The International Association of Campus Fire Safety Officials Presents;

Campus; Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement & Risk Management.

Professional Development Series

Welcome to the 2003 Conference.

Miami University - Oxford, Ohio

________________________________________________________________

A big thank you to the 100+ attendees who participated in this years conference.

________________________________________________________________

Featuring: Emergency Response Planning

2003 Keynote Address:

Keynote Speaker: Fire Chief David Giordano, College Station - Texas

This was the headline from the "The Bryan-College Station Eagle" on November 20th, 1999 - "In seven frantic seconds, the Texas A&M University Bonfire collapsed before dawn Thursday, taking the lives of at least 11 of its creators and leaving a wound in the heart of Aggieland. Most of those killed were working on the top level of the 40-foot stack of logs when it crumbled without warning just before 2:30 a.m. Thursday." 

 I am Honored to welcome Fire Chief David Giordano, College Station, Texas to our conference as our keynote speaker. He will give us a virtual tour of what happened that early morning and how his staff responded. We will discuss emergency planning and how cooperation between the Emergency Responders and the Institution is crucial when developing an emergency response plan. 

Most importantly, Chief Giordano will discuss the role he played during this incident. By the time he arrived on scene, the College Station Duty Battalion Chief  had a full command structure in place. Chief Giordano, played the role of liaison between TAMU officials,  College Station City Manager, and their City Council. Why was this liaison position crucial and does the fire chief always need to be in command? These are some of the key points to be discussed. 

________________________________________________________________

Professional Development Sessions:

SESSION LAYOUT - We will have two simultaneous programs being presented (one for fire safety management and one for security management). If your responsible for fire safety, security  or just risk management in general, you should have plenty of choice to chose from. 

CHEMICAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE- Clean Harbors environmental will discuss response to those chemical and research facilities. Whether your the security/police officer on your initial response to the incident, or the administrator responsible for the plan to handle the situation, these professionals will give as much time as needed to ensure your questions and issues are addressed.

COMMUNICATIONS: Nextel Communications will be on to present their plan on how communications is effective. Nextel has special response teams who respond to disasters around the country to ensure a lack of  communications does hamper emergency response efforts. Conference attendees  will learn of special rates and promotions for those who handle emergency response.

RETROFITTING RESIDENCE HALLS AND FRATERNITY HOUSES FOR SPRINKLERS: Blazemaster will assist in educating the college and university community about products and services to assist in cost effective retrofits for student housing facilities.

PROBLEM SOLVING -Every day, campus administrators are faced with problems and situations that must be solved, either immediately in case of emergency or over a period of time. Every administrator should become familiar with the basics of problem solving and the variety of ways these situations may be addressed.

GREAT ESCAPE ON CAMPUS - Stay low because heat and smoke rise, stop, drop and roll, keep fresh batteries in the smoke detector, and feel doors for heat. These adages of fire safety are easy to take for granted. That is until you are in a residence hall corridor filled with smoke, relying on the walls for balance and direction. You extend an arm and realize your hand has disappeared. Disorientation sets in as a thick haze swirls in the hallway and a blaring smoke alarm makes it difficult to think. You get low and it is still nearly impossible to see. Exit signs are invisible so you cannot find a door, let alone feel if it is warm. You are wandering blindly in search of an escape route and the smoke continues to thicken. Yet there is little sense of urgency among these students--only a smattering of giggles and a string of comments about the potency of the enveloping shroud of fog. This was the experience for residents at Miami University (Ohio) this year. All first year students living on campus are required to attend a fire safety training program called "The Great Escape On Campus." The recent fires and fire related deaths involving college and university students prompted the need to develop a training program that would educate the students while making it fun and exciting.

STALKING - Whether in the public or private sector, at home or on the college campus, stalking can pose serious physical psychological problems for the victim. This workshop will address the problem of stalking as make the participants aware of the “Ten Red Flags” that may indicate a problem.

HOT WORK PROGRAMS - Every year fires occur which could have been prevented had employees used appropriate fire prevention measures. Does your institution require the use of the Hot Work Permit system as a primary means of preventing fires due to non-routine open flame and high temperature processes? The appropriate safe hot work practices and procedures as delineated in the OSHA and NFPA standards must be followed. Hot Work Permits are a required and integral part of hot work safety precautions. Learn hot to create a useful program and manage the system you have.

EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEVELOPMENT - What is the best approach to developing a comprehensive plan? Who should be on the development team? How do we start and who should be on the response team? Since disasters and emergencies seldom pre-announce their arrival, an effective plan from the first emergency call through the after action reports and critiques is a must.

NFPA 10 PORTABLE FIRE EXTINGUISHER CODE REQUIREMENTS AND UPDATE - Do you have fire extinguishers on your campus? Most campuses have a few thousand of them. Are you maintaining them properly? You might be surprised. NFPA 10 has recently had some major changes, some of these include: 

• Recognition of halon 1211 alternatives in fire extinguishers
• Clarifications that HMIS labels are not to be placed on the front of extinguishers
• Removal of the word "GREASE" from the Class B symbol
• Recognition and requirement of a new Class K extinguisher for commercial cooking areas.
• Requirement that when a Class K extinguisher is used that a placard be installed that states that the fire protection system shall be activated prior to use of the extinguisher. 
• Revisions to the Hydrostatic Test requirements in Chapter

HATE CRIMES -What is a hate crime and does your state have a law against it? Who are the victims, who are the perpetrators? Make sure that you learn all you can about this topic, and do not fall into the "it can't happen here trap"

CAMPUS SECURITY SURVEYS AND ASSESSMENTS -How safe is your campus and how do you know? Who should see the assessment? What should be included and when should you document your findings? All questions that need answers. This workshop will be interactive with the development of best practices for campuses of every size.

FIRE ALARM TECHNOLOGY- Siemens Building Technologies Inc. will talk about the National Fire Alarm Code (NFPA 72) and how test and inspect systems properly. They will share with us the latest in fire alarm technology including fire alarm system specifically designed for college and university residence halls and dormitories.

FIRE SAFETY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PLANNING-  (Note: This is an all day program on Tuesday). Planning a comprehensive fire safety program for on campus housing operations and your campus in general, can best be approached by breaking the elements into four distinct but integrated phases.

1. Prevention: Most campus operations have some form of a written or unwritten prevention plan. This seminar identifies the elements for a formal written prevention plan.

2. Preparedness: It is impossible to eliminate every fire safety problem on a college campus. What safety features are built into your facility to prepare for a fire? Are your students and staff aware of built in fire safety features? What level of training do you provide to residents, students and professional staff to prepare for a fire? Is your training effective?

3. Response: Is your operation ready to respond? Who is part of the response team? What are their duties? Who will interface with the many different campus departments, parents, students, media and other agency administrators?

4. Recovery: How do you return operations to a normal pre-fire condition? What actions are necessary and which internal and external agencies are involved with the recovery process?

________________________________________________________________

Special Thanks To Our GOLD Partner -