State Fire Service Training Commission to meet for first time Tuesday at KU

LAWRENCE -- The newly established state Fire Service Training Commission appointed by Gov. Bill Graves will convene for the first time Tuesday on the University of Kansas campus.

The commission, mandated in a 2002 revision of the 1949 statute that established fire service training at KU, will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct.22, in the Summerfield Room of the Adams Alumni Center. KU Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost David Shulenburger will welcome the commissioners. The public is welcome.

Graves signed the new legislation on April 9, 2002. An alliance of fire service organizations had pressed for the legislation, which had two principal aims: to increase funding for the stateÿs Fire Service Training program at KU and to establish a body that would provide oversight and guidance for the program and guarantee its continued financial wellbeing.

The commission, which will meet at least quarterly, is composed of representatives from 12 fire and emergency response agencies and organizations. The members and the groups they represent are:

 • James Behan of Garden City, Kansas Board of Emergency Medical Services;

 • Bruce Brazzle of Wamego, Kansas Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators;

 • Darrell Eastin of Salina, Kansas State Association of Professional Fire Chiefs;

 • Kathy Elkins of Lawrence, Kansas State Council of Fire Fighters;

 • Gale Haag of Holton, Kansas State Fire Marshalÿs Office;

 • Joseph Harkins of Lawrence, KU;

 • Jim Keating of St. Marys, Kansas State Fire Fighters Association;

 • John Lloyd of Wellington, Kansas State Association of Fire Chiefs;

 • John Mattox of Shawnee, Kansas Fire Marshals Association;

 • Casey McCoy of Manhattan, Kansas Forest Service;

 • Jim McDiffett of Manhattan, Fire Educators Association of Kansas; and

 • Mark Sayler of Hutchinson, Kansas Community College Fire Training Programs.