Texas A&M Forest Service and Coalitions & Collaboratives, Inc (COCO) are hosting a FREE Community Wildfire Mitigation Best Practices training course on Oct. 17-18 at the Spring Hill Suites in Willow Park, TX. The two-day course is designed for current or future mitigation specialists, wildfire program leads, and others who work with residents and their communities to reduce wildfire risk. Registration for the course will close on Oct. 13.

There is a hotel block available at the Spring Hill Suites at GSA rate ($107 per night). Texas A&M Forest Service will be providing limited hotel scholarships for students to attend the course. To apply for a hotel scholarship please contact CWDG@tfs.tamu.edu.

Represent Texas and meet fire officers from around the Southwest region at the IAFC's Annual SWD Conference in Baton Rouge, LA on Oct. 17-20. The event will feature some amazing content from some of the most influential fire service speakers, including the Southwest Division's own Chief Scott Thompson speaking on fire service culture and recruitment. There are plenty of direct flights available to New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and for many Texans, it's just a short drive down I-10. The cost is $150 for SWD-IAFC members and $200 for non-members. We look forward to seeing you there!

This high-energy program will address the hottest issues and challenges facing company officers in today’s Fire Service, addressing topics such as Communication, Trust, Ethics, Diversity, Generational challenges, CISM, Accountability, and Social Media. An event will be held Oct. 16-18 in Flower Mound, and another will be held Nov. 13-15 in San Marcos.

The Fire Leadership Challenge offers the best in leadership focused education through multiple levels of the IAFC's Officer Development Program, FMAC's Fire Marshal Symposium, and by providing the opportunity to create your own custom schedule. This year's event will take place in Keystone, Colorado and will offer a variety of sessions, including:
  •  Create More Buy-In Through Coaching
  •  Applying AI in the Fire Service: Practical Options to Improve Mission Performance
  •  Tackling Carcinogen Exposure in the Wild West: A Focus on Wildland Firefighting

This course features three full days of instruction to help agencies prepare for accreditation under the 10th edition of the CFAI model. It covers the development of the three key documents, the Community Risk Assessment/Standards of Cover, Strategic Plan, and Self-Assessment Manual.

SOURCE: International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)
During Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 8-14), fire departments urge their citizens to check their smoke detectors, plan escape routes in case of fires, and take other steps to make their homes fire safe. This year, U.S. Congress can play a role too.

SOURCE: Wildfire Today
The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate both passed a bill late on Sept. 30 to keep federal agencies fully funded, effectively averting a government shutdown.

SOURCE: U.S. Fire Administration
The Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission released its report PDF outlining a comprehensive, consensus-based set of recommendations to Congress to address the nation’s wildfire crisis.

SOURCE: Wildfire Today 
Working as a dispatcher in wildland fire is notoriously stressful, and often traumatic, and especially so considering today’s larger fires, longer seasons, and agency hiring/retention problems.

SOURCE: Texas A&M Forest Service
“The Sisters in Fire program was created to introduce young women to wildland firefighting and natural resource careers. This year we had women from across the state of Texas and one from Kansas who are introducing their professions and passions to the young women of Texas,” said Emily Mitchell, Sisters in Fire Incident Commander.

SOURCE: Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM)
"The Texas emergency management personnel deploying to Maui will provide local officials with support staff to aid victims with recovery assistance measures and managing incident expenses at the Maui emergency operations center," said Texas Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd.

SOURCE: Community Impact
John Ard, formerly the assistant fire chief for the Westlake Fire-EMS Department, was sworn as the department’s new fire chief in at the Sept. 25 Westlake Town Council meeting.

The Texas A&M All-Hazard Incident Management Team Program is a collaborative effort between Texas A&M Forest Service, Texas Division of Emergency Management and Texas A&M Engineering and Extension Service. For more information about the program and how to register, download the flyer below.

This update covers the following:
  • Next Week: Resolutions to be Considered at the 2023 Annual Conference
  • TWDB Seeking Comments for Clean Water & Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Intended Use Plan
  • TWDB Opens Applications for Assets Management Program
  • TDLR Propose Changes to Dog or Cat Breeder Licensing Program
  • DOE Opens Clean Energy Technical Assistance to Communities
  • Federal Infrastructure Bill Update

In this episode of Fire Law Roundup, hosts Brad and Curt discuss a lawsuit brought by the family of a Florida firefighter who was killed in a trailer mishap, the dismissal of a lawsuit brought by a fire captain who sought to recoup legal fees associated with his defense in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash case, the $2.6 million settlement of a lawsuit brought by a captain who was shot in an LA County fire station, a discrimination lawsuit brought by a NY firefighter, and theft charges brought against six family members for stealing $75k worth of fuel from an EMS provider.