CONGRESSIONAL FIRE SERVICES INSTITUTE’S Fire and Emergency Showcase on the National Mall Sponsored by the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA)
Our nation’s fire service responds to over 20 million emergency calls annually. Firefighters must be properly trained and equipped for any type of emergency as they are the first rescue personnel dispatched to a scene and usually the last to leave. Along with public education and prevention programs that are delivered in our nation’s communities, the skills, training, and equipment firefighters bring to every emergency can make the difference in saving lives and property. On April 2, 2008, starting at 9:00 a.m., the National Mall in Washington, DC will be transformed into a fire and emergency services showcase, a unique event that will capture the training, technology, public education, and prevention components needed by fire departments across the nation to bring about favorable outcomes when those 20 millions calls are made from the public each year asking for help.
Hosted by the Congressional Fire Services Institute and sponsored by the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), the showcase will display a vast assortment of technology firefighters use when responding to emergencies. The event is designed to educate Congress, the Administration and the general public about the many roles of our nation’s firefighters and the importance of federal support to ensure that all first responders have what they need to perform their life-saving missions.
TECHNOLOGY DISPLAYS
Fire Departments from the Washington, DC region will display the types of technology they use to protect the millions of residents in the region – technologies used on a daily basis as well as the types of specialized equipment used in major incidents. Much of the technology was purchased with federal grant dollars and will be arranged based on the various missions of fire departments, which include:
Fire Suppression Emergency Medical Service
Hazardous Materials Wildland and Wildland/Urban Interface Fires
Technical Rescue Urban Search and Rescue
Airport Fire/Rescue Industrial Fire and Safety
The showcase will feature over 20 pieces of fire department apparatus – from fire engines and ladder trucks to incident command vehicles, a wildland firefighting helicopter, and an airport rescue and firefighting vehicle. In addition, there will be sprinkler and smoke alarm demonstration vehicles, as well as antique apparatus.
HOME SAFETY COUNCIL EDUCATION PAVILION
The Home Safety Council® (HSC) is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to preventing home related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year. Throughout the day, HSC will conduct and host safety presentations in the HSC Education Pavilion for the young and old alike. Open to the public, the presentations will teach participants how to safeguard their homes and their loved ones against fire and other dangers. A number of HSC’s highly successful programs have been funded through Department of Homeland Security grants and have reached millions of people, making a huge difference in the campaign against preventable accidents that result in deaths and injuries.
FIREFIGHTER COMBAT CHALLENGE
Featured annually on ESPN Sports capturing the strength and physical prowess of our nation’s fire service, the Firefighter Combat Challenge will launch its 2008 national season at the Showcase event. Firefighters from the mid-Atlantic region will compete against one another in the most grueling two minutes in sporting competition. They will carry hose packs up a five-story tower, carry a 175 pounding life-sized victim over 50 feet, and advance charged hose lines over 100 feet while dressed in turn-out gear and breathing from self-contained breathing apparatus.
WHY ATTEND
The American fire and emergency services has a proud heritage of service that dates back more than 350 years. Each year, approximately 100 firefighters die in the line of duty, while thousands more suffer debilitating injuries. The Fire and Emergency Services Showcase on the National Mall will capture the mission of our domestic defenders against the backdrop of our nation’s Capitol and will educate policy makers and the public alike about the important role that every level of government has to assume in order to keep our fire service prepared to respond to the next call.
