Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association
Executive Board Meeting
Hyatt Regency Orlando
April 8, 2017
Executive Board Members Present
Rhoda Mae Kerr, President
Maurice Kemp, Vice President
Otto Drozd, Secretary
Jon Hannan, Treasurer
Teresa Deloach Reed, Board Member
Mike Duyck, Alternate Board Member
Luther Fincher, Senior Board Member
Ken Block, Immediate Past President
Staff Support Members Present
Ken LaSala, IAFC Liaison
Russ Sanders, Executive Secretary
Orange County/Orlando Staff
Anthony Rios, Division Chief, Orange County Fire Rescue
Ngoc Huynh, Assistant Public Information Officer, Orange County Fire Rescue
Other Attendees
John Sinclair, IAFC President and Chairman of the Board
Mark Light, IAFC Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director
Jeff Johnson, Vice Chairman, FirstNet
Mike DuRee, President, California Fire Chiefs Association
Kurt Henke, Retired Fire Chief, Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District
Paul Berardi, Fire Chief, Kansas City, Missouri
John Paul Jones, Kansas City, Kansas
Carl Wedige, Deputy Fire Chief, San Antonio Fire Department
Call to Order
President Kerr called the meeting to order at 9:31 am. She thanked Orange
County and Orlando for hosting the Metro Chiefs 2017 conference.
Overview of the Orange County/Orlando Conference
Secretary Drozd introduced his staff, who updated the board about the
conference agenda, including registration information; financial information;
sponsorships; and pre-conference and conference ceremonies and activities.
Ground Emergency Medical Transport (GEMT) Update
Chief DuRee, president of California Fire Chiefs and chief of the Long Beach
Fore Department, briefed the Board about issues relating to reimbursement of
fire departments for providing emergency medical service by the U.S. Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and state programs. He was joined in
this discussion by Chiefs Sinclair, Light, Henke, Berardi and Jones. The
discussion focused on the importance of the Ground Emergency Medical
Transport (GEMT) program in providing reimbursement for local fire chiefs and
how it might be affected by proposed legislation.
A motion was made by Senior Board Member Fincher to support establishment
of IAFC Task Force to examine CMS reimbursement issue, appoint a Metro
Chiefs representative, ensure that the IAFF is represented on the task force, and
recommend that the Task Force do nothing to hurt GEMT. It was seconded by
Past President Block and agreed to unanimously.
2018 San Antonio Conference Update
Deputy Chief Wedige updated the Board about the 2018 Metro Chiefs
Conference in San Antonio. The event will take place on May 4 – 10, with the
Westin Riverwalk as the conference hotel.
President’s Report
President Kerr expressed her gratitude for the ability to serve as the Metro Chiefs
President. She updated the Board about the International Association of Fire and
Rescue Service (CTIF) meeting in Finland. She also announced that she has
been appointed to the federal National Critical Infrastructure Advisory Council. In
addition, President Kerr reviewed the agenda for the business meetings in the
following days, including the signing ceremony for a Memorandum of
Understanding with the South African Emergency Services Institute.
FirstNet Update
Chief Johnson updated the board on developments with the First Responder
Network Authority (FirstNet). AT&T was selected as FirstNet’s commercial
partner and it will have a 25-year contract. He also discussed the importance of
having states opt-in to FirstNet’s statewide plans to deploy the network.
Vice President’s Report
Vice President Kemp reported that he retired from the City of Miami’s Fire
Department. He expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve on the Metro
Chiefs Board. Vice President Kemp also updated the board on the conference’s
education program.
Secretary’s Report
Secretary Drozd report that the Metro Chiefs have 108 Metro Chiefs and 91
Senior Members. The following members were added after the January board
meeting:




Bobby Nugent, Greensboro (NC) Fire Department
Joseph Zahralban, City of Miami (FL) Department of Fire-Rescue
Todd Harms, Sacramento (CA) Metropolitan Fire Department
John Alston, New Haven (CT) Fire Department
Secretary Drozd also reported on the following 2017 Metro Awards: Fire Chief of
the Year; Life Time Achievement Award; and President’s Award of Distinction.
Secretary Drozd also reported on the effort to develop an active shooter standard
through the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). The effort has attracted
record attention and the NFPA announced its intention to release a provisional
standard.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Hannan gave the Treasurer’s report:
As of February 28, the Metro Chiefs had a carryover balance of $623,261. So,
far, the Metro Chiefs have raised $7,250 and had expenses of $709. In addition,
$10,000 has been advanced to the Metro Chiefs section for the 2017 conference
(which will show up in 2017). Overall, there has been a change in Net Assets of
$6,541 for a total balance of $629,802.
A motion to accept the Treasurer’s Report was made by Vice President Kemp,
seconded by Alternate Board Member Duyck and agreed to unanimously.
Board Member’s Report
Board Member Reed thanked the Metro Chiefs for their support. She announced
her retirement on May 5. Board Member Reed also reported on the Emergency
Responders Advisory Committee.
Senior Board Member’s Report
Senior Board Member Fincher updated the Board about IAFC Board meetings.
Alternate Board Member’s Report
Alternate Board Member Duyck updated the Board about the federal SAFECOM
initiative. Chief Bill Bamattre is the Metro Chiefs’ primary representative on
SAFECOM and Alternate Board Member Duyck is the alternate representative.
He emphasized the importance of communities maintaining their radio systems
even after FirstNet is deployed. He also reported on his work as the Metro Chiefs
representative on the NFPA’s National Fire Data System Executive Advisory
Board.
Immediate Past President’s Report
Immediate Past President Block updated the Board about research being done
by the NFPA Research Foundation to examine contamination of firefighter gear.
He also updated the Board about the NFPA Firefighter Cohort Cancer study,
which is a 30-year project to gain a better understanding of cancer in the fire
service. Immediate Past President Block also expressed gratitude for the ability
to serve on Metro Chiefs Executive Board.
As Chair of Elections Committee, Immediate Past President Block reported that
the following chiefs had announced interest in running in the Metro Chiefs
election: John Lane, Winnipeg; Walt White, City of Sacramento; John Paul
Jones, Kansas City, KS; and Robert Rocha, Corpus Christi, TX. The Alternate
and Board Member positions are open.
For the 2020 Metro Chiefs conference, only Memphis, TN announced its interest
to host the conference.
For Metro Chiefs donations, the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition requested that the
Metro Chiefs continue as an affiliate member and pay 2016-2017 dues of $2,000.
The Canadian Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation submitted the required paperwork
for a donation of $3,500. In addition, National Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation
submitted the required paperwork for a donation of $5,000.
A motion to donate $2,000 to the Austin Fire Foundation was made by Senior
Board Member Fincher, seconded by Vice President Kemp and agreed to
unanimously.
A motion was made to change donation limit in the policy to 50% of dues and
designate $5,000 for President’s designated charity by President Kerr, seconded
by Board Member Reed, and agreed to unanimously.
IAFC Liaison’s Report
Mr. LaSala updated the Board about legislative developments. He also
announced that the meeting at FRI would be held on July 28 at 10:00 am.
Executive Secretary’s Report
Executive Secretary Sanders reported that the 2017 Urban Fire Forum is on
September 20-22. He also is beginning planning on the Metro Chiefs dinner at
FRI. Executive Secretary Sanders also report on other Metro Chiefs travel plans:








April 24 – Meeting between Metro Chiefs Board and IAFF leadership.
May 15–18 – Scottish Symposium meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.
June 4–7 – NFPA Conference and Expo in Boston
July 10–12 – IFE meeting in Manchester, England.
July 11-12 - CTIF meeting in Villach, Austria.
September 10-12 – CFOA meeting in Manchester, England.
TBA – Global Fire Service Leadership Alliance.
2018 – Winter Board meeting.
Old Business
President Kerr asked for “old business,” and there was none.
New Business
President Kerr asked for new business. The Metro Chiefs Board members
discussed membership on NFPA committees. They also discussed concern
about contamination of gear, SCBA and fire apparatus cabs. In addition, they
discussed the IAFC federation meeting next year, which Secretary Drozd will
attend as Metro Chiefs president.
President Kerr appointed Secretary Drozd to serve as the Metro Chiefs
representative to the IAFC’s EMS reimbursement task force.
Secretary Drozd also will travel to the CFOA meeting in Villanch, Austria. The
Metro Chiefs will pay for his and Mrs. Drozd’s travel as long as it does not
exceed $5,000.
Adjourn
A motion was made at 3:09 pm by Secretary Drozd to adjourn, seconded by
Alternate Member Duyck, and agreed to unanimously.