Bobby Halton

During the FDIC team’s extensive outreach and conversations with the fire service, there was an overwhelming desire expressed by firefighters to come together in the fall to celebrate the unity of the fire service, learn, and support ongoing efforts in serving their communities and continue training. These requests are being answered with the launch of a new event, United Fire Conference, that will take place September 22-24, 2020, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, IN. The United Fire Conference will mark the first coming together of the international fire service community to discuss key themes around timely and mission critical topics including global pandemics, infection control, hazards in blended missions, and how the industry can better prepare for the future together. critical incident response “This critically necessary event will be a celebration of the fire service community. A time for all ranks to come together to learn, collaborate, and discuss valuable insight for scenario planning for future global, national, and local critical incident response but also mission critical classes on topics which continue irrespective of outside unique circumstances,” said Chief Bobby Halton, Editorial and Education Director for Clarion Fire & Rescue. FDIC International, originally scheduled to take place on April 20-25, 2020, will be cancelled for 2020" While the United Fire Conference will be built by the FDIC International team, this event will be a separate and unique departure from the FDIC event brand. The United Fire Conference will consist of an opening ceremony, two and half days of timely in-depth education sessions/panels and breakouts, a unity celebration event for fire/rescue professionals, and a smaller footprint of exhibits. public health advisories The event has committed to donating 50 percent of the registration revenue collected to support Tunnel to Towers and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. The donations will be presented to them at the closing ceremony of the conference. “As a consequence of the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, FDIC International, originally scheduled to take place on April 20-25, 2020, will be cancelled for 2020. In light of both governmental direction and general public health advisories, delivering FDIC International in its traditional form and to its full commitment (35,000+ fire/rescue professionals, 85+ hands-on training evolutions, 300+ conference sessions, and 800+ exhibits) is not possible at this time. We look forward to coming together for FDIC International 2021 stronger than ever, holding steadfast to the same commitment,” said Eric Schlett, Senior Vice President, Clarion Fire & Rescue. facilitate smooth transition The FDIC International team will continue to be in touch with all exhibitors, sponsors, and attendees to answer any questions. There will be further communication to these groups over the coming weeks to facilitate a smooth transition and prepare for the next edition of FDIC International, scheduled for April 19-24, 2021, at the Indiana Convention Center & Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Additional information and frequently asked questions can be found on the FDIC web site.