MCFPA Meetings

MCFPA MINUTES

MCFPA General Membership Meeting
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 - 7:00 PM
Frenchtown Rural Fire District Station #1
16875 Marion St, Frenchtown - (406) 626-5791

In Attendance: Becky White - USFS Seeley Lake; Brent Christopherson - Missoula Rural Fire; Matt Hall - Missoula Unit, DNRC; Ed Brunsvold - Missoula City Fire; Bob Reid - Missoula County DES; Tom Martin - Florence Fire; Frank Maradeo – Seeley Lake Fire; Bill Colwell – Missoula Rural Fire; Mike Kopitzke, DNRC SWLO; Charlie Lambson – Florence Fire; Doug Hall – Greenough-Potomac Fire; Roy Robinson – DNRC / MIDC; Kevin Clark – Florence Fire; Hugh Warford – Florence Fire; Tom Hodgetts – Missoula Valley CISM Team; John L. Bibler II – Frenchtown Fire; Rick Hagen – Clinton Fire; Laura Ward – USFS; John Waverek – USFS; Cindy Super – DNRC; Kit Kemsley – USFS; Larry Bush – DNRC SWLO; Adriane Beck – Frenchtown Fire; Michael Painter – Missoula City Fire.

Chairman Maradeo called the May MCFPA meeting to order. A round of applause was given to Chief Bibler and our hosts with Frenchtown Fire for their hospitality. (Prior to the meeting, MCFPA representatives were treated to a sumptuous barbeque dinner prepared by Frenchtown Fire personnel.)

All Association members & guests introduced themselves.

Painter asked for any corrections or additions to March's meeting summary. That summary was accepted by voice vote.

Painter went through the May meeting packet & gave a financial report:
• MCFPA Missoula Federal Credit Union statements for Mar.10 & Apr.10.
• MCFPA 2010 Financial Report – balances as of Apr.30.10:
o Savings: $20,571.96; Checking: $141.37
• Correspondence
o Mike Doto, Montana Fire Service Instructors – Invitation to Join
o Montana State Hazardous Materials Response Teams Brochure

OLD BUSINESS

• 2010 Fire Prevention Events
o MCFPA's Match Safety Program was presented to all interested Missoula County 1st grades in April. More than 1500 students were educated by MCFPA agency representatives.
o This year's Osprey Bobblehead Fire Safety Night is scheduled for 08/20/10. Any agencies interested in participating should contact Pat Cross.
o MCFPA's Puppet Show Program for Missoula County Kindergarten classes will be scheduled for October. Missoula Fire Department's Fire Prevention Bureau will be coordinating scheduling of that program. Painter announced that MFD secretary Melissa Wolter had left MFD for another job. (Her replacement will probably not start until June some time.)
o NFPA's 2010 Fire Prevention Week is scheduled for October 10th to October 16th, 2010. This year's theme is "Smoke Alarms – A Sound You Can Live With!" (See additional information and some public education materials on the NFPA's website at:
http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=2017&URL=Safety%20Information/Fire%20Prevention%20Week%202010)

• MCFPA Scholarship
Frank Maradeo discussed MCFPA's scholarship program. It is our intent to try to contact all Missoula County high schools' guidance counselors to better publicize the scholarship and ask for their assistance in promoting it.

• MCFPA Fire Sprinkler Trailer
Brent Christopherson reported that MRFD's resource manager had was expressed some concern about the floor of the trailer and intended to do a structural assessment to ensure it was sound. Fire Protection Services and other vendors have expressed interest in supporting upgrade of MCFPA's fire sprinkler trailer tool.

• DNRC / MCFPA Agency Wildland Fire Training Exercise 2010.
Cindy Super gave a brief report on the wildland fire training exercise held in March. That exercise was a simulated 97 acre fire – which participants reported as stressful & successful. Painter reported that the exercise got some very positive media coverage.

• VFA/RFA 2009 & 2010 Grants
Frank Maradeo gave report on equipment available through an RFA grant – this is BIA funding. Tentatively there will be a cache of portable tanks, portable pumps, wildland helmets and gloves available. Total cost of that equipment was approximately $15,000 – agencies need to come up with a 10% cost match. Frank also had put in an order for next year of some wildland helmets.

• 2010 Outdoor Burning Permits
Painter reported that per discussion with Ben Schmidt at the Health Department, Mamie Colburn's position had not yet been filled. Ben is handling updating of the Outdoor Burning Hotline.

• MCFPA Annual Operating Plan / Radio Frequency Agreement
Frank Maradeo led a discussion on update of MCFPA's operating plan & radio frequency agreement. MCFPA will make effort to keep the radio frequency use agreement current – questions about who is an authorized signatory for each agency will be directed to the agency head.

• Wildland Dispatch Recommendations
Ed Brunsvold discussed wildland dispatch procedures. A tentative meeting date was set for Monday, May 24th, at 1:00 p.m. out at Missoula Dispatch. MIDC, 9-1-1 and all MCFPA agencies' radio reps will be asked to attend if possible.

NEW BUSINESS

• MCFPA Monday Fire Briefing Meetings
Frank Maradeo proposed that MCFPA begin this year's fire season Monday briefing meetings on Monday, June 7th, at 0900 hours at Missoula Dispatch. (Kit Kemsley confirmed that MIDC was willing & able to host those meetings again this year.)

• Burn Permit Public Education Supplies
Painter showed MCFPA representatives the burn permit gloves obtained from our cooperators with the BLM (Allison Kolbe & Terina Mullan). MFD will be making them available to residents obtaining a burn permit – other MCFPA agencies interested in doing so should contact Painter or Allison/Terina for additional information.

• Missoula Regional Hazardous Materials Team
Painter & Bob Reid briefly discussed the availability of HazMat outreach training and possibly funds for putting on HazMat training courses through the Missoula Regional Hazardous Materials Team and through the State DES HMEP funding.

• Title III Funds – Fuel Mitigation
Bob Reid reported on his intent to bring a resolution to the Board of County Commissioners next week authorizing some funds for fuel mitigation. Departments interested in applying for those funds should contact Bob to discuss that process. Some funds will be used to update the Community Wildfire Protection Plan.

• Conoco-Phillips / KEARN Project Transportation Corridor
Bob Reid reported briefly on the proposed transport through Missoula County of some oversize truck loads by Conoco-Phillips (coke drums headed for Billings' refinery) and as part of the KEARL Oil Sands project in Canada. No set date for those transports is set yet.

AGENCY REPORTS

MCFPA representatives reported on their respective agencies' projects & accomplishments.

NEXT MEETING:
Wednesday, July 21, 2010 – BBQ @ 6:30 PM, Meeting @ 7:00 PM
Seeley Lake Fire Department - 200 Firehouse Lane, Seeley Lake - (406) 677-2400

Summary by Painter.