January 21, 2014 – The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Fire Safety Educational Memorial Fund Committee has selected the Shelbyville Fire Department HazMat Task Force from Shelbyville, Ky., as the recipient of the 2014 Warren E. Isman Educational Grant.
“The Shelbyville Fire Department HazMat Task Force has worked to educate not only first responders but also their communities about hazardous materials, new techniques and safety awareness,” said Ken Isman, chair of the Warren E. Isman Task Force. “We are encouraged by their efforts and pleased to help them achieve further hazmat safety tasks and goals.”
Grant recipients select a conference where they can attend specialized hazardous materials training and education sessions. The selected team has the opportunity to gain knowledge and enhance their ability to excel in this specialized field. The 2014 award will allow the Shelbyville Fire Department HazMat Task Force to attend the IAFC International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference taking place in Baltimore, Md., in June 2014. The Shelbyville Fire Department HazMat Task Force was established ten years ago. Their 75 technicians cover a six county response area in central Kentucky, including major cities and highways.
The award is available to any established incident response team from a fire department, police department or other public-funded program. Qualified applicants are evaluated on leadership qualities, communication abilities, and must have been trained in accordance with NFPA 472, Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents, and NFPA 473, Standard for Competencies for EMS Personnel Responding to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents.
The Warren E. Isman Educational Grant has been sponsored by the NFPA since 1993. It was established in 1991 by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) following Isman’s untimely death. In addition to serving in fire departments in Long Beach, N.Y. and Rockville, Md., Isman spent several years as a Senior Instructor for the University of Maryland Fire Service Extension Program. Isman became Fire Chief in Fairfax, Va. in 1983. He served as Chair of the NFPA Technical Committee on Hazardous Materials Response Personnel and as Chair of the IAFC Committee on Hazardous Materials, holding a number of offices on the IAFC Board of Directors, including President from 1987 to 1988.
For more information regarding the application process, contact Christine Ellis at +1 617 984-7244.
About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
NFPA is a worldwide leader in fire, electrical, building, and life safety. The mission of the international nonprofit organization founded in 1896 is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. NFPA develops more than 300 codes and standards to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other hazards. All NFPA codes and standards can be viewed at no cost at www.nfpa.org/freeaccess.
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