An open letter to the fire service from Chief Siarnicki

An open letter to the fire service from Chief Siarnicki, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
http://ow.ly/sk6z

Excerpted from the NFFF Facebook; http://ow.ly/sk6z

September 30, 2009

An open letter to the Fire Service:

Dear Friends of the NFFF:

I send you this greeting prior to our Memorial weekend because of the urgency of the message contained herein. A call to action has been issued to our nation’s fire service, and we need to be involved in this important event.

There is a concerted effort organized by the homebuilding industry that is having a direct impact on fire & life safety in our nation and is contrary to many of our “Everyone Goes Home” Life Safety Initiatives, especially Life Safety Initiative #15. The Homebuilding industry has introduced a proposal to the International Code Council that will remove residential fire sprinklers from the IRC code. We need to get involved and motivate our nation’s fire service to be in Baltimore, Maryland at the ICC code hearings and make sure that our votes are cast that will keep residential fire sprinklers IN the code.

If we choose to sit by and do nothing, realize that we have allowed those who DO NOT have citizen and firefighter safety as their primary mission to set policy for our future. Let’s get involved and fight for Life Safety Initiative #15 (Advocacy must be strengthened for the enforcement of codes and the installation of home fire sprinklers).

We will pay tribute to the 103 firefighters lost in the line of duty in 2008 at our Memorial Service in Emmitsburg, Maryland this weekend, but there is no better way for us to honor the fallen than to be involved and present for this critical vote on October 28-29, 2009. This is our opportunity to honor the fallen and be proactive for those serving our nation as firefighters today. This vote has an impact on firefighter safety in the future.

Please follow the directions contained in the NFFF's Facebook note "CALL TO ACTION: Mobilize to Defend IRC Fire Sprinkler Requirements Mark Your Calendar for Wednesday, October 28th" on how to become a member, register, and make plans to have your vote COUNT in Baltimore.

Sincerely,


Ronald Jon Siarnicki
Executive Director
National Fallen Firefighters Foundation