Rick Lasky To Present at Thursday Pre-Conference
It is with great sadness to report that our Thursday Pre-Conference speaker, Chief Ray Hoff passed away in March 2011. He made every firefighter he trained better for the knowledge he shared, the passion he had for being a firefighter and for the compassion and humility he had as a human being. He will be missed all across the fire community.
The WSFCA Conference Committee was able to secure a new speaker for the Thursday Pre-Conference Seminar, Chief Rick Lasky.
In the morning, Chief Lasky will present, “Why Aren’t The Numbers Going Down?” and “Managing The MAYDAY”. After lunch, he will present “Fireground Scenarios”.
Why Aren’t The Numbers Going Down?
Each year agencies such as the NFPA, NIOSH, USFA, along with several others, publish documents describing the Line Of Duty Deaths (LODD) and injuries suffered by firefighters for the previous year. And each year talented fire service instructors and fire academies across North America, host seminars and conduct training all in an effort to reduce the amount of injuries and fatalities. With all of this great work, why aren’t the numbers going down? This session takes a hard look at the causes for those losses and discusses the realistic steps necessary to finally begin to make a difference and ensure that every firefighter goes home, safely to their families.
Managing the MAYDAY
One of the most difficult incidents to manage is one in which our members become trapped, lost, or injured. This presentation discusses how firefighters get into trouble at incidents and the necessary steps to get personnel back to safety. Accountability systems, incident command strategies, and scene control will be analyzed and discussed. For all fire officers at every level who could be involved in managing a MAYDAY, as well as firefighters who could be confronted with the “unthinkable.”
Fireground Scenarios
This program is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for firefighters, company officers, and chiefs to experience a number of different types of structural fires. Examine fires in private dwellings, commercial buildings, apartment houses, and office buildings. Whatever your experience level is, you will certainly see something you have never seen before in this workshop. During the fire scenarios, the tactics, strategies and other factors will be analyzed and discussed. Students will have an opportunity to comment on what is happening in the scenario and how they might handle a similar situation in their own department. This will be an interesting, fast-moving, and entertaining program that you don’t want to miss.
About Chief Rick Lasky
Chief Rick Lasky, a 30-year veteran of the fire service, is chief of the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department. Rick began his career as a firefighter in the suburbs on the southwest side of Chicago and while in Illinois received the 1996 International Society of Fire Service Instructors “Innovator of the Year” award for his part in developing the “Saving Our Own” program. He served as the co-lead instructor for the H.O.T. Firefighter Survival program at FDIC for over 10 years and is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering Magazine and also serves on the FDIC advisory board. Rick contributes monthly to Fire Engineering’s Roundtable column, is the author of both the “Pride and Ownership-A Firefighter’s Love of the Job” leadership series featured in Fire Engineering Magazine and the book published by PennWell Books, as well as the host for the radio show “Pride and Ownership” heard on Fire Engineering Radio.
To sign up for the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs’ Conference, please visit the WSFCA Conference Page: http://www.wsfca.com/index.php/events/annual-conference/