Mid Year 2012 - will be held April 13th - 14th, 2012 at the Quality Inn & Suites in Ames. Rooms are already sold out there but you can still call them at 515-232-9260 and they can refer you over to the Holiday Inn Express across the street for additional rooms. Room rates at Holiday Inn should be $99+. Get your tickets now for the Mid Year Banquet! Cost is $25 per person. Special guest speaker will be Mike Callan - Firefigher, Author and Instructor. Download registration form here.

 

National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)

The State Fire Marshal Office and ImageTrend have finalized the implementation process of the web based reporting system Iowa Fire Bridge.  We are now online and ready to start setting up Iowa Fire Departments!  There is no cost to Fire Departments to use the program and departments do have the option to continue with their current software program. www.iowafirebridge.com

To get your department set up, you will need to designate at least one Fire Department Administrator from your department.  (It is possible to have more than one Fire Department Administrator, but ask that you limit it to no more than 2-3 per department.)  To set up your Fire Department Administrator, please fill out and submit the following form: Fire Department Administrator Application Form

Once your department has a Fire Department Administrator, that individual will be in charge of setting up additional members of your fire department with access and permissions.  Click here to view Department Permission Groups.

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The January 1, 2013 narrowbanding deadline is quickly approaching.  You need to PLAN, BUDGET & ACT NOW.  DO NOT WAIT. Attached is a useful checklist for narrow banding. For more information visit:   http://isicsb.iowa.gov/ . You can now also find the ISICSB on Facebook and Twitter.

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Iowa Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment and Retention Project -  Iowa's fire and emergency response departments face some big challenges staffing their departments. The project contains a number of practical ideas for that may fit your community. (Read more....)

Like us on Facebook -IOWA SAFER PROJECT

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FIREFIGHTER DAY ON THE HILL! - Make plans now to attend the annual Firefighter Day on the Hill on Wednesday, March 14th. This is a great opportunity to meet with your legislators and get to know them and for them to get to know YOU! They need to know how important the training fund is and how much a tax credit would help to recruit and retain firefighters. This year instead of a legislative reception in the evening we will be sponsoring a breakfast at the Capitol beginning at 7 a.m. New this year - a Fire House Cook Off Contest sponsored by the State Fire Marshal. Bring your best recipe in a crock pot or roaster for the legislators to sample at lunch time. ________________________________________________________________________________________

INFORMATION ON ASSISTANCE TO FIREFIGHTER GRANTS:

FY 2011 STAFFING FOR ADEQUATE FIRE AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE (SAFER) GRANT PROGRAM

APPLICATION PERIOD: Monday, January 30, 2012 - Friday, February 24, 2012 at 5:00 P.M. EST FY 2011 SAFER Program Guidance to be Posted on AFG Website on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 Important Special Instructions for Completing the FY 2011 SAFER Grant Application New SAFER Self-Evaluation Tools Provide Insight into the Peer Review Evaluation Process The FY 2011 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grants application period will open on Monday, January 30, 2012 and run until Friday, February 24, 2012 at 5:00 P.M. EST. The goal of the SAFER Grants is to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities in order to respond to emergencies, assuring communities have adequate protection from fire and fire-related hazards. The FY 2011 SAFER Grant Program Guidance and Application Kit will be posted on the AFG Website starting Wednesday, January 25, 2012. All SAFER applicants should read the new FY 2011 SAFER Grants Program Guidance to fully understand the FY 2011 award criteria, funding priorities, and important special application instructions for completing the application. Highlights of the FY 2011 SAFER Grant Program The grant program conditions described below are in effect ONLY for the FY 2011 SAFER Grants; they are not retroactive to previous fiscal years and do not apply beyond the FY 2011 SAFER Grants Program. Salary limits: There are no annual salary limits Grantee cost share: There is no prescribed cost-share No retention commitment: Grantees that are hiring firefighters—whether they be rehires, new hires, or retained firefighters—do not have to commit to retaining the SAFER-funded firefighters beyond the period of performance. However, no firefighter layoffs are permitted—of either SAFER-funded on non-SAFER firefighters—during the grant's period of performance Period of performance: For the Hiring of Firefighters Category grants, the period of performance has been reduced to 2 years. Attrition of firefighters: FY 2011 grantees who are unable to back-fill firefighting positions that are vacated due to documentable economic hardship may petition FEMA for a waiver of staffing maintenance requirements. To qualify for this waiver, the economic hardship must affect the entire public safety sector in the jurisdiction and not only the fire department. Hiring of Firefighters Category: The priorities for funding will be as follows: First priority: Rehiring laid-off firefighters Second priority: Retention of firefighters who face imminent layoff and/or filling positions vacated through attrition but not filled due to economic circumstances Third priority: Hiring new firefighters Important Special Instructions for Completing the FY 2011 SAFER Hiring Grant Application A technical issue with the SAFER e-grant application will require that applicants requesting funds for the Hiring of Firefighters Category enter data for 4 budget years even though only 2 years of funding can be awarded for this Category. Unfortunately, the application format cannot be changed, and therefore Hiring of Firefighters applicants should follow these special instructions on how to complete the application: For budget years one (1) and two (2), input the requested salary and benefits for each line item; For budget years three (3) and four (4) insert $1.00 for both the salary and benefits NOTE: The system will not allow an input of $0 value. If an applicant submits a budget request for year three (3) and year four (4), the budget will be reduced prior to the grant award.   If you need additional information or instructions, the SAFER Help Desk and Fire Program Specialists will be available throughout the application period to answer questions about the SAFER Program Guidance and the online grant application. The Help Desk can be contacted at 1-866-274-0960 or via e-mail at firegrants@dhs.gov. The Help Desk hours of operation during the application period are from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. All times listed are eastern daylight times. New SAFER Grant Self-Evaluation Tools Provide Insight into the Peer Review Evaluation Process SAFER Self-Evaluation Sheets have been developed that are based on the scoring dimensions used by peer reviewers. The SAFER Self-Evaluation Sheet for Hiring Firefighters and the SAFER Self-Evaluation Sheet for Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters will help you assess your organization's readiness to apply for a grant and help you plan your grant application. The SAFER Hiring Grants Application Get-Ready Guide and the SAFER Recruitment and Retention Grants Application Get-Ready Guide are also available to help applicants prepare their applications. You can find more information on the AFG Grants on our Grants page

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State Fire Marshal Division Warns of Dangers Using Decorative "Gel Fire Pot" - The Iowa Department of Public Safety-State Fire Marshal Division urges citizens to use caution when lighting or burning decorative, gel-fueled fire pots.  Several people have been admitted to the University of Iowa Burn Unit with serious burns as a result of using decorative, gel fire pots. (Read more....)

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Keep your eyes open for opportunities to speak to your legislators whenever possible. We really need to keep our issues in front of them. It is imperative that they hear from their constituents at home so that they know how these issues effect their local areas. If you would be willing to talk to your legislator when there is a bill coming up for debate please contact Wendy .We would like to have a list of at least one person in each county that we can contact when needed to talk to their local legislator and to help get information to the departments in their county.

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The Hartford's Volunteer Firefighter Accident Policy is now available for member departments to sign up for! This policy contains an array of benefits to help provide necessary security against financial loss if injured in the line of duty due to a covered accident.  For more information you can contact Scott Bahr at Gateway Insurance Services. You can view a video explaining this policy at http://www.gisiowa.com/programs.html .

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Time is running out, tell Congress not to raise taxes on volunteer firefighter and EMTs! 

TAKE ACTION! 

At the end of 2010, an exemption from income taxation on incentives that many local communities provide to volunteer firefighters and EMTs as a reward for their service expired. As a result, tens of thousands of volunteer emergency responders across the country will have to pay higher taxes this year without Congressional action. Contact your U.S. Representative and Senators now and tell them to co-sponsor the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Reauthorization Act (S. 933/H.R. 2353), which would extend and expand a federal income tax exemption on all property tax benefits and up to $600 per calendar year of any other type of benefit that volunteers receive as a reward for their service. 

If your Senator or Representative is already a co-sponsor of the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Reauthorization Act, contact them to let them know that you appreciate your support. The sponsor of S. 933 is Charles Schumer (D-NY) and the current co-sponsors are Susan Collins (R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME). The sponsor of H.R. 2353 is John Larson (D-CT) and the current co-sponsors are Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tim Holden (D-PA), Tom Latham (R-IA), Michael Michaud (D-ME), Dave Reichert (R-WA), Laura Richardson (D-CA) and Betty Sutton (D-OH).

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The annual State Fire School will be held February 24 - 26, 2012 in Ames. There will be a special presentation by Daniel Madrzykowski on Saturday, Feb. 25th @ 4:45 p.m. and also a pre-fire school workshop on Friday, Feb. 24th from 2 - 5 p.m. Read more here...

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The Hartford's Volunteer Firefighter Accident Policy is now available for member departments to sign up for! This policy contains an array of benefits to help provide necessary security against financial loss if injured in the line of duty due to a covered accident.  For more information you can contact Scott Bahr at Gateway Insurance Services. You can view a video explaining this policy at http://www.gisiowa.com/programs.html .

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The Iowa Firefighters Association has an annual scholarship available for students wishing to pursue a degree in Fire Science. The application period is open each year from October 1st - December 15th. You can download information and an application here.

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