Illinois Corps Of Fire Chaplains, Inc (ICFC)

MABAS Conference Agenda and IMPORTANT information

Chaplains:

Slight change in plans....if you are planning to attend the MABAS conference, please REGISTER AS AN INVITED GUEST through the MABAS website (it's cheaper this way).  MABAS has graciously included us in the general registration as guests.

http://www.mabas-il.org/Pages/ConferencesTraining.aspx

Download Draft MABAS Agenda 2012

Click the I UNDERSTAND box and fill out the registration form.

Command Conference Information – 2012
Conference Registration:
•    All Attendees Must Register On-Line – Guests, Speakers, Staff, Committee Members, and Conference Attendees.
•    MABAS Conferences are being held at the Four Points By Sheraton in Peoria, Illinois.
•    MABAS / ITTF Command Conference is February 20-22, 2012.

•     Registration includes attendance at the conference, Tired Travelers Hospitality Gathering 2/20/12, breakfast buffets, refreshment breaks, lunch 2/21/12 and (2) nights’ accommodations 2/20/12 and 2/21/12.

AGENDA
Tuesday, February 21, 2012

0900-1200 - Line of Duty Death Impact and Significance
Presenters: Fire Chief Joe Holomy, Fire Chief Curt Kramer
1300-1600 - Fire Department Honor Guard and Funeral Protocols
Presenter: Firefighter Pete Tomczuk

Wednesday, February 22, 2012
0900-1200 - Principles of Death Notification
Presenter: Chaplain Jennie Swanson

MABAS 54 Training

MABAS 54 FIRE CHAPLAINS
Serving local Fire Departments/Districts in Cumberland, Effingham, Fayette, Jasper, Richland, and Shelby Counties.

Invite you to Fire Fighter Culture and Care
Friday, September 16, 2011
10 am – 3 pm

At the Effingham Fire Department Central Fire Station
505 West Fayette Avenue, Effingham, Illinois

Instructors:
Chaplain Jennie Swanson, President, Illinois Corps of Fire Chaplains
Chief Chris Overbeck, Montrose, IL
Chief Merle Adermann, Vandalia, IL

This Fire Chaplain Training will be held on Friday, September 16, 2011, from 10 am to 3 pm.

It fulfills 1/2 of the the Fire Culture and Operations MABAS Chaplain Requirement.  Chaplains should also attend the MABAS 54 Basic Chaplain Orientation or a comperable class.

Cost is $20
Lunch on your own at a local restaurant.

The fire chaplain’s job is to support and work with local fire departments/districts to provide support and counsel to fire fighters and their families. We are looking for volunteers in the area, but you don’t have to commit to being a chaplain to benefit from this training. It may prove helpful to ministry in your church. For more information, contact Chaplain Jim Wright at 618-483-6395 or  jimwright1961@gmail.com

Detach and mail attached registration to:
MABAS 54, c/o Effingham Fire Department,
Attn: Joan Buzzard,
505 West Fayette Ave., Effingham, IL 62401.
Make $20 checks payable to : MABAS 54

Download TrainingFlyer9.16.11[2]

  

 

Chaplain Gathering a Success

It's 11pm Saturday night and I am now home from the IAFPD Conference in Peoria, where our chaplains gathered for a time of networking, learning and planning.  Thank you to the IAFPD and all its supporters for allowing us to come and providing a place for us to grow. 

I was so pleased that we had 17 participants in all, including three spouses. We hosted a booth in the expo which as constantly busy with folks stopping by to tell about their chaplain programs or seeking guidance toward getting started.  I have about 30 follow-ups to work on and each will be sent a copy of "The Fire Chief's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Chaplains".  We gave away Twizzlers and other treats and raffled off two NFFF posters.  Everyone helped in the booth and I appreciate you all jumping in to help as I was wearing several hats at the same time. 

The booth opened Thursday for a couple hours and we had many visitors. On Friday we had lunch together and a casual but necessary annual meeting.  In the later afternoon we met to discuss the new MABAS Chaplain training standards and dispatch procedures for the response team.  The conversation regarding dispatch procedures and accountability in general was extremely productive.

On Saturday the chaplains met without me to discuss ideas about new leadership on committees, brainstorm fund raising and promotional ideas and generally get to know each others gifts and strengths.  We have much work and planning to do but it was exciting to witness such enthusiasm!  In the second half of the morning the chaplains that stayed a hile longer attended the second half of the class I as teaching and co-authored with Chief Pat Kenny (IFCA), "Why Leave it at the Door Doesn't Work" dealing with Initiative 13 of the 16 Life Safety Initiatives .  This class talked about the reality of life and work stress overlapping and the impact it has on us, our families and our jobs. We talked about the need to establish effective resources to identify and help with problems before they become debilitating. It was a great class and over 55 people attended. 

Having been invited back again for next year's conference, we will be starting now in planning and using more time for training and improving our registration and scheduling procedures.  Throughout the year you will see new opportunities for some of the trainings in the MABAS document offered so that everyone can get a chance to work toward that level of certification.  There was a great desire to organize by Divisions which has been a goal of mine for quite some time.  Please keep an eye on this website as we move forward and I will do my best to keep you all informed.  Your ideas and leadership are welcome. 

Thank you to all the chaplains and spouses that came this weekend, I appreciate you more than you know.  Each of us brings gifts to this ministry and we are stronger together.  God is calling many to this task.  Let's keep our eyes on the work ahead of us as we prayerfully seek the right paths to follow and doors to walk through.  God bless you all and keep up the good work.  See you at training! Be safe!

(What do you think? Comments are open for this post)

PSOB Coverage While Participating in Disaster Assistance

Attached is an important reminder about what the fire service needs to keep in mind when assisting in disaster situations to avoid the possibility of not meeting the requirements of a Public Safety Officer.  Please familiarize yourself and your team members with this information and take whatever steps you can to get it out to the departments in your state.  This information was assembled and provided by

Chief Kyle Lenn is the Nebraska LAST Coordinator and a state advocate for the foundation’s Everyone Goes Home Program and I want to thank him for sharing it with us.

Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Thanks
John Proels
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (www.firehero.org)
Coordinator - Local Assistance State Team Program (LAST)

Download In_a_disaster_make_sure_members_are_covered-1

MABAS Guidance: MABAS Qualified Fire Service Chaplain Resources

Exciting and Important Direction
From James P. Reardon, Fire Chief (Ret.)  CEO, MABAS

As announced at our 2011 February conference, MABAS is supporting a new, formalized resource capability for fire service chaplains. Accordingly, MABAS extends the following guidance in support of and in the development of a qualified and capable system of accessing fire service chaplains during agency times of need.

 –      The MABAS Executive Board, in cooperation with the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association, endorses and encourages the divisional development of a qualified fire service chaplain resource capability. See attachment; Q & A about fire service chaplains.

 –      The MABAS Executive Board encourages local divisions/departments to develop a fire service chaplain cadre from their local clergy in order to secure chaplains qualified and capable of providing responsible assistance to firefighters, families, chiefs, agencies and the like when dealing with difficult situations.

–      The MABAS Executive Board encourages local divisions that are committed to creating a local fire service chaplain program to seek guidance and consultation from the MABAS Chaplain Steering Group by contacting Pastor Jennie Swanson at jennieswanson@sbcglobal.net or 630-479-1970  (cell). In order to qualify as an official “MABAS Chaplain” minimal standards must be met.

 –      The MABAS Executive Board encourages local MABAS divisions to develop “Box Cards” for multiple chaplain response during events where multiple individuals and families are directly impacted. Chaplain Resource “Box Cards” may be interdivisional by design.

 –      As an interim plan to assist by providing access to qualified MABAS chaplain resources by MABAS Divisions and/or agencies, MABAS is providing a chaplain resource pool for 24/7/365 access by all divisions through RED Center. The procedure for requesting and accessing the MABAS Fire Service Chaplains resource is as follows:

 –      The request for a MABAS Fire Service Chaplain must meet the following criteria and provide the following detail for action:

A.      The request for a MABAS Fire Service Chaplain(s) must be made exclusively by a Chief Officer of the agency(s) directly impacted by the event.

 B.      Requests for MABAS Fire Service Chaplains should be made through the impacted agency’s divisional dispatch center to RED Center at 847-724-5700 or 847-272-2121 .

 C.      RED Center, upon receiving a quest for MABAS Chaplain assistance, will gather the following information from the requesting division.

1.       Impacted division agency and county

2.       Requesting fire chief, their agency, and callback telephone numbers

3.       Nature of the event with particulars associated with specifics, such as; what happened, number of firefighters impacted, family particulars, denomination (if readily available), other notable matters of background 

D.      RED Center, upon receipt of a request for a MABAS Chaplain(s), will take the following actions.

1.       Review interim Illinois Chaplain Response Team List (attached) and identify the three (3) closest chaplains geographically to the event’s host agency.

2.       Prior to contacting a chaplain for response, contact team leader, Pastor Jennie Swanson at 630-479-1970 (cell) for advisement, consultation and direction regarding chaplain(s) assignment. Pastor Swanson is provided command decision and assignment authority regarding chaplain assignments.

3.       RED Center shall advise via cell phone or text the Chief Executive Officer of MABAS whenever a chaplain is requested and has been assigned.

4.       Team Leader Pastor Swanson shall keep the MABAS CEO advised as needed and as appropriate during chaplain assignments generated by divisional requests to RED Center.

Download MABAS Chaplains Q&A[1]

Download MABAS Response list[1]