The International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) is seeking qualified Committee Members for 2006. The committee application can also be found on our website at www.ifsta.org. If you are interested in serving on an IFSTA Validation Committee please return the application as instructed on the application no later than December 20, 2005. Committee members will be chosen by the Delegate Selection committee at the winter Executive Board meeting in January. All applicants will
be notified of the disposition of their application on or around March 1, 2006.

The committees for next year are:

o Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting
o Building Construction Related to the Fire Service
o Fire Department Occupational Safety

The IFSTA validation process

"Written for firefighters by firefighters!"

This is not simply an advertising slogan - it is the way that IFSTA manuals have been written and validated for over 70 years. The production of new and revised IFSTA manuals requires a collaborative effort between the staff members at Oklahoma State University's Fire Protection Publications (FPP) and members of the IFSTA validating committee assigned to that project. IFSTA committee members are subject-matter experts from all areas of the fire industry who provide assistance in reviewing and approving draft chapters for new manuals. Committee members also provide assistance in obtaining research materials, photographs, and other information needed to produce a finished manual. Committees typically complete their work in a one- to two-year time frame, during which two to four meetings may be held. Meetings held in conjunction with the July IFSTA Validation Conference are attended at the member's own expense. Committee members may be reimbursed by FPP for transportation and lodging expenses
for meetings that are held at other times during the year.

IFSTA is currently seeking members for new committees that will begin at the Validation
Conference to be held in Oklahoma July 8-12, 2006, the new committees will be:

" Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting
" Building Construction Related to the Fire Service
" Fire Department Occupational Safety

IFSTA Committee Member Responsibilities

Fire service professionals who accept the invitation to participate on an IFSTA validation
committee will be expected to provide technical advice on the content of the manual and
technical review of the materials written by staff members of Fire Protection Publications. Prior to the committee's first meeting, members will be sent information on the scope of the work to be performed and a suggested outline for the new manual. At the first meeting, the committee will finalize the manual's outline and may begin review of draft chapters. Draft chapters are typically sent to committee members at a rate of one or two per month. Members should expect to spend two to five hours reviewing each chapter. Members must reply with their comments on the chapters in writing within three to four weeks of receiving each chapter. Continued participation in the process is contingent on meeting assigned deadlines. FPP staff members compile all the comments received for each chapter. The comments are reviewed and acted upon by the committee as a whole at future committee meetings. These meetings typically range from one to three days. When all the issues in a given chapter are settled, that chapter is considered finished. The process is continued until all chapters in the manual have been addressed. At that time, the committee is dismissed and FPP staff members complete the publishing of the manual.