CSFA events have been top notch so far and more are being planned
Much like our careers in the fire service, we mitigate and move forward from an incident, and immediately start preparing for the next. Your CSFA leadership is doing just that by ensuring we conduct an after action review of our inaugural California Training and Education Expo (CTEX) event that was held in April at the Pechanga Resort in Temecula. As most of you know, CSFA has enhanced our presence and collaboration throughout the California fire service. A significant part of this is our commitment to training, education, mentorship, behavioral health and wellness programs, and hands on training. I’m proud to report that our first CTEX was a successful event thanks to our dedicated CSFA board of directors, staff, instructors, vendors, partners and our attendees.
Part of the planning process includes learning from prior experiences, and listening to input from those who participated in the event. We conducted a post CTEX survey to essentially find out about the strong points, and identify areas of improvement. Our CSFA board of directors, commit-tees, and staff are reviewing this information and ensuring we use it to enhance our 2024 CTEX event. The good news is we are already planning the 2024 CTEX event now, ensuring we capture a great location and amazing lineup of classes, training, and vendors. We will ensure our 2024 CTEX event is close to an airport, is freeway friendly, and has strong logistical support for our members and attendees.
Not only is planning underway for our 2024 CTEX event, but also for other CSFA and CFRST events. We are planning on hosting our CSFA Nor Cal Training Academy in January of 2024. Last January we held a similar event in Williams that included live fire and other hands-on training, along with Strike Team Leader and Liasion Officer classes. We’re looking forward to announcing the location of this Nor Cal Training Academy very soon.
Our inaugural California First Responders Support Team (CFRST) 5K and Chili Cookoff was a fantastic success! We had over 100 runners participate in our run, along with several vendors and partners. We’re grateful for the local fire departments that have stepped up to make our recent events top notch opportunities for our members and the community to share in memorable experiences. In Nor Cal big thanks to the Williams FPD, Folsom FD, El Dorado Hills FPD, Cal Fire, and many more. In So Cal big thanks goes out to the Pechanga FD, Cal Fire/Riverside County FD, Hemet FD, and other agencies that assisted with our inaugural CTEX event.
As Summer approaches we’re aware that our fire service professionals throughout our state are gearing up for a potentially busy fire season. With that in mind please remember to look out for upcoming CSFA sponsored training opportunities, and feel free to contact us regarding your needs. Aside from planning our future events, I’m proud to represent CSFA on the FIRESCOPE board of directors and other committees, ensuring our members are represented at the highest level of the California fire service. We continue to stay engaged with State Fire Training and other state organizations to keep our lines of communication open, and collaborate on action items that will have a positive impact on our thousands of members.
I’m reaching out to any of you that have a little extra time available to join one of our committees, or to submit content that we can share on our various CSFA platforms. Please check out our csfa.net website that shortly will be revamped, check our social media accounts, and go to our CSFA Fire & Rescue YouTube channel to see our videos. Please stay safe out there, and remember we are grateful for your service and support!
Hemet Fire Department, CSFA President
