| Happy 2017 to all of you from all of us at the journal!
We have a great deal of plans this year coming your way. Kicking the year off we are attending the N.C. Chiefs Conference in Concord, North Carolina, Feb. 3–4. Although all of us will miss Benny Nicholson who retired to enjoy the good life with his family and grandkids, Chief Jake Whisnant — Executive Director and retired chief of Shelby Fire Department, which all of us have known for decades — is not skipping a beat in making our North Carolina State Chiefs Conference one we will continue to look forward to every year. If you have never attended or exhibited, you will be glad you did. |
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A topic we feel strong about and want to keep in the forefront continually for you these next four issues is the Active Shooter-Active Assailant. Unfortunately, these occurrences are on the rise. According to past U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, since Columbine the active shooter events have increased 150 percent and the lethality of the events have tripled.
If you read Tracy Caulder’s article in our last issue (Fall 2016) you will know he is well versed and instructs departments on active shooting. He is the CEO of Rapha Group and can be reached at www.rapha-group.com. On page 22, Caulder begins this section explaining the importance of establishing a strong Rescue Task Force (RTF) model. He explains that the RTF provides a deployment model necessary to implement in order to save lives during these events. Following on page 23, Bill Suthard, Public Information Officer (PIO) for Huntersville Fire Department tells us the importance of the response team working closely with the PIO and to be ready to answer questions. This will avoid rumors and will help the PIO provide the public and media with accurate information.
Andrew Riley with SOAR Rescue on page 26 reiterates that the face of trauma care and tactical medicine is changing and that the tactical medic needs to be better prepared to take care of the team and to be proficient at the administration of medicine. He urges medics to expand their clinical knowledge into the world of primary care. www.soarrescue.com
We welcome Ron Wronski, South Carolina Bureau Chief of EMS and Trauma to our editorial staff. He has agreed to share news with an ongoing column with information you need to know from regulations, protocols, scope of practice to programs offered. To see the many programs, go to their new portal at: SCEMSPORTAL.ORG.
Let us hear from you on what action your department is taking to better train your team. If you would like to have your station spotlighted in upcoming issues, I can be contacted at 800-761-1292 Ext. 106 or you can email me at: gwen.shuford@carolinafirejournal.com.
Stay Safe and Keep Training
– Gwen
Gwen Shuford Managing Editor
01/31/2017 – 
