budget per
year. As we&#146;ve told you before, our budget is already underfunded and this could have
a devastating effect upon our ability to serve the firefighters of this state. - Tom
Forbes and Jeff Fortney </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><strong>CERTIFICATES</strong> - You may have noticed a quicker turn
around in certificates and EMT / CPR paperwork. The reason we&#146;ve caught up so much
recently is the addition of two part-time administrative personnel who only work in those
two areas of concern.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">We intend to go one step further in the near future. We hope to have
our satellite site personnel type up the certificates for each class as it is in session
and hand them to the graduates at the end of the course. Then the three part forms will be
processed through the regular channels along with all attendance records and anything else
required to log the information into our registrar database. We feel this will make all of
you much happier and at the same time reduce the registrar&#146;s work load. The entire
process should be a heck of a lot quicker and more efficient.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">This is a system that will require everyone to be completely
trustworthy and honest. Training certificates simply cannot be given out unless
individuals successfully complete the course(s) the certificates represent. If this
becomes a problem, this new approach to getting the certificates out will end.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><strong>REMINDER</strong> - Sylvia Langley, our Registrar, needs to
know thirty (30) days prior to the start of a Firefighter Standards class the exact number
of personnel who will be attending and have their applications. This continues to be a
problem and departments are still not providing accurate numbers on how many personnel
they plan to send. Please help us to help you. Thanks. - Jeff Fortney</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><strong>POSITIVE CHANGES <u>ARE</u> HAPPENING</strong> - If you
haven&#146;t been seeing positive change come from the AFA, I believe you should give it
another look. I want you all to know the people working within this academy DO WORK HARD
for you. I often hear complaints about my staff and their inability to get the work out
efficiently. I am here to tell you these kinds of complaints just don&#146;t have a leg to
stand on. </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><strong>INTERESTING FACT #1</strong> - One of the largest and best
equipped fire academies found in this nation services 8,000 customers and it has a staff
of <u>142 full time workers</u> to meet their needs.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><strong>INTERESTING FACT #2</strong> - The Arkansas Fire Academy has a
customer base of close to 15,000 and has a staff of <u>ONLY 20 full time workers and two
part time workers.</u> Therefore, I think we are doing well just keeping our business
moving along smoothly.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">I write this because my employees need to hear praise from you now and
then. We all do. I would like you all to help us help you. Just the other day my registrar
lady was kept on the phone for thirty minutes fielding a complaint about late
paperwork.... THINK ABOUT IT. (That&#146;s 30 minutes she could have spent processing
certificates!)</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">In closing, one year ago when I first arrived at the Academy, the
academy was any where from 125 to 150 days behind in paper work. We are now less than 40
days behind overall. We are getting better but don&#146;t expect problems that have been
around for years to disappear over night. We are all working on making it better, please
HELP US. - Tom Forbes </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><strong>HAZ MAT</strong> Train-the-Trainer Course - OES is offering a
Haz Mat Train-the-Trainer course in Hot Springs on December 8<sup>th</sup> </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">through the 10<sup>th</sup>. For more information, please contact Russ
Hargiss at 870-574-2996 or Rose Bailey at 501-730-9790.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Have a fire safe day!</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">&nbsp;</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tom Forbes, Director<br>
Jeff Fortney, Assistant Director</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"><b><br>
Arkansas Fire Academy Phone: 870-574-1521<br>
P.O. Box 3499 Fax: 870-574-0817 <br>
Camden, AR 71711 <br>
E-Mail:&nbsp; <a href="mailto:director@arkansasfireacademy.org"><font face="Brush Script MT" size="6">The Academy</font></a></b></p>
<hr>
<b><font SIZE="7">
<p>A</font></b><font SIZE="5">rkansas</font><b><font SIZE="4"> </font><font SIZE="7">F</font></b><font SIZE="5">ire</font><b><font SIZE="4"> </font><font SIZE="7">A</font></b><font SIZE="5">cademy</font><font SIZE="4"></p>
</font><b><font SIZE="7">
<p>COMMUNICATOR</font><font SIZE="1"></p>
<p>_______________________________________________________________</font><u><font SIZE="4"></p>
<p>Volume I Number 2 August 24, 1998</font> </u></b><font SIZE="3"></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Welcome to the second issue of the Arkansas Fire Academy Communicator!
We have several different topics to cover in this issue and are glad we have this
opportunity to get them out to you this way.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Fire Trucks Donated to AFA -</b> On August 3<sup>rd</sup>, the Arkansas
Fire Academy received two older model Mack Pumpers donated to the academy by Little Rock
Fire Department and the City of Little Rock. These apparatus were donated to the academy
through the efforts of Little Rock Fire Chief Rubin Webb and Cy Carney, Little Rock&#146;s
City Manager. These two pumpers will be valuable additions to our vehicle fleet during our
budget crisis The Macks were turned over to the AFA freshly maintenanced and well equipped
for service. Our thanks to the people of Little Rock, Cy Carney, Chief Webb, and the
firefighters of Little Rock. - Tom Forbes and Jeff Fortney</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Satellite Budget Quest -</b> Many of you have been calling and asking
how things are going with the process of gaining operational and maintenance budgets for
the satellites. May I start by telling you that we have been getting nothing but good
response from our state government. The issue is being worked by a number of different
people representing a variety of different legislative sources. The problem is being given
much attention for the right reasons. I truly believe the correct people are working the
issues and the proper results are right around the corner. In closing, let&#146;s all be
patient and trust in the fact that the problem is being worked by people who understand it
and have the concern and ability to correct. - Tom Forbes.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">EMS Continuing Education Units </b>- Some of you may have heard that
Kenny Shaw who was our contact person for continuing education units at Arkansas Health
Department -EMS has left AHD-EMS. When he left, the folks at EMS initially planned to
discontinue assigning CEUs hours to fire service courses offered through the Arkansas Fire
Academy. Jeff Fortney and Rob Connell (AFA EMS Coordinator) have been working with David
Moskowitz and Barbara Poole at EMS to continue the program. Following a recent review of
our courses, EMS has agreed that those courses which have a definite relationship to EMS
will still carry CEUs, the remaining courses will not. CEUs will no longer be printed on
AFA certificates but must be submitted to AHD-EMS by completing the appropriate AHD-EMS
form to receive credit for them. This was the best deal we could work out with the
Arkansas Health Department- EMS at this time. - Jeff Fortney.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Fire Safety House - </b>The Fire Safety House to be stored at the
Arkansas Fire Academy in Camden arrived here in April 1998. To schedule training on how to
use the Fire Safety House contact Diane Hughes at Arkansas Children&#146;s Hospital at
501-320-2846. To schedule the Fire Safety House for your community, contact Terry Harcrow
at 870-574-1521 or Diane Hughes at 501-320-2846. - Terry Harcrow.</p>
<b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">AFA Administration Building Open House</b> - We&#146;ve done some
remodeling at the AFA&#146;s Admin building to improve our appearance and our working
conditions. It&#146;s amazing what a fresh coat of paint, some new blinds, and new tile
and carpet can do to brighten a workplace. We&#146;d like to share this with you and are
having an Open House on September 17<sup>th</sup> from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please join
us for refreshments and a visit. - Sue Horton.</font></p>
<font SIZE="3"><b>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Changes to the Associate Degree Program -</b> Some changes are being
made to the AAS in Fire and Emergency Response degree program. In an effort to make the
degree program more effective, we have revamped the degree plan itself and how semester
hours from the Firefighter Standards, EMT, Firefighter I and Firefighter II courses will
be applied. Previously, these courses were in the Fire Service electives while
Introduction to Fire and Emergency Response and Company Officer I were in the Fire
Sservice Core Requirements area. These will be swapped around. Students attending the
Firefighter Standards, FFI, and FFII courses will now receive credit for FFI, FFII, and
Hazardous Materials in the FS Core Requirements area. Intro and Company Officer I will now
be considered electives. EMT, once an elective, may now be used to help fulfill Fire
Service Core requirements or be used as an elective if the student already has First
Responder. Also, the <u>maximum</u> number of semester hours awardable through the
Portfolio Development and Review process will now be thirty (30) semester hours. - Jeff
Fortney. </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></font>&nbsp;</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Have a fire safe day!</p>
<p><font SIZE="3">&nbsp;</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Tom Forbes Jeff Fortney</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Director Assistant Director</font><font SIZE="1"></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY"></font><font SIZE="3"><b>&nbsp;</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Arkansas Fire Academy Phone: 870-574-1521<br>
P.O. Box 3499 Fax: 870-574-0817 <br>
Camden, AR 71711 <br>
E-Mail:&nbsp; <font face="Brush Script MT" size="6"><a href="mailto:director@arkansasfireacademy.org">The Academy</a></font></p>
</b></font>
<hr>
<p align="left"><b><font SIZE="7">A</font></b><font SIZE="5">rkansas</font><b><font SIZE="4"> </font><font SIZE="7">F</font></b><font SIZE="5">ire</font><b><font SIZE="4"> </font><font SIZE="7">A</font></b><font SIZE="5">cademy</font></p>
<b><font SIZE="7">
<p align="left">COMMUNICATOR</font><font SIZE="1"></p>
<p>_______________________________________________________________</font><u><font SIZE="4"></p>
<p>Volume I Number 1 June 29, 1998</font> </u></b></p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">As I write this, those of us from the Academy who attended Fire </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Storm '98 in Pine Bluff are coming back into the office to get back to
work. Chief Jacks and his personnel did a marvelous job of hosting this year's convention.
We certainly enjoyed the time we spent in fellowship with the firefighters and chiefs and
we are eagerly looking forward to Fire Storm '99 in Jonesboro.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">Doctor Roger Worsley, Jeff Fortney and I wish to thank the members of
the three associations for allowing us to speak with them recently regarding some concerns
expressed across the state about the Academy. You provided us with an opportunity to share
our thoughts regarding the Academy's current status and our ideas for its future.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">We thank you for your input and we hope we've answered your questions.
The number one thing you showed us is that <u>we have been lax in communicating to you
with what we are trying to do to help bring the Academy into the 21<sup>st</sup> century</u>.
We've started so many projects that we let ourselves get wrapped in trying to get them
done and have neglected to keep you in the loop. </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">That brings us to the purpose of this newsletter. Jeff Fortney and I
understand now how important it is for us to communicate with you, hence the name of this
letter: <b>AFA COMMUNICATOR</b>. We intend to publish this communication paper every
couple of months to supplement the information published in the <b>Firewatch</b>. We hope
this will enable us to keep you better informed on our progress and problems. Please share
these newsletters with your department personnel and with others.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">We hope you pass along copies of the FACT SHEET we passed out at the
convention to your firefighters and neighboring departments. We appreciate your assistance
in getting the facts out about the academy, its physical and budgetary conditions, and
what we are hoping to do to fix these problems. If you need more copies of our FACT SHEET,
please call us at the Arkansas Fire Academy at 870-574-1521 and we'll send you some.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">You've given us some new ideas to approach the degree program with. Dr.
Worsley and Jeff have already had a short meeting on ways to improve the program. We're
going to fix it and you are surely going to enjoy the new direction we<font FACE="Courier New">=</font>re going with it. In a nutshell, we are going to make it easier
and expand the programs ability to capture college credit hours from your previous fire
training through various sources. </p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">It has taken 30 years for the Academy to reach its current, antiquated
condition. We've accomplished a few positive steps to move the Academy forward in the few
months that Jeff and I have been here. With your support and your patience we'll be able
to accomplish even more. The joint resolution from the Chiefs and Firefighters
Associations to ask the Governor to provide the Academy with emergency funding is a
fantastic start and we are grateful for that demonstration of your support.</p>
<p ALIGN="JUSTIFY">The last and most important note: the most important gain for the
Arkansas Fire Academy this last week has been the support of the three fire associations
to help us through the difficult times we are in. This alone has greatly improved our
chances of success for future improvements. </p>
<p>Have a fire safe day!</p>
<p>Tom Forbes, Director<br>
Jeff Fortney, Assistant Director<br>
</p>
<p><b>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Arkansas Fire Academy Phone: 870-574-1521<br>
P.O. Box 3499 Fax: 870-574-0817 <br>
Camden, AR 71711 <br>
E-Mail:&nbsp; <font face="Brush Script MT" size="6"><a href="mailto:director@arkansasfireacademy.org">The Academy</a></font></p>
</b>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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