Length of Service Award Program
Greetings to all fellow firefighters. Where has the year gone it seems to go faster every year. This is the time of year that can be rough as its cold and there are unpredictable weather conditions. This means we need to prepare our families and departments for weather conditions in our travel and emergency responses.
I was honored to visit Humeston, where I presented a 51-year award to Tracey Vandell. I have also visited with the Elks at there banquet discussing our partnership with the Safety Trailer program, as we have one in Charles City, Grand Mound and Orange City. The trailer in Orange City if in need of a new home so let us know if your department is interested, please give me or one of the board members a call. We also discussed improving the trailer with new wraps and upgrading the equipment. One addition I suggested was adding a Fire Extinguisher simulator with the trailer to educate kids and adults on there operation and their limitations. We also discussed trying to get them to attend the Iowa State Fair outside of the front of the Hall of Flame area.
The progress for the Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) is still on target for the portal to open in December 2025. It is recommended that everyone have their fiscal agent onboarded and your local point system defined as well as your eligibility list prepared so the fiscal agent can enter the portal and register your departments with 60 days. Then the first payments should come out February or March 2026. As this program is in its infancy there will be updates and changes that can be found on the Iowa Firefighters Association website as well as emails sent directly to registered firefighters. We also have the Safer Grant that can help equip your new volunteers with PPE. We can also help you get present volunteers leadership training, FF II, Driver-Aerial-Pump Operator, and Instructor training. The applications are on the IFA web page, and I encourage all of you to apply for this lucrative program.
As I close, if you have any questions on any programs, please give one of the board members a call and we will answer your questions. I also want to say we are going into some of the most stressful months for mental health with all our holidays and gatherings I encourage you to talk and listen to each other as we need to stay strong physically and mentally to provide outstanding service to protect our communities. As we are a brotherhood and sisterhood of the fire service, so we must support each other to stay strong. So, take care of each other, if you have a concern for someone point it out to your leadership, as we are strongest when we take care of each other.