Peter A. Morrell, President
Maine Chapter IAAI

Greetings to members & visitors

Here we are in the midst of another Maine winter with all its unpredictable twists and turns. This is certainly nothing unusual for those of us in fire and emergency services or anyone who has lived here for any length of time. As we continue to deal with old man winter there doesn’t seem to be any shortage of fires our colleagues and associates are being called on to investigate. It seems like we can’t turn on the local morning or evening news without hearing about another family or business suffering from the loss of a devastating fire incident. I’m sure we‘ve all felt the impact of the weather or recent fires to some degree, either directly or indirectly.

Our chapter is no exception as it pertains to the weather difficulties. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our December seminar covering heating appliances and alternative heat sources with State Inspector Peter Holmes due to inclement weather. We will be making every effort to reschedule this very important seminar topic as soon as it makes sense to do so. Meanwhile, we have been hard at work putting together some other seminars and training opportunities.

Coming up on Saturday, February 27 is an encore presentation of a recent seminar we had featuring Maine Forest Ranger Matt Bennett. He will be covering Wildland and Urban Interface fires and scene investigations. Matt is an outstanding presenter and this is one training opportunity you won’t want to miss. As an extra added bonus, seminar cost including lunch, is a mere pittance at the bargain price of $10.00 for chapter members and non-chapter members alike. We have also scheduled this presentation on a Saturday to accommodate volunteers and others who may not have the resources available to attend a weekday seminar. Talk about a chapter that works for you! Spread the word to all you know who may be interested. These low cost opportunities don’t present themselves as often as they used to so let’s make this one a success. Applications are available on our website; just find the link, print, and mail it in. There’s my shameless plug for the chapter.

We are also busy filling our remaining calendar with other events, including our Annual Meeting and Seminar scheduled for June 1st and 2nd in Lewiston. The topic will be Burn Cell Demonstrations featuring, and being presented in conjunction with, agents from the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, & Firearms. Another training I’m sure you won’t want to miss as our very own Rick Shepard (insert dramatic music intro here) is pulling out all the stops to make the training a big hit. More details will be forthcoming so stay tuned.

In closing for now, let me take a moment to recognize and commend our current Board of Directors and Officers who continue working diligently to ensure our chapter remains active and up to date with what’s going on. I offer my sincere thanks as all the work you do makes being chapter president a smooth, pleasurable, and do I dare say(?!?), almost effortless experience. Again, I say thank you all. Stay safe out there and remember this from our Code of Ethics: “... [We] are truth seekers not case makers; it is more important to protect the innocent than to convict the guilty.”

Sincerely,

Peter A. Morrell, President

Maine Chapter IAAI