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Idaho Fire Chiefs Association
P.O. Box 2133   Boise, Idaho   83701-2133
Tel:  208.629.4865Tel:  208.629.4865  Fax:  800.324.6298

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Our VISION is to improve career and volunteer emergency services in the State of Idaho through leadership, collaboration, education, safety, information and representation.

Our MISSION is to provide and enhance leadership to career and volunteer emergency services in Idaho.
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NEWSLETTER JUNE 2019               


President's Address: Strength In Numbers

As your new president for this Association I wanted to focus my first article on membership.  As a past Rotary president the international organization required all incoming presidents to set membership goals for their term.  This is done so that membership continues to grow because they see that there is strength in the numbers of members an organization has.  We just celebrated our 50 year anniversary of the Association and let us now focus on the next 50 years and create a legacy for the chiefs to celebrate at the 100 year anniversary.

Currently there are more than 230 Departments in Idaho.  I challenge each member of the association between now and our next conference, which is scheduled for April 2-5, 2019, in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, to find at least one new member.    This can be a chief officer in your own organization that isn’t a member, it can be an aspiring chief officer in your department that is part of your succession planning, it could be the chief of a small volunteer department in your county or it can be a new fire or ems chief that you heard just took a position.  We need more volunteer chiefs as members of this organization so that they can have the ability to network, ask questions and find equipment that many departments are just giving away. 

When I say there is strength in numbers it means we as an association work smarter and not harder.  Many of our small volunteer fire chiefs are very close friends with legislators in their area and what better way to see important legislation for the fire and EMS services to pass then having support from all of them.  The more chiefs we have, the more issues we hear, the bigger impact we will have on the fire service and we will leave the association even better when they celebrate 100 years.

Travis A. Myklebust, President, IFCA

Fire Chief, Lewiston Fire Department

Conference Photo Gallery

Photos from the recent Idaho Fire Chief's Association Conference are now available online to view and download!  2019 Conference Photos>>

To download an image to your computer, click on the small thumbnail image in the photo gallery, the image will pop up in another window - Right click and select "Save Image As..." You may then name and save the image to a folder in your computer.



2019 Firefighter License Plate Grant Program

For the 19th year, the Idaho Fire Chiefs Association is once again accepting grant applications from fire departments and associations for the Idaho Firefighters License Plate (FFLP) Fund program. To date nearly $700,000 in grant funding has been awarded. It is very important to review the grant guidelines very closely as they are tied to statute and funds can only be allocated accordingly. The applications are due no later than June 21, 2019; no exceptions. Guidelines and the applications can be accessed on our website at idahofirechiefs.org. Good luck!

The Association's Constitution & Bylaws and Policy and Procedures (P&P) are guiding documents for all its members and for the governance and day-to-day operation of the Idaho Fire Chiefs Association. The Constitution & Bylaws are updated as necessary and approved by the Body, the P&P's are updated from time to time to reflect current/best practices or changes in our operation to meet our mission of supporting all fire departments across Idaho. The Board encourages all its members to review them from time to time and make suggested changes to their respective District Director and the Vice President. Any and all suggested changes will be reviewed and considered. We need your input!  For more information contact Warren Merritt, Fire Chief, Kootenai County Fire & Rescue, and Vice-President, Idaho Fire Chiefs Association.


Western Fire Chiefs Association Update

A lot to report from the Western Fire Chiefs Association. The annual board meeting and Presidents Forum was held May 16-18th in Sisters, Oregon.  Board Meeting Minutes:  WFCA 5.13.2019 minutes.pdf

Each State was asked to present two items/initiatives that are currently in process or complete. President Mykelbust did a great job presenting from Idaho, and brought up the statewide food truck inspection discussion along with recent advances in school safety. We were engaged later in the conference by surrounding State representatives very interested in what we were doing. The Presidents Forum focus was on technology- needless to say there are several technology advancements either fully developed or under development that will have a direct impact on all Fire Departments, Idaho included. One very promising technology is NMAS (National Mutual Aid System). We (Idaho) are very engaged with the developers and are helping to shape what NMAS will be and function as. Keep an eye out for future information on this project. The Western is also maintaining its work on the Wildfire Initiative and is continuing to engage multiple stakeholders to find better solutions for our nation’s on-going mega-fires/wildfire threat. This has involved representatives at State and Federal levels, and has included Insurance, Code standards, State and Federal forest managers, technology experts, scientists, and many others. Lastly, the WFCA Executive Recruitment program is being utilized successfully by Cities and Districts across all of our Western states.  This is a great way to seek out a Fire Chief position without publicly putting your name out there. To stay updated on all things WFCA, you can always visit the website: https://wfca.com/

Mark Niemeyer, Vice-President, Idaho State Representative to WFCA
Fire Chief, 
Meridian Fire Department

IFCA District & Division Updates

District 2 - Moscow Fire Department Assistant Chief Joe Williams has retired from service.  Congratulations Chief!

District 3 - Nampa Fire Department welcomed new Fire Chief Kirk Carpenter. Carpenter was recently promoted from Deputy Chief of the Department.  Middleton Rural Fire District has entered into an agreement with Star Fire Protection District for joint administration to share admin costs. Chief Greg Timinsky from Star Fire is acting Chief for both organizations and they share administrative costs as a cooperative.  Caldwell Fire Department is in the process of building a third fire station, and is in the process of hiring a Training Chief.  Wilder Fire was able to hire another position and now has coverage 24/7 with full-time employees.  Canyon County Fire Chiefs have been actively involved in the College of Western Idaho's new Structural Fire Program.  The first academy will take place this fall and will mirror the Joint Recruit Academy, including the selection process following our hiring process.

District 4 - Retiring Nampa Fire Chief Phil Roberts has joined the Kuna Rural Fire District as Deputy Fire Chief (so much for retirement Chief!) Boise Fire ran a multi-county wildland training in May including both video and hands-on field training.  Boise Fire Department has contracted to provide service on behalf of Sunset Fire Protection District.

District 5 - Mike Harrison has been names Fire Chief of Jerome Fire Department. Harrison was previously Deputy Chief.  

District 6 - Eric King was appointed as permanent Fire Chief of the Fort Hall Fire & EMS District.  King was previously Deputy Chief for the Department.  Tony Saiz has been named interim Deputy Chief for the Department.#@#_WA_-_CURSOR_-_POINT_#@#

District 7 - Fire Chief Dave Hanneman has retired from the Idaho Falls Fire Department.  Duane Nelson, previously Deputy Chief, has been named as the new Fire Chief of the Department.

Volunteer Division - For the first time at this year's Idaho Fire Chiefs Conference, the Volunteer Division - led by St. Maries Fire Chief Larry Naccarato - connected statewide Volunteer/Combination Departments in the State for a self-funded retirement program.  There was a representative from Lincoln Financial Group on hand to work with departments. If you are interested in starting a Junior Fire Fighter Program (age 16-18 years) or have questions about the self-funded retirement program, please contact Larry Naccarato, President, IFCA Volunteer Division.

FPO Division -

I.             Valley Wide School Safety Committee:

The training modules are being completed. A test of the training materials was given to a charter school in Eagle and adjustments are being made after comments were received. The goal is to release the materials for training this summer. Lt. Harper and the group are looking for people to subject matter experts if you want to help lead training or answer questions in your area. Contact Shawn at sharper@meridiancity.org

I will be travelling with the Idaho School Boards Association along with Brian Armes of Idaho Office of School Safety & Security and Craig Durrell of the Ada County Sheriff’s office to give presentations on the following dates:

The dates for SLI are July 10 Rigby 9am to 1pm; July 11 Twin Falls 9am to 1pm; July 17 Boise 9am to 1pm; July 24 Lapwai 1pm to 5pm;and  July 25 Coeur D’Alene 9am to 1pm

If anyone has needs to have Shawn Harper, Meridian Police Department, and/or I come visit you, please let me know. The more information out there the better.

II.            2018 IFC: 319 – Mobile Food Truck Preparation Vehicles

This project is on temporary hold until the State Fire Marshal’s office has a chance to look at the 2018 IFC. The overall goal is statewide acceptance of a checklist as well as a statewide accepted inspection program. That way, the inspection of the food trucks would be accepted everywhere in the state for those that move around. There would be one fee for the inspection and some kind of annual sticker that would be placed where it can be seen.  More to come.

III.          2018 IBC/IFC – Code changes

I attended the ICC Educode conference in Las Vegas this year. Good amount of change to the 2018 IFC/IBC. Be sure to start looking it over with your building official. Chapters 3, 4, 5 and 9 – new section 916 Gas Detection Systems. Had some good discussions about Escape Rooms.

IV.          Community Risk Reduction

MFD has been working a lot on CRR. Adopt a building (stolen from Boise), WUI door knocking/clear space tours and focus on specific audiences (elderly, immigrants). I have a great resource (Eng. Schuler) available if you need someone to come discuss CRR and help get started, etc.  Contact Joe with any questions.  

Joe Bongiorno CFI, CFEI, President, IFCA FPO Division

Deputy Chief – Fire Marshal, Meridian Fire


IFCA Thanks Our Crossed Bugles Sponsors For Their Generous Support!

We would like to thank our  Five Crossed Bugles Sponsor, Hughes Fire Equipment, for their very generous contribution to Idaho Fire Chief's Association!  Proudly Serving You While You Serve Your Communities!  The Hughes Fire Equipment family is dedicated to providing fire departments in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Arizona, Alaska and Clark County Nevada, with high quality fire apparatus, experienced sales people and maintenance technicians, and the honesty and integrity that our customers deserve. We strive to provide all emergency response teams with well maintained, high quality equipment, as well as a committed team of maintenance and support staff. We work for our customers to ensure they have what they need to serve their communities safely and efficiently.  https://www.hughesfire.com/

We would like to thank our  Five Crossed Bugles Sponsor, Idaho Independent Intergovernmental Authority.  Offering Health Benefits for Local Governments.  The Idaho Independent Intergovernmental Authority (III-A) was formed in 2011 by Idaho local governments in response to rising health care rates. The Trust was created to allow agencies to pool resources and provide affordable health benefits for their employees. Each agency shares the cost associated with providing health benefits for employees.  The pool is governed by the III-A Board of Trustees.  http://www.iii-a.org/

We would like to thank our newest Five Crossed Bugles Sponsor, Verizon!  "Do more today and stay ready for the future - Verizon Response Ready solutions.  Verizon offers custom public safety plans for first responders backed by our Responder Core and Verizon Response Ready solutions to provide priority data access without speed drops at any time.  During states of emergency, Verizon will lift speed caps affecting first responders and public safety customers.


Thank you to our New Three Crossed Bugles Sponsor, FirstNet Built with AT&T!  First to respond. First to get through.  
The FirstNet mission is to deploy, operate, maintain, and improve the first high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety. This reliable, highly secure, interoperable, and innovative public safety communications platform will bring 21st century tools to public safety agencies and first responders, allowing them to get more information quickly and helping them to make faster and better decisions.  Visit https://www.firstnet.com


Thanks To Our 5 Star Sponsors For Their Support!



Visit Our Corporate Vendor Directory Online!

Idaho Fire Chiefs Association would like to thank our Corporate Members for their generosity and support to the Organization throughout the year! Please visit the Corporate Member Directory online and select iChiefs Members for your equipment, resources and services providers!



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