From the Publishers Desk
Annual Conference Issue Takes Long Preparation
We guess that most chiefs get a little anticipatory around this time of the year, as we do, when we look forward to the annual conference of the International Association of Fire Chiefs which will be held in Kansas City September 16-20. The conference, of course, is the big event of the fire service year, when many hundreds of fire chiefs, their wives, manufacturers and an assortment of other people interested in the fire service gather under one great roof—the convention center—for a viewing of the latest and best of fire apparatus and other fire service equipment.
For many, the anticipation just started. But for us, and particularly our editors, the anticipation began hack in early January. At that time, it was decided that our Conference and Buyers Guide Issue for this 106th Conference of the IAFC would be published in August, just a few weeks before the conference.
Once that decision was made, our editors had to decide what to put into this issue. Their decision, happily, was to devote the entire issue to the volunteer fire service. The next step was to decide what articles were needed to fulfill the theme and who should write them.
One article will take a look at the volunteer fire service from the viewpoint of the Insurance Services Office. Another will cover the administration of a volunteer fire department—organization, recruiting, training in general, etc. Still another will spell out the basic training of a volunteer in engine and ladder company work. Our own Dick Sylvia will explore budgeting and purchasing practices for a small department.
We are sure this issue will be a most informative and interesting one and one like our last August issue (on arson) that was probably the most quoted and studied that we have ever put out. If you think so (or even if you don’t) why not stop by at Booth 109 at the Kansas City Convention Center and tell us?