FireFighterNation

Deputy Chief Jake Rhoades argues that every department must realize that the training officer can respond as a safety officer during emergency incidents, and as a safety officer during training events as well.

Chief John Eisel addresses the role of evolving technologies, noting how they can aid the safety officer on scene, and highlights three technologies in particular: GLANSER, PHASER and WISPER.

FireRecue Editor-in-Chief Tim Sendelbach talks with Omasta and Mike Petroff, chairman of the Fire Department Safety Officers Association, about the award and the importance of the designated safety officer role.

Mark Omasta, a 38-year veteran of the fire service currently serving as the training officer for the Danbury (Conn.) Fire Department, was named the 2012 Safety Officer of the Year today at Fire-Rescue International in Denver. The award is given by the IAFC’s Safety, Health and Survival (SHS) Section and co-sponsored by FireRescue magazine and the Fire Department Safety Officers Association (FDSOA).

With firefighters responding to such a wide variety of incidents these days, it’s critical that the safety officer has? a solid grasp of how to keep personnel safe during technical rescue incidents. Here, Jason Hoevelmann offers both general and discipline-specific guidelines for safety officers operating at such incidents.