MSFA Convention & Conference 2023
June 18th – June 23rd
MSFA 2021 Virtual Convention and Conference Training Schedule
June 14, 2021 Comment off

MSFA 2021 Virtual Convention and Conference Training Schedule
(Updated 06/14/2021)
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Saturday June 19, 2021 (Preconference)
1000 hrs. *LIVE; Becoming an Ally to Foster Diversity & Inclusion – Dr. Candice McDonald, Firefighter, EMT, CE Instructor, Fire Inspector, and PIO
1st VP for the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association
Trustee with Women in Fire; Member of the FDIC/Fire Engineering Advisory Board, NVFC Fire Corps State Advocate.
An ally should not be looked at as a noun, but rather a verb. The path to becoming an ally is a lifelong process of fostering relationships that are built on trust, consistency, advocacy, and accountability. Inclusive leadership is an integrated set of skills that is required to channel the power and potential of a diverse workforce for the benefit of the organization and the communities we serve. It is key for fire service leaders to understand their role in fostering diversity and inclusion. This workshop will provide you with deeper insights to yourself and the benefits of inclusion at all levels of your department.
1100 hrs. Highway Safety Training Beyond the TIMS class – Todd Leiss, Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Coordinator in the Traffic Engineering and Operations Department for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC).
In 2020, 46 emergency responders were struck & killed during secondary incidents while working along United States roadways, in 2019, 44 emergency responders are struck & killed.
An average of two emergency responders are struck each day in the United States and an emergency responder is struck & injured every other day with an emergency responder struck & killed on average every eight days
Most of us have taken a 4-hour Traffic Incident Management (TIM) course focused on emergency responder safety but what else is out there and how can we work to get ourselves and our crew safe during a roadway incident?
This session will build on the 4-hour TIM and talk about why we need to focus more on the dangers all responders face each day when at a roadway incident.
1200 hrs. Pediatric Trauma Cases – Karen O’Connell, MD MEd MIEMSS Region V Pediatric Medical Director
Dr. Karen O’Connell will highlight the assessment findings and the treatment decisions to be sure children receive the Right Care When It Counts when they are injured. Presentation will cover the unique anatomic features of children leading to specific injury patterns and how to apply the Trauma Decision Tree to cases with infants, children and adolescents.
1300 hrs. *LIVE; Resilience Skills Training – Mike Donahue, Karen Deppa
As emergency responders, you are so focused on taking care of others that you might forget to take care of yourself. That can make you vulnerable to burnout, depression, PTSD, and other behavioral health problems associated with an already stressful job complicated by a pandemic. Learn about the three primary skills (we call them the Three Pillars) that are most frequently associated with resilient responses in the fire and EMS community. These are skills that you can learn and practice to help prevent the effects of psychological distress. We will then guide you through three activities – one for each of the Three Pillars – so you can create your own tools to help strengthen your resilience for dealing with traumatic stress.
1400 hrs. Residential & Small Commercial First Due Size Up – Chief Christopher J. Naum, SFPE, Chief of Training, Command Institute| Center for Fireground Leadership
Technical Consultant, NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Investigation Program
Fire Protection & Management Consultant – New York USA
Today’s buildings and occupancies continue to present unique challenges to command and operating companies during combat structural fire engagement. Building and occupancy profiling, identifying occupancy risk versus occupancy type, construction methods, features, systems and components require new skill sets in reading the building and implementing predictive occupancy profiling for today’s company and command officers for effective and efficient fireground operations. Incorporating the Buildingsonfire FACTS concept for First-Arriving Construction, Tactics and Safety for Residential and Small Commercials
Sunday June 20, 2021
1000 hrs. *LIVE; Recruitment & Retention; Developing your Game Plan – Dr. Candice McDonald
Firefighter, EMT, CE Instructor, Fire Inspector, and PIO
1st VP for the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association
Trustee with Women in Fire; Member of the FDIC/Fire Engineering Advisory Board, NVFC Fire Corps State Advocate.
Volunteer fire and EMS agencies are experiencing challenges with recruitment and retention of personnel. This lecture will outline how departments can successfully recruit and retain personnel for their agency using current resources. The lecture will be based on a three-year doctoral study on retention and offer participants research-based/proven strategies to reduce turnover and increase recruitment among all generations of volunteers. Attendees will not only learn strategies to help overcome the biggest barriers to retention and recruitment of emergency personnel, but through both discussion, review of a planning document and hands-on activities, will be able to go home and draft a personalized plan to increase and maintain members.
1100 hrs. Are you Really Operating Safe Apparatus? – Assistant Chief Allen Baldwin — Stafford County, VA Fire and Rescue; Thomas Shand, Contributing Editor, Firehouse Fire Apparatus Journal
Over the years our apparatus have become more complex, larger and heavier to operate and maintain to ensure safety and fleet reliability. The program will review past and present vehicle designs and how they impact your departments day to day operations, in service times and apparatus life cycle. Safety and operational reliability should be a few of the benchmarks when evaluating your departments vehicle fleet.
1200 hrs. *LIVE; Four Pillars of Functional Fitness – Chief Dan Kerrigan, Upper Providence Township Fire Department, Montgomery County, PA; co-author of the best-selling book “Firefighter Functional Fitness”; at-large director IAFC Safety, Health, and Survival Section
Unfortunately, around 50% of annual on-duty deaths are typically attributed to heart attacks, strokes, and other medical causes. Firefighter Functional Fitness attacks these statistics by providing all firefighters with the tools needed to combat this epidemic.
Firefighter Functional Fitness is the essential guide to optimal firefighter performance and longevity. It provides all firefighters with the knowledge, mindset, and tools to maximize their fire ground performance, reduce their risk of injury and experiencing a line-of-duty death, and have a long, healthy career and/or volunteer service and retirement.
1300 hrs. Pediatric HP CPR – Danielle Joy, MS RN; Karen O’Connell, MD MEd
Learn from the Maryland EMSC CPR Pit Crew what is new & what is different about pediatric HPCPR. Presentation will include the cardiac science of high performance and why children still need to be ventilated from the start. The second half includes how ot work with the new QCPR infant and child manikins that are located in each EMS region for local company drills.
1400 hrs. *LIVE; Drilling for Success – OC FOOLS – Capt. Keith Niemann, Wichita, KS, Fire Department Training Division; President, FOOLS of OZ
From instructing recruits to company level training there are only so many hours allotted so every drill has to count. This class will discuss how to build drill cycles so that the participants get the most out of each drill. We will breakdown a number of my favorite training drills and discuss how the building blocks of a “Crawl-Walk-Run” format is essential for success.
Monday June 21, 2021
1000 hrs. Impact of Horizontal Ventilation on Fire Behavior – UL FSRI Fire Safety Academy
In this course, you will examine the impact of modern construction practices and ventilation techniques on fire behavior from full-scale testing in realistic legacy and contemporary residential structures.
1100 hrs. Pediatric TOR ABC’s – Jennifer Anders, MD FAAP MIEMSS Associate State EMS Medical Director for Pediatrics
The death of a child in the out of hospital environment is very stressful for professionals and for the community. Maryland EMSC conducted town hall meetings statewide and PEMAC has revised the TOR protocol to include children of all ages. Dr. Jen Anders will discuss the protocol’s specific guidance, the availability of consultation and identification of resources for families and for professionals.
1200 hrs. Influence of Building Construction – Chief Christopher J. Naum, SFPE Chief of Training, Command Institute| Center for Fireground Leadership Technical Consultant, NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Investigation Program Fire Protection & Management Consultant – New York
The Impact of Building Construction on Todays’ Fireground cannot be understated. Building Construction is as fundamental to Structural Firefighting as Water is to Fire Suppression but has become relegated to a lower level of operational significance and importance. Today more than ever, understanding and comprehending building construction and its anatomy and the effects of fire dynamics on fire suppression operations is a must. Building Construction, Occupancy Risks along with Building Anatomy and the Predictability of Building Performance under fire conditions have a profound influence on the management of operations, identification of tactical protocols and deployment of resources. Understanding key inherent building performance characteristics and their relationships and variables in Command Decision-making methodologies and practices is fundamental to firefighting and incident management on today’s evolving and demanding fire ground.
1300 hrs. LIVE; Family in the Fire Service; Full version – Chief Allen Baldwin, Stafford County, VA
For many of us, this is a family calling or business, and, in the business, we have two families, the one at home and the one at the station. Family is one of the most important but sometimes forgotten aspects of this job and journey. Remember, no one likes to travel alone, and this is a team sport. This presentation will examine why we need to bring the family back into the fire service and its importance. Lessons learned on preaching and practicing this belief will also be discussed. Remember your first family is the one at home, the second family is the one at the Firehouse. Take Care of the Family – Make it first always at all costs as you are lost without both.
1400 hrs Maryland EMS in Pandemic Vortex– Dr. Ted Delbridge, Executive Director, MIEMSS
Join us as Dr Delbridge goes into great detail how our Maryland EMS system faced and overcame many of the challenges and obstacles of operating successfully through a pandemic.
Tuesday June 22, 2021
1000 hrs. When Minutes Count: EMS Treatment of Severe Allergic Reactions – Dr. Timothy Chizmar, Maryland State Medical Director
Allergic reactions can be some of the most rewarding calls in EMS. Rapid, appropriate treatment can lead to favorable patient outcomes, while missing subtle assessment clues or delays in treatment may be deadly. Dr. Chizmar will discuss the nuances of assessing and treating your next allergic reaction patient. He will review cases and recent evidence from the scientific literature to help you provide the best patient care for these patients.
1100 hrs. *LIVE; Fire & EMS Officer Training; Managing Psych. Health – Chaplain Richard “Chappy” Bower BCC, CPES. Chief of Chaplains, Maryland Fire Chiefs Assoc. Chief of Chaplains, Washington County Vol. Fire & Rescue Assoc.
Chaplain, Western Enterprise Fire Engine Company #4, Hagerstown, MD,
Over the years the responsibilities of the Fire Chief and Offers have not changed, but the difficulties of successfully meeting them has. Suicide among 1st Responders has, and is, rapidly increasing to where more are dying by their own hand than LODD’s. PTSD is now a realized occupational hazard. To their already overloaded duties, fire officers are increasingly being held responsible for not only the safety, but also the psychosocial, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of all under their fire/EMS command.
1200 hrs. Understanding the Why of Seatbelts – Janet Bahouth D.Sc., CEO of Impact Research, Howard County MD
Dr. Janet Bahouth will contrasts actual crashes and injury outcomes for restrained versus non-belted occupants. The presentation includes background information on crash dynamics, how both seat belts and car seats are designed to protect us in a crash, and the energy exchange that causes specific injuries. Actual crash scene investigations will demonstrate injury patterns in different seating positions.
1300 hrs. Man Vs Machinery – OC FOOLS – Capt. Mark Gregory, Ladder 176, FDNY Lead Instructor, PL Vulcan Fire Training
Man Vs, Machinery incidents occur across the country. They may involve a person stuck in some sort of industrial machinery or be as routine as a ring stuck on a victim’s finger. One must ask themselves, “are we as a department or institution prepared to handle these incidents”? This program will introduce students to tools and methods that have been proven to be effective in rescuing victims. Case studies will be reviewed as well as the pros and cons of various tactics. Medical issues will be addressed and the importance of a strong command structure and inter-agency operations will be stressed.
1400 hrs. *LIVE; CIREN (Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network): Crash Analysis – Mark Scarborough, Shock Trauma
The CIREN process combines prospective data collection with professional multidisciplinary analysis of medical and engineering evidence to determine injury causation in every crash investigation conducted. The mission of the CIREN is to improve the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of motor vehicle crash injuries to reduce deaths, disabilities, and human and economic costs. The current CIREN model utilizes two types of centers, medical and engineering. Medical centers are based at level one trauma centers that admit large numbers of people injured in motor vehicle crashes, such as R. Adams Cowley at the University of Maryland.
Wednesday June 23, 2021
1000 hrs. LIVE; Insurance for Fire Departments – Ron Block, Southern Maryland Insurance
Numerous important topics will be covered in this session including:
Personal: * Workers Compensation * Other Benefits: PSOB * MSFA * County Association Station-specific: * Group term life insurance * Accident & Sickness coverage * Accidental Death & Dismemberment coverage * Retention & Recruiting tools * Individual member’s personal insurance Your Station: * Property – Buildings & Contents * Portable Equipment * General Liability * Vehicles * Cyber – liability and your data * Fire & Emergency Services Liability * Directors and Officers * HIPAA – unintentional release of individually identifiable HEALTH Information * Umbrella Liability * Crime * Insurance Program Management
1100 hrs. Shock Trauma Go Team Presentation – Mary Scott-Herring, DNP, MS, CRNA CRNA Manager, Clinical Education and Professional Development University of Maryland Medical Center, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center
This 30-minute presentation gives and in-depth look into the Shock Trauma Go Team; what they do, who they are, and when they are called in to action.
1200 hrs. Main Street Fires – Chief Christopher Naum, SFPE, Chief of Training, Command Institute| Center for Fireground Leadership Technical Consultant, NIOSH Firefighter Fatality Investigation Program Fire Protection & Management Consultant – New York
Main Streets, both large or small compromise many jurisdictions and have been a primary feature and risk for decades. The fundamental building type that is found on many Main Streets and commonly found in nearly all jurisdictions and response areas throughout the United States, fires in these buildings and areas can present significant challenges and operational risks. An overview of construction systems, inherent building characteristics and operational considerations on strategies and tactics for all ranks and personnel will be presented.
1300 hrs. Medication Safety; Poison Prevention for Families – Cynthia Wright Johnson, MSN RN; EMSC Director @ MIEMSS and Safe Kids Maryland Chair
Medications are the leading cause of child poisoning with 38% of child poisoning involves a grandparent’s medication. Children under 5 are at the greatest risk and adults can do three things to change that: Safe Storage, Safe Dosing, Poison Center resources. OTC – Over The Counter medication safety is directed specifically to 5th and 6th graders.