ESF scholarship opens doors for CFA member

CFA's Glenn Jennings with Assistant Chief Tim Butters and Fire Chief Tom Owens from Fairfax City Fire Department in Virginia, USA

CFA Operations Officer Glenn Jennings, who is also the State Coordinator for Driving and Vehicles, received an Emergency Services Foundation (ESF) scholarship last year. The scholarship saw him travel to Europe and North America to study emergency vehicle design and safety features, as well as driver education programs.

Glenn’s study tour saw him visit the following organisations:

• Bronto Skylift in Finland
• Scania Trucks in Sweden
• Stockholm Fire Brigade
• Frankfurt Fire Brigade
• Berlin Fire Brigade
• Rosenbauer in Austria
• Metz Ladders in Germany
• London Metropolitan Police at Hendon
• London Fire Brigade
• Los Angeles County Fire Department
• IAFC Fire Rescue Conference in Las Vegas
• Montgomery County Fire Department in Virginia
• Fairfax City Fire Department in Virginia
• Fairfax County Fire Department in Virginia
• Washington DC Fire Department
• Volunteer Fireman’s Insurance Services (VFIS) in Pennsylvania
• California Department of Forestry (Calfire)

Glenn reports that his trip was a great success and very beneficial, not only for himself but also for CFA and other emergency services. Not only did he learn from each service that he visited, he notes that all fire services visited were impressed with CFA’s vehicle testing and collision investigation processes.

One of the highlights of Glenn’s trip was his visit to the Scania assembly plant and vehicle research and testing centre, near Stockholm. He had the opportunity to drive several new Scania trucks, including a B triple with an automatic-manual transmission.

An observation Glenn made during his trip concerns the use of hose reels for internal fire attacks. He believes this subject requires further research within CFA.

“Hose reels are no longer specified on most fire appliances in both Europe and North America,” Glenn says. The general consensus is that there is insufficient flow through most hose reels to safely operate and extinguish most structural attacks.

In addition to the scholarship, Glenn also received additional funding from CFA that allowed him to visit other organisations as part of his travels. The Volunteer Fireman’s Insurance Services also donated a vast amount of DVD and CD presentations that he will utilise in future CFA training packages.

Glenn recently presented his report to the ESF directors at the foundation’s annual luncheon. The event was held at Raheen, the home of Richard and Jeannie Pratt. Mrs Pratt is the patron and a director of the foundation. His report, “Safer Vehicles – Safer Drivers” is available online via the Bookshelf at CFA Online (members only). It mainly focuses on fire service operations; however it is also relevant to other emergency services.