Overview
Volunteer firefighters and EMTs face unique challenges when it comes to Traffic Incident Management (TIM) and responder safety. Each year, the majority of line-of-duty firefighter deaths are volunteers, and in 2010, 18 percent of all firefighter fatalities occurred while responding to, or returning from, an emergency incident. Many of these deaths were preventable.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is attempting to train responders across multiple disciplines in TIM best practices using the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) TIM Responder Basic Training Course. This webinar, co-hosted by the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), will detail the current status of the SHRP2 TIM Training Program within the fire service community and emphasize the importance of TIM training to benefit the safety and health of volunteer first responders.
Moderators
- Mr. Kevin Quinn (chiefkevindquinn@gmail.com)
Kevin D. Quinn joined the fire service in 1976. He currently serves as Chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council. He recently retired as a Deputy Chief of the Union Fire District in South Kingstown, RI, and has returned to where he began in the volunteer fire service – actively responding to fires and alarms with his original Station #3 of the Union Fire District. Kevin is a past-President of the Rhode Island State Firemen’s League, Rhode Island State Advocate of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Everyone Goes Home-Courage to Be Safe Program, member of the Foundation’s Rhode Island Local Assistance State Team, member of the Hope Valley HazMat team, and member of numerous federal, state, and local exercise design management teams. He served on the NVFC Board of Directors for over 30 years as Alternate Director for Rhode Island and now continues as Director and Chairman. Kevin holds a Master of Science in Counseling and Educational Psychology and a Master of Science in Education.
Presenters
- Mr. Steve Austin (steveaustin@earthlink.net)
Steve Austin is a 48 year member of the fire service. He serves as a Fire Police Officer with the Aetna Hose Hook and Ladder Company of Newark Delaware. He is a Past President of the Delaware Volunteer Firemen’s Association and the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen’s Association (CVVFA). He is the National Highway Safety Advocate for the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation. He also serves as the project manager of the CVVFA Emergency Responder Safety Institute www.Respondersafety.com and the ResponderSafety Learning Network.
- Mr. Jack Sullivan (respondersafety@gmail.com)
Jack Sullivan, CSP, CFPS is a career safety professional and the Managing Partner of Loss Control Innovations, a safety training and loss control consulting firm in Richmond, VA. Jack also serves as the Director of Training for the Emergency Responder Safety Institute, a diverse group of seasoned emergency services personnel dedicated to reducing emergency responder deaths and injuries from struck-by-vehicle incidents. Jack retired from active firefighting as a Lieutenant and Safety Officer with Lionville Fire Co. after 25 years active duty with three different fire departments. Jack is nationally recognized for his work on roadway incident safety for emergency responders and is a Principal Member of the National Fire Protection Association Technical Committee on Traffic Control Incident Management Professional Qualifications (NFPA 1091). Jack is a Master Instructor for the Federal Highway, SHRP 2, “Traffic Incident Management & Responder Safety” Train-the-Trainer program being deployed nationwide. Jack is a member of the National Committee of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD) and is currently assigned to the Temporary Traffic Control Committee that is responsible for Chapter 6-I of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
- Mr. Jim Austrich (james.austrich@dot.gov)
Currently with FHWA’s Office of Transportation Operations, Traffic Incident & Events Management Team where he is responsible for the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2) National Traffic Incident Management (TIM) Responder Training Program. Jim works with a team of other nationally recognized subject matter experts in the field of incident/ emergency management and planned special events. On 9/11, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) assigned Jim as the liaison to the DC Metropolitan Police Department (MPDC). He reported to the Joint Operations Coordination Center (JOCC) at police headquarters and his life changed forever. Jim joined the DC Metropolitan Police Department’s Homeland Security Bureau Special Operations Division, overseeing the departments two million dollar National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) highway safety grant through DDOT’s Highway Safety Office and was the department’s TIM Coordinator/Subject Matter Expert. Prior to MPDC he spent ten years with District of Columbia, Department of Transportation (DDOT) where served as the Acting Chief of the Work Zones and Public Safety Branch (WZPS), which he established in 2001. In 2004, Jim was promoted to Program Manager for newly constructed 24/7 DDOT Traffic Management Center (TMC) and Roadway Operations Patrol (ROP) Incident Response Team. As the Systems Operations Branch Chief, Jim gained extensive experience in Transportation Incident Management (TIM), Emergency Management and Planned Special Events arena. Jim was DOT Incident Commander in numerous major incidents in Washington D.C. post 9/11 including such incidents as Tractor Man, the DC Sniper, Woodrow Wilson Bridge Jumper, President Reagan and Ford’s Funerals, the Georgetown Library and Eastern Market fires, Metrorail crash of 2009, President Barack Obama Inauguration and many other large and small scale events around the National Capital Region.