MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT Chief Michael E. Figolah, Mount Prospect Fire Department

From the January 2006 newsletter...
Here we are into 2006 – WOW! Time goes by quick. Looking back at 2005 I am pleased with the IFSA accomplishments. Here are some of those accomplishments:

Camp I Am Me - Camp gets better and better every year. The skill periods, camp facilities and other activities continue to improve based upon camper and staff input. Evaluating the previous year’s camp is very important and is the driving force behind necessary change. Prior to 2005 Burn Camp a generous donation allowed us to have a lightening prediction system installed. It provided a warning during the first two days of our camp. While we have also had the luxury of excellent camp staff, attendance at Winter Orientation is providing the current staff with additional tools in their proverbial bag to help make the campers experience better.

Fireworks - The IFSA has been very active with fireworks burn prevention in the form of legislation in Springfield. There have been excellent strides made in the form of legislation. I am hopeful that the laws passed in 2005 will stand for many years to come.

Fireworks Video - A recent accomplishment is the development of fireworks educational video entitled “A Momentary Touch that Will Last a Lifetime” is completed.

Get Fired Up About Fire Safety (GFUAFS) CD - This new interactive CD is very close to completion. We had hoped to distribute the CD’s months ago, but production problems caused a delay. I credit Dottie, Terry, Jill and Mary for their hard work and persistence in making sure that we are able to provide a high quality product instead of succumbing to an unrealistic deadline. I think you will find this new tool worth the wait.

Health World - We are excited about a recent partnership with Health World of Barrington. Health World is an educational facility for school aged children. They have a magnificent facility in Barrington where over 250,000 children visit annually. They are going to develop a burn prevention kiosk that will be available to the thousands of visitors that come through the facility. Based upon the success of this kiosk, we have the option to build additional units for various locations throughout Illinois.

So as you can see, 2005 was a very good year for the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance. We have our work cut out for us in 2006. Here are the goals for 2006:

Camp I Am Me - Hold camp starting on June 18, 2006. Visitor’s Day will be June 21, 2006

Fireworks – With the legislative issues behind us (we hope) the IFSA will develop and distribute an Illinois Fireworks Laws manual to every fire department in Illinois at no cost to the department.

Fireworks Video – The new video discussed above will be distributed to every fire department in Illinois at no cost to the departments.

Get Fired Up About Fire Safety CD – I am relatively certain that this new CD will be distributed in the first half of 2006 to every fire department in Illinois at no cost to the department.

Health World – The new kiosk will developed at on display at Health World in the first quarter of 2006. By the end of 2006 the IFSA Board will evaluate the existing kiosk and determine in we will build additional units and be displayed in various locations.

I thank everyone for their support that provides the Illinois Fire Service Alliance the resources to make these programs a reality. I hope your 2006 is safe!

Mike Figolah
President, Illinois Fire Safety Alliance