by Billy Tidwell

 

Hello fellow firefighters across the state,

 

I hope everyone is doing well. April has been a very busy month for district meetings, and it is wonderful to see so many members and new members attending. The memorial at the Capitol was a great honor, and I want to thank everyone who attended and made it a special day. Legislation is progressing well, with many members, past presidents, and executive board members testifying to improve the fire service in Texas. Please send in your nominations for Firefighter and EMS Responder of the Year.

 

Be on the lookout for your new SFFMA Membership Decals once you renew. We estimate your department should receive them approximately 4-6 weeks after payment is received.

 

TCFP Reciprocity: One of our main priorities has been working toward full reciprocity with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP). We are currently in the M.O.U. phase. Achieving this goal will streamline certification processes, enabling volunteer and career firefighters to transition between roles and departments seamlessly while meeting consistent state standards. Our team has worked closely with TCFP to ensure our training programs meet their certification requirements. These conversations are progressing, and I am optimistic that we will reach a solution that benefits firefighters across the state. Stay tuned for more updates.

 

Membership: SFFMA membership runs from January 1

to December 31 each calendar year. Renew now for 2025.

 

Membership Renewal and Growth: Over 16,860 individual members and 929 departments renewed in 2024. Please promote these categories: retired members and junior members.

 

LODD Benefits Compliance: Reinforce the importance of volunteer departments holding training meetings at least twice a month to maintain eligibility for line-of-duty death (LODD) benefits. Non-compliance could lead to denial of benefits.

 

by Cherry Kay Abel

 

I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to share a quick update on the upcoming 2025 Training Conference and Convention in Frisco. The SFFMA staff and Executive Board have been working diligently to ensure everything is ready for the event.

 

Registration is open, see the full schedule on our website. Please note that the hotel room block for the conference is almost full, so if you haven’t reserved your room yet, I encourage you to do so as soon as possible. For any additional accommodation, the overflow hotel info is also available on the website and below.

 

In addition, I and the staff will be attending several district meetings over the next few months. I look forward to seeing everyone and having discussions to better the fire service in Texas. These meetings will be a great opportunity to connect with members, discuss the conference, and address any questions or concerns you may have.

 

We’re excited for the upcoming conference and hope to see you there!

 

Best regards,

Cherry Kay Abel, TDM

Executive Director

No time to read? Give this story a listen!

by Kim Hilsenbeck

 

One special weekend in March each year turns an otherwise sleepy town of about 1,500 on the Texas coast into the site of a large festival that attracts people from near and far. Driving into Fulton during Oysterfest, you might be surprised by the thousands of people all congregated in an area in and around the town’s fairgrounds, which is right next to the water.

 

This past March 8, SFFMA had the fantastic opportunity to visit the festival, now in its 46th year of operation. We reached out to the festival contact and got a call from Fulton Volunteer Fire Department member Russel Cole who said, “Come on down!”

 

He and his wife, Kelly, who is also the town’s mayor, were extremely accommodating and welcoming to SFFMA, as were their family and friends.

 

Fulton Beach Road is buzzing on this sunny morning, filled to the brim with families and other festival goers lining the street in anticipation of the Oysterfest Parade. There are greetings between friends and a welcoming of strangers. The energy is palpable.

 

Oysterfest, run entirely by the all-volunteer Fulton VFD, has a vibe somewhere between Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day mixed with a lot of coastal energy. Beads, clothing, face paint, signs and costumes in Kelly green were a common sight.

 

The festival is Fulton VFDs annual fundraiser - they bring in enough in profit that it's typically the only one they have all year. With the money they’ve earned, the department has purchased apparatus and other equipment, built a fire station, and covered some of its operational costs.

 

Mayor Cole said the very first Oysterfest raised enough money for Fulton VFD to purchase the Jaws of Life (a vehicle extraction tool).

 

"It was the only one in the county," she said. "So Fulton VFD responded to all calls in the county that needed that tool."

 

Back in the day, the Oysterfest was a one-day shindig in the Paws and Taws parking lot. It’s come a long way!

 

Oysterfest is now a four-day event, so our arrival was already half-way through the festival.

 

The day was filled with meeting new folks, enjoying the parade, walking the fairgrounds, listening to the live music, watching the belly dancers (a popular attraction), shopping at the vendor booths and observing, not participating in, one of the main attractions of the festival - the raw oyster eating contest.

 

Just past 10 a.m., we heard the first faint sounds of sirens that indicated the parade started about half a mile down the road. As the floats approach the grandstand and the emcees, the crowd comes alive. There is cheering and waving and attempts to catch the candy and other goodies being thrown from the floats. If you're lucky, you catch some colorful beads to wear. 

 

Read more...

Thanks to Fulton Volunteer Fire Department for several of the above photos!

 

The host hotel booking link will be sent upon registration. Hotel info is below; hotel may be sold out for most nights.

Embassy Suites by Hilton
Frisco Hotel & Convention Center
7600 John Q. Hammons Drive

Frisco, TX 75034

 

Please note that hotel parking is discounted to a rate of $8 per night when you book your room within the SFFMA room block.

 

If the host hotel is sold out, additional rooms may be reserved in our block at this hotel:

Hilton Garden Inn Frisco

7550 Gaylord Pkwy, Frisco, TX 75034

Hotel Phone: 469.362.8485 

by J Pete Laney

 

Around the Capitol:

 

We are more than halfway through the legislative session. Hearings are in full swing and bills are being passed. 

 

On April 15, the Texas Senate passed SB 34 "Relating to the preparation for and the prevention, management, and potential effects of wildfires and to emergency communications in this state; authorizing an increase in the assessment on certain insurers that fund the volunteer fire department assistance fund". SFFMA President Billy Tidwell testified on March 31 at the Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture and Rural Affairs in support.

During consideration of the bill legislators highlighted challenges facing the Texas Rural Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) Assistance Program due to underfunding. With an annual cap of $30 million and grant requests often exceeding $43 million, the program faces a $22 million shortfall, leaving fire departments with only partial funding for critical equipment. Rising wildfire frequency is partially driven by factors like aging utility poles and safety lapses at oil and gas well sites, where exposed wiring and electrical equipment pose ignition risks. Among fires with identified causes, wildfires started by power lines have been among the most destructive in the region between 2000 and 2024, causing more than 1,300 fires that burned upwards of 1.4 million acres. SB 34 now heads to the Texas House of Representatives.  

Also on April 15, the House Subcommittee on Workforce heard HB 1609 by Representative VanDeaver, which would protect volunteer first responders from losing their jobs for responding to declared disasters. The bill was left pending in the committee at this time.  

 

The House Appropriations Committee heard HB 2054, which makes changes to 2604 grant program relating to increasing the cap on the amount that the legislature is allowed to appropriate to the grant program, and addresses the needs in high wildfire risk areas. A big thank you to Chief Rick Isaacks from Blue Branch VFD for testifying on behalf of SFFMA and walking to halls supporting our volunteers.

One of your SFFMA member benefits is legislative advocacy - we help amplify the voices of our members!

 

If you would like to be involved with reaching out to your member of the legislature as the process moves forward, please let us know. You can contact J Pete or President Tidwell and they’d love to have you involved. 

 

Please contact J Pete Laney, if you have any questions about the current legislative session.

 

Episode 1 - Membership Drive

Episode 2 - Certification Changes

Episode 3 - PORTAL (which is our membership management program)

Episode 4 - Marketing Class (learn more about the course on our website.)

Episode 5 is an interview with author (and Battalion Chief) Dena Ali.

Increase in Testing Availability

 

To make testing more available throughout the state, SFFMA is distributing laptops to Certification Board representatives. About 80% have already been provided with the remainder going out over the next few weeks. This allows for smaller groups to request testing without needing to meet the 10-12 student minimum required to have a staff member come out to proctor the exam. Find your Zone Representative and their contact information on the SFFMA website.

 

Industrial Exams

We had a pause in administering the Industrial Firefighter I & II exams, but the new exams have been reviewed by Industrial Board representatives and approved by the Certification Board for implementation at their last meeting. If you have been wanting to challenge the SFFMA Industrial Firefighter I or II written exam, please register through PORTAL.

 

Skill Eligibility Lists

As we are adding new exam requirements, you will notice a larger list on your department/facility Skill Exam Eligibility list. We have collapsed the lists to save on space and the need for scrolling to find the desired exam level.

Questions or Problems? Please contact your Certification Coordinator or Zone Representative; they can answer your questions about testing and certification. Visit these web pages for additional info:

 

Certification Board

Certification Manual

Available Certifications (Includes links for Cancer Awareness, etc.)

Senator Kevin Sparks

Senator Birdwell

Representative Pat Curry

Representative Caroline Fairly

Representative Angela Orr

 

Representative Stan Gerdes 

Senator Bryan Hughes 

Representative Dennis Paul

Senator Lois Kohlkorst