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FIRST OF all, I trust that all members of the Institution have had a good summer, whatever the weather may have been in your part of the world.
I have recently had the opportunity to represent the Institution at two international conferences, in New Zealand and the USA, and, in addition to presenting papers, was able to participate in local Branch activities. Both the New Zealand and USA branches held their annual meetings. My main observation from attending was that, if the work and activities discussed are replicated across all branches, then the Institution does indeed have a positive future to look forward to.
I am grateful to Brian Davey and Murray Binning, respectively president and past president of the New Zealand Branch, and also to Mitchell Brown, a Branch member and a key figure on the conference organising committee, for their hospitality and assistance during my visit to Palmerston North. Similarly, my thanks to Bill Kehoe and Bob Rielage of the USA Branch, as well as Steve Westermann, a Branch member and current president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), for their arrangements in Denver.
Active branches
It was encouraging to note that the New Zealand Branch has been particularly active, both in terms of Branch activity and engaging with partners from the wider fire community. The Branch recently appointed Gary Ward as executive director who, along with his wife, has assisted the Branch in reviewing and improving its financial and organisational capability. As international president, I was impressed by the professional manner in which the Branch conducts its business; it is a very good example of a well-established and mature branch.
One interesting theme from the Branch’s activities is its ability to engage with partners within the wider fire profession. Not only was the conference successfully organised in conjunction with another body, the Forest and Rural Fire Association of New Zealand, but the Branch has also successfully
recruited New Zealand Fire Service and fire equipment company PSL Fire Safety as gold partners to assist it in serving the needs of its members.
Similar themes emerged from my visit to Denver as part of the Fire Rescue International conference, organised by the IAFC, at which the Institution’s USA Branch sponsored several sessions. The relationship between IAFC and the IFE is particularly encouraging, with a number of the IAFC Board of Directors also being members of the Institution. I, along with Charlie Hendry, president of the UK Chief Fire Officers’ Association, was invited to make a presentation to the Board in respect of both our organisations and the work they carry out, as well as the challenges we face. The USA Branch has also received longstanding support from Motorola.
As in New Zealand, the USA Branch is now well-established with over 300 members. Much of this has been aided by the work carried out by Branch members in achieving recognition of the Chief Fire Officer Designation within the Institution’s qualifications framework. Certainly, the USA Branch members whom I met were very keen to expand the influence of the Institution and outline the benefits of membership through professional recognition and continuing professional development.
In terms of professional recognition, the Institution is ever more looking to engage with partners and other like-minded organisations to encourage applications for membership. While the Institution is quite rightly proud of its long-standing and well-respected examinations arrangements, it is also keen, where possible, to recognise other qualifications within its framework. It is essential that standards are maintained, but it is equally important that the Institution does not present unnecessary barriers to those individuals seeking membership. In order to facilitate those arrangements, the Institution is also seeking, where appropriate, to devolve some aspects of membership processing to local branches. This is already in place with the USA Branch and, while on holiday recently, I was able to run a workshop for members of the Hong Kong Branch with a view to devolving some of those arrangements to them.
In conclusion, my first couple of months as international president have been busy but nonetheless encouraging – I have been able to witness firsthand how local branches are seeking to further the aims of the IFE through the development of key local partnerships, extending the influence of the Institution as it joins with others to promote greater fire safety across the world.
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