VFPA 2020 Fall Conference Virtual Attendance  Registration - Now Open! 

VFPA Fall Training Conference - *Virtual Attendance*

VFPA Nominations for Office Now Open 

Hello Virginia Fire Prevention Association Members, 

As you are aware, COVID-19 prevented the Association from holding it's 2020 Spring Training Conference and Annual Meeting.  As such, we have missed the ability to nominate and vote for the upcoming Officers to be elected and/or appointed to the Board. 

VFPA plans to address this issue in the near future and are looking for nominations from a virtual platform.  

Attached you will find a sample nomination form that contains the necessary information to nominate a member (or yourself) to serve on the Virginia Fire Prevention Association Board of Directors.   

You may also reply to this email with the necessary information.  The email response will go directly to VFPA Past President Robin Preece who will be serving as the Nominations Committee Chair. 

THANK YOU for your time and dedication towards the success of tour Association! 

Ernie Little, VFPA President

To view or print the nominations form, click the link below!  

Message from President Ernie Little,

Greetings from the Virginia Fire Prevention Association. As I write this letter the Commonwealth of Virginia is in phase III of the Coronavirus recovery. We in the fire prevention and education world find ourselves challenged at every turn of the way attempting to keep our citizens safe from many dangers which include the reopening of buildings and facilities that have had restricted use or been closed. The reopenings have created, in some cases, decisions made by corporate or other entities that have caused non-conformance with our Fire and Building Codes. Some of these decision were made with good intent on the part of the manager or supervisor but due to the lack of knowledge of the codes cause the non-conformance. I know that all of us have experienced an event of this nature and due to the knowledge and skills of the code enforcement officer, Fire Marshal, Fire Inspector, or Firefighters the situation has been addressed and compliance was gained. I say good job and keep up the effort as that is what WE are here for, that is keeping our public safe from the effects of fire.
Letter from President,

Fellow Board of Directors and I have been fielding many questions as to what the VFPA is going to do with the Fall Conference. Since March there have been several BOD video conferences. A lot of discussion regarding how the association can conduct training and still meet the restrictions of the Coronavirus. After reluctance, we decided to cancel the Spring Conference due to concerns about the membership and the fact that we could not meet the Coronavirus requirements at the time. As of July 20th we are moving toward having the Fall conference in Waynesboro. The location will be the Best Western with dates of October 13 and 14. We are committed to having a conference knowing that the phase III Coronavirus virus restrictions will allow such. However, the room at the hotel we engaged by contract last year to use has a “normal occupant load of 100 persons”. This will greatly impact our ability to have a face-to-face conference in terms of number of attendees we will be able to have in the room to maintain the 6 foot distancing rule. We are in the process of final planning for the conference and will have information on the VFPA website by mid to late August addressing registration, training topics, and such. The conference will be 16 hours of approved continuing education over two days. Like I mentioned before, as soon as firm details are available we will post them on the website.

Everyone take good care of yourselves, stay healthy, use a mask where practical and be safe out there!

Ernie Little

President, VFPA

VFPA Leadership Retreat 

Recently, the Executive Board of VFPA met at a Leadership Retreat in Winchester, VA to complete a Critical Alignment for Boards Training Session presented by Dr. Dave Leadership Corp.

This program provided valuable resources for our Board to align itself to better serve our members and stakeholders.

Day two of our retreat proved fruitful for our board to discuss the training/education programs we offer, fire and building code development and legislative initiatives. Board members worked diligently to develop a VFPA Strategic Plan. Our board will continue work on this project which will be introduced to our membership at our 2020 Annual Meeting for adoption.

To view the minutes of this retreat, click: VFPA Exec Retreat Minutes Feb 2020.pdf

    2020 Legislative Priorities  

The process of gaining consensus on legislative priorities can be a daunting task that requires significant collaboration and, often times, compromise by all entities/stakeholders involved. Each year, the Virginia Fire Prevention Association joins forces with the major fire and EMS stakeholder organizations from across the Commonwealth of Virginia to meet and discuss not only our specific legislative needs, but the key issues concerning the Commonwealths Fire and EMS Services as a whole. It is the consensus of the nine, major Virginia fire and EMS stakeholder organizations that legislative items contained in the booklet which you may find in the below link are a top priority.

Click Here to View Booklet

The VFPA Legislative and Code Development Committee have already identified several proposed bills in the 2020 legislative session which have been identified to adversely affect the fire service and/or fire code enforcement community.  As we continue to work with your elected officials to resolve any perceived issues, we encourage you to take an active part in the legislative and code development processes.  We will continue to update our membership through email and communicate important dates where your input can be heard.

Should you have any questions, comments or need assistance, we are an email away!    

 Linda M. Hale

VFPA Legislative and Code Development Chair

David Diamantes Receives VFPA Meritorious Award 

At opening session of the 2019 Spring Training Conference, 1st Vice President Ernie Little was joined by all present Past Presidents and Life Members of the Association in attendance along with VDFP Director Michael Reilly and VFMA Chief Garrett Dyer who presented Mr. David Diamantes (VFPA Life Member) the VFPA Meritorious Service Award. 

This honor was granted upon David upon a vote of the Board of Directors of VFPA for his dedicated service and support to the Commonwealth’s Fire Service and Code Enforcement Communities.

Please help us in congratulating David and saying THANK YOU for his many years of hard and dedicated work!