2010 Convention Seminars
By Steve Krause

It’s still not too late to plan on attending the WSFA Convention to be held March 25-28, 2010 at the Holiday Inn in Stevens Point, WI.

We believe we have another great lineup of classes.  Two day NFA Courses for Thursday and Friday, March 25 and 26 have been scheduled: NIMS: Incident Command System for the Fire Serveice (F806) and Incident Safety Office (Revised) (F729).  The registration form and further information regarding these classes can be found in this issue.  If we do not have at least 15 signed up for each class by February 15, 2009, these classes may have to cancelled.  30 are allowed in each class and two from each department will be allowed.

For additional seiminars and as part of the 2010 Convention, the National Volunteer Fire Councel will be offering a 2 day workshop on Friday March 26th and Saturday March 27th.

Health and Wellness Advocate Workshop
Limit – 30 per class – First Come – First Served
The NVFC Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, in partnership with L&T Health and Fitness, will host a free Health and Fitness Advocate Workshop.  This program is designed to combat the leading cause of line-of-duty firefighter deaths – heart attack – by creating health and fitness advocates within fire/EMS departments.

Fire and EMS personnel who are interested in health and fitness and have the ability to lead and motivate others are invited to take part in the Workshop.  No more than 30 individuals total will be able to participate in each Workshop. Each individual should have the support of department leadership.

The Workshop focuses on the basic principles behind developing a sound health and fitness program and trains first responders to become advocates within their department. As Health and Fitness Advocates, they will encourage and motivate their fellow fire and emergency personnel to adopt heart-healthy behaviors. Each advocate will leave with an instructor kit and a Fit Kit to take back to his/her department.

Additional seminars to be offered on Friday and Saturday will include:

Dealing With The Media
Learn what information you should have before you talk to the press. Find out what information you are required to provide. This program will be put on by an instructor that is both a Journalist and a Firefighter/EMT.

Hybrid Extrication
The guys from Madison Area Technical College will be back again this year with additional information on Hybrid cars.