by Mark Wobus

 

Hello fellow SFFMA members, your Austin Staff and Executive Board are out and about as the Fall District meetings are in full swing.  We are excited to come out and visit with the members in all areas of the state. 

 

As stated in last month’s letter, many of the board members will be delivering items for Recruitment and Retention for the districts to utilize and share with the local departments.  If you are interested in attending a district meeting or visiting a neighboring district, please check the SFFMA website.

 

Planning is moving forward for the 150^th Conference and Convention in June of 2026.  Austin Staff, Executive Board Members and multiple committee members have already visited Waco and will be making another visit in October to continue working on and finalizing some items during our conference. 

 

We hope that you are making plans to attend the conference and bring someone new that has never been to our conference before. 

 

Last year at Frisco, we had approximately 35 new attendees and that was awesome, we would like to see more in Waco.

 

 

 

by Cherry Kay Abel

 

As we move through the final stretch of summer, I want to take a moment to thank each of you for your continued dedication to your communities and to the Texas fire service.

 

This fall, our staff and Executive Board are actively participating in district meetings across the state. We have had the opportunity to visit with departments in multiple districts across Texas, and it has been encouraging to see strong engagement, renewed involvement, and productive conversations at the local level. These meetings are a vital way for us to stay connected, listen to your needs, and share updates on association initiatives.

 

In addition, our team is preparing for the upcoming District Officer Symposium, which will kick off in January 2026. This event will provide valuable training and networking opportunities for district leaders, helping strengthen leadership and communication across the state.

 

Looking ahead, we have begun early planning for a significant milestone: the 150th Annual Convention and Training Conference, scheduled for June 2026 in Waco. While that celebration is still ahead, the groundwork begins now. Your input will be essential in shaping an event that honors our legacy and looks toward the future.

 

Be on the lookout for our Membership Drive as it will be launching November 1st via email. This is a wonderful opportunity to sign up or renew your membership. As a member, you will be eligible for VFIS insurance, store discounts, and exclusive savings through AMBA and SAVVIK, as well as access to Safer Grant resources. Do not miss the chance to take advantage of these important benefits.

 

Thank you for the work you do every day, both seen and unseen. Your commitment defines the present and helps build the future of our association and the fire service in Texas.

 

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to our staff with any questions, ideas, or concerns. We are here to support you.

 

Stay safe and stay connected,

No time to read? Download and listen to the story here!

When Ingram Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) command staff went to bed on July 3, 2025, rain had already started in the Ingram area, which is about six miles from Kerrville, Texas.

 

Earlier that day, the National Weather Service issued a flood watch at 1:18 p.m. Officials anticipated flash flooding overnight. Another warning at 6:10 p.m. predicted significant flash flooding overnight.In the pre-dawn hours of July 4,

 

Firefighter Catherine (Cat) Larson was awakened by radio chatter around 3:30 a.m.

 

“There was a lot of radio traffic,” she recalled.

 

One thing she heard was, “Road was impassable."

 

She wondered, what road?

 

Larson listened a bit more to the radio conversations. By this time, she was receiving messages from co-workers saying, “We need help”.

 

Larson said she then alerted Ingram Fire Chief Diana Baccus and said, “They are saying roads are impassable and its bad.”

 

From that point on, Larson said things continued to get worse.

 

“We left the house at 3:50 a.m.,” she said. “Diana and I drove to a low-lying area of the [Guadalupe] river.”

 

Chief Baccus said she knew this area would need help because they’ve been through flooding many times. She and Larson started at Howdy’s, an RV park along the river.

 

“I jumped out of my truck into ankle-deep water,” Larson said.

 

She saw an RV and started knocking on the door to warn the occupants.

 

“I startled the man who answered the door,” she said. “I told him, you need to evacuate - you need to get up and go, that he and his wife need to get out and get to higher ground.”

 

Larson walked along the riverbank and saw pop-up campers.

 

“I saw swimsuits and camping gear, so I knew people were there, or at least had been,” she said. “I tried to wake anyone who might be in the camper but there was no response.”

 

Larson said at that point, she and Baccus could hear water rushing.

 

"We have to go!” she said.

 

They jumped into a truck.

 

“We evacuated the folks on the island and alerted the others on the second level on our way out as best as we could," Larson said.

 

Baccus took over the story.

 

“We needed to get to the fire house to get an engine, life jackets, chains, ropes, etc.,” she said. “It took us about seven minutes running lights and sirens.”

 

Baccus said by the time they got back to the RV park, it was 4:46 a.m.

 

Water was already up to the second level, almost to the first level, Baccus recalled.

 

"That water was coming and coming fast,” she said. “That’s how the water rises here.”

 

Officials now say the Guadalupe River rose about 26 ft (8 m) in 45 minutes. Areas like Hunt and Ingram received 7 to 8 inches in about three hours making the river rise. The river continued to surge, reaching 37.52 ft (11.44 m) and was still rising at 5:10 a.m. when the gauge at Hunt stopped updating. 

 

“We ushured a man up the hill and we could see the shell-shocked look on his face,” Baccus said. “When you wake someone from sleep, they are confused.”

 

She said many people are visiting the area and don’t know what to expect.

 

At that point, Baccus said cars were already floating down the river. There were also people in the river.

 

“You could hear their flat-out despair,” Baccus said, her voiced tinged with pain.

 

Yet Baccus and Larson said they encountered people who wouldn’t leave the area.

 

“Unfortunately, we can’t force them to leave,”

Baccus said.

 

She said her team even tried getting law enforcement to help but some people still wouldn’t leave.

 

“They were videoing what was happening,” Larson added. “Some were trying to help.”

 

Larson looked to her right and saw the water was still coming and coming fast.

 

“That wall hit fast and quick,” she said. “It took just a few minutes.”

 

Baccus and her crew relocated those they could to HTR, another RV park that is on higher ground.

 

“Most of Ingram’s rescues were happening here,” Baccus said. “Firefighters were pulling people out of the river with a human chain, using water hoses or whatever they could grasp to get people out.”

 

Firefighter Warren said he and other firefighters helped evacuate or rescue about 30 people during the flood.

Larson said, “Diana and I are very lucky to be here.”

 

She said during all this chaos, there was a car blocking the road (the only way out) that had a trailer attached. The driver was stuck and unable to navigate the trailer.

 

“He wouldn’t let it go,” Baccus said. “I thought, we are about to be victims in this flood. The guy just wouldn’t move, but we need to get out.”

 

Baccus said she’s seen this kind of situation before.

 

“Fear overtakes people, there’s no logic,” she said. “They also tend to use colorful language when speaking to us.”

 

They encountered an older woman waiting to exit who said, “I’ve already made my peace with God.”

 

Baccus told her, “No ma’am, that’s not happening today.”

 

She said another firefighter went up to the stuck driver and said, somewhat forcibly, “You’ve got to move.”

 

He did.

 

Larson said as she and Baccus were exiting the area, a tree rushing down the waters edge hit the back of their truck, which was already full of water.

 

“It knocked us sideways, and we went into the river front end first,” she said.

 

They managed to get the truck righted and continued their exit.

 

Reflecting on the events of that morning, Baccus said she tried not to let fear overtake her.

 

“I was in work mode,” she said. “I knew we had to get those people out.”

 

She said she kept thinking, “Don’t leave anybody behind and do everything you possibly can."

 

It’s sometimes hard to be focused and task oriented during disasters and emergencies, but she knew she had to keep going.

 

“Don’t let loudness and clutter affect your mind,” she said.

 

Fear overtook her momentarily when they went into the water, but she overcame it.

 

The aftermath of the July 4th flood was intense, according to Baccus and her crew.

 

“People showed up during flood to help,” she said. “They then applied and became active with us.”

 

On July 3, Baccus said Ingram – a town of about 1,700 – had 25 volunteers on the roster. While they are part of an Emergency Services District (ESD), the department is fully volunteer.

 

“On the day of the flood, we picked up seven new volunteers, including two junior members,” she said. “We now have four junior members ages 15 to 17.”

 

Baccus said she worked with VFIS to create a junior program that made sure Ingram VFD adhered to all insurance requirements.

 

“They can do training and at active fires, they can help with support and rehab, but they cannot go interior,” she said.

 

One thing Baccus and her crew won’t soon forget is the incredible outpouring of love and support from the Ingram community and beyond.

 

“Our fire station became a comfort station,” she said. “We were feeding those we rescued and our rescuers. We were reuniting people with their families. We secured heavy equipment for debris removal.”

 

Baccus said the debris piles were enormous.

 

“We couldn’t get into some areas” she said.

 

And during all this, Ingram VFD received so much support.

 

“People were donating things like water, Gatorade, snacks, blankets, hygiene products,” Baccus said.

 

She added that Ingram VFD was blessed to have assistance from Willow City, Fredericksburg, Ector County, and West Odessa.

 

“They are our family now,” she said.

 

Larson said there was an outpouring of messages from near and far after the flood.

 

“People just want to help,” she said. “They were so adamant, asking, what can we do to support you? There are no words that can explain this feeling with this kind of support.”

 

Larson added that Ingram VFD has so much gratitude for all the love and support it received during and since the disaster.

 

“I saw the true humanity of people to bond together to address what was happening,” she said.

 

Baccus said that during the aftermath, Ingram VFD lost one of its own, Capt. Tony Fernandez, due to a medical emergency at home. The department was still reeling from the flood and then had to deal with the death of a brother.

 

“And we’ve been here every day, still serving our community,” she said. “We have strong individuals here. The bond is so strong amongst our team.”

 

Despite everything they went through, and to an extent are still going through, Baccus said her team is strong.

 

She said, “We strive to live up to our motto: We may bend but we will not break.”

Just one of the massive debris piles left by the Ingram area flooding.

Ingram VFD and other volunteers share a moment in a prayer circle before conducting search and rescue operations after the flood.

This is just part of the card wall inside the Ingram VFD station bay.

Ingram FF Catherine (Cat) Larson helping at the pancake supper fundraiser.

 

 

The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service would like to better understand how fire chiefs, firefighters, and department leaders utilize online continuing education as a tool for training and education. We would invite fire service leaders who want to help shape the future of training programs to complete a short survey.

 

Your input will help ensure they remain relevant, accessible, and responsive to the evolving demands of the fire service. 

 

 

SFFMA Fall District Meetings	2025
Location	Date
Permian Basin District	10/17-18/25
Central Texas District	10/18/25
East TX District	10/18/25
Red River District	10/18/25
South Central District	10/25/25
Rio Grande Valley District	10/26/25

 

 

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 - Interview with author (and Battalion Chief) Dena Ali

Episode 6 - Interview with Wendy Norris of the Texas LODD Task Force

Episode 7 - Interview with Tom Merrill, author of The Professional Volunteer Fire Department

SFFMA is sharing this research opportunity:

 

Active-duty structural and/or wildland female firefighters in the United States are invited to take part in a research study to collect anthropometric body measurements to better inform the design, fit, and mobility of personal protective clothing. If you volunteer to take part in this study, you will be one of thousands to do so nationally.

 

This study is being conducted by Dr. Meredith McQuerry (Principal Investigator, PI) of the Retail Entrepreneurship department in the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship at Florida State University and Dr. Cassandra Kwon (Co-PI), Research Professor in the Wilson College of Textiles at North Carolina State University. 

 

If you agree to take part in this study, please complete the online informed consent form. Then scan the QR code below and follow the instructions.

New Skill Exam Process

 

The new process appears to be working quite well, minus a hiccup or two. If you have a session that is older than two weeks, please get those results posted as described in the instructions. We want to make sure the results get credited to the students as quickly as possible so we don’t delay anyone’s certifications. If you accidentally added a session, you should be able to cancel it through the same window, but you can always contact Kevin Creamer at the Austin office to get that cleared out.

 

Full Document

• Can you serve as an SFFMA Skill Examiner?
• Find a Skill Examiner in your area
• Access the Skill Examinations Hub
• Create a new skill exam session
• Download documentation for the session
• Enter final grades

NIMS Course Update

 

Beginning January 1, 2027, the NIMS courses that you can already track through PORTAL will become prerequisites for all certifications. These are ICS-100, ICS-200, ICS-700, and ICS-800. Availability may be temporarily restricted due to the current federal government shutdown, but we’re hoping that a resolution will be forthcoming soon. Please again note that the requirements do not go into effect until 2027.

 

Other Updates

• The Certification Board is currently reviewing the NFPA 1010 standard which incorporates 1001 (Firefighter) and 1002 (Driver/Operator) for January 1, 2027. We will have more information on specifics in the coming weeks.
• The Contact Us! button in PORTAL now shows contact information for you Certification Board Zone Representative. Be sure to add or update your physical address to your profile to get the best information.

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.)