Kitchener Professional Firefighters Assoc

Ontario’s Professional Firefighters continue to raise awareness and proudly support the Autism community. #WorldAutismawarenessday #Supportingourcommunity #AutismAcceptanceMonth IAFF Canada - AIP Ontario Government

#NationalDayofObservance. @KitchFire reflects on those who we lost to #COVID19. We thank our community partners @WPFFA791, @CPFFALocal499, @WRPSToday , @CUPE5191EMS, @grhospitalkw and @StMarysGenHosp who continue to stand strong on the front lines one year later.

The Kitchener Professional Fire Fighters Association is proud to support Big Brothers Big Sisters of Waterloo Region in their virtual campaign #bowlforkidssake2021. Please follow the link canadahelps.org/en/charities/b to donate to a great cause. Help us reach our goal!

We are happy to support our Brothers and Sisters in Waterloo. A taxing night to say the least.

It's here! House of Friendship's February Potato Blitz! While this fundraiser will look a bit different this year, the need for fresh, filling potatoes is still the same. This February, House of Friendship needs to raise $45,000 to replace what they expected to raise (cash and potato equivalent) at their annual Supermarket Potato Blitz. As a special bonus, cash gifts will be matched up to $10,000! Double your impact! Your donation will be used to purchase potatoes for neighbours who are hungry in K-W. Let all pitch in to make sure no one gets left behind! To donate, please visit www.houseoffriendship.org/potatoblitz https://share.vidyard.com/watch/QySejZfiwJTq5Ce5XAxAVC?

Thank you CTV Kitchener for highlighting January’s IAFF Firefighter Cancer Awareness Month campaign.

Great day to practice your home fire escape plan. Remember to mark your meeting place !

The Kitchener Professional Firefighter Association wants to remind everyone that talking about #mentalhealth makes a difference day in and day out. Show support to those who are struggling and start the conversation. Your actions matter now more than ever. #BellLetsTalk.

Wishing all a safe evening. All the best for 2021!

A dry Christmas tree is a dangerous tree. Keep it watered well for its best health an your homes safety.

Every year, candles cause more than 10,000 home fires. We recommend switching to LED candles to be safe. Ontarios Professional Fire Fighters want to keep this ...holiday season safe for the whole family. #IAFFSafetyTips Ontario Government IAFF Canada - AIP

Holiday Safety Tips from your local professional Fire Fighters Ontario Government IAFF Canada - AIP

Christmas tree fires are some of the deadliest home fires that fire fighters respond to. If you bring a live tree into your house, make sure to water it every day and do not leave the lights on when you are out of the house or asleep. #IAFFSafetyTips Ontario Government IAFF Canada - AIP

We Will Remember Them. Lest we forget.

We would like to wish all a safe and happy Thanksgiving. #thankyou to all that are away from family and friends to keep our community safe and protected.

Join Dr. Dave Frost in a free webinar and develop your physical literacy fitness and capacity. @opffa @OPFFAHealth Friday October 30 from 12-1 ET

Fire safety week , and we are focusing on being fire safe in the kitchen.

Proud to be participating with the 11,000 Ontario Professional firefighters working to keep all safe.

Ontario’s Professional Fire Fighters want to remind everyone to keep doing their part as we continue to fight #COVID19. Please wear a mask. Ontario Government IAFF Canada - AIP #wearamask

Please join us Saturday September 19 at 1pm as we honour our brother Ron Cronin as his name is add to the #IAFFWallofHonor along with another 244 firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

Home - Virtual Fill the Boot 2020 Help us #filltheboot with @MD_Canada @PamelaMusgrave We have gone virtual to continue our long standing commitment to @MD_Canada looking forward to another great year of #fillingtheboot muscle.akaraisin.com/ui/virtualfill

Today we will take time to honour those that have made the ultimate sacrifice as we take part in the virtual @CanFirefighters fallen memorial. National Firefighters Memorial Day

Your arms as their best protection. Stay within reach when little kids are swimming. Drowning can happen in the blink of an eye. IAFF Canada - AIP #swimmingsaf...ety #ontariosfirefighters #publicsafety See more

This summer is a good time to brush up on CPR training. Make sure your whole family knows what to do in an emergency. IAFF Canada - AIP #iaffsafetytips

Two inches of water and 30 seconds. That's all it takes to drown! Keep an eye on children when around water at all times. IAFF Canada - AIP... #iaffsafetytips See more

President Carmen Santoro issued the follow statement today. Ontario Government IAFF Canada - AIP

We celebrate Pride Month, sadly with the evolving COVID 19 health crisis many events, celebrations, festivals and parades have been cancelled . Let’s celebrate ...online this year and share our support for the LGBTQ2S Community. Hopefully next year we can gather once again and celebrate together ! See more

We are honoured to make a donation on behalf of @KitchFire family to @FoodBankWatReg which will help 35000 families in our #KWAwesome community. $14695 dollars raised.

Today at 11:30 am we will go live on our Facebook page with a virtual tour out of Headquarters. Be sure to join us.

Thank you to all who tuned in to our last virtual Fire truck tour. We will be going live on Facebook again out of our Headquarters on Wednesday May 6th at 11:30 am. Please join us and share with family and friends. Hope you all can join.

Crews brought this townhouse fire to a stop early this morning with a transitional attack. All occupants removed with no injury. Multiple lines in place as well as efficient work from Aerial devices. #hearthebeepwhereyousleep #smokealarmssavelives

Congratulations Captain Jan Reyner of the Kitchener Fire Department! After 28 incredible years serving and protecting the community, he will be starting a new chapter in retirement! We thank you for your years of Leadership, Dedication and Honour. He sacrificed himself with exposures to occupational Cancer and PTSD over and over again in the name of service to his community! The Kitchener Fire Service is truly a better place because of you, and your positive impact will be felt for years! Enjoy the next chapter with your beautiful wife! We wish you well! We'll take it from here! Jan Reyner

Our condolences to the family , friends and RCMP Colleagues of Constable Heidi Stevenson

The OPFFA has compiled COVID-19 resources specifically for Fire Fighters. We know you are operating in a new world right now, while still working hard to keep t...he community the safe. Check out our dedicated COVID-19 resources page for information on: PPE Cleaning and Decontamination Response Protocol Best Practices Dispatch Protocols There's a lot more and we'll continue to add more resources from reputable sources of information. Let us know in the comments if there's anything you'd like us to cover on the site!

THANK YOU TO KITCHENER'S SUPERHEROES DURING #COVID19WR PLS SHARE THANK YOU to #WRAwesome's #superheroes. From our health care professionals to first responders,... from food store workers to transit drivers....you & other critical workers are the people keeping City of Kitchener & the world running right now during #covid19wr & we salute you! A shout out to all the health care workers at @St. Mary's General Hospital, Grand River Hospital, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, @Waterloo Wellington LHIN, older adult homes & countless agencies & our first responders at Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services, Kitchener Fire Department & Waterloo Regional Police Service. A special thx to food store & pharmacy employees @GrGRT: Grand River Transit staff, take-out restaurant workers, City of Kitchener & Region of Waterloo facilities maintenance, security & bylaw staff & countless others in many critical industries keeping our city & our world running right now! Lastly, a shoutout to all those agencies & their teams in the community looking out for those who are most vulnerable in our communities to help ensure that as we fight #covid19wr in #WRAwesome, nobody is left behind. Some of our superheroes include: Bryan Larkin, @Rob Martin, Bruce Lauckner, Schlegel Villages ParaMed Home Health Care, Bell, Rogers, Telus, Zehrs, Zehrs, Zehrs, Sobeys, Farm Boy, FreshCo., McDonald's Canada, Matter of Taste, @Pepi's Pizza, Rexall, House of Friendship, The Working Centre, YWCA KW, YMCAs of Cambridge & Kitchener-Waterloo, oneROOF, The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, Sanguen Health Centre, Nutrition for Learning, Ray of Hope Inc., The Salvation Army Kitchener Community Church, Women's Crisis Services of Waterloo Region and many others

We go live today on our Facebook page at 10am. Be sure to tune in and enjoy a virtual tour of our trucks and meet some of your community Firefighters.

Your Kitchener Firefighters will be going live on Friday March 27 at 10am with a virtual tour of our trucks and station. Have your questions ready! We’re excited to hear from you. Please share with your family and friends.

"Mindset Shift During a Pandemic" We come to work for you, please stay at home for us! Our Peer Team is available 24/7 for our members who need to talk. The Pe...er Team phone list can be found on the 1212 website. #MentalHealthAwareness #1212PeerTeam

New update from IAFF

As awareness of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to increase, let’s take a moment to break down some common myths about PTSD in the fire service.

COVID-19 Briefing Sponsored by the IAFF Financial Corporation www.iaff-fc.com

How does your fire department stack up to the industry standards for response capability ? Ask your local council where they stand on public safety and providing adequate resources in order to respond appropriately to emergencies in your municipality . https://youtu.be/f42S9TRc634

March is National Nutrition month.

Please consider entering a team or making a donation for this worthy cause, initiated by a pair of great young leaders in our community.

Public Reporting Regulation Flashy Red Trucks The flashy red trucks of municipal fire services do not put the fires out or rescue trapped accident victims or pr...ovide CPR or Naloxone to dying patients by themselves. Trained personnel and quick response are the measure for what residents can expect from their municipal fire service. It is the role of municipal council to set the service level of their fire departments, and the role of residents to knowledgeably engage these councils and provide input regarding their needs. The provision of a fire service is complex and councils are often unaware of the true service and residents even more so. The Public Reporting Regulation provided transparency to residents and a level of measure for the fire service response they could expect from their tax dollars. Transparency in Municipal Government The most basic municipal service levels are clearly communicated to the public. A simple item such as garbage collection has a predictable schedule and the public can expect the service promised. They can even predict and lobby their municipal councils if they believe a change is required. The fire service, an essential service for those in a time of need, is provided in communities however there is no formal or standard means to communicate the level of service provided. Coroners inquests of tragic fires in Sudbury and East Gwillimbury called for public statements of the level of service delivered to communities so residents can prepare accordingly. Many fire department service levels change dependant on day of the week, geographic location and time of day. The removal of the reporting regulation and lack of transparency brings back two hazards for communities when they do not know the true level of service. The first being that they cannot effectively discuss the matter with their government and second that they truly may not be prepared, each of these, in the past has cost lives. OFM and Technical Support The Ontario Fire Marshall’s office has collected fire department run statistics for decades. All Ontario fire department emergency responses are documented at many levels including time to arrive, time to water on fire (if a fire incident) geographic location, building type, fire department responding and several other data points. There is ambiguity on the definitions of some of the data points which can be rectified by the OFM. Additionally, most fire services utilize computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems that collect data automatically. These CAD platforms easily integrate with the OFM reporting and other fire data collection and records management systems such as NFORS and NFIRS (National Fire Operations Reporting System and National Fire Incident Reporting System). Most of the data collection is or can be automated. The OPFFA will be an active participant working with the Ontario Fire Marshall to inform revisions to the Standard Incident Report (SIR) or other available technologies. With this work we will support the mechanism for public reporting of the demonstrated service level taxpayers and communities can expect from their fire service. Our Ask We ask that you write to The Honourable Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General and the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier to direct the Ontario Fire Marshall to convene the SIR Committee, revise the reporting criteria and establish a time line that enables the public reporting of the fire response service level in municipalities

Lobby at Queens Park Today delegates to the 2019 OPFFA Legislative Conference representing Professional Fire Fighter Associations across this Province will conv...erge on Queens Park to meet with local MPPs and Ministers to discuss issues of importance to Ontario Fire Fighters and for the Public Safety of the Communities we serve . Fire Service Qualifications Standards enacted into Regulation Cancer Prevention Programs enacted into Regulation Simultaneous Notification Public Reporting Regulation for openness and transparency to the public we serve so they are aware of the response capability of the fire department that serves them.

Fire Service Qualifications Safe, Qualified FireService Personnel Fire Service Certification Regulations were enacted to protect communitiesand fire fighters by... ensuring appropriate services are delivered to the community through the training, knowledge and certification of primary fire service job classifications in Ontario. The removal of the regulation has started to create a two-tier system in Ontario where municipalities who do not participate expose themselves to added risk through civil litigations due to fire losses and enforcement. Additionally, the question must be raised, that if the most basic of certifications for fire suppressionare not enforced, how safe are our sons and daughters who work in these communities? Supported by many, Certification of positions in the fire service has been supported by the OPFFA, Government, Fire Chiefs, the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office and several Ontario Coroner’s Jury verdicts. In recent inquests the activities conducted by fire service inspectors,communications personnel and company officers have been highlighted as very significant in the safety of our communities. As mentioned earlier, certification to the international fire service standards of the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) will correct a patchwork of unstructured service and knowledge levels across Ontario municipalities. A Little More about Certification: The previously adopted Fire Service Certifications, based on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) standards, were supported publicly by fire industry groups and professionals at the Fire Safety Technical Table. In their deliberations, this panel of experts and representatives reviewed Ontario fire statistics, civilian and fire fighter deaths, Ontario Coroner’s Inquest documents and anecdotal testimony. With the Ontario abandonment of all certification, departments/municipalities that choose not to maintain the industry best practice of these reasonable minimum standards risk lowering the standards of their fire service in public education, fire code enforcement, fire suppression and related emergency communications and safety of fire fighters. The OPFFA seeks to work with the Minister to reinstate Fire Service Certification Regulations under the FPPA, focusing on the highest risk functions as they relate to fire fighters and public safety. The OPFFA will be considerate of timelines and resources in our discussions but will hold tight to the level of certification for these very dangerous and life critical job functions. Our Ask: We ask that you write to The Honourable Sylvia Jones, Solicitor General and the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier to request a timely reinstatement of the Fire Safety Technical Table to provide input in establishing a reasonable timeline to reinstitute Certification Standards in the Ontario Fire Service .

On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, we will remember them. Lest we Forget .

Broadcasting live from the Ontario Fire Fighters Memorial, Queens Park.

Justin Myles 2nd run at nationals

Dan Martin second run at nationals

Corey Gault second run at nationals posting the second fastest time so far this week with a new personal best of 1:16 and change ! Congrats Corey

Our team representing with class and fast,fast times. #Gofast

Please join us September 22 as we take the time to honour our fallen. Unfortunately we will be adding another helmet this year for a brother that we lost to a workplace illness. #LODD #honourthefallen

Corey Gault with a blistering 1:24...if randy hadn't gave big Corey some issues were confident he would have done far better but I guess the team will have to settle with Corey getting the 2nd fastest individual time of the day! Congrats Corey!

1st place team time this past weekend! Other highlights Clayton Greer PB 1:44:67 Corey Gault 2nd overall Dan Martin 6th overall

Big shout out to Dave Bowman on crushing his first sub 2 min run!! What a race Davey! Overall 1st place team time Corey Gault 1:24:20 - second fastest of the ...day ( 4 seconds in penalty, we think he has forgotten this isn’t hockey and he doesn’t need penalties every game) Dan Martin 1:30:15 - 10th fastest Justin Myles 1:27:4 - 7th fastest Dave Bowman 1:55:82************ Videos to follow

David Bowman - 1:55:82 - Port Elgin - July 13, 2019 8 Second Personal Best Red Side

Dan Martin - 1:30:15 - Port Elgin - July 13, 2019 10th Fastest of the Day Yellow Side

Justin Myles - 1:27:86 - Port Elgin - July 13, 2019 7th Best of the Day Red Side

Corey Gault - 1:24:48 - Port Elgin - July 13, 2019 2 x 2 sec Penalties (was 1:20:48) 2nd Fastest of the Day Red Side