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Welcome to the Central Florida Fire Chiefs' Association Web Site for your browsing pleasure. We hope you find our award winning web site informative and useful to your particular needs and interests.

Current News and
Special Announcements

CFFCA Reinstates
Annual 3rd Alarm Corporate Partner SHOWCASE

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The CFFCA reinstated its annual 3rd Alarm Partner Showcase on Thursday, October 14th at the Hilton Altamonte Springs.

Fifteen [15] 3rd Alarm Corporate Partners participated in the showcase marketing their services and products.

Showcase was very well attended with eighty-three [83] present...Go to the GALLERY to browse all showcase photos.

9-11 Twenty Years of Remembrance
Memorial Rededication

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The CFFCA in conjunction with the Hilton Altamonte Springs held a 9-11 Memorial Rededication Ceremony "Twenty Years of Remembrance" on Thursday, September 9th at its regularly scheduled meeting at the Hilton.

Numerous agencies, officials and dignitaries were present at this special event. We Shall Never Forget that "All Gave Some and Some Gave All".

Special Thanks to the Seminole County FD Honor Guard and Orlando Firefighters Pipe & Drum. Our gratitude is also extended to our 9-11 Memorial Rededication Ceremony lunch sponsors:

CORE Construction Services
Municipal Equipment Company [MECO]
Municipal Emergency Services [MES]
United Badges Insurance Services

Please see our GALLERY for all photos...

Lessons Learned
CFAI Accreditation Deferment Process

The CFFCA monthly business meeting and program was held at the Hilton - Altamonte Springs on Thursday, August 12th, 2021. The program presentation was "Lessons Learned - CFAI Accreditation Deferment Process". The program was presented by Maitland Fire Rescue Fire Chief Will Watts, Deputy Chief Chris Morton, and special guest CPSE director Karl Ristow [pictured below]. Forty-four [44] chief officers were in attendance with 18 agencies represented . Our FFCA East Central Regional Director - Chief Chuck Bogle was also in attendance for the presentation.

Please visit our Gallery Page for ALL meeting photos...

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Dr. Jimmy Knott Speaks at July 8th, 2021 CFFCA General Membership Meeting

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Dr. Jimmy Knott, Teaching Pastor - First Baptist Church Orlando, delivered a dynamic audience-engaged message during a presentation on "It's All About Leadership"! His message was: Be a leader that is worth following. Topics discussed included General condition of leadership in America, the importance of leadership, ability to lead and its impact on influence, success, and effectiveness.

Please visit our Gallery Page for meeting photos...

CFFCA HOSTS
FFCA East Central Regional Meeting

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On June 10th the CFFCA hosted the FFCA East Central Regional Meeting at the Altamonte Springs Hilton.

Fifty-four were in attendance for this regional update. Due to COVID-19, this was the first face-to-face meeting with our FFCA officers and State Officials since 2019. The update included reports from the FFCA leadership, FFCA Foundation, State Fire Marshal's Office, State Fire College, and SERP.

Many thanks to the FFCA meeting sponsors Ten 8 and United Badges Insurance Services.

Go to our Gallery Page to browse meeting photos...

CFFCA Meeting / Program May 8th, 2021

The CFFCA monthly "mask to mask" meeting was held on-site at the Altamonte Springs Hilton. The program "Best Foot Forward - Pedestrian Safety" was presented by Roni Wood, Community Outreach Specialist, with 30 in attendance.

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CFFCA Meeting / Program April 8th, 2021

The CFFCA monthly "mask to mask" meeting was held on-site at the Altamonte Springs Hilton. The program was presented by the Central Florida Disaster Medical Coalition with 25 in attendance.

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NEW CFFCA OFFICERS INSTALLED

The Newly Elected CFFCA Officers for 2021 were given their Oath of Office during an installation ceremony held March 11th, 2021. The CFFCA Chaplain Rick Spence officiated the installation ceremony and administered the Oath of Office. The new officers, effective April 1st, are as follows:

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Chief John Miller - President
Chief Will Watts - District 1 Director [Orange County Rep]
Chief Jim Walls - District 3 Director [Osceola County Rep]

CONGRATS are in Order!

CFFCA outgoing District 1 Director [Orange County Rep] Chief Matt McGrew was recognized for his distinuished Board service 2019-2021.

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Outgoing Director Award - Chief Matt McGrew

MARCH 2021 UPDATE

It has been going on a very long year since we last met face-to-face at the Hilton due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now time to come back together under a "new normal" set of health and safety protocols.

In this regard, please MARK and SAVE the date of March 11th, 2021 for on-site "Mask-to-Mask" meeting at the Hilton. Meet and Greet the newly appointed Fire Chiefs here in Central Florida.

Two-Part Program: Installation of Newly Elected CFFCA Officers and CFFCA Agency Chiefs Roundtable Updates.

More detailed information will be forthcoming via membership email notice.

FEBRUARY 2021 UPDATE

The February 11th, 2021 CFFCA Business Meeting at the Hilton has been CANCELLED. The Board will be discussing a more realistic restart date of March 11th, 2021. Please MARK and SAVE the date of March 11th, 2021 for on-site meeting at the Hilton, dependent on the pandemic situation and vaccination progress.

DECEMBER 2020 UPDATE

Greetings and hope this finds all our members, their families and organizations safe and well...

The annual December Christmas social luncheon has been cancelled with great disappointment, but it is best to just ride out 2020 and start fresh in 2021...

To say the year 2020 has been a very challenging and stressful time for us all would be an understatement, but we stayed the course in a gallant effort to provide those mission critical services to each of our communities here in Central Florida in an exemplary manner. Although we have not been able to meet for our monthly meetings since this past February due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we did successfully hold four [4] ZOOM meeting presentations for our membership and we hope that those virtual gatherings served an informative purpose to all who were able to join and participate.

In light of the above, the Board will be considering the restart of our monthly business meetings on site at the Altamonte Springs Hilton on Thursday, January 14th, 2021 at 11:30am so please MARK and SAVE on your calendars for your attendance – pending final Board approval. The CFFCA and the Hilton will provide a safe meeting environment following all CDC guidelines for social distancing, face coverings, food prep, banquet services, and sanitation practices.

Until our “Mask-to-Mask” January meeting, CFFCA President John Miller and the Board extends a warm and safe Christmas/New Year holiday season to all... Stay well and safe, and God Bless!

NOVEMBER 2020 UPDATE

Our intent to restart our on-site business meetings at the Hilton did not pan out due to mass gatherings and social distancing guidelines were still in place. The Board of Directors will revisit this subject matter under the State’s COVID-19 Phase 3 Re-Opening Plan to determine when to consider a safe restart of our monthly meetings on-site at the Hilton. This has caused us to cancel the Annual 3rd Alarm Partner Showcase and potentially our December Christmas Social and Corp Partner Appreciation. The Year 2020 has certainily been challenging time for us all and continues to be a moving target at this point.

Once determined by the Board, please rest assured that on-site meetings will be conducted in strict accordance with the most current CDC or local authority guidelines concerning group gatherings and social distancing. The Hilton is and remains well-prepared to offer a venue that is safe with the utmost social distancing compliance measures in place.

[RECENT ACTIVITES RECAP]

The CFFCA held a ZOOM Tele-Conference "State of Florida and Regional COVID-19 Update" on June 11th. It was well attended with 61 conference call attendees. State, Regional, and Local officials provided an update as to the COVID-19 impact on operations, current status, and future plans.

On July 16th hosted a virtual tele-conference ZOOM meeting which focused on COVID-19 lessons learned and best practices within our 4-county area of Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Lake. Each District Director reported out on their respective county districts concerning COVID-19 operations, including special “best practices” presentations from Orange County Fire Rescue, Orlando Fire Department, Lake County Fire Rescue, and Groveland Fire Department.

On September 10th, The CFFCA hosted another ZOOM virtual presentation on “Coping with Stress and Anxiety During COVID-19” with the presenter being Kendra Davies from Stellar Life Coaching.

STATE OF THE STATE AND REGION
COVID-19 UPDATE TELE-CONFERENCE
JUNE 11TH, 2020 [11AM - 12:30PM]

On June 11th, 2020 the CFFCA, in comjunction with the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association and Valencia College School of Public Safety, is hosting a 90-minute Tele-Conference on the State of the State and Region COVID-19. This virtual meeting via a ZOOM LINK will provide for a safe social distancing environment for the CFFCA / FFCA participating members. The tele-conference informational flyer with LINK will be emailed to the CFFCA membership and the FFCA East Central Region members on or about Friday, May 29th, 2020. This virtual meeting will serve as the FFCA EC Regional Update that was cancelled this past March due to COVID-19.

As we move forward with ramping back up our monthly business meetings, we will do so in a safe and responsible manner in cooperation with the Hilton.

For planning purposes, the membership should anticipate another virtual meeting during July with hopes that our on-site business meetings at the Hilton starting back up in August, but only if safe to do so and in accordance with any CDC or local authority guidelines.

CFFCA PRESIDENT SUSPENDS ALL CFFCA MONTHLY MEETINGS AND RELATED GATHERINGS INDEFINITELY
Effective March 12th, 2020

The CFFCA hopes and prays that our agencies, their personnel, and family members remain safe and vigilant during this unprecedented time in our history. God Bless all of you for your front-line valor and tireless service to your communities. The illustrative graphic above speaks for itself without any further editorial needed. We also appreciate our corporate partners for the continued assistance with special needs and keeping the supply chain moving wherever possible.

In response to the COVID-19 national pandemic, CFFCA monthly meetings and other related group gatherings, including the COLS-II symposium that was scheduled during the month of May, have all been indefinitely suspended.

The BOARD will continue to meet monthly via Go To Meeting conference call method to insure that CFFCA business matters are carried out. The Board will determine a very measured approach following all subsequent CDC guidelines on how the CFFCA may conduct business safely in the future once this pandemic is behind us.

Should any of our firefighters or members contract COVID-19, please know that they will remain in our daily thoughts and healing prayers for a full and healthy recovery. Our CFFCA Chaplain stands ready to assist if and when called upon or the need arises.

God Bless America!

Sincerely,

John Miller
CFFCA President

CFFCA/FFCA JOINT EAST CENTRAL REGIONAL MEETING 03/12/2020
CANCELLED

In response to the dynamic and changing COVID-19 pandemic and in an abundance of precautiom for our members and guests, this meeting has been CANCELLED until further notice. Further information will be forthcoming through membership email concerning future meetings and events.

2020 CFFCA Retiree Group Photo
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Photo collectively represents over 447 years of career service. Thank you for your selfless service to our Central Florida Communities.

CFFCA MEETING / PROGRAM

February 13th, 2020

The monthly meeting of February 13th served as our annual CFFCA Retiree Round Up [photo above], Election of New Officers, and a very informative program by CORE on Clean Public Safety Building.

Newly Elected Officers in accordance with bylaws are:

Vice President - Chief Craig Radzak [re-elected]
District 2 [Seminole] - Chief Frank Cornier [re-elected]
District 4 [Lake] - Chief Mike Swanson [re-elected]
District 5 [Retirees] - Retired Chief Charlie Chapman

The above officers will be duly sworn-in and installed at the CFFCA March 12th, 2020 General Meeting.

The program "Clean PSB" presented by CORE focused on the industrey collaborative that is addressing the design and construction needs of fire stations to safeguard fire rescue personnel from the exposures of bio-hazard waste and carcinogens.

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CFFCA MEETING / PROGRAM

AGENCY ROUND TABLE BRIEFINGS
January 9th, 2020

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

The CFFCA's first business meeting / program of the new year, January 9th, 2020, was held at the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs. This meeting served as an Agency Round Table Briefing for the membership. Each Agency Chief or their Represenative orally presented an update briefing on each of their organizations.

Eighteen [18] agencies provided a very informative update on their respective agencies to the 48 members in attendance.

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Thank you to the following agencies that participated:

Sanford FD
Kissimmee FD
Lake Mary FR
St. Cloud FR
Orlando FD
Clermont FD
Seminole County FD
Apopka FD
Ocoee FD
Winter Garden FR
Orange County FR
Forrestry Services
Maitland FR
Lake County FR
Eustis FD
Mount Dora FD
FFCA SERP
FSFMO FF Safety Section

Remaining meeting / program photos can be found on the GALLERY page.

CFFCA MEETING / PROGRAM

Corporate Partner Appreciation
December 19th, 2019

The CFFCA held its Annual Christmas Luncheon and Corporate Partner Appreciation on December 19th, 2019 at the Hilton Altamonte Springs with 53 in attendance.

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Each Corporate Partner was recognized by CFFCA President John Miller and presented with a custom CFFCA logo ceramic tile for their gracious support throughout the year.

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CFFCA LEADERSHIP SEMINAR

"Maintaining Leadership Credibility"
October 22nd, 2019

Dr. Larry Ritcey - Presenter

The CFFCA held a 1-Day Leadership Seminar at the Hilton on Tuesday, October 22nd, 2019 with 47 officers in attendance and 21 agencies represented.

Thank you to our Seminar Co-Sponsors:

Tony Apfelbeck
Fisher Safety
CORE Construction Services
North American Fire Equipment Company

Please visit our Gallery for all seminar photos...

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CFFCA 9-11 Memorial at the Hilton
Updated with the addition of the
Florida FF LODD art piece entitled:

"The Final Alarm"

Go to GALLERY PAGE to view all photos

Florida Fallen FF Memorial Unveiling
State Capitol Building - Tallahassee
April 1st. 2019

FFCA/CFFCA President John Miller attended the Fallen FF Memorial Ceremony at the State Capitol where the newly dedicated Fallen FF Memorial was unveiled in the presence of hundreds of fire officials, dignataries, and surviving family members of the fallen.

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[Photo L to R: Ray Colburn - FFCA CEO, Chief John Miller - FFCA/CFFCA President, Chief Julie Downey - FFCA Fire Chief of the Year, and Chief Otto Drozd - 2nd Vice President IAFC.]

Please browse ALL PHOTOS on our Gallery Page...

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