Fire Engineering Training Community

Where firefighters come to talk training

Journal Entry 51: You Can’t Lose With the A-Team Sitting Next to You

For the past 20 years, I’ve had the privilege to volunteer at the annual Memorial Weekend sponsored by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. From 1998-2000, I worked on a logistical crew moving stuff all over the campus in order to re-set the place for the in-coming families, their grief sessions, ceremonies, etc. In 2001, I was given the Operations Chief position and held it for13 years. Then for two years, I was the Deputy IC. Where is all of this going Ron? Well, this year I was bestowed the honor of working as the Memorial Weekend Incident Commander. For the first time, it was mine to make it succeed. It’s an awesome responsibility connected with honor and pride. So Ron, how did you do? We fared well. It takes about 1,000 volunteers to pull it off each year. Of the 1,000 about 600 and change are honor guard, pipes and drums. That group is one of 24 independent operating units that work cohesively throughout the weekend (and for the 10 months prior, planning for it) in order to accommodate our honored fire hero families. We use ICS and set up a Command Post (in Building S) in order to manage the 100’s of tasks and last minute requests that take place over the 5 day period. The Team gets on the ground on Wednesday and some operate until the following Tuesday, like the Transportation Group getting the families back to the airports.  

Many people asked me if I was apprehensive or nervous prior to the weekend. Anybody would be, however it was easier for me than most. I had the A-Team with me. Most of the Command Staff have been together since 2002 when we took the weekend to Washington DC. That year we honored 445 families which included the 343 FDNY firefighters who perished on 9/11/01. The campus in Emmitsburg would not be large enough for the crowd. So, for this year, we conducted 4 on-campus planning sessions over the summer, sent 10,000 emails (I lost count) and made a few hundred phone calls. A 167 page IAP was prepared and we used an electronic timeline system to track our daily activities. We were ready. The weekend went well, but not without a hiccup here and there or a trip on a crack in the sidewalk. Overall, our honored families didn’t know about these and that’s the main idea. To give you a sample of our operating units: Operations, Logistics, Transportation, Security, Safety, Production, Honor Guard, Pipes & Drums, Finance & Administration, Child Care, Family Activities & Registration, NFFF Store Operations, Flag Presenters, Media, PIO, Military Liaison, Special Invited Guests, Chapel Vigil, Grief Sessions, and others. Mention must also be made of the full time NFFF staff, who work hard at it all year round and the USFA staff and their contractors for helping to make the weekend a success.

I couldn’t do bad. I had the A-Team sitting next to me.

Be well, stay well, be safe,

Ronnie K                      

Views: 405

Comment

You need to be a member of Fire Engineering Training Community to add comments!

Join Fire Engineering Training Community

Policy Page

PLEASE NOTE

The login above DOES NOT provide access to Fire Engineering magazine archives. Please go here for our archives.

CONTRIBUTORS NOTE

Our contributors' posts are not vetted by the Fire Engineering technical board, and reflect the views and opinions of the individual authors. Anyone is welcome to participate.

For vetted content, please go to www.fireengineering.com/issues.

We are excited to have you participate in our discussions and interactive forums. Before you begin posting, please take a moment to read our community policy page.  

Be Alert for Spam
We actively monitor the community for spam, however some does slip through. Please use common sense and caution when clicking links. If you suspect you've been hit by spam, e-mail peter.prochilo@clarionevents.com.

FE Podcasts


Check out the most recent episode and schedule of
UPCOMING PODCASTS

© 2024   Created by fireeng.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service