After months of hard work, ESIP is happy to announce that the NYS Department of Financial Services has approved an endorsement for our Accident & Health policies. This non-premium bearing endorsement adds coverage to the policy, including loss of life due to cardiac malfunction and weekly indemnity for illness! This change will be effective March 22nd, 2019 to all existing policy holders.

As you know, these are essential benefits to the members of emergency services organizations and we’re proud to be the first insurance provider in the state to receive approval to offer loss of life due to cardiac malfunction. If your organization does not already carry an Accident & Sickness policy, please reach out to your agent or the McNeil & Co. program representative for a review of full coverages available for your fire service members.

Cancer Benefit Program Final Regulations from OFPC
101718 OFPC FINAL REG 2018 NY REG TEXT 495278

EOSB 210.4 Form to be filed with the Cancer Insurance Benefit Provider only when filing a claim- 
Keep a copy for your files
EOSB210-4

The annual filing form to OFPC from the AHJ to attest under oath that you have provided the Cancer Benefit
EOSB210-5

Region 1 = The Capital Region
Region 2 = Mid Hudson Valley
Region 3 = Central Region
Region 4 = Southern Tier
Region 5 = Finger Lakes Rochester Region
Region 6 = Western NY
Region 7 = Lower Hudson Valley
Region 8 = Nassau County
Region 9 = Suffolk County
Region 10 = Sullivan/Orange/Rockland
Region 11 = North Country
2016regionalmap

Regional Breakdown

The documents posted here that pertain to the Volunteer FF Cancer Benefit program as mandated by GML 205cc are the OFPC Final Regulations, the Final Rule Report with Answers to Comments, text of the Final Rule Report Answers and the OSHA Physical Exam Questionnaire as referenced in the final documents.

101718 OFPC FINAL REG 2018 NY REG TEXT 495278

101718 OFPC 2018 NY REG TEXT 495278 FINAL RULE REPORT ANSWERS FINAL DEC

101718 OFPC 2018 NY REG TEXT 495278 FINAL RULE REPORT WITH ANSWERS TO COMMENTS

101918 OSHA PHYSICAL EXAM QUESTIONNAIRE

See the Best Practices for cancer prevention for the fire service in this National Volunteer Fire Counsel Publication.  Down and print this document and post it in your fire stations.

Lavendar-Ribbon-Report-Cancer

Four things a Fire District/Fire Department must do in a Public Relations Crisis

Fire Districts/Departments get themselves into trouble all the time and the public backlash can be especially fierce under the harsh glare of social media.   While every crisis is different, there are certain important steps that they should take to avoid turning a crisis into a total disaster.  All press releases should be developed by the authority having jurisdiction whether that is the Board of Fire Commissioners, Board of Directors or the Administrative Officers.  There should be one message from one source by one spokesperson/PIO.  The person delivering the message should be involved in developing the press releases and, should be confident and articulate.  If the district or department does not have such a person, look to the outside for a credible person who has such qualities.

1. Acknowledge and Apologize

Acknowledging the problem and issuing a swift apology is critical. The apology should be immediate and unconditional; that’s an important signal of the character of the organization.  Make a statement quickly, have all stakeholders agree to the statement and be sure it does not come across as half hearted, it should be sincere.

2. Identify the root cause of the crisis

Districts/departments should immediately work to understand the factors that caused a crisis. In an ideal scenario, the organization would commit to making the findings public.  Transparency and a desire to be open and honest about the cause of the crisis is key to restoring trust with the public.  It can also help protect against future crises.

3. Make the necessary changes

Once the diagnosis of the root cause is clear, organizations need to act — and be seen to act — to make the changes that will prevent similar problems in the future.  Make the changes public, not just an internal document, release it to the media.  This is what went wrong, this is what we are doing to fix it and we’ll continue to monitor it.   Only a full-scale intervention will be seen to be credible and authentic to the public.

4. Ongoing evaluation of crisis response

Districts/departments need to understand that rebuilding trust with the public takes time.  They should continue to evaluate their actions to ensure they are fully addressing the causes of the crisis.  They also need to be transparent in their work and investigations, don’t keep it to yourself.

Properly Deconing Yourself at the Scene of a Fire

1. Remove Wipes from packet and fully open to take advantage of the whole wipe. If both sides of the wipe become soiled during the process, use additional wipes as needed
2. Start with your eyelids and external corners around your eyes. Action Wipes contain no alcohol or harmful chemicals to further irritate or harm your skin
3. Clean your hands, lips and surrounding skin BEFORE hydrating. If you are thirsty and cannot wait to hydrate, be sure to clean your hands off before grabbing a beverage
4. Your nose has a lot of blood vessels close to the skin that easily absorb contaminants. Clean inside and around the folds of your nose
5. Be sure to get inside and around the back of your ears
6. Get all around your neck and make sure you get all sides as well as under your shirt collar
7. Wipe down your hair
8. Use a clean side of the wipe to thoroughly clean your arms. Be sure to mop up the soot and debris and not just spread it around
9. Clean your hands and be sure to get in-between your fingers and underneath any rings or bracelets
10. Get as much of the debris out of your fingernails
11. Underarms and groin are dense with hair follicles and very important to clean, since they can capture and hold debris
12. Be sure to wipe down below your belt and into your groin to remove as much debris and contaminants as possible.
13. Don’t forget to blow your nose and TAKE A SHOWER at your earliest opportunity

Do not forget, these can also be used to DECON Equipment before it is washed or that cannot be washed  {ie. helmet, ear-flaps, SCBA, Portable Radio etc.}

A municipal lease can be much more complicated than you might imagine, read this before you decide to make a move.

MUNICIPAL LEASE OR INSTALLMENT PURCHASE CONTRACT

Read the new report on the fire service in New York State here:

fireprotection0317

NEWS
From the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Thomas P. DiNapoli

DiNAPOLI PROPOSES MORE TRANSPARENCY FOR FIRE PROTECTION COSTS
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli today proposed changes to the process for local communities that contract out their fire protection services to incorporated volunteer fire companies. DiNapoli’s legislation would require any incorporated fire company to submit an itemized statement of the estimated costs of providing fire services prior to contract negotiations with any town, village or fire district.

“Many communities rely on the efforts of volunteer fire fighters to protect residents and their property,” DiNapoli said “My legislative proposal would help ensure that the public is aware of the costs of providing fire services before contracts are signed and creates a more standardized process across New York that implements best practices.”

DiNapoli’s legislation is supported by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York, the Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York and the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs.

His office also released a report to help New Yorkers learn about the different ways that communities offer fire protection services to residents. New York’s system for providing fire protection is complex. It can lead to lack of civic understanding, limited participation in budget hearings and special elections, and not enough oversight of financial operations.

The report notes:

• As of December 2015, there were 886 fire districts in the state.
  · All 62 cities and many of the state’s villages have municipal fire departments.
  · There are over 90,000 volunteer and about 18,000 paid career firefighters throughout the state.
  · Ninety-four percent of fire district revenues come from property taxes.
  · Because fire companies are private entities, they are not subject to many of the laws that apply to municipalities and fire districts.

Between 2011 and 2015, the Comptroller’s office audited 194 fire districts and 113 fire companies. DiNapoli’s office trained approximately 1,200 fire officials across the state in the last three years on financial matters.
Attached is the Legislative Memo related to the new legislation:

oscb-fpc-memo

Attached is actual proposed text of the legislation:

oscb-fpc-text

The Governor signed bill S 5858-B on 11/14/16, which relates to the sale of surplus real or personal property.  The fire district may now sell or otherwise dispose of real and personal property of the district no longer necessary for any of its use or purposes if valued at less than $100,000 but not below $20,000 by resolution which will be subject to a permissive referendum.  If the value of the real or personal property is less than $20,000 a proposition is not needed, simply a resolution of the Board to declare the property surplus.  Over $100,000 a resolution by the Board and a voter referendum is required.  The amounts in Section 176, subdivision 23 of Town law were previously $50,000 and $10,000.