The good news is in. The Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman's Association has received once again received funding from the United States Fire Administration. This infusion of capital will allow us to continue the work of the Emergency Responder Safety Institute for another year. This is a truly great thing.

All of us have been laboring valiantly to make headway against the growing tide of highway-related deaths that have been plaguing fire, police, and EMS personnel throughout the United States and Canada. The ERSI has been working hard to achieve the goals espoused in our epic Highway Safety White Paper. Respondersafety.com continues to work to get the word out on highway safety issues and developments.

Perhaps it is time to stop for a moment and reflect upon those goals we set for ourselves when we embarked upon this journey almost five years ago. This effort came in the wake of the tragic death of Fire Police Captain Joseph Kroboth, Sr. of the Halfway, Maryland Fire Department. Captain Kroboth was struck and killed in May of 1998 while directing traffic at the scene of an emergency on a busy interstate highway in Western Maryland.

This sad event served as the spark to ignite the highway safety battle. A Highway Safety Summit was held at Halfway, Maryland in March of 1999. The work accomplished at this historic meeting led to a second summit at the Nation Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland in October of the same year. Two major problems were identified:

• There exists a lack of consistency and agreement on the skills necessary to operate at highway emergencies.
• The public does not understand why we are out on the highways.

Attendees at this meeting felt that the issues could be segmented into five general areas:

• Training
• Operations
• Human resources
• Public education
• Legislation/regulations/research/standards

In order to work towards the implementation of goals and objectives that might lead to improvements in the highway safety arena, action was required. The prevailing sentiment was that a committee should be formed by the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Fireman's Association to address this critical issue. A wide range of nationally known experts in the fire and emergency service world was brought together under the leadership of Steve Austin of Delaware.

It was felt that a website would serve as an excellent means of information exchange. Steve Austin approached Firehouse.com in Maryland to ask for their advice and support. Dave Iannone graciously offered the necessary help to get our website up and running. Respondersafety.com exists through the support of our friends at Firehouse.com. The response to our site has continued to grow since the first moment it was launched back in 2001. It is our primary window to the emergency service world.

A number of us decided that if we were to have a lasting impact on the emergency services world, training programs would need to be developed. Jack Sullivan of Virginia stepped forward and offered his services to be the ERSI Training Director. Jack has worked long and hard as a leader in the delivery of this type of critical safety-related education.

We believed that we needed to work within our own emergency services arena before we could move out and attempt to educate the public. In line with this, it was decided that funding be pursued that would allow the creation and distribution of an awareness-level training video, as well as classroom and field training courses.

The Volunteer Fireman's Insurance Service (VFIS) stepped forward to offer the resources of their corporation. Our highway safety video came about as a direct result of their critical assistance. To date our efforts have resulted in the free distribution of well over 1,000 copies of the video Highway Safety for Emergency Services. We have become a victim of our own success. We are in the midst of placing a new order for an additional stock of this critical training resource.

Lastly, we must express our sincere thanks to Assistant Chief Ron Moore, Training Director of the Plano, Texas Fire Department. He has created the Standard Operating Procedures we offer to all of you. They may be downloaded in Word format. You can use them as is, or alter them to meet your needs.

The Emergency Safety Response Institute and Respondersafety.com are poised to enter another new and exciting chapter in our drive to keep you alive as you work on the highways of North America. Please stay with us, as we continue to grow in our efforts to serve you.