The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) attended the second U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control on October 10 at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, MD.
The event was hosted by U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and was attended by key leaders in the fire service and federal government, including Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell. President Biden also virtually addressed the Summit.
firefighter cancer
The Summit centered around seven critical issues facing the fire service: codes and standards, electric vehicle and energy transition, firefighter cancer, firefighter mental health and wellbeing, fire service recruitment and retention, the impact of climate change, and whole-of-government approach. The NVFC was represented by Rhode Island director and past chair Kevin Quinn, who gave testimony on recruitment and retention.
Within the last year, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) convened workgroups on each of the seven focus issues, except for electric vehicle and energy transition, which will be an addition for this year. The NVFC had representation on all six of these workgroups, including New York director Brian McQueen on the firefighter cancer workgroup and Pennsylvania director Bob Timko on the firefighter mental health and wellbeing workgroup. The NVFC will continue to be represented on each of the USFA’s workgroups this year.
