Marin Firefighter News

For 25 years, the California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Committee (CFFJAC) has remained steadfast in its mission to ensure that California’s first responders receive the highest quality of education and training. Sponsored by the Office of the State Fire Marshal and California Professional Firefighters, the mounting success of the CFFJAC and its firefighter training and education programs is due in large part to the collaborative effort of fire department management and local union labor representatives. The CFFJAC's unparalleled legacy was celebrated this past month at the CFFJAC's Biennial Conference in Palm Springs.

The fires of 2007 exposed a key deficiency that has made the battle for resources difficult: There are no standards of coverage for firefighting in the urban-wildland interface. California Professional Firefighters is on the front lines to bring such groundbreaking standards to California. In conjunction with CalChiefs, CPF has formed a Standards of Coverage Committee to fully explore critical tasks needed for effective fire management in wildland-urban interface. The concept behind the Standards of Coverage Committee is to create an NFPA 1710 equivalent for wildland firefighting.

The unprecedented natural disaster risk facing California has prompted the California Blue Ribbon Task Force to recommend  increases in permanent state and local emergency services, building additional response to meet catastrophic needs, and a new commitment to fire-safe construction and land-use planning.

State lawmakers proposing opening up the CalPERS retirement system to private sector employees have won the support of Governor Schwarzenegger. The plan would let private employees have retirement accounts managed through CalPERS. CPF is watching the proposal, but has no position to this point.