Company/Association News

• CHARLES “CHUCK” PARSONS was named the new chief of the Kingsville (Ontario, Canada) Fire Department. Parsons previously held the positions of deputy chief and chief of the Leamington Fire Department, fulfilling roles including public education, training, community emergency management coordinator and investigations and project management. Kingsville’s Deputy Chief Jeff Dean had been acting as interim chief but was not interested in the job of chief.

• CRAIG DUKE was selected as the new chief of the Topeka (KS) Fire Department (TFD). Duke is a former deputy fire chief of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County in Kansas City, Kansas, and a 31-year member of the Kansas City (KS) Fire Department (KCFD). While at the KCFD, he developed the first fire cadet program that aided those who may have been economically disadvantaged. Duke also developed a first responder program within Kansas City Unified School District 500 as well as CPR and first-aid classes for Spanish-speaking citizens. The TFD had gone without a permanent fire chief since the middle of last year, when Greg Bailey retired.

• FERNANDO GRAY was named the new chief of the Aurora (CO) Fire Department. He was previously Dallas (TX) Fire Rescue’s executive assistant chief. Gray is a 20-plus-year fire service veteran, spending his entire career in the city of Dallas. He was selected from an extensive national search that began with a pool of 70 candidates. Gray has completed both the International Association of Fire Chiefs Fire Service Executive Development Institute and the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Programs. He has certifications as a Texas Commission on Fire Protection master firefighter and master instructor.

company/association news

• BRONTO SKYLIFT, a leading manufacturer of truck-mounted aerial work platforms, displayed and demonstrated its Model S-174 XDT truck-mounted aerial platform at the National Association of Tower Erectors (NATE) UNITE 2017 Conference & Exposition. The Bronto machine will be among the tallest and most versatile aerial devices ever shown at a NATE exposition. The Model S-174 XDT is a telescoping/articulating aerial device that features a 174-foot working height with a 100-foot horizontal outreach and up to 1,400-pounds capacity in its 93- × 36-inch platform. Identical control panels are located on the platform and at the turntable control station for additional safety. www.brontoskylift.com.
• THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIRE CHIEFS (IAFC) has partnered with six fire service organizations including the National Volunteer Fire Council to provide free hazmat training for volunteer and remote emergency responders through the Assistance for Local Emergency Response Training (ALERT) grant. This grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and focuses specifically on emergency response activities involving the transportation of crude oil, ethanol, and other flammable liquids by rail. First responders can access information about the trainings and resources developed through the ALERT grant from the National Hazardous Materials Fusion Center at www.hazmatfc.org/ALERT.