>> ALLEGRO INDUSTRIES unveiled a new 50,000 square-foot facility in South Carolina and a new catalog and Web site featuring their expanded product offering. The Web site offers video demonstrations for many of their products, helping to educate and keep workers informed and safe when on the jobsite. The printed catalog and Web site covers nine product groups with 550 different products, including moire than 30 new products. A new “Featured Product” page is upfront for quick reference. Everything is organized in product groups, allowing viewers to go directly to the product category that is of most interest. www.allegrosafety.com.
>> GEORGIA-PACIFIC‘s Bucket Brigade™ grant program rewarded $165,000 in grants to 25 U.S. fire departments to purchase equipment necessary to protect the lives and property of residents and to keep firefighters safe. Since 2006, the Bucket Brigade program has supported local fire departments in Georgia-Pacific facility communities through more than $1 million in grants, safety education materials for schools, and memberships for all grant applicants to the National Volunteer Fire Council. This year, fire departments across 15 states were selected, including Alabama, Arkansas, and New Jersey. Grants ranged from $2,500 to $10,000 and were awarded based on critical need to ensure firefighter safety and proximity to a Georgia-Pacific facility. www.gpbucketbrigade.com.
>> KME and its sales representative Bulldog Fire Apparatus were awarded an order for three 109-foot KME AerialCat™ rear-mount ladders by the Boston (MA) Fire Department. These aerials will join the 10 KME pumpers and two rescues already in service in Boston. The aerials were specifically designed to meet the demands of a challenging urban environment with tight streets and numerous obstacles. The apparatus will be built on KME’s Predator™ Severe Service™ chassis with a 475-hp engine, automatic traction control, and engine brake and transmission retarder for extended brake life. www.kovatch.com. (800) 235‐3928.
>> NAVISTAR Senior Vice President James L. Hebe announced his retirement. Hebe, 63, has led the company’s North American Truck sales and marketing efforts since rejoining the company in 2008. Hebe began his career at International Harvester in 1971 as a management trainee in Boston and later became a heavy truck salesman for International Trucks. Hebe held leadership roles with American LaFrance and Kenworth Truck Company, culminating with his appointment as chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Freightliner in 1992. Hebe was awarded the Distinguished Service Citation from the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1995 and was named an Automotive News All-Star. www.Navistar.com/newsroom.
>> SCOTT SAFETY is celebrating 80 years as a global leader in development and manufacture of leading-edge fire protection and detection equipment and technology. Over nearly nine decades, Scott Safety’s approach to product development and purpose-driven innovation has positioned the company as the preferred provider to major U.S. metropolitan fire departments, U.S. military forces, homeland security, and other first responder organizations. As a world leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of high performance respiratory protection products, Scott develops and produces monitoring and sensor equipment and other protective solutions for first responders, law enforcement, military and civil defense/homeland security. www.scottsafety.com.
>> The FLORIDA FIRE TRAINING DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION named the Coral Springs (FL) Fire Academy (CSFA) as the Florida Fire Service Training and Education Provider of the Year for 2011. The Academy also received this recognition in 2007. The CSFA has made substantial contributions to the development of innovative training programs and procedures that have become new standards for the training of firefighters across the state. The CSFA has trained more than 1,200 students in various fire and medical courses over the past year. It has also assisted the United States Coast Guard with training and has provided numerous promotional exams for area fire departments.
>> The NATIONAL VOLUNTEER FIRE COUNCIL (NVFC) has released a new publication to honor the volunteer fire service’s 275th anniversary. A Proud Tradition: 275 Years of the American Volunteer Fire Service pays tribute to the millions of dedicated individuals who protect our communities every day and honors the rich heritage of volunteers. A Proud Tradition looks at the evolution of America’s volunteer fire service, from its earliest beginnings, to changes in equipment and apparatus, to current issues facing today’s volunteers such as expanding scope and recruitment and retention. Sections also cover training, women in the fire service, and community involvement. Order your copy at www.nvfc.org.
>> FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITIES COALITION‘s Colorado Rebuilds Fire Adapted Communities initiative was announced along with the three community wildfire preparedness workshops held at Lowe’s Home Improvement stores in Fort Collins, Littleton, and Colorado Springs. The coalition of 24 local, state, and national partners joined to encourage Colorado homeowners to protect their homes and better prepare their communities for the continued wildfire threat. The Colorado Rebuilds kickoff was part of “Wildfire Preparedness Week” (September 9-15) as declared by Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper. Each one-hour workshop featured full-scale displays created by IBHS, which were used to visually demonstrate the types of materials that perform best under wildfire conditions, and which will help homeowners choose when rebuilding, renovating or repairing their homes. http://disastersafety.org/colorado-rebuilds.
>> CUMMINS INC. received certification for its ISX15 engine from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), meeting both the EPA 2013 regulations and the new greenhouse gas and fuel-efficiency rules that will take effect in 2014. Cummins 2014 greenhouse gas certification is the first engine certificate issued by the EPA. Cummins ISX15, the top-selling engine in the heavy-duty truck market, will deliver higher levels of fuel efficiency and reliability in 2013. Efficiency improvements to the base engine include optimized combustion and reduced parasitic load through high-efficiency water, fuel and lube pump systems. The ISX15 will achieve a fuel economy improvement of up to two percent over today’s product. www.cummins.com. (800) 343-7357.
>> The FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) and THE CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE have partnered to create FEMA Corps to enhance disaster response and recovery capacity while expanding career opportunities for young people. Established as a new unit within the existing AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, FEMA Corps engages young adults ages 18 to 24 to provide 10 months of full-time service on disaster response and recovery projects. Members will be deployed to assignments ranging from working directly with disaster survivors to supporting disaster recovery centers to sharing disaster response and mitigation information with the public. The program will engage 1,600 members annually when fully operational next year. www.americorps.gov/about/programs/nccc.asp. www.fema.gov.
