CTEX Preview: FIRESCOPE, Firefighter Retention and Injury/Death Analysis

Several new programs were announced for the California State Firefighters’ Association (CSFA) Training & Education Expo (CTEX) in Riverside, CA. The event, which is a partnership between Firehouse and the CSFA, takes place Feb. 25–March 3, 2024.

Roundtable: Your FIRESCOPE
The board of directors of California’s FIRESCOPE will provide attendees with real-time updates on trends in the fire service and answer questions from the audience. Not only has FIRESCOPE, which comprises small, midsize and large agencies, including local, state and federal organizations, set the direction for the California fire service, but it has provided proven recommendations for the entire country.

Panelists include Fire Chief Brian Fennessy of the Orange County, CA, Fire Authority; Fire Chief Maurice “Mo” Johnson of the El Dorado Hills, CA, Fire Department; Chief Jim Johnstone of Cal OES; Fire Chief Dan Munsey of the San Bernardino County, CA, Fire Protection District (SBCoFD); and Senior Operations Advisor Kim Zagaris of the Western Fire Chiefs Association.

Attendees will receive updates on California’s far-reaching mutual aid system and the organization’s task forces and subcommittees, including in conjunction with the ongoing wildfire threat, community risk reduction efforts and steps to take to mitigate all-hazards incidents.

Why firefighters stay
Two veteran fire officers will lead an eight-hour workshop that examines the wins and losses of firefighter retention in an era when keeping firefighters in a decadeslong career faces unprecedented challenges.

Assistant Chief Jason Hosea of the Long Beach, CA, Fire Department and Battalion Chief Greg Lloyd of the Hemet, CA, Fire Department will lead a highly interactive program that explores current fire service demands and how leadership affects retention. Attendees will walk away understanding what diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) means within a department, how they can embrace it and how they can promote DEI in their organization. The workshop also will cover recruitment and retention strategies that span the effect on members from different generations, with the goal of building a high-performing team that has an inclusive culture.

Join Hosea and Lloyd for “Leadership and Service: Why Firefighters Stay” on Feb. 27–28.

Death & injury commonalities
Ray Bizal and Bob Sullivan will dig into firefighter death and injury data that were collected by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and highlight trends and risks that CTEX attendees can bring home to their department to address in their risk-management programs. The presentation will look at common hazards that are found at fireground incidents, with the intent to identify problems and to reduce the likelihood of incidents occurring.

Join Bizal, who is director of regional operations at the NFPA, and Sullivan, who is the director of the NFPA’s Southwest region, for their informative Feb. 28 session, “NFPA Firefighter Fatality and Injury Trends: Creating Programs for the Next Generation of the Fire Service.”

Creating a hiring pipeline
Two CTEX 2024 programs will showcase winning efforts by departments that provided a means for recruitment of the next generation of the fire service.

Capt. Andrea Binley of the SBCoFD will outline the means to develop a program to introduce teenage girls to the world of service and public safety. Her session, “How to Hold a Girls Empowerment Camp,” will explain particular methods of how camps introduce teens to the fire service and how those individuals can navigate the hiring process and succeed once they are on the job.

Los Angeles County Fire Department Engineer/Paramedic Gigi Chan will help departments launch a Fire Explorer program as a way to engage young residents of the community in the fire service. Chan’s session, “Explorer Program Starter Kit,” will give attendees the tools that they need and the must-knows to have a successful program for young adults in their community.
Registration and the full conference lineup are available at ctex.csfa.net.