The Congressional Fire Services
Institute and the National Fallen
Firefighters Foundation have
selected the International
Association of Fire Chiefs and
Common Voices for the Senator Paul
S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety
Leadership Award.
The awards will be presented at the
21st Annual National Fire and
Emergency Services Dinner on April
2, 2009 in Washington DC. Named
after retired-Senator Paul S.
Sarbanes of Maryland, a strong
advocate of our nation's
firefighters and rescue personnel
during his 36-year career in
Congress, the award recognizes
organizations for their outstanding
contributions to firefighter health
and safety. Both State Farm
Insurance and VFIS serve as the
corporate supporters of the award
program.
The International Association of
Fire Chiefs is being honored for its
development and administration of
the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss
Reporting System. The goal of the
program is to prevent and reduce
injuries and deaths in the fire and
emergency services by sharing data
and case studies of near-miss
incidents submitted by
firefighters. Since the program was
established in 2005, more than 2,500
reports have been submitted from
firefighters - from the largest
metropolitan departments to
one-station rural departments.
Because of the value of the
information, departments across the
country are now incorporating
near-miss data into their training
programs and education materials.
A survivor advocacy group founded by
the National Fire Sprinkler
Association, Common Voices consists
of six women who have been sharing
their stories o f personal loss to
advocate for fire sprinklers. Since
the group was formed in 2007, they
have visited Capitol Hill on many
occasions to meet with members of
Congress to advocate for the Fire
Sprinkler Incentive Act. They were
also actively involved in the
adoption of the ICC's Residential
Code in 2008, providing compelling
testimony at the ICC hearings. In
addition, they continue to travel
across the country speaking to the
fire service and local decision
makers and testifying at code
hearings to move forward fire
sprinkler initiatives.
CFSI President Bill Jenaway and NFFF
Chairman Dennis Compton issued a
joint statement recognizing the two
recipients for their achievements.
"We look forward to presenting the
Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Award to
the International Association of
Fire Chiefs and Common Voices for
their outstanding contribution to
the safety of our fire service.
Through their programs, both have
embraced the ideals of the Sarbanes
Award and the Life Safety
Initiatives established by the
national fire organizations in
2004. We also extend our thanks to
each of the organizations nominated
for this award for their
contributions to firefighter
safety."
For additional information about the
Senator Paul S. Sarbanes Award,
please visit the CFSI and NFFF
websites (
www.cfsi.org
and
www.firehero.org).
