2023 Fire Prevention Institute

Changing Today for Tomorrow Making Livable Communities

October 16-20, 2023 - Campbell’s Resort ~ Lake Chelan

Registration for the 2023 Fire Prevention Institute is Now Open 

The Washington State Association of Fire Marshals, along with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, the Washington Public Fire Educators, and the IAAI - Washington Chapter, is pleased to announce the dates for the 2023 Fire Prevention Institute (FPI). The FPI is being held at Campbell’s Resort at Lake Chelan, and will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, October 16, 2023, and will conclude before noon on Friday, October 20, 2023. The Fire Prevention Institute focuses on important prevention and strategy issues facing fire officials and will include essential training hours needed for code recertification.

Full Registration includes: All Sessions, Breakfast and Lunch (Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday) and Thursday Dinner 

One Day Registration includes: All Sessions, Breakfast and Lunch Only (Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday)

WSAFM will issue ICC Continuing Education Credits!!

Room rates will be based on the government per diem rate in effect October 1, 2023.  In order to receive this special rate, reservations must be made by September 15, 2023. Once this date has passed, or the room block has been filled, you will need to find alternate lodging. Reservations should be made directly with the hotel by calling (800) 553-8225. Please be sure to provide group block name "Washington State Assoc. Fire Marshal's" and group block code #592392.

Register Here

Key Note Speakers:

We would like to announce our keynote speakers Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell and Chief Dennis Compton.

About Dr. Moore-Merrell:   

Lori is considered an expert in executive leadership, emergency response system evaluation, public safety resource deployment, community risk assessment, data science/analytics, strategic planning, costs and benefits analysis, advocacy, consensus building, policy development and implementation, and generational differences in the workplace.

As a doctor of public health and a data scientist, Dr. Moore-Merrell recently served on the Biden-Harris Transition Team to conduct agency review for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as part of the COVID-19 response planning. She has also served on the Public Safety Committee of the transition teams for both the mayor of New York City (2013) and the mayor of the District of Columbia (2015).

Lori serves on national and international boards of directors and advises elected officials, CEOs and local metropolitan fire chiefs in areas of her expertise while providing them scientific data to make fact-based decisions. She was recently awarded Honorary Membership in the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association for her expertise in areas of fire prevention, fire suppression or other related disciplines. Lori is only the fourth individual to be presented this honor in the 54-year history of the organization.

Dr. Moore-Merrell is an international speaker, presenter and author. She has also been awarded the James O. Page Achievement Award by the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) (2001), twice awarded the IAFC President's Award for commitment to firefighter safety (2009, 2019), the Dr. John Granito Award for Excellence in Fire Leadership and Management Research (2010), the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs President's Award of Distinction (2013), the Mason Lankford Award from the Congressional Fire Services Institute (2019), and the Homeland Security Today Mission Award (2020).

Lori is a principal member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 3000 Technical Committee and is an advisor to the chair of the NFPA 1710 Technical Committee. Lori served 9 years as a commissioner to the Commission for Fire Service Accreditation and 3 terms as a board member for the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Dr. Moore-Merrell is a member of the International Fire Service Training Association Executive Board, as well as the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Fire Council.

During her 26 years at the IAFF, Lori spent more than 17 years leading a research team made up of international fire service organizations and other partners, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the UL, the Urban Institute, the University of Texas, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the Commission on Fire Accreditation International. As principal investigator and senior project manager on projects funded by FEMA/Assistance to Firefighters Grants totaling more than $23 million, she led the team to produce landmark reports and other tools to improve residential and high-rise fireground operations, community risk assessment, fire and EMS resource deployment, and “Big Data Analytics” — all to help drive executive decision-making. These reports and other resources have changed the face of fire and EMS deployment in countries throughout the world.

Dr. Moore-Merrell has also managed emergency response system evaluation project teams, including secure data procurement, geographic information systems analysis and workload analysis in hundreds of fire departments throughout North America.

Lori began her fire service career in 1987 as a fire department paramedic in the City of Memphis Fire Department, Memphis, Tennessee.

CRR and Leadership - Chief Dennis Compton

Chief Compton will discussion Community Risk Reduction (CRR) provides a platform for fire department leaders to assess risk, prevent harm, respond to incidents, and review the deployment and utilization of their resources to best protect their community. It can be a template for data-driven planning and decision-making, as well as establishing and communicating priorities inside and outside the department. CRR also establishes the foundation of a leadership and management mindset that guides the organization towards prevention, education, and investigations as key elements of its mission. This session will explore these assumptions and provide a unique perspective that can make current and future fire department leaders more effective.

About Chief Compton: 

Chief Dennis Compton was the Fire Chief in Mesa, Arizona for 6 years and Assistant Fire Chief in Phoenix (AZ) where he served for 28 years. He is Past Chairman of the Executive Board of the International Fire Service Training Association and Past Chairman of the Congressional Fire Services Institute National Advisory Council. He has also served as the Chairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Board of Directors, and Secretary of the International Public Safety Data Institute Board of Directors.

Dennis is a well-known speaker and author. During his more than 52+ year career in the fire service, he has received many prestigious awards and recognitions. A few include the ISFSI George D. Post National Instructor of the Year Award; the CFSI/Motorola Mason Lankford National Fire Service Leadership Award; the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association and the Arizona Fire Chiefs Association Lifetime Achievement Awards; the John Granito Award for Excellence in Fire Service Leadership and Management Research; the IAFC James O. Page EMS Achievement Award; the 2019 IAFC Presidents Award; the 2020 VCOS Presidents Award; and the 2020 NFFF Arthur Glatfelter Award. Dennis has been inducted into the National Fire Heritage center Hall of Legends, Legacies, and Leaders; the Firehouse Legends and Icons National Hall of Fame and is a charter member of the Arizona Fire Service Hall of Fame.

Special thanks to our Key Note Sponsor