NEEDA - National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association

Rhino Outdoor International, Inc. (Henderson, Nevada), which operates outdoor activity based businesses, including wholly owned subsidiary Rhino Off-Road Industries, Inc. (Rhino), has executed an Exclusive Distributorship, Manufacturing and Supply Agreement for the USA and Canada with Arizona Emergency Products, Inc., (AEP), an Arizona corporation, and Rapid Response Vehicles, L.L.C., (RRV), an Arizona limited liability company, which are both owned by Michael Chamberlain.

AEP/ RRV and Rhino have entered into the agreement to manufacture a unique version of its 131 inch wheel base Rapid Response RTV (RR/RTV) specifically and exclusively for AEP/RRV. The RR/RTV is designed to meet the unique challenges of AEPs customers in the first response, search and Rescue Theater of operations.

The agreement calls for RRV to purchase a minimum of 10 RR/RTVs from Rhino during the initial 12 month term and each subsequent one-year term the minimum number of units doubles to reach 160 RR/RTVs by 2012. The basic minimum value of this agreement will be approximately $9 Million over the initial term and successive renewal term. The agreement provides for AEP and RRV to expand their territory on a first rights basis to foreign countries where governmental RRV sales may be available.

The Rapid Response Rough Terrain Vehicle (RR/RTV") is based on the Rhino Off-Road Industries RTV platform used to create the innovative, off-road vehicle the company has been delivering to off-road enthusiasts over the past two years. The companies are a great fit with AEP converting the base vehicle into a search and rescue, emergency response tool to be utilized by police, fire and other government organizations.

Stock RRVs will be delivered to AEPs factory in Arizona where they will be outfitted with custom accessories to support first response activities in off-highway terrains that are currently inaccessible to most other vehicles. AEP is responsible for distribution of the upfit vehicles to all government agencies, police, fire and first response organizations in the US and Canada. Design features for the 4-seat, 131 inch version allow for additional passengers and equipment, expanded battery capacity to support communications, lighting and video capture equipment while creating space for emergency equipment accessories such as winches, tool boxes, medical equipment and poly-tanks for fire retardants. The design team is particularly proud of the anti-fatigue features designed into this vehicle. Testing of the first prototype was completed this month with the RR/RTV scoring high marks with AEP and some of their customers.

The Rhino Off-Road RTV is unlike any other vehicle now in use by the emergency response industry, stated Mike Chamberlain, owner of Arizona Emergency Products. Its designed to go anywhere and when outfitted to meet the needs of firefighters, police, border patrol, and others it will allow for rapid response access and patrol of areas previously inaccessible by vehicles with comparable capacity for equipment and passengers. AEP has field-tested the Rhino Off-Road RTV with law enforcement agencies in the rugged, desert terrain in southern Arizona over the last eight weeks and has received strong endorsements.

We have capitalized on the design investment of the Rhino Off-Road RTV that cut its teeth in the recreational and competitive off-road environment, stated Howard Pearl, CEO & President of ROI. We created the RTV to go just about anywhere. With the engineering changes required by AEP to the RTV we have mutually created a vehicle that can have a significant impact on the response capabilities of many police and fire organizations. The vehicle is also suited for trail and perimeter patrol in atypical, off-highway environments. We are proud to have been chosen to design and provide a product to AEP and their important market.

Arizona Emergency Products is an outfitter of emergency and first response vehicles in southwest US. The company strives to provide customers with leading edge technologies for the best protection possible for police, fire and government agencies involved in first response activities. The company is based in Phoenix, Arizona with additional facilities in New Mexico and California.

Rhino Off-Road Industries is the manufacturer of the innovative Rhino Off-Road Rough Terrain Vehicle (RTV). The RTV was designed for active, outdoor oriented families and individuals wanting to experience off-road adventure in virtually any off-road terrain. The Rhino RTV has added a new dimension to wilderness adventure tours and created a new category in the growing off-road rental industry. The dependable and affordable Rhino Off-Road RTV is manufactured in Henderson, NV.

MORE INFO? www.Rhino-Offroad.com and www.ArizonaEmergencyProducts.com.

CALIFORNIA'S OCTOBER 07 WILDFIRES PRODUCE UP TO $1.6 BILLION IN INSURED LOSSES: IMPACT FORECASTING
Originally Posted: October 31, 2007 11:40 AM
Last Updated: October 31, 2007 11:45 AM

Wildfires in California are expected to produce insured losses between $1.2 billion and $1.6 billion, according to Impact Forecasting LLC, a unit of Aon Corporation (Chicago, IL). More than 80 percent of the losses are expected to occur from the Witch Creek fire that merged with the Guejito and Poomacha fires.

"Our analysis of housing trends in California have shown that growth in the more fire-prone wildland-urban areas is greater than in traditional urban regions," says Steven Jakubowski, chief operating officer of Impact Forecasting. "Unfortunately, we are likely to see more catastrophic events in the future as a result of the increased housing growth."

More than two dozen fires have burned from Santa Barbara County to San Diego County, the largest of which is the Witch Creek fire in San Diego County that forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes.

The Witch Creek fire was unusual in that it burned beyond historical bounds seen in previous events and into densely populated areas, including Rancho Bernardo, Poway and Rancho Santa Fe, after crossing a likely firebreak at the I-15 interstate freeway.

The magnitude of the Witch Creek Fire demonstrates that commercial properties face greater exposure than had been previously seen.

"California was set for a difficult year because of an extended drought that brought moisture conditions in vegetation to troublingly low levels," Jakubowski said. "Indeed, California has already seen difficult fires in
Griffith Park, Catalina Island, and Lake Tahoe this year. The drought combined with high temperatures, very low humidity, and extreme wind gusts which at times reached hurricane strengths combined to form a disastrous scenario."

This week's catastrophe follows other California losses including outbreaks in 2003, 1993, and 1991. The fire siege in 2003 produced the Cedar and Old Fires, resulting in losses in excess of $2 billion.

While these catastrophic losses are closely tied to extreme weather conditions and recurring droughts throughout California, the explosion in the growth of housing greatly affects likely future losses, as well.

Aon Re Global works with insurance and reinsurance company clients to manage and mitigate risks of catastrophic events such as these.

Impact Forecasting is a center within Aon Re Global. Impact Forecasting produces catastrophe analysis and modeling services. Models include hurricane wind and surge, earthquake, tornado and hail, wildfire, and terrorism perils.

Aon Corporation is a global provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting. Through its 43,000 professionals worldwide, Aon readily delivers distinctive client value via innovative and effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions. Our industry-leading global resources, technical expertise and industry knowledge are delivered locally through more than 500 offices in more than 120 countries. Aon was ranked by A.M. Best as the number one global insurance brokerage in 2007 based on brokerage revenues,
and voted best insurance intermediary, best reinsurance intermediary, and best employee benefits consulting firm in 2007 by the readers of Business Insurance.

MORE INFO? www.aon.com or Rahsaan Johnson 312.381.2684 Rahsaan_Johnson@aon.com

CENTER ON POLICY INITIATIVES SAYS SAN DIEGO HAS UNDERSUPPLY OF FIRE STATIONS, EQUIPMENT, AND FIREFIGHTERS
Originally Posted: October 31, 2007 11:29 AM
Last Updated: October 31, 2007 11:29 AM

As wildfires devastated San Diego neighborhoods this month, chronic and systematic underfunding of public safety services left the region needlessly vulnerable to the destruction. That is the conclusion of the Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI), a nonprofit research group based in San Diego.

"Although this is a region with extreme natural fire hazards, anti-tax
politics have led to an undersupply of fire stations, equipment and
personnel to adequately fight fires," said CPI president Donald Cohen. "Our
2005 study, The Bottom Line, documented that San Diego's per capita
spending on fire protection is the third lowest among large California
cities, and the number of firefighters per 1,000 residents is the lowest."

MORE INFO? www.onlinecpi.org/article.php?list=type&type=54

3% WITHHOLDING LAW GETS ONE-YEAR-BEFORE- IT-GOES-INTO-EFFECT BOOST BY BILL FROM HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
Originally Posted: October 31, 2007 10:50 AM
Last Updated: October 31, 2007 10:51 AM

by Kenton Pattie
Executive Director
National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association (NEEDA)
KentonP1@aol.com
703 850- 8552

The House Ways and Means Committee late today (October 30, 2007) released the text and summary of an alternative minimum tax (AMT) patch and tax extenders package (H.R. 3996) to be marked up in the Committee on Thursday, November 1. A one-year delay for the 3% withholding requirement was included in the bill.

The one year delay concept in the 3% withholding plan just gives small businesses another year to convince Congress that the original law passed in 2005 was a mistake and will hurt businesses which sell to Federal, state and local governments. It also gives the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies time to study the impact as they will all have to make some major changes in their operations to accommodate taking 3% from every payment they owe to a contractor.

The one year delay is not a remedy or solution to our problem. It is a helpful sign from Congress that they see the merits to the opposition and are willing to study the impact of the 3% withholding law for one more year before Treasury Department and IRS can put it into effect. This is significant because Treasury already announced earlier this year that they are going to publish the guidelines for the 3% withholding. Treasury is well advised to shelve the guidelines for a year. Now, we still have the big job ahead of us: repeal the 3% withholding law. Only by repeal can we ensure that all your sales to local, state and Federal agencies will result in your getting paid in full for the work you do.

Taking 3% out of every sale you make is bad government and highly offensive to the small business which serve state and local governments like you do. You might think that if the Ways and Means Committee has some concern about the 3% law they passed two years ago that they will take the final step toward repeal. But at this point, following the rules of Congress, the Ways and Means Committee has to come up with billions of dollars in new Federal income to offset the repeal of the 3% withholding. Why? Because the 3% withholding concept is a huge windfall for the Federal government: They get to keep for one year or longer 3% of every sale -- the money goes into the Federal Treasury and will only be returned to you after you file your taxes and prove that you have paid everything you owe.

The effect of the 3% withholding idea is that you and every dealer will be lending the Federal government 3% of every sale you make. You will have to go without that money until you claim it successfully in your tax returns. It will be complicated, involving extensive new bookwork for every local, state and Federal agency, and it will be another unfunded Federal mandated penalty on small businesses like yours. It is essentially a very dumb idea which causes far more problems than it solves. The reason for the law: to get businesses to pay all their taxes. The truth is that most businesses pay their taxes accurately. The Federal problem is to detect those who don't pay; it should not be solved by taking money from thousands of small businesses. The 3% withholding law is in effect a mandatory tax on all companies which sell to local, state and Federal agencies. It should be repealed.

"To get it repealed will take a substantial effort by dealers and others affected by the law. Repealing will not be easy because the Federal government is so desperately hungry these days for funding to support the military operations in the Middle East."

One of the provisions included in this Extenders Package was the Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007 (H.R. 3056), which repeals the IRSs authority to hire private debt collection agencies AND postpones for one year the application of the 3-percent withholding requirement. The House approved that bill on October 10, 2007, by a vote of 232-173.

FEDERAL HELP IS PROVIDED TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: CHERTOFF AND PAULISON
Originally Posted: October 30, 2007 3:07 PM
Last Updated: October 30, 2007 3:07 PM

Secretary Chertoff, FEMA Administrator David Paulison, and President Bush, l toured southern California which experienced the worst wildfires since 2003. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through FEMA, coordinated the assets and resources of the federal government, in conjunction with the state of California and local agencies, as firefighters gained the upper hand and bring most of the fires under control. Damage estimates exceed $1 billion, nearly 1 million people evacuated their homes, and there were 14 deaths reported due to the fires. Arson is suspected in some of the fires and an investigation is under way.

Secretary Chertoff visited Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Administrator Paulison. Secretary Chertoff, addressing the International Association of Fire Chiefs, spoke highly of the entire response effort, including that of state and local governments and the private sector. I think its clear that the lessons we learned from Katrina and the work weve done over the past two years to plan and prepare for these kinds of events are now paying off, he said . A transcript of his remarks is available at: http://.

Here are some of the actions taken by DHS components in response to the wildfires:
" FEMA had more than 450 personnel on the ground assisting state and local recovery efforts; it has deployed Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers to help people register for assistance; its National Response Coordination Center and the Regional Response Coordination Center in Oakland, Calif., are at 24-hour activation; and it approved a series of fire assistance grants to help local fire-fighting efforts.

" The U.S. Coast flew aircraft from Air Station Sacramento to San Diego carrying a total of 3,000 cots and blankets for FEMAs use in aiding evacuees, and also flew a FEMA Federal Incident Response Support Team, their vehicles, and equipment from Atlanta to San Diego. Helicopters from Air Station San Diego flew Gov. Schwarzenegger and Secretary Chertoff over the San Diego area to view the scope of the fires.

" TSA's National Deployment Force sent 25 TSOs to San Diego International Airport to augment the workforce and assist by screening families evacuating their homes. TSA's Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) is also assisting in the interagency emergency management effort. Their Los Angeles Field Office is providing support to FEMA coordination centers in southern California.

" Border Patrol agents rescued six illegal aliens after the group called 911 when they became trapped in a World War II-era bunker on Otay Mountain. CBPs Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue agents located and provided medical attention to four severely burned illegal aliens. Border Patrol agents also rescued and safely moved more than 60 horses that are now being cared for at three local shelters.

The department coordinated many of its actions with other federal agencies and departments, as well as with the American Red Cross, which provided shelters and more than 3,000 staff and volunteers to the area.

MORE INFO? www.dhs.gov/xnews/speeches/sp_1193431068145.shtm

25 ROADS AND INTERSECTIONS CLOSED IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY
Originally Posted: October 28, 2007 6:00 PM
Last Updated: October 28, 2007 6:00 PM

There are 25 roads and intersections closed in San Diego County at this time. Imagine the impact of 25 road closures in your community as you begin work Monday morning? Kenton Pattie, Executive Director, NEEDA KentonP1@aol.com

ATF NATIONAL RESPONSE TEAM ACTIVATED TO ORANGE COUNTY,
Originally Posted: October 27, 2007 3:30 PM
Last Updated: October 27, 2007 3:35 PM

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) National Response Team (NRT), along with ATF special agents from the Los Angeles Field Division, have entered the investigation of the Santiago Canyon fire that began Oct. 21, 2007, in Orange County, CA., at the request of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Special Agent in Charge John Torres of ATF's Los Angeles Field Division said that the approximately 23,000 acres of land have been destroyed and early estimates of damages are in excess of $2 million.

ATF's NRT has brought definitive expertise and an array of state-of-the-art equipment to the investigation of major fire and explosives incidents since 1978. Four regional components, organized geographically to cover the United States, comprise the NRT. The team can respond within 24 hours to assist state and local law enforcement or fire service personnel in onsite investigations.

The responding NRT component normally has 13-18 members, including certified fire investigators who are veteran special agents with post-blast and fire origin-and-cause expertise; forensic chemists; explosives enforcement officers; fire protection engineers; accelerant detection canines; explosives detection canines; and intelligence, computer forensic and audit support. A fleet of fully-equipped response vehicles strategically located throughout the United States provides logistical support.

ATF's partnership with federal, state and local officers is vital to the most effective processing efforts at an explosives or fire scene. The NRT capitalizes on that by working alongside its partners in reconstructing the scene, identifying the seat of the blast or the origin of the fire, conducting interviews and sifting through debris to obtain evidence related to the explosion or fire.

In addition to investigating hundreds of large fire and explosives scenes, the NRT trucks were deployed for the 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, the Olympics and other major sporting events in the United States, presidential inaugurations and the national political conventions, and major international conferences.

This is the 1st NRT activation in fiscal year 2008 and the 640th since the program began in 1978. Other agencies involved in the investigation are the Orange County Sheriffs Office, California Department of Forestry, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Forest Service.

MORE INFO? www.atf.gov

ATF INVESTIGATES 1,700 FIRES ANNUALLY; FIELDS 90 SPECIAL AGENT CERTIFIED FIRE INVESTIGATORS; CONDUCTS FORENSICS AT THE INCIDENT SCENE AND IN ATF LAB
Originally Posted: October 27, 2007 2:46 PM
Last Updated: October 27, 2007 2:58 PM

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated more than 1,700 fires worldwide in 2006. Here are the five major things that the ATF does.

l. Certified Fire Investigators:

ATF's cadre of more than 90 special agent certified fire investigators (CFI) are specially trained criminal nvestigators who are primary technical resources to state and local investigators and prosecutors in the area of fire origin and cause determination. CFIs undergo an intensive
2-year training program that gives them the knowledge, skills and expertise in the field of forensic fire science, reconstruction and analysis. CFIs bring credibility in the testimony as expert witnesses in the area of fire origin and cause determination. Once certified, they must receive mandatory continuing education.

2. National Response Team:

ATF developed the National Response Team (NRT) in 1978 to assist federal, state and local investigators in meeting the challenges of significant fire and explosives incidents. Since its inception in 1978, the NRT has been activated 640 times. The NRT is organized by region and can respond within 24 hours to assist with an investigation. ATF deploys its NRT and International Response Team (IRT) to explosives and fire incidents throughout the country and around the world.

The NRT works alongside state and local investigators to reconstruct the scene and identify the seat of the blast or origin of the fire; they also conduct interviews and sift through debris to collect evidence. Each NRT is composed of veteran special agents, including certified explosives
specialists; certified fire investigators; forensic mappers and chematic artists; accelerant and explosives detection canines; explosives enforcement officers; fire protection engineers; and forensic chemists.

The NRT is supported by a fleet of fully-equipped response vehicles that are strategically located throughout the United States allowing the NRT to be self-contained for the forensic examination of explosives and fire scenes.

3. Accelerant Detection Canines:

ATF is a premier source of specially trained accelerant detection canines. The canines are assigned to local, state and other federal law enforcement agencies, as well as selected foreign countries, lending support to investigations and security efforts. In 1984, ATF developed an accelerant detection canine pilot program resulting in the creation of an
accelerant detection system that gives immediate advantage over field instruments. There are approximately 90 certified accelerant detection canines located throughout the country.

4. National Laboratory Center:

ATF's National Laboratory Center, located in suburban Maryland, is home to the Forensic Science Laboratory, the Fire Research Laboratory and its administrative office for Laboratory Services.

The Forensic Science Laboratory evaluates evidence obtained in criminal investigations involving alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives and suspected arson. Examination of fire debris evidence for the recovery and
characterization of any ignitable liquid residues can provide valuable information to an investigator.

The laboratory's work was critical to the arrest and conviction of the serial arsonist in the Washington, D.C. area responsible for setting more than 40 fires in 2005.

ATF's Fire Research Laboratory (FRL) is the first facility of its kind in the world dedicated to supporting fire scene investigations. The FRL has the ability to simulate full-scale fire scenes to determine how fires begin and spread. Using the laboratory's unique facilities, the staff applies sophisticated instrumentation to perform forensic fire science and engineering analyses. The fire tests and analyses conducted help investigators to better understand fire timelines, assess witness statements and correlate fire scene damage present at the time of the fire.

The FRL facility gives fire scientists, engineers, researchers and investigators a controlled environment in which to test fire investigation theories and to evaluate potential fire auses.

5. Bomb Arson Tracking System:

The Bomb Arson Tracking System (BATS) is a Web-based arson and explosives intelligence and information sharing database maintained by ATF.

BATS ensures that crucial, time-sensitive information about explosives and arson incidents reaches first responders. BATS allows federal, state and local law enforcement agencies secure Internet access to a system that collects and disseminates incident-based information in real time. End
users can enter their agency's incidents and query information across agencies and produce relevant reports.

MORE INFO? www.atf.gov

PENNSYLVANIA TIRE SITE TO BE CLEANED UP BY NORTHEAST CENTRAL RAIL; TIRE FIRE HAD BEEN EXTINGUISHED WITH FOAM AND WATER BUT HUGE PILES OF TIRES CONTINUE AS CHALLENGE TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Originally Posted: October 27, 2007 11:33 AM
Last Updated: October 27, 2007 11:38 AM

With seven bids in hand, Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty says Pennsylvania is one step closer to completing remediation work on the Starr Property at Greenwood Township in Columbia County, PA where nearly 8 million tires were discarded in the 1980s. Northeast Central Rail is the apparent low bidder.

Remaining to be removed by summer of 2008 are 300,000 tires.

McGinty: "Over the past three years, we've been able to remove a vast majority of the tires that marred 14 acres, and we did so in a manner that was environmentally sound and economically prudent. Rather than seeing these tires end up in a landfill, our goal was to create products that could meet demands in various markets. So, once removed from here, the tires were reused as a fuel supplement at a South Carolina paper company, and for use in asphalt, parking bumpers and playground surfaces, and for engineering purposes in landfills.

In 1987, the commonwealth issued an administrative order requiring the property owners, Max and Martha Starr, to stop accepting tires and provide an estimate of the number of tires at the site. After subsequent orders and appeals by the owners, the Starrs and DEP finalized terms of a legal agreement in March 2004 to clean up all the tires that accumulated on the property during the mid-1980s.

Aside from a $400,000 civil penalty for failing to remove waste tires from their property, the Starrs also had to relinquish operational control of the pile to DEP, but maintain liability insurance.

Based on records obtained from the Starrs, DEP identified about 40 tire generators that contributed waste tires to the pile. Ten entered into consent orders with DEP and emoved about 133,000 tires from the site.

In February 2005, DEP filed a "complaint in equity" in Columbia County Court against the remaining 21 generators that were still in existence. Of those 21 generators, 12 have settled with DEP and have removed 70,217 tires from the site.

This year, two companies, Entech Inc. and Environmental Quality Management, spent the spring and summer shredding millions of tires, which largely completed cleanup in areas A and B. Combined, the two firms removed more than 19,000 tons of tires.

The approximately 300,000 tires remaining are in the remote Area C of the Starr property, along with a couple hundred very large tires elsewhere.

McGinty said Northeast Central Rail has been identified as the apparent lowest bidder. A subcontractor of Northampton Generating Station, the company has proposed turning the remaining tires into tire derived fuel for the plant. DEP will now work with the company to establish and review plans, security and insurance requirements before awarding the contract.

If the project requirements cannot be met by Northeast Central Rail, the department will evaluate the other six bids received until a responsible bidder is decided.

The fire began when tires being shredded in a machine, owned by nvironmental Quality Management, caught fire, which then spread to a nearby tire pile. The fire was extinguished in a few hours using foam and water, resulting in fewer than 200 tires being burned, no harm to the
stream, and no evacuation of nearby residents.

MORE INFO? www.depweb.state.pa.us. keyword: Waste Tires or Daniel T. Spadoni (570) 327-3659

SANBORN OFFERS WILDFIRE THREAT MAPS ONLINE
Originally Posted: October 27, 2007 6:09 AM
Last Updated: October 27, 2007 11:17 AM

John Copple, CEO of Sanborn, Colorado Springs, an industry leader in geospatial solutions, is making California wildfire threat maps available online.

In an effort to support the release of accurate, up-to-date information about the California wildfires, Sanborn has published a series of maps online.

Specifically designed to meet wildfire fire mitigation and prevention planning requirements, these maps are generated from Sanborns commercial Wildfire Risk Information Product (WRIP), which depicts maps of wildfire risk (areas most prone to wildfire occurrence), fire behavior potential, and susceptibility of severe damage.

This data is currently presented online with update fire perimeters obtained from several different agencies to aid recovery and damage assessment efforts. These web maps are updated daily as new fire perimeters become available.

John Copple: When planning for mitigation projects and response resources, Sanborns Wildfire Risk Information product allows communities and local fire agencies to identify those communities and area most at risk.

AWith a tradition of mapping dating back to 1866, Sanborn offers end-to-end geospatial solutions backed by the latest in technology and superior customer support. The companys combined product and service offerings include consulting and off-the-shelf products; analog, digital and LiDAR data acquisition; photogrammetric mapping, remote sensing solutions, and data conversion.

Sanborn offers mapping for government and commercial customers. A nationally recognized company, Sanborn has multiple offices in the United States.

MORE INFO? www.sanborn.com.

NATIONAL JOURNAL: FEDERAL BUREAUCRATS ARE AGAINST THE 3% WITHHOLDING LAW!
Originally Posted: October 26, 2007 2:57 PM
Last Updated: October 26, 2007 2:57 PM

National Journal 10-20-2007
Executive Brief
© National Journal Group, Inc.

Contractor Withholding Taxes Agency Systems

Federal contractors want Congress to repeal a requirement that federal, state, and local government agencies begin withholding a 3 percent tax in 2011. The bureaucrats who would have to implement the change are cheering them on, saying that financial management systems would need expensive changes to keep track of the money.

A 2005 tax law included a provision that all governments (except local bodies that spend less than $100,000 annually) withhold 3 percent of contract payments, which would raise federal revenue by $7 billion between 2011 and 2015. A 2004 Government Accountability Office report found that more than 27,000 defense contractors owed a total of about $3 billion in unpaid taxes.

Those opposed to the rule say that it will require agencies to reprogram financial management systems. Rules and contracts will need to be modified, which could cause a number of logistical problems, said Andrea Wuebker, a spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Budget.

"We are still evaluating what it will take to comply with this legislation," said Boyd Rutherford, the Agriculture Department's assistant secretary for administration. "However, our initial view is that our financial and acquisition systems will require substantial modifications."

"Congress never debated the merits of an expanded withholding requirement -- as a revenue-raiser or as a way to narrow the tax gap -- in a committee or on either chamber's floor," Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, said in March. "If it had, Congress would have realized that it does neither of these things well."

-- Jill R. Aitoro/Government Executive

AS DEALER OWNER OR MANAGER: ARE YOU PROTECTED FROM FINANCIAL LOSS WITH PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY INSURANCE?
Originally Posted: October 26, 2007 2:50 PM
Last Updated: October 26, 2007 2:50 PM

A separate coverage can be added to existing insurance policies that protects professionals in the event of a client's claim that they have suffered a financial loss as the result of an error or omission that was committed by a company while performing and delivering their professional services.

Whether your emergency dealership is small or large, it is important to plan for disaster mangement to protect against unexpected circumstances.

Professional Liability Insurance is a safeguard for employers and employees. Before joining a company for the first time or changing jobs, this policy is protection against claims that pertain to professional malpractice by current employers at a future date. Employers are also protected against future professional liability claims.

If services are provided that involve pay for advice, such as truck designer, developer, where the client might sue for damages resulting from a faulty performance of the fire apparatus, Errors and Omission (E&O) insurance should be considered.

Professional liability insurance is similar to malpractice insurance, protecting professionals from liability when an action or failure to take action results in injury or financial damage to a customer.

Key features to look for in a policy include:

A broad definition of your dealer responsibilities that includes both advice given and services performed.

Automatic coverage for any changes you make in your company . . . for example if you merge with another dealer.

The ability to reduce the deductible when claims are settled by alternate dispute resolution.

Payment for defense costs in disciplinary proceedings and reimbursement for lost earnings due to court appearances.

Defense coverage for discrimination charges.

Options to extend the claim loss-reporting period, including extensions that cover retirement, and death and disability.

IRS REVISES MANY TAX PROVISIONS FOR 08 TO KEEP PACE WITH INFLATION
Originally Posted: October 26, 2007 12:11 PM
Last Updated: October 26, 2007 12:11 PM

By law, the dollar amounts for a variety of tax provisions must be revised each year to keep pace with inflation. As a result, more than three dozen tax benefits, affecting virtually every taxpayer, are being adjusted for 2008. Increases in personal exemptions and the standard deduction, widening of the tax brackets, and a higher Hope Credit are among the many changes for taxpayers in 2008.

Key changes affecting 2008 returns, filed by most taxpayers in early 2009, include the following:

The value of each personal and dependency exemption, available to most taxpayers, is $3,500, up $100 from 2007.

The new standard deduction is $10,900 for married couples filing a joint return (up $200), $5,450 for singles and married individuals filing separately (up $100) and $8,000 for heads of household (up $150). According to the IRS, nearly two out of three taxpayers take the standard deduction, rather than itemizing deductions.

Tax-bracket thresholds increase for each filing status. For a married couple filing a joint return, for example, the taxable-income threshold separating the 15-percent bracket from the 25-percent bracket is $65,100, up from $63,700 in 2007.

The maximum earned income tax credit for low and moderate income workers and working families with two or more children is $4,824, up from $4,716. The income limit for the credit for joint return filers with two or more children is $41,646, up from $39,783.

The maximum Hope credit, available for the first two years of post-secondary education, is $1,800, up from $1,650 in 2007.

The income limit for the savers credit is $53,000 for joint filers (up $1,000), $39,750 for heads of household (up $750) and $26,500 for singles and married persons filing separately (up$500). Low- and moderate-income workers who contribute to a retirement plan, such as an IRA or 401(k), may qualify for the credit, which is available in addition to any other tax savings that apply.

The contribution amount allowed for Roth IRAs begins to phase out for joint filers with incomes exceeding $159,000 (up from $156,000) and $101,000 (up from $99,000) for singles and heads of household.

For contributions to a traditional IRA, the deduction phase-out range for an individual covered by a retirement plan at work begins at income of $85,000 for joint filers (up from $83,000) and $53,000 for a single person or head of household (up from $52,000).

Participants in most employer-sponsored 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans (for employees of public schools and certain tax-exempt organizations) can contribute up to $15,500, unchanged from 2007. Individuals, age 50 or over, can make an additional contribution of up to $5,000, also unchanged from 2007.

Individuals participating in SIMPLE retirement plans can contribute $10,500, unchanged from 2007. Those, age 50 or over, can make an additional contribution of up to $2,500, also unchanged from 2007.

The annual contribution limit for most defined contribution plans rises to $46,000, up from $45,000 in 2007.

DRAEGER MEDICAL OFFERS RESPIRATOR PRODUCTS AT 07 TRADE SHOWS
Originally Posted: October 26, 2007 11:58 AM
Last Updated: October 26, 2007 11:58 AM

Draeger Medical, Inc. (Telford, PA) 100 years old delivered the Pulmotor in 1907, the first-ever mobile short-term respirator. 2007 also marks 100 years in the United Sates for Draegerwerk AG, Draeger Medicals parent corporation.

Draeger Medical is an exhibitor at the 07 ASA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA, and at the AARC Respiratory Congress in Orlando, FL, December 1-4, 2007.

The Pulmotor became widely used by mine rescue teams across America, Germany, England and Mexico and even by mountaineering rescue squads in England. Due to its use in the harsh environments of underground mines and in high altitudes, the reputation of the breathing device quickly grew. Draegermen; has been synonymous with mine rescue teams worldwide.

The use of Draeger breathing apparatus quickly spread to fire departments in the U.S. because of the equipments dependable breathing protection against smoke and fumes. From 1913-1918, the New York City and Pittsburgh fire departments began equipping their firefighters with the respirators.

Today, both cities are still using Draeger self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). An elite group of NYFD firefighters use the Dräger BG-4 four-hour breathing apparatus for incident response, subway/tunnel rescues and high-rise building fires; and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Fire has been using the Draeger AirBoss® SCBAs for ten years without performance failure.

Helge Hussy, member of Draegers Global Executive Management Team:
We have been committed to providing our clients with the most advanced respiratory care technologies for 100 years. Our history of innovation in the field continues and enables us to remain leaders in the development of ventilation and critical care technology far into the future. Recent and continuing advances in the quality and efficiency of its products are evidence that Draeger has continued to build upon its impressive heritage of breathing innovation. For example, the new SmartCare®/PS option for the EvitaXL ventilator is an automated knowledge-based ventilation system developed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the weaning process."

One of the companys most recent innovations was the Oxylog® 3000 emergency transport ventilator, which brings ICU-level performance to emergency and critical-care patient transport.

In the U.S., Draeger Medical, Inc. released the Carina"Home home care ventilator. This system offers clinical-standard ventilation control for patients in their homes.

BARLOW RESPIRATORY HOSPITAL, LOS ANGELES, CA OFFERS ADVICE ON RESPIRATORY HEALTH FOR MILLIONS AMID URBAN WILDFIRES
Originally Posted: October 26, 2007 11:39 AM
Last Updated: October 26, 2007 11:46 AM

Your respiratory health in a major wildfire is critical, cautions experts at Barlow Respiratory Hospital, a long-term, acute care hospital near Los Angeles serving Southern California since 1902.

Dr. David Nelson, medical director at Barlow Respiratory Hospital: Residents far beyond the burn areas should monitor their respiratory health during what may be a long fire season. Amidst the intense fire activity, air quality will get worse and greater health risks will arise.

Dr. Nelson: "When we think about our safety during a local fire, it is important to also take measures to safeguard our respiratory health. Nearby wild fires can pose significant threats to our health, and we must
heed the warnings before health problems arise."

Smoke can cause coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, rapid heartbeat, fatigue, headaches and chest discomfort. Smoke can also irritate the eyes and sinuses and cause a scratchy throat and runny nose.

High levels of smoke can affect anyone, including healthy people. Senior citizens, many of whom have pre-existing medical conditions, and children, who are more active and breathe more air per pound of body weight, may be more susceptible to the ill effects of smoke. Smoke can also
aggravate symptoms for those with heart and respiratory conditions, including angina, congestive heart failure, allergies, asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis -- forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

"Take precautions in the beginning stages of a fire to minimize smoke exposure," says Dr. Nelson. "Enough smoke exposure can cause significant discomfort in healthy people that may last several days. It can also greatly ggravate symptoms for conditions as basic as allergies and as life threatening as asthma, heart disease and respiratory disease."

When smoke levels are high on days during or following a fire, follow these important tips to protect your respiratory health:

-- Remain indoors: If you are not advised to evacuate, limit your exposure to smoke by remaining indoors. Also, the local federal agency on air quality recommends restricting outdoor exercise to one hour or less.

-- Protect your indoor air quality: Keep all windows and doors closed, unless it is too warm indoors. If you do not have an air conditioner and it is too warm to stay inside with the windows closed, seek shelter elsewhere. If you have an air conditioner, keep the fresh-air intake closed and the filter clean to prevent outdoor smoke from getting
inside.

-- Minimize indoor pollution: Avoid using anything that burns, including candles, fireplaces or gas stoves. Do not smoke. Also avoid cleaning activities that stir up particles, such as dusting and vacuuming.

n Do not rely on dust masks. According to the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC), paper dust masks, like those found at hardware stores, are designed to trap large particles, such as sawdust, but will not protect your lungs from smoke. The CDC says an 'N95' mask, properly worn, will offer some protection from smoke.
n
Follow evacuation instructions. Even if you are not instructed to evacuate but reside where there is a lot of smoke from an ongoing fire, consider staying in an area where there is less smoke.

-- Maintain doctor-prescribed medication and respiratory care regimens: If you have asthma or other chronic respiratory disease, follow your treatment regimen, and contact your physician if your condition worsens.

The only one of its kind on the West Coast, Barlow Respiratory Hospital is recognized as a national leader in weaning ventilator-dependent patients and for treating patients with complex medical conditions that require
longer hospital stays. Celebrating 100 years of service in
Southern California, the long-term, acute care hospital, with multiple hospital facilities throughout the area, works with nearly 100 regional hospitals.

MORE INFO? Rachael Payne/Jennifer Zabriskie: 323-908-7608 www.aqmd.gov or www.cdc.gov and air quality reports from the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

SANTA CLARITA, CA, TELLS WILDFIRE STORY AS BUCKWEED FIRE BURNS 38,000 ACRES
Originally Posted: October 26, 2007 10:44 AM
Last Updated: October 26, 2007 10:49 AM

The Santa Clarita Valley, California, was among the cities to be affected by tragedy and disaster yet here, people were able to live and work together cohesively to make a difference in the lives of Santa Clarita community members.

The City of Santa Clarita was faced with a local state of emergency on Sunday, October 21, 2007 when a fire broke out in Agua Dulce and moved west to cover the majority of the Santa Clarita Valley. In just four days, the Buckweed Fire burned over 38,000 acres; destroying 43 structures, including 21 single family dwellings; and damaging 42 structures, including 15 single family dwellings.

At one point, the Santa Clarita fires were the number one priority in the state. Both the Governor and the County declared a State of Emergency for the area, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's ordered mandatory evacuations of over 5,500 homes.

The City of Santa Clarita took a proactive approach to the fires and responded to the emergency quickly and ffectively with speed in communication. During a time of crisis people are scarred and looking for help and nformation. The City of Santa Clarita worked closely with multi-agency partners to facilitate the flow of information with the community.

Mayor Marsha McLean: "In a crisis situation, good elationships and excellent communications make a difference. One of our City's biggest strengths is the partnerships we have established with local agencies and emergency personnel for the benefit of the entire Santa Clarita Valley."

Emergency personnel and City employees were working around the clock and on the front lines to provide exceptional services and keep the public informed along the way.

The Santa Clarita Fire incident involved public agencies at every level including: Cal Trans, Los Angeles County Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff's, California Highway Patrol, local agencies and schools, the Red Cross as well as the City of Santa Clarita.

Throughout the fires, the City's Emergency Operation Center was a central place for letting the community know the status of the fire, evacuations, and areas that were immediately affected.

An emergency information number was established for the public to speak to a live person rather than an automated phone system and received over 3,600 calls or 6.4 calls per minute a day. This approach allowed members of the public to receive more specialized attention and care to their
concerns.

The City utilized the reverse 911 Emergency Notification System to send telephone evacuation notifications to 5,500 homes in one hour to tell them to evacuate. The City reated a one minute message and was able to provide
a more efficient way to get verified information to the community.

An emergency web page was also created and updated almost every minute on the City's website. This web page received 151,195 unique visitors. In one day the emergency website generated more traffic than the City sees on average in any three month time.

City staff was also instrumental in attending and participating in press conferences and working closely with local and national media.

The City partnered with the American Red Cross and the William S. Hart School District to set up shelters at Golden Valley and Saugus High Schools. The shelters provided food, sleeping accommodations, and other special assistance to our impacted residents. Over 490 residents were served at both Red Cross shelters on Sunday and Monday. Today, 103 people are using the shelters (100 at GV and 3 at Saugus).

Four City street crews were designated to assist Los Angeles County Fire and Sheriff's with road closures, mandatory evacuations, and damage to the public right of way.

The City's 130 acre Central Park was set up to be a command post for several public agencies including hundreds of Los Angeles County Fire and Sheriff's. This provided agencies with a central place to corroborate intelligence, plan, organize resources, and store specialized equipment and necessary supplies.

Currently, all mandatory evacuations and road closures within the City have been lifted and the Buckweed Fire is making its way out of the Santa Clarita Valley. There is still a lot of work to be done by the City to recover from the impacts of this devastating fire. Over the next several
days, the City will work in developing a local assistance center that would direct impacted residents to resources and assistance.

Although the City of Santa Clarita has a lot of amenities that make it a growing metropolitan city, it still remains a tight knit community that works together. The Santa Clarita fires will always serve as a reminder of how disasters can strike at any moment as well as how good communication and strong relationships can make a difference in a time of crisis.

MORE INFO?
www.santa-clarita.com

FEDERAL SIGNAL'S THIRD QUARTER: INCOME OF $4.8 MILLION ON REVENUE OF $307 MILLION: LOWER FIRE TRUCK SALES
Originally Posted: October 26, 2007 5:47 AM
Last Updated: October 26, 2007 5:49 AM

Federal Signal Corporation reported income from continuing operations of $4.8 million, for the third quarter of 2007 on revenue of $307 million.

For the third quarter of 2006, the Company earned $9.5 million from
continuing operations, or $.20 per share, on revenue of $289 million.

The year-over-year reduction was due to sharply lower results for Fire Rescue, where the Company's E-ONE operation incurred operating losses in the face of low demand and production, and incurred restructuring and other expenses principally due to a management change and to reduce fixed costs.

Partly offsetting these losses were higher earnings for the Safety and Security
Systems Group and the Environmental Solutions Group, as well as lower
income tax expense.

Robert D. Welding, president and chief executive officer: "Our
E- ONE operation continues to experience challenges. We have made overhead reductions in order to improve profitability. At the same time, we are working to improve our order intake. Given this quarter's results and the
softening in the North American fire apparatus market, we are widening our
projected loss for the Fire Rescue segment to about $9-12 million for the
year."

"Our other core businesses are performing well. We continue to focus on
the integration of PIPS Technology and the other strategic acquisitions
made in our Safety and Security Systems Group. This segment posted 20%
order growth for the quarter, and is well positioned to accelerate. Orders
for Environmental Solutions were also up, as all businesses posted
increases. We are watching the U.S. economy closely, but thus far the
weakness in the housing and automotive sectors appears to have materially
impacted only our domestic tooling orders."

The Company recorded third quarter net income including discontinued
operations of $4.5 million in 2007 compared to $9.2 million in the third
quarter of 2006.

Cash flow from operations totaled $26 million for the third quarter due
to reduced working capital(1) and lease funding activity. This compares to
operating cash flow of $14 million for the comparable period of 2006.

* Fire Rescue orders declined 5% from the prior year period to $78 million. U.S.
orders were essentially flat at $33 million. Orders for non-U.S.
markets declined 7%.

* Revenue declined to $74 million from $86 million in the prior year
period, as lower US fire truck orders in recent quarters have resulted
in a low backlog and reduced production. Bronto aerial device revenues
were essentially unchanged from the prior year, as the impact of
higher pricing and currency more than offset slightly lower shipments
of completed industrial devices.

* The segment operating loss of $6.7 million was due to weak performance
at E-ONE. This operation was impacted by low fixed cost absorption,
increased medical expenses, and severance and other charges associated with the recent restructuring and management changes. Versus 2006, the comparison was also impacted negatively by the absence of a
$1.6 million cost recovery in 2006 related to a prior year contract
dispute.

Federal Signal Corporation designs and manufactures a suite of products and integrated solutions for municipal, governmental, industrial and airport customers. Federal Signal's portfolio includes Bronto aerial devices, Elgin and Ravo street sweepers, E-ONE fire apparatus, Federal Signal safety and security systems, Guzzler industrial vacuums, Jetstream waterblasters and Vactor sewer cleaners. In addition, the company operates consumable industrial tooling businesses. Federal Signal was founded in 1901 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

MORE INFO? www.federalsignal.com.

This is the eleventh NEEDA NEWSLETTER article about Federal Signal published during the past ten years. Kenton Pattie, Executive Director, National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association 703 850 8552 KentonP1@aol.com

FIRE DISASTER IN A RIVER OR PORT NEAR YOU? RIVER THAMES CREWS CONDUCT EXERCISE
Originally Posted: October 26, 2007 5:35 AM
Last Updated: October 26, 2007 5:35 AM

What if there is a fire on a vessel in a river or port near your business? The Brits are onto it.

A simulated explosion in ships engine room put crews from the Port of London (England) Authority, emergency services and Royal National Lifeboat Institution to the test during an exercise on the River Thames this week.

The scenario centred on a fire aboard a Cobelfret ferry, downstream of the QEII Bridge on the Dartford side of the Thames. The vessel had fake casualties, was pretending to have trouble manoeuvring, and was suffering a mock fuel leak.

The Port of London Authority, Kent Fire Brigade, HM Coastguard, the RNLI, South East Coast Ambulance Service and Kent Police took part alongside vessel owners, Cobelfret; its manager Euroship Services Ltd; terminal operators CdMR; Svitzer Marine and the Maritime Volunteer Service.

The exercise crews were tasked with rescuing the casualties, tackling the fire, ensuring the safety of other vessels, and stemming the oil leak.

Port of London Authority chief harbour master, David Snelson, said:

Safetys our top priority and we work hard to ensure incidents dont happen in the first place. However, its important to be prepared for the worst, and thats what this exercise was about. Todays practice helped us identify ways of improving our game, so that were properly prepared should a real incident happen. Its rare to have the opportunity to use a real ship for an exercise and, on behalf of everyone involved, we would like to thank Cobelfret for their involvement.

Euroship Managing Director, Frank Davies: Any incident on the Thames involves a number of emergency services, so it is really important for them to have the chance to practice working together. As a major customer of the Port, with more than 6,000 vessel movements on the river every year Cobelfret were happy to take part in the exercise.

MORE INFO? Martin Garside, 01474 562366. or martin.garside@pola.co.uk

OSHKOSH PRESENTS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2007, 3:10 PM NY HILTON CONFERENCE
Originally Posted: October 25, 2007 5:06 PM
Last Updated: October 25, 2007 5:13 PM

Oshkosh Truck Corporation will participate in the 2007 Goldman Sachs Global Capital Goods Conference being held at the Hilton Hotel in New York on Thursday, November 8, 2007.

The presentation is scheduled to start at 3:10 p.m. EST and will be webcast with viewer controlled slides. To access the webcast, visit www.oshkoshtruckcorporation.com at least 15 minutes prior to the event.

Oshkosh Truck Corporation designs, manufactures and marketes specialty access equipment, commercial, fire and emergency and military vehicles and vehicle bodies. Oshkosh's products are used by rental companies, fire and emergency units, defense forces, municipal and airport support services, and concrete placement and refuse businesses.

MORE INFO? www.oshkoshtruckcorporation.com

This is the 49th NEEDA NEWSLETTER story featuring news about Oshkosh. These stories have appeared over the past ten years as have many stories about other manufacturers whose products are sold through emergency equpment dealers. Kenton Pattie, Executive Director, National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association KentonP1@aol.com 703 850 8552

CALIFORNIA URBAN WILDFIRE INTERFACE STATS AS OF THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2007
Originally Posted: October 25, 2007 4:58 PM
Last Updated: October 25, 2007 4:58 PM

Thanks to LA Times, BBC, Cal Tech

Witch fire:

Satellite image shows the smoke from the California wildfires being blown out to sea

Enlarge Image
This fire has consumed 197,990 acres in San Diego County and is 20% contained. Its progression is reported to have slowed in the west, northwest and southwest.

Some 645 houses and around 30 businesses have been destroyed and another 5,000 houses are under threat.

More than 2,600 firefighters are tackling the blaze, 22 injuries have been reported

Around 500,000 people across the county have been evacuated to emergency shelters in schools, churches and community centres, though evacuation orders have been relaxed in some places.

The estimated cost of this fire so far is $5.3 million
Harris fire:

This fire has consumed 81,000 acres so far and is 10% contained

WATCH VIDEO

Aerial montage
Animals evacuated

Some 200 houses are estimated to have been destroyed and 250 damaged. A further 1,500 houses and 500 businesses are threatened

One person has died and 32 have been injured, including seven firefighters

More than 1,600 firefighters are assigned to this blaze
Poomacha fire:

This fire has consumed some 35,000 acres and is 20% contained. Fifty houses have been destroyed and 2,000 are threatened. Evacuations are underway along the Highway 76 corridor

Began as a smaller, separate blaze to the north east of the Witch fire at the Lajolla Indian reservation on 23 October

Twelve firefighter injuries reported
Rice fire:

This fire has consumed 9,000 acres in the north of the county and is 30% contained

Some 206 houses and at least 40 other buildings have been destroyed, and another 1,500 threatened. 35,000 people have been evacuated from Fallbrook and Deluz Canyon

More than 1,000 firefighters are tackling the blaze, estimated cost so far is $1.2 million
Horno/Ammo fire:

Fire began on 21 October near the military base of Camp Pendleton. It has burned 17,000 acres and is 40-50% contained

Sections of the fire have caused the closure of part of the main Interstate 5 highway

OTHER MAJOR FIRES IN CALIFORNIA
FIGHTING FIRES

How forest fires are fought
1. Ranch fire: 55,746 acres burned since 20 October 07, the fire is now 70% contained. Some 905 firefighters are tackling this blaze. All evacuation orders have been lifted

2. Buckweed fire: 38,356 acres burned, 100% contained. Evacuation orders lifted in most places. Four people injured. Estimated cost to date is $5.8 million

3. Santiago fire: 23,000 acres burned, 30% contained. Some 14 houses destroyed, 3,000 homes are threatened. Estimated cost of this fire to date is $2.75 million. More than 1,000 firefighters assigned, four injuries reported:

4. Slide fire: 11,366 acres consumed, fire remains uncontained. Some 200 houses have been destroyed and 6,000 are threatened. The entire community of Green Valley was evacuated after becoming surrounded by the blaze and mandatory evacuation orders remain in place in other areas. Estimated cost of this fire so far is $2 million

5. Canyon fire: 4,200 acres consumed, 85% contained. 600 houses threatened. Evacuation orders have been lifted. Estimated cost $4.2 million, three people injured

6. Grass Valley fire: 1,100 acres burned north of Lake Arrowhead, this fire is 40% contained. 100 buildings have been destroyed, some 6,000 houses are threatened. Mandatory and voluntary evacuations are in place in some areas. Estimated cost $2 million

7. Magic fire: Consumed some 2,824 acres since 22 October, now 100% contained.

SPARTAN SALES UP 38.1 PERCENT; EARNINGS UP 20.3 PERCENT; FIRE TRUCK CHASSIS SALES DOWN 10.5 PERCENT; CRIMSON AND ROAD RESCUE SALES DOWN 8 PERCENT
Originally Posted: October 25, 2007 4:36 PM
Last Updated: October 25, 2007 4:45 PM

Spartan Motors, Inc. reported a 36.8 percent year-over-year increase in net sales, a 66.0 percent year-over-year increase in backlog and an increase in production capacity for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2007.

Fire truck chassis sales totaled $87.3 million, down $21.8 million.

Sales of fire truck chassis declined 10.5 percent in the third quarter of 2007 compared to the same period last year. The slowdown in sales for fire truck chassis is primarily due to a shortage of components and a reduction in the production schedule due to the lower backlog. Backlog for fire truck chassis at the end of the third quarter was $67.1 million, an
18.1 percent decrease compared with last year, reflecting decreased demand due to increased backlogs among Spartan's OEM customers, and a slowdown in the market due to pre-buying of vehicles in 2006 due to the emissions
change in 2007.

Spartan's EVTeam operating unit, consisting of its Crimson Fire, Crimson Fire Aerials and Road Rescue subsidiaries, reported a sales decrease of 8.0 percent in the 2007 third quarter compared with the prior year period. The EVTeam reported backlog of $61.2 million at the end of the quarter, a 6.4 percent decrease compared to the unit's backlog in the third quarter of 2006.

"While we saw some improvements within Road Rescue, production inefficiencies and lower year-over-year sales led to an increased loss in the quarter at Crimson Fire and Crimson Fire Aerials," President Sztykiel said. "Crimson Fire experienced temporary missteps in execution in the third quarter and we are expecting significant improvement in the fourth quarter. We had measurable success at Road Rescue in the third quarter, with the new operating management implementing significant production and cultural changes, resulting in better execution and improved sales."

Sales at Spartan Chassis, the Company's largest operating unit, increased 48.6 percent to $138.9 million, or 93.3 ercent of Spartan Motors' total sales. Net earnings at partan Chassis improved 3.3 percent in the 2007 third uarter compared to the same quarter of last year, and the unit's backlog as of Sept. 30, 2007 increased 94.6 percent year-over-year.

Spartan, a manufacturer of vehicle chassis and emergency-rescue vehicles, reported net earnings of $2.6 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, on net sales of $148.9 million in the third quarter of 2007, compared with net earnings of $4.1 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, on net sales of $108.9 million in the third quarter of 2006. All financial information includes adjustments for the Company's 3-for-2 stock splits in June 2007 and Dec. 2006.

Spartan reported gross margin of 11.8 percent in the third quarter of 2007, compared with 15.8 percent for the same period in 2006, reflecting the ramp up of capacity, roduction inefficiencies, shift in product mix and competitive pricing on specialty vehicle chassis, at Spartan Chassis as well as lower margins at the EVTeam.

John Sztykiel, President and CEO of Spartan Motors: "Based upon the urgent need and future opportunity, the decision was made to accelerate the process of increasing production capacity for our military and specialty vehicle business in the third quarter. This objective was achieved, as our production capacity is now at 40 military units per day, a 300 percent increase over where we were just six months ago. Short term, this did affect our earnings in the third quarter.

"However, our backlog has grown 32 percent over the second quarter of 2007 and 66 percent compared to last year's third quarter. Just as important, these efforts have improved Spartan's ability to support future growth. It is realistic that our backlog will exceed the total revenue for
2006 by the end of Nov. 2007, with these units being built by the end of the second quarter of 2008.

"As we look forward, the third quarter should be an anomaly in our 2007 results, and we are anticipating the fourth quarter will be more in line with our results in the first two quarters of the year. We made significant progress and remain bullish about our potential based on our current
momentum and the build up we anticipate through the end of 2007 and into 2008. We are resolving the production challenges, are in a good position to execute using our expanded production capacity, and see higher run rates to
absorb our increased overhead and orders."

Through the first nine months of 2007, Spartan's sales increased 38.1 percent compared with the same period of last year, while earnings increased 20.3 percent compared to the same nine-month period in 2006.

The company reported net earnings of $16.3 million, or $0.50 per diluted share,for the first nine months of 2007, compared with net earnings of $13.5 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, in the same period of 2006.

"During the third quarter, we received orders from three OEMs for specialty vehicle chassis related to the U.S. military's Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle program," Sztykiel said. "We opened two new actories focused on MRAP production, and acquired two more buildings to expand our production capacity for specialty vehicle and RV chassis."

Spartan Motors' consolidated backlog increased 66.0 percent over the same quarter of last year to approximately $383.1 million as of Sept. 30, 2007. This marks the largest backlog in Company history and a $92.8 million increase from the second quarter 2007. Spartan Motors anticipates filling its current backlog orders by July 2008.

On a consolidated basis, Spartan posted a return on invested capital (ROIC) of 8.5 percent in the third quarter of 2007, compared to ROIC of 16.2 percent for the same quarter in 2006.

Spartan defines return on invested capital as operating income less taxes, on an annualized basis, divided by total shareholders' equity.

The Company ended the quarter with $44.9 million in long-term debt, which includes financing for Spartan Chassis' recently opened facilities and growth in working capital to support its increased orders. Spartan reported $3.6 million in cash and cash equivalents at the end of the third quarter of 2007.

Spartan's RV chassis sales increased 10.8 percent in the 2007 third quarter, outpacing the 3.6 percent year-to-date increase in industry wholesale shipments for Class A motorhomes as of Aug. 2007, which is the latest industry data available from the Recreational Vehicle Industry
Association (RVIA). The RVIA is forecasting a 5.8 percent increase in Class A motorhome shipments for 2007. Backlog for RV chassis slightly decreased year-over-year to $26.1 million as of September 30, 2007.

Other product sales, including specialty vehicle chassis, parts and Spartan's subcontracts for military vehicle customers, increased 236.3 percent in the third quarter of 2007. Backlog for other products increased 307.3 percent to $228.8 million as of Sept. 30, 2007. As reported in Aug.
2007, Spartan Chassis received subcontract orders from Force Protection, BAE Systems and General Dynamics Land Systems totaling $163 million in the third quarter of 2007.

"We are ramping up production at our new facilities and remain on track for an excellent year for Spartan Chassis," Sztykiel said. "Spartan Chassis accomplished a major hallenge by increasing the production capacity for MRAP vehicles threefold in the quarter to support our troops in Iraq. Scheduling changes and parts shortages compounded the production inefficiencies due to the ramp up in capacity. This caused a significant decline in third quarter gross margins for specialty vehicles.

"We remain in great position for future contracts related to our current MRAP products, and we expect margins to improve. In addition, we have opportunity from the MRAP-2 program in 2008. Further, we have already seen mprovement in margins for fire truck chassis as of September 2007."

Spartan Motors, Inc. designs, engineers and manufactures custom chassis and vehicles for the recreational vehicle, fire truck, ambulance, emergency-rescue and specialty vehicle markets. The Company's brand names: Spartan(TM), Crimson Fire(TM), Crimson Fire Aerials(TM), and Road Rescue(TM).

The Company employs 1,300 at facilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and South Dakota. Spartan reported sales of $445 million in 2006.

MORE INFO? www.spartanmotors.com

NEW STATS SHOW SMALL BUSINESSES CREATE 1.9 MILLION NEW JOBS PER YEAR
Originally Posted: October 25, 2007 1:55 PM
Last Updated: October 25, 2007 1:55 PM

Small business continued to create Americas new jobs in 2004, according to the latest data. The updated United States Small Business Profile released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration shows that small businesses added 1.9 million net new jobs during the latest year studied.

Small businesses are Americas job-creating dynamo, said Dr. Chad Moutray, Chief Economist for the Office of Advocacy. Clearly policymakers need to consider their impact on small business when they are making policy decisions.

The updated profile also shows that:

In 2006, the nation had an estimated 26.8 million small businesses, of which 6.1 million were employer firms.

Small businesses employed 50.9 percent of the nations non-farm private workforce in 2004.

America had 1.1 million Asian-owned firms, 1.2 million Black-owned firms, 1.6 million Hispanic-owned firms, 201,400 Native American-owned firms, and 28,900 Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander-owned firms in 2002 (latest data). (Note: cannot be totaled, as business owners chose multiple ethnic and racial categories).

Women-owned firms totaled 6.5 million and generated $940.8 billion in revenues in 2002 (latest data).

MORE INFO? www.sba.gov/advo/research/profiles

AMERICAN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION 2007 SHOW IN LAS VEGAS THIS WEEK
Originally Posted: October 25, 2007 1:14 PM
Last Updated: October 25, 2007 1:14 PM

Las Vegas, Nevada, was site this week for A Priority Show for Ambulance Decision-Makers Like You!, The American Ambulance Association 2007 Annual Convention and Trade Show.

Ambulance owners and managers attended to network, see the latest products and keep up on business practices and technology. The American Ambulance Association (Washington DC) provides industry leaders with educational resources.

The American Ambulance Association (AAA) members across the United States provide coverage to more than 75 percent of the U.S. population with emergency and non-emergency medical transportation services.

One exhibitor at the show, Telemedicus DREAMS"Technology, turns p ambulances or medical transportation vehicles into a mobile trauma center. Doctors can see the patient through high definition video and view a live feed of patient medical data, which allows for immediate treatment by the doctor via instruction to the EMT, instead of waiting until the ambulance reaches the doors of the ER.

More than 50 industry leaders exhibited at this years convention, including: ZOLL Medical Corporation (NASDAQ: ZOLL). The potential market for The Telemedicus DREAMS"Technology; ambulances, emergency care facilities and remote medical clinics could save lives and increase profits. Companies like Rural/Metro Corp and Emergency Medical Services could implement this life saving technology into their operating ambulances.

MORE INFO? www.the-aaa.org/vegas/index.htm

NY PROFESSOR DESCRIBES CALIFORNIA AS A "FIRE CLIMATE"
Originally Posted: October 25, 2007 12:52 PM
Last Updated: October 25, 2007 12:52 PM

Mark Blumler, associate professor of geography at Binghamton University, State University of New York: Southern Califorinia's climate and natural vegetation not only expects fire, but in fact, encourages it. And with this kind of 'fire climate,' large scale fires are going to keep happening.

"The one big thing that no one is mentioning is that it happened also
in 2003, only four years ago," said Blumler. "The largest fire then was
over 200,000 acres, the largest fire this time is about 180,000 acres so
far. Total acreage of all the fires appears to be about the same as in
2003, though by the time they are all contained it may be more than back
then. Californian homeowners often do not understand that these fires will
happen, and happen repeatedly, just like hurricanes coming to Florida."

Blumler notes that the public also does not always understand that the
firefighters cannot control these fires when the Santa Ana winds are
blowing, though the media has done a better job this time of emphasizing
what an impossible task it is. "The cost of fighting fires to protect homes
built in places where fire is bound to come is borne by all of us," said
Blumler. "This is not sensible policy."

According to Blumler, both in 2003 and this year, so many structures
are burning that the smoke has become much more hazardous than if it were
simply a brush or forest fire. "Toxic chemicals in homes and other
buildings are released into the air by the fire and mix with the smoke,
producing a toxic stew that Southern Californians should be very concerned
about," he said. "This is a relatively new problem because big California
fires didn't burn huge numbers of buildings in the past, notably due to the
fact that were fewer people in these areas."

Professor Blumler's background is in conservation of natural resources
(B.S.) at Berkeley, where among other things, he conducted coursework on
fire ecology and management, with emphasis on California. As a graduate
student in geography, also at Berkeley, fire history, ecology, and policy
were among his research areas.

RAIN REDUCED WILDFIRE THREAT IN VIRGINIA MOUNTAINS
Originally Posted: October 25, 2007 10:07 AM
Last Updated: October 25, 2007 10:07 AM

Steady rain in Bedford County, VA has improved conditions in the mountain area between Lynbchburg and Roanoke, VA where lack of water and forest conditions are similar to the pre-fire status of Southern California.

Lynchburg newspaper: "The right spark and a little wind could spread wildfires through the dry underbrush to create a fire that quickly grows out of control, said Richard Miles, battalion chief of the wild land division for the Virginia Department of Forestry."

"More than 50 firefighters attended a planning meeting held by the Bedford County Department of Fire and Rescue Services and the Virginia Department of Forestry at Bedford's CVCC campus."

CALIFORNIA URBAN WILDFIRE INTERFACE DISASTER DUE TO DROUGHT, GLOBAL WARMING AND MILLIONS OF TREES KILLED BY BARK BEETLES: DR. REESE HALTER OF GLOBAL FOREST SCIENCE
Originally Posted: October 24, 2007 6:02 AM
Last Updated: October 24, 2007 6:14 AM

Award-winning wildfire expert Dr. Reese Halter says that fire storms like the ones now engulfing Southern California forests are inevitable without new policies to address the
central problem: a dangerous cocktail of historic drought, global warming and millions of bark-beetle killed trees. Dr. Halter is president and co-founder of Global Forest Science.

"Without immediate efforts on the local and state levels to clear out the millions of bark-beetle killed trees in Southern California, these monster fire storms are only going to become the norm. We need leadership based on sound facts and we need it now."

Only months ago Dr. Halter publicly cited new research indicating Southern California has reached unprecedented levels of vulnerability to major forest fires given drought conditions that haven't been seen in the state for 130 years. With 16 million people in the Los Angeles basin surrounded by mountain forests and a million beetle-killed trees as kindling, residents of Los Angeles are facing imminent risk to their properties, families and themselves.

Dr. Halter has spent years researching in person the wildfire
conditions in Southern California and elsewhere. He says hat the region can expect less snow in winter in coming decades, increased length of fire season and more fires in the mountains. Fire storms are more likely in coming years as temperatures continue to rise, and with fire suppression
policies that have been in place for the past 80 years, the stage is set for monster infernos.

Records show that this has been the third and fourth wettest year in the last 4,000. In other words, California has been dry and will revert back to a much drier region. The snowpack this past summer in the eastern Sierra, where Los Angeles draws its water, was the second lowest ever
recorded. Water supply for the 8th mightiest economy on the globe is running perilously low.

Dr. Halter is president of Global Forest Science and is an expert on tree science and wildfire outbreaks.

He is an award-winning conservation biologist as well as a
syndicated science columnist and host of the award-winning PBS show "Dr. Reese's Planet." He has done interviews on wildfire breaking news both in-studio and on-location in the Los Angeles and Southern California
area for years and has been quoted in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere urging the Governor to take reventative measures to stop more wildfires from spreading.

According to Dr. Halter, the latest research shows:

-- There are currently a million dead standing trees within the San Bernadino Mountains alone, all killed by bark beetles and a historic drought.

-- A couple hundred thousand homes in Southern California are along the urban wildland interface, all at risk.

-- Well-intentioned public fire prevention campaigns such as "Smokey the Bear" have had the opposite effect. By interrupting the natural fire cycle in California and the West, which cleans out dead trees naturally, we have advertently created a powder keg that now surrounds the Los Angeles area.

-- If we are not going to let the fires burn naturally then we must take action now and thin the forests or run the risk of facing another inferno.

Dr. Reese Halter is the founder and president of Global Forest Science. He is the recipient of the President's Distinguished Service Award from Humboldt State University for his inimitable leadership in conservation
biology and the Gold Medal Award for Conservation from the Daughters of the American Revolution for his outstanding environmental awareness achievements throughout the United States and the Western Hemisphere.

He is also the host of the PBS program "Dr. Reese's Planet," currently in its third consecutive season.

Since January 1998, Global Forest Science has been conducting fundamental forest biological research. The institute has branched from offices in Banff, Alberta to San Francisco and Rancho Mirage in California and has official charitable status in both Canada and the United States.
Today, Global Forest Science supports 140 scientists involved in 69 projects in 8 countries.

MORE INFO? www.drreese.com/info/ or www.globalforestscience.org

FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS: $27 MILLION NOW AVAILABLE . . . DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS NOVEMBER 30, 07
Originally Posted: October 24, 2007 5:50 AM
Last Updated: October 24, 2007 5:50 AM

The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has opened the application period for the 2007 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants Program.

The application period for awards under the FP&S Grants Program opened October 22, 2007 and closes on November 30, 2007. Under the FY 2007, approximately $27 million will be available to fire departments and other eligible organizations to reduce losses from fire and fire-related hazards.

To get the application kit? www.firegrantsupport.com and www.grants.gov.

FP&S projects focus on preventing fire-related injuries to children, seniors, firefighters, and other high-risk groups. FP&S also supports innovative fire prevention solutions and research on improving firefighter health and safety.

FP&S awards support projects in two categories:

Fire Prevention and Safety, such as public education, arson prevention/awareness, code enforcement/awareness, wildfire prevention/education, juvenile fire setter intervention, burn prevention, media/PR campaigns, sprinkler awareness, or smoke alarm distribution.

Firefighter Safety Research and Development, such as data collection and analysis projects; sociological projects and problem-focused technology studies that address firefighter safety, wellness, fitness, or health.

FP&S is part of FEMAs Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, which is a key component in a comprehensive and coordinated effort to strengthen the Nations overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and fire-related hazards.

MORE INFO?www.firegrantsupport.com.

INCOME SUBJECT TO SOCIAL SECURITY TAX GOES TO $102,000 IN 08; 12 MILLION WILL PAY HIGHER TAXES
Originally Posted: October 24, 2007 5:39 AM
Last Updated: October 24, 2007 5:43 AM

Effective January 1, 2008, the maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase to $102,000 from $97,500. Of the estimated 164 million workers who will pay Social Security taxes in 2008, 12 million will pay higher taxes as a result of the increase in the taxable maximum.

The Social Security Administration also announced that monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 54 million Americans will increase 2.3 percent in 2008.

Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits increase automatically each year based on the rise in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), from the third quarter of the prior year to the corresponding period of the current year. This year's increase in the CPI-W was 2.3 percent.

The 2.3 percent Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits that nearly 50 million Social Security beneficiaries receive in January 2008. Increased payments to more than 7 million Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries will begin on December 31, 2007.

MORE INFO?Department of Health and Human Services Web site.

HOW DO SMALL BUSINESSES GROW?
Originally Posted: October 24, 2007 5:33 AM
Last Updated: October 24, 2007 5:33 AM

Growing firms are generally a constant share of the
economy with a minor business cycle effect; firms
with employment growth outnumber firms with
employment decline, and fast growing firms in a
given year tend to revert to the mean in later years.

" About 35 percent of private sector, firms had no employ-
ment change from one year to the next, about 11
percent closed each year, about 25 percent shrank in
employment each year and about 28 percent grew in
employment each year.

" The employment change categories fluctuated
little over the ten-year period from 1992 to 2002,
but the growing firms' share did shrink around the
2000 to 2002 downturn, suggesting a slight busi-
ness cycle effect.

" A cohort of new firms mirrored the growth distri-
bution of the universe by about their fifth or sixth year.

" The number of firms by size class peaks in their
start-up year and declines over time. Most firms start
in the 1-4 employment size class and do not grow
beyond this size class.

" Fast growing firms (defined as having a 50 per-
cent or more increase in annual employment with at
least a five-employee increase) were a small share of
all firms, numbering 139,761 out of the universe of
4,234,118 firms, or three percent in 1992.

" Fast growing firms had higher rates of shrink-
age in employment following their large one-year
employment increase. The year after fast growth,
55 percent of fast growers declined in employ-
ment versus the universes 25 percent. Former fast
growers continued to have higher rates of employ-
ment decline for at least eight years after their large
employment growth.

" Most firms remain a one-location firm as few
expand to multiple locations or merged with other
firms. Although data issues exist, no more than
119,000 single-establishment firms became part
of multi-establishment firms during the decade of
analysis.

" Firm survival rates were very similar for firms
born in 1992 and 1997 with a 50 percent survival
rate after four years for both time periods. This gives
the impression that survival rates fluctuate little over
time. The survival rates here mirrored survival rates
found a few decades ago using D&B data, giving
further evidence that survival rates fluctuate little
over time and verifying the findings from studies
using D&B data.

" Industries that grew in employment did not nec-
essarily have higher rates of fast growers but indus-
tries with high rates of fast growers tended to have
high rates of decliners. So while some industries
tended to be volatile, this did not seem to impact
their overall employment.

" The authors showed that a publicly available
reoccurring firm age dataset could be developed
from existing Census data while maintaining the
privacy of individual firms. Their work could be
used as a blueprint for others to develop such a
dataset.

The report uses tabulations from the U.S.
Census Bureaus Statistics of U.S. Businesses
October 2007 No. 311 (SUSB) database.

MORE INFO? advocacy@ sba.gov or (202) 205-6533

FIREWISE COMMUNITIES ISSUES ADVISORY TO NEWSLETTER, MEDIA ON STEPS CITIZENS CAN TAKE IN WILDFIRE DANGER ZONE
Originally Posted: October 23, 2007 6:03 AM
Last Updated: October 23, 2007 6:03 AM

Firewise Communities, Quincy, MA, issued this advisory to news media:

Firewise Tips for Homeowners

As we're seeing right now in California, firefighters may not have
the time or resources to protect every home in a wildfire's path.
Residents can take action to protect their homes before a fire
reaches their area.

Firewise Communities recommends improving the "home ignition
zone" -- the house and surrounding area within 100 to 200 feet.

-- Use non-combustible construction materials, such as stucco,
brick, and fiber cement siding.
-- Consider using Class-A asphalt roof shingles, clay tile, or
slate roofing materials.
-- Prune trees so the lowest limbs are six to 10 feet from the
ground and remove dead or overhanging branches.
-- Within five feet of the home, use nonflammable landscaping
materials, such as rock, pavers, annuals, and
high-moisture-content perennials.
-- Select low-growing plants with high moisture content that are
free of resins, oils, or waxes.
-- Remove leaves and pine needles from gutters and around your home
and attachments, such as decks and fences.
Detailed landscape and construction choices are online at
http://www.firewise.org. Contact your fire department or state forestry
office for local information.
There are no guarantees that a home will be fireproof. But if you take
action to be Firewise, you can greatly increase the chances that your home
will withstand a wildfire.
STORY -- Provide tips for homeowners in your coverage and/or Web site.
ANGLES: -- Include Daily Firewise Tip in weather coverage.
-- Interview national Firewise Communities staff or state
liaisons.
-- Show area residents performing Firewise work (landscaping,
clearing brush, etc.) around their homes.
The national Firewise Communities program is an interagency program
designed to encourage local solutions for wildfire safety by involving
homeowners, community leaders, planners, developers, firefighters, and
others in the effort to reduce wildfire risk. Firewise Communities is
directed by a consortium of federal and state fire and land management
agencies and organizations. For more information, visit

MORE INFO? www.firewise.org.

SMEAL FIRE APPARATUS IS 2007 AWARD WINNER FOR USE OF SOFTWARE; REVENUE AND ON-TIME DELIVERIES UP
Originally Posted: October 22, 2007 8:57 PM
Last Updated: October 22, 2007 8:57 PM

Consona Corporation (Consona), a worldwide provider of customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for the enterprise, announced at its premier customer conference, Consona Connect, that Smeal Fire Apparatus Company (Smeal), a Snyder, Neb.-based manufacturer of aerial ladders, platform aerials and pumpers for the fire and rescue industry and Made2Manage ERP user, is the 2007 recipient of the software providers Best Overall Use award.

National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association (NEEDA): "Great job everyone at Smeal. We recognize this is a team accomplishment and everyone had a hand in getting these results. Great to see you so successful."

The Best Overall Use Award, part of Consonas annual Summit Awards, honors a customer that has demonstrated excellence in utilizing multiple products (modules, features, add-on, third-party) and services from Consona. Recipients of the award submit both qualitative and quantitative data that illustrate how the solution has improved the customers overall business performance. Award recipients display full use of both core and add-on solutions, steady business growth, a strong return on investment, and a passion for implementing and mastering new technologies.

Three decades after its first pumper was built, Smeal was poised to move above the regional scene and become a national player, but the company knew that, in order to grow, its existing record-keeping and data collection processes would have to change. Smeals implementation team looked at 16 different ERP systems before unanimously selecting Made2Manage ERP. Smeal then conducted an aggressive sink or swim system implementation, which resulted in the following returns:

Increased revenues by 64 percent, with no added accounting, purchasing, or shipping and receiving personnel.

Increased on-time apparatus deliveries/completions by 60 percent.

Increased apparatus shipments and completions by 80 percent, while only increasing inventory levels by 40 percent and production personnel levels by 50 percent.

Improved on-time internal deliveries of make parts by 50 percent due to decreased raw material shortages.

Saved over $50,000 annually on labor costs with the implementation of the M2M® Time and Attendance tool.

We have experienced a tremendous amount of growth in the past few years and, as we continue to see the demand for our product, I see Made2Manage ERP as a key to getting us where we need to be," said Jeff Scherer, CFO for Smeal.

We are thrilled to honor Smeal with a Summit Award for some absolutely tremendous achievements," said Jeff Tognoni, CEO of Consona. "Smeal sets a standard for the commitment it takes to gain maximum return on a business system investment. The growth and success this company has achieved with our support reminds all of us at Consona why we're in business."

Consona Corporation (Consona, formerly known as M2M Holdings Inc.) is a worldwide leader in providing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for the enterprise. Consona is dedicated to becoming a valued business partner by helping each and every customer continuously improve business processes over time. Toward this mission, Consona invests in the people, processes, technology and tools needed to provide its customers with a unique combination of customer care; product fit; a broad range of consulting, IT and business services; and industry expertise. Consona serves more than 4,500 customers worldwide and across a variety of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, financial services, health care, high tech, and local government. Battery Ventures and Thoma Cressey Bravo jointly own Consona. For further information, visit www.consona.com, e-mail info@consona.com, or call (888) 8 CONSONA.

FORBES MAGAZINE: SPARTAN MOTORS ON 75TH OUT OF 200 BEST SMALL COMPANIES
Originally Posted: October 22, 2007 8:43 PM
Last Updated: October 22, 2007 8:43 PM

Spartan Motors, Inc. (Charlotte, Michigan) was ranked 75th on Forbes' list of the 200 Best Small Companies and among the list's Top 10 Best Newcomers. The list will be published in the Oct. 29, '07 issue of Forbes Magazine Forbes factored return on equity, sustained sales and net profit growth over 12-month and five-year periods in constructing the list. Companies were also required to have revenues between $5 million and $750 million and a share price above $5 as of the beginning of Oct. 2007.

National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association (NEEDA) "Congratulations John Sztykiel and everyone at Spartan for winning this recognition. You are a great dealer-oriented manufacturer and we all take pride in the recognition you are bringing to the fire and emergency response industry.

John Sztykiel, President and CEO of Spartan Motors: "We're clearly pleased with the recognition of being among what Forbes considers the best small companies in America. It's notable the ranking factored in both short- term success over the last 12 months, but also the last five years of growth in top- and bottom-line and return on equity. This mirrors Spartan's focus on effective strategic planning looking forward three to five years and efficient operational execution, thus creating value for our stakeholders."

Spartan Motors, Inc. designs, engineers and manufactures custom chassis and vehicles for the recreational vehicle, fire truck, ambulance, emergency-rescue and specialty vehicle markets. The Company's brand names -- Spartan(TM), Crimson Fire(TM), Crimson Fire Aerials(TM), and Road Rescue(TM) -- are known for quality, value, service and being the first to market with innovative products. The Company employs 1,300 at facilities in Michigan, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and South Dakota. Spartan reported sales of $445 million in 2006 and is focused on becoming the premier manufacturer of specialty vehicles and chassis in North America.

INTERNATIONAL AWARD GOES TO FALLEN FIREFIGHTER'S WHISTLE STOP TOUR BUS
Originally Posted: October 22, 2007 12:28 PM
Last Updated: October 22, 2007 12:28 PM

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Everyone Goes Home Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program is pleased to announce that the America's Fire Heroes Whistle Stop Tour Bus Wrap has won the International Award in the 2007 BUSRide/Avery Dennison Graphics MotorVision Competition. The design will be featured in the November 2007 issue of BUSRide Magazine.

The design, a moving memorial to 3,147 fallen firefighters enshrined on the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland, was the focal piece of a national tour to reduce the number of firefighter line-of-duty deaths in the United States.

Created by Amy de Boinville, Patti Odbert, and installed by Applied Advertising, Inc., loving care was taken to ensure that not one letter of any firefighter's name was missing. This was achieved through painstaking work of wrapping the design around the many keyholes, vents, hinges and gaskets of the Whistle-Stop Tour bus. The concept also wrapped the names completely around the bus and leaving no space to signify the sincere hope for mitigating firefighter fatalities in the future.

Making 20 official stops in major cities across the country, this bus, operated by U.S. Coachways, was seen by thousands of people including: members of the public, the fire service and fire service survivors. It brought to the public a message of prevention and how they could keep their families safe while also ensuring that firefighters come home to their own families. For the fire service, it was not only a tribute to our fallen brothers and sisters but reminded us that we should honor their memory by ensuring that "Everyone Goes Home" after every call. Fire service survivors from across the country were able to locate the name of their loved one, touch it, take photos and recall special memories of their firefighter.

We offer our sincerest gratitude to everyone who worked tirelessly to make the Whistle-Stop Tour Bus design a reality. This endeavor helped us continue to honor the families of our fallen firefighters and move forward in reducing firefighter fatalities through the Everyone Goes Home Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives Program.

WILDFIRES HIT CALIFORNIA ON EVE OF BLUE RIBBON'S FOCUS ON THE URBAN WILDFIRE CHALLENGE IN THE NATION: NEEDA REPRESENTED AT THE MEETING
Originally Posted: October 22, 2007 9:24 AM
Last Updated: October 23, 2007 5:49 AM

Wildfires in California driven by high winds continued into the third day as Santa Ana winds threatened more homes and communities with serious loss due to fire. So far, thousands of acres have been burned. Firefighers are overwhelmed. Many residents refuse to leave or wait until the last possible minute, thus delaying first responders from fire and police departments.

The southern California coast covering 7 counties including San Diego are affected. The Governor of California has called it a state of emergency.

Near San Diego 22 square miles burned.

On Tuesday, NEEDA Executive Director Kenton Pattie will attend a blue ribbon commission in Washington DC to examine new strategies for responding to the wildfire situation in the nation. Pattie has been in wildfires in Southern California and Washington State. Your suggestions on how the nation should respond to wildfires, particularly those near or in urban areas: KentonP1@aol.com.

So far firefighters, homeowners, hikers and illegal immigrants have ended up in the hospital because of the fires.

Ramona, which which is high above and east of San Diego and is en route to the Borrego Dessert area has been evacuated. The town population is 36,000.

Patti Roberts, a spokeswoman for the Governor's Office of Emergency Services: On Monday, 14 fires were burning in Southern California.

On 150 miles of Southern California, officials warned 265,000 people to leave their homes. County Supervisor Ron Roberts: A quater of a million residents or more were asked to leave their homes in San Diego County.

School buses and ambulances were used for transportation. Prisoners were bused from jail to other lockups.

200,000 calls from county officials to residents were used to urge residents to leave their homes.

Many went to San Diego Chargers home field at Qualcomm Stadium. Initially there was almost no food for a crowd of 10,000 and people with pets were ordered to stay outside the stadium. Similarly the Del Mar fairgrounds and the Marine Corps' Camp Pendelton were used for refugees.

There was no count of how many homes were destroyed in San Diego as this NEEDA Newsletter is written.

To the frustration of firefighters many residents refused to leave their homes. Some stayed in their neighborhoods to spray water on property and to help others fight fires. In addition to being slowed by reluctant residents, there were not enough fire trucks to reach all the blazing sites. Firefighters complained that residents who would not respond to pleas to abandon their homes were stripping fire fighting resources by taking up time issuing warnings and advising people about getting to safety. Similarly, people were not obeying the police who also broadcast from cars for people to evacuate.

The Associated Press reported: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the seven affected counties, opening the way for government aid. He also made 1,500 California National Guardsmen available, and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said the troops' main focus would be to prevent looting and help with evacuations."

President Bush asked Governor Schwarzenegger if he was getting everything he needed to fight the fires.

Among the evacuees: a National Guard unit.

EMERGENCY MEDICAL RESPONDERS WORRIED BY NEW STAPH THREAT
Originally Posted: October 17, 2007 3:07 PM
Last Updated: October 17, 2007 3:07 PM

More than 90,000 Americans get deadly infections each year from a drug-resistant staph "superbug," the Federal government reported in its first overall estimate of invasive disease caused by the germ.

Deaths tied to these infections may exceed those caused by AIDS, October 16's report shows just how far one form of the staph germ has spread beyond its traditional hospital setting.

The overall incidence rate was about 32 invasive infections per 100,000 people. That's an "astounding" figure, said an editorial in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, which published the study.

Most drug-resistant staph cases are mild skin infections. But this study focused on invasive infections - those that enter the bloodstream or destroy flesh and can turn deadly.

Researchers found that only about one-quarter involved hospitalized patients. However, more than half were in the health care system - people who had recently had surgery or were on kidney dialysis, for example. Open wounds and exposure to medical equipment are major ways the bug spreads.

In recent years, the resistant germ has become more common in hospitals and it has been spreading through prisons, gyms and locker rooms, and in poor urban neighborhoods.

The new study offers the broadest look yet at the pervasiveness of the most severe infections caused by the bug, called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. These bacteria can be carried by healthy people, living on their skin or in their noses.

OCT 22-NOV 30 IS APPLICATION PERIOD FOR 2007 FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANTS
Originally Posted: October 17, 2007 11:26 AM
Last Updated: October 17, 2007 11:26 AM

The Department of Homeland Security posted the FY07 Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grants Program Guidance on the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program Website. The application period is scheduled to begin on October 22, 2007, at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Applications for these grants must be received by November 30, 2007, at 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time).

FP&S grants support projects that enhance the safety of the public and firefighters from fire and related hazards. The primary goal is to target high-risk populations, firefighter safety and mitigate high incidences of death and injury. Examples of the types of projects supported by FP&S include fire prevention and public safety education campaigns, juvenile fire setter interventions, media campaigns, and arson prevention and awareness programs.

The applicant tutorial is available through the www.firegrantsupport.com Website. The tutorial will provide you with valuable grant information and will walk you through the preparation and submittal of competitive applications. In addition, the applicant tutorial will provide an overview of the funding priorities and evaluation criteria. Applicants who have questions regarding the Fire Prevention and Safety Grants opportunity should contact the help desk as soon as possible at 1-866-274-0960 or at firegrants@dhs.gov. During the application period, the help desk will operate Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Eastern Time), but is prepared to revise hours of operation based on volume, demand, holidays and urgency to complete the FP&S Grants application period and processing for FY07.

The AFG Program is administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agencys (FEMA) Grants Program Directorate in coordination with the U.S. Fire Administration.

MORE INFO?
FY07 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants Program Guidance: www.firegrantsupport.com/fps/guidance/

FY07 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants FAQs: www.firegrantsupport.com/fps/faq/07/

TOO MANY E-MAILS? UK COMPANIES OFFER SOLUTION: E-MAIL FREE FRIDAYS!
Originally Posted: October 17, 2007 5:18 AM
Last Updated: October 17, 2007 5:18 AM

Companies in the UK are now introducing e-mail free Fridays to try and reduce the amount of unnecessary material being sent out, and to foster greater interaction between employees. E-mail has swiftly become the staple means of communication in the workplace, but this has had a downside: overloading of servers, overloading of people with information, reduced face-to-face interactions between employees, and reduced productivity.

A recent survey in the UK revealed that 80 per cent of workers use e-mail politically to cover their backs, while a third admitted to using e-mail to avoid resolving a difficult situation face-to-face or over the phone. It is also common knowledge that up to half of all e-mails sent by workers are jokes, quizzes, forwards from friends, etc, which have become known to some in the communications world as productivity viruses for obvious reasons. The e-mail free Friday is an attempt to address these problems, all of which are steadily increasing, by banning e-mail communication on that day, forcing employees to take a different approach and to use their time more appropriately.

An e-mail ban begins to build a culture of designing and delivering ideas together
Nestlé Rowntree was the first company in the UK to introduce such a policy, after management were informed that employees were spending more time typing than talking to each other; they also found examples of people sending e-mails to colleagues who were just a small distance across from them, rather than actually speaking to them directly.

As Andrew Harrison, marketing director at the company, points out, A no-email Friday removes needless information flow across the organisation and it forces people to talk face-to-face and agree plans mutually. An e-mail ban begins to build a culture of designing and delivering ideas together.

The idea also grew out of more well-known dress-down Fridays, where employees are encouraged to dress in more casual clothes at the end of the week. More recently, Camelot (who run the National Lottery) and the BBC have also experimented with the concept.

The Friday ban also reduces the pressure on employees to spend time responding to everything that flows in to their inbox, and can enable them to escape the pressures of what work analysts have identified as information overload associated with many e-mails. It is anticipated that 35 billion e-mails will be sent every day by the year 2005, and having policies in place to make sure the benefits of e-mail outweigh the disadvantages will be increasingly important for all organisations, big and small.

While some might not wish to go as far as Nestlé (or Computer Associates, who actually shut down their systems for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon to prevent gossiping), placing a ban on all non-essential e-mails, or drawing up guidelines of what should and should not be sent by e-mail, will be things considered by all companies.

There is also a great deal that can be done by individuals, and Karl Cushing at Computer Weekly gives ten top tips for better e-mail usage:

1) Keep e-mails short and to the point, and use subject lines properly

2) Re-read the message before sending to ensure it is relevant and clear

3) Use the cc and bcc functions appropriately: does that person really need to be copied in on this e-mail?

4) Never add an attachment unless it has been requested and always include the information in the body of the e-mail where possible

5) When attaching Word documents, do so in the rtf (rich text file) format to remove any scripts and macros

6) Compress large files before sending as attachments

7) Never reply to spam, under any circumstances

8) Archive e-mails effectively and realistically, keeping only the ones that are truly relevant

9) Avoid overuse of the High Priority or Urgent labelling of
e-mails, because it loses its value or meaning

HALL-MARK FIRE APPARATUS IS TEXAS EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT DEALER FOR FEDERAL SIGNAL; FIRELINE EXPANDS INTO SOUTH CAROLINA MARKET; ABSOLUTE EMERGENCY VEHICLES ADDS LONG ISLAND AS E-ONE TERRITORY AND ATLANTIC CANADA, DIVISION OF CARRIER EQUIPMENT EXPANDS INTO CANADIAN MARITIME PROVINCES
Originally Posted: October 15, 2007 5:50 PM
Last Updated: October 16, 2007 3:04 PM

Hall-Mark Fire Apparatus has been selected as a dealer for Federal Signal Corporation (Oak Brook, IL) . . . already a long-time E-ONE dealer in Florida has expanded its coverage with the establishment of Hall-Mark Texas LLC.

"We are delighted that Hall-Mark is now our dealer servicing E-ONE fire rescue vehicles in Texas," said Peter Guile, President of E-ONE. "Hall-Mark is a valued strategic partner that is ideally positioned to leverage the market opportunities for fire rescue vehicles in Texas."

"Texas is a robust market with tremendous opportunities," said Bill Alm, president of Hall-Mark Texas. "Hall-Mark is already hard at work in Texas building on the tradition of innovation and established relationships that have been key factors in E-ONE's success in Texas over the years."

"Our way of doing business and taking care of customers has always produced results and is the cornerstone of Hall-Mark's success," said Jim Hall, co-owner of Hall-Mark Texas and founder of Hall-Mark Fire Apparatus.

"We are excited to be a part of the Texas fire service."

Hall-Mark's presence in Texas includes a full service center in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area -- with plans to expand in the state. In addition, Hall-Mark has a fleet of dedicated service vehicles to quickly meet the needs of Texas fire departments.

According to the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association (FAMA), xxx* fire apparatus were ordered in Texas in 2006.

The establishment of Hall-Mark Texas is part of E-ONE's ongoing strategy to strengthen its North American dealer channel by encouraging successful dealer principals to expand their territories.

As a result, Winder, Ga.-based FireLine, Inc., recently expanded into South Carolina; Absolute Emergency Vehicles and Equipment LLC, added Long Island, NY, to its territory; and Atlantic Canada, a division of Carrier Emergency Equipment, now services the Canadian Maritime Provinces. In addition, ICS now serves the fire rescue vehicle needs of U.S. federal and military agencies. E-ONE anticipates announcing additional enhancements to its dealer channel over the coming months.

Kenton Pattie, Executive Director of the National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association (NEEDA) congratulated all the emergency equipment dealers who are expanding their apparatus sales. "Dealers are the strongest arm manufacturers can have in today's market . . . daily, persistent contact at the local level with the key decision makers in the fire service. It is nice to see dealers recognized for the service they provide to the US emergency services."

As a leading manufacturer of mission critical vehicles, E-ONE engineers and builds a complete line of apparatus including fire rescue vehicles, hazardous materials units, rehabilitation vehicles, explosive ordnance disposal vehicles, command centers and aircraft rescue vehicles. E-ONE is
an ISO 9001 registered manufacturer and is a subsidiary of Federal Signal Corporation, listed on the New York Stock Exchange as (NYSE: FSS). When lives are in the balance and seconds count.

Federal Signal Corporation (NYSE: FSS) is a leader in advancing security and well-being for communities and workplaces around the world.

The company designs and manufactures a suite of products and integrated solutions for municipal, governmental, industrial and airport customers. Federal Signal's portfolio of trusted, high-priority products include Bronto aerial devices, Elgin and Ravo street sweepers, E-ONE fire
apparatus, Federal Signal safety and security systems, Guzzler industrial vacuums, Jetstream waterblasters and Vactor sewer cleaners. In addition, the company operates consumable industrial tooling businesses. Federal
Signal was founded in 1901 and is based in Oak Brook, Illinois.

* In an earlier edition of this NEEDA Newsletter, NEEDA published a Texas apparatus number based on information from Federal Signal. However, FAMA rules on the application and usage of statistical information: The data that is provided to FAMA members "will be used for the [member's] internal purposes only and shall not be referenced, cited or in any way used in any advertisements or other materials for the marketing or promotion of the [member's] products."

MORE INFO? www.federalsignal.com

NEW MASKS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS IN NEW YORK
Originally Posted: October 15, 2007 6:08 AM
Last Updated: October 15, 2007 6:08 AM

The New York Homeland Security recalled 35,000 gas masks bought in '03 for $10.8 saying they don't meet federal standards in chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear disasters.

More than 5,000 respirators are to be exchanged in Nassau County NY and about 10,000 in Suffolk, NY.

New York distributed the masks, manufactured by Safety Equipment Australia according to state homeland security spokesman Dennis Michalski.

WELLNESS PROGRAMS FOR DEALER EMPLOYEES: GOOD IDEA, BUT IS THERE A WAY TO CONTROL THE COSTS AND REWARD EMPLOYEES WHO WORK ON PERSONAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENTS?
Originally Posted: October 14, 2007 10:03 AM
Last Updated: October 14, 2007 10:03 AM

Some emergency equipment dealers may wish to question any wellness program the company is paying for. Wellness programs are popular and make a lot of sense when the employee's health is critical to the performance of his or her job. Paying up front for wellness as prevention is a good idea, but there may be ways to reduce the costs and put more focus on the employee taking care to keep themselves in good shape.

As health care costs continue spiraling every year, some small businesses are taking a more assertive role in their quest for employee wellness. Rather than a friendly, we're-all-in-this-together attitude, some employers are starting to penalize employees with unhealthy lifestyles.

Clarian Health, a major employer in Indiana, had considered charging employees with high cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose $5 per paycheck for extra insurance copayments. Obese employees would have been charged $10 extra, the Terre Haute Tribune-Star reported. After discussions with employees, however, Clarian revised the plan to provide its workers with incentives, not penalties.

Lawyers and groups that follow insurance and employment trends say punitive measures are gaining a foothold. Jim Hertel, publisher of the Colorado Managed Care Newsletter, told the Denver Post that employers and benefit consultants are showing more interest over the last few years in basically slapping a "surcharge" on less healthy employees based on blood test screenings, body mass index, or other measurements.

All this attention on weight in the workplace is making some obese employees feel singled out and demoralized.

"Most people do not choose to be fat," said Peggy Howell of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, a civil rights organization that fights discrimination against fat people. "But once people are fat, it is next to impossible to change that," she told the Boston Globe. "It's far healthier to accept who you are and get on with your life than to be obsessed with what goes into your mouth."

It might be difficult not to be obsessed in some workplaces, where companies are offering cash prizes for weight loss, complimentary gym memberships, or free consultations with nutritionists and dietitians.

The programs in many cases are not only voluntary, but also popular with employees. Some of them are quite generous. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, for example, offers $600 to employees simply to take a half-hour health assessment. But some of the wellness programs may have the unintended down side of focusing negative attitudes on the obese.

In a recent Yale University survey of about 2,000 overweight women, 53 percent of those polled said co-workers stigmatized them, and 43 percent said their employers stigmatized them. According to Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, overweight individuals are paid less for the same jobs, are more likely to have lower paying jobs, and are less likely to get promoted than thin people with the same qualifications.

While no Federal laws exist to prohibit discrimination against obese individuals, in Connecticut, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act is supplemented with a ban on discrimination based on a "chronic condition."

Labor and employment attorney Bernie Jacques of Hartford advised employers in the Connecticut Business Journal to be sensitive to bias issues and to ensure privacy of all employees in wellness programs. Avoid mandatory or punitive programs, "unless you have a large budget for litigation."

IS THERE A ROLE FOR RADIO FREQUENCY IDENTIFICATION (RFID) IN THE FIRE INDUSTRY?
Originally Posted: October 11, 2007 4:31 PM
Last Updated: October 11, 2007 4:31 PM

By Kenton Pattie
Executive Director
National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association (NEEDA)
703 850 8552
KentonP1@aol.com

I recently attended a day long National Chamber Foundation program on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). As the only delegate from the fire industry to attend this meeting, I attended as a member of the US Chambers Procurement Committee.

Two Members of Congress addressed the audience, including Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). Goodlatte is co-chair of the Congressional Internet Caucus and chair the House Republican High Technology Working Group. Sanchez is ranking woman on the House Armed Services Committee and chairs the Border, Maritime and Global Counterterrorism Subcommittee.

Sanchez said radio frequency tags are very important to the Los Angeles-Long Beach port which has to process hundreds of containers every day; the tags enable officials to monitor the movement of containers through radio ID as they go through the port.

She said Congress sets general policy after which private competitors should do what they do best. She discussed the pilot program of monitoring trucks coming over the US Mexico border using radio frequency ID. She is concerned about a new General Accountability Office report that radio frequency allows too much to be accessed going through the air and thus was vulnerable to interception.

Goodlatte, following Sanchez assertion that there are only 12 Members of Congress who know what RFID is said there are 180 House members who belong to his Caucus. He feels the RFID has limitless potential. He added: Government must enable not impede the growth of RFID.

Conference sponsor SAP was represented by Bill McDermott who said SAP stands for Systems, Applicaionts, Process.

A representative of the European Union Dr. Gerald Santucci said the tags used for radio frequency ID are getting smaller, possibly to one millimeter. He said the use of the RFID system has strong support in Europe and they want to cooperate closely with the United States so as to be compatible.

Mark Roberts, publisher of RFID Journal said he launched his publication in 2002 and since then he has written in leading publications such as Fortune and has been interviewed on various television shows. He stressed that the key is that RFID is a low key way to respond to the increase in threats to commerce.

Pam Stegman, Grocery Manufacturers Association, RFID will reduce shrinkage in the supply chain and thwart counterfeiting of grocery products.

When asked about using the bar code system vs. RFID the panel of speakers said that bar code takes an item by item application and in most cases the products that go through RFID require checking by the carton and container and there is not enough time to check every single unit in a shipment.

David, from Rite Aid, said his chain uses RFID extensively and that RFID for the future is more promising. The panel is concerned about a California law which may begin state-by-state laws regulating RFID vs. the advantages of having a nationwide set of rules which makes a unified national system, as is being attempted in the European Union.

The cost of the RFID system was discussed. In the current market costs range from 78 cents per unit to 10 cents per unit. Plus the there is the cost of readers and all the personnel and space necessary to monitor the flow of goods employing the RFID system.

Manufacturers pay for the RFID tags places on goods but each part of the supply chain pays for its one managing and date collection system. Keeping records is vital but difficult.

In the future RFID can be used to monitor temperature of products en route to the market and the ability to watch and adjust temperatures will bring down costs. Knowing where shipments are in the delivery chain will help companies which work on a just in time basis companies which sell products they have just received and do not provide storage for a backlog of deliveries . . . as one panelist said space is at a premium.

In the medical emergency area, using tags for people who have been exposed to the pandemic flu virus is one possible use of RFID, so people can be monitored without direct contract between medical professionals and patients.

Panelists say that the cost and security and usability standards will determine the future of the RFID system. One panelist: RFID is not going to solve all your problems. But it does have appeal to an industry with 150 manufacturing sites in 37 countries.

Eventually combining RFID with Global Positioning System (GPS) technology so that you can see exactly where something is rather than waiting for it to come through a monitoring site will be a great help to the industries using REID.

The RFID industry has received a lot of news media coverage and has one publication dedicated entirely to RFID.

The question I have is: is there any application for RFID in the fire industry or is there any nexus between the technologies we are using and the technologies these other industries are using? If you would like to comment, please e-mail: KentonP1@aol.com.

PRIVATE TAX COLLECTOR BILL TAKES A HIT IN THE HOUSE; 3% WITHHOLDING LAW REPEAL NOW HAS 217 HOUSE COOSPONSORS AS SUPPORT FOR REPEAL RISES
Originally Posted: October 11, 2007 3:48 PM
Last Updated: October 11, 2007 3:48 PM

HR 3056, the Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007, passed the House yesterday by a vote of 232 173. The bill stops the Internal Revenue Service from using private collection firms in collecting Federal taxes.

I have reported on this bill previously on NEEDA Newsletter. The White House is planning to veto HR 3056 because private tax collectors bring in taxes that may not otherwise be paid to the IRS. Over in the US Senate Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana) is not a supporter of private tax collectors pursuing tax payers on behalf of the government. But top Republican, Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) will probably oppose the bill when it comes up in the Senate.

The IRS has been running the program for three years using a previously passed piece of legislation as the basis. The goal of the original legislation was to raise $1.4 billion over ten years. The IRS says private tax collectors can get $132 billion from tax payers if unleashed to do the work.

Currently there are two companies doing the work for IRS: Pioneer Credit Recovery, CBE. They are supported by the Tax Fairness Coalition a lobbying group which supports the use of private tax collectors to help IRS. These companies get to keep 25 percent of the taxes they collect and so far these companies have earned $5 million in commissions from the IRS.

Congressmen who oppose the private tax collection program maintain that collecting taxes is a core responsibility of the Federal government and should not be contracted out.

Among the opponents of the private tax collector program has been the National Treasury Employees Union, the Consumer Federation of America and the National Consumer Law Center. They say the program has not met Congressional and IRS goals: only $25 million has been collected compared to the $61 million that had been expected. The program generates a lot of complaints because the tax collection companies obtain a lot of private information about taxpayers.

MORE INFO?//clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll960.xml

PS. Also, there are now 217 House of Representatives cosponsors for HR 1023, the Meek-Herger bill which fully repeals the 3% withholding requirement. This bill repeals a Federal law which requires 3% of all sales to Federal, state and local governments to be withheld from vendors, submitted to the IRS and held until tax settlements at the end of the tax year. More and more business organizations are learning about this program and oppose the 3% withholding program.

NEEDA Newsletter has carried 13 articles about the 3% withholding program which NEEDA believes hurts the fire industry and works to the disadvantage in its unfairness to dealers whose business is almost entirely with Federal, state and local governments.

VECO ACQUIRED BY CH2M HILL
Originally Posted: October 10, 2007 4:18 PM
Last Updated: October 10, 2007 4:18 PM

VECO was acquired by CH2M HILL and is now an integral part of the firm's global energy and industrial business.

With the addition of VECO, CH2M HILL has grown to more than 23,000 professionals in 31 countries. The company has expanded their consulting; program management; integrated engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC); and operations and maintenance services to meet the needs of the clients throughout the world.

MORE INFO? CH2M Hill Mr. Rob Smith ERob.Smith@ch2m.com http://www.ch2m.com/

WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL STRATEGY DOES NOT IMPRESS HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE CHAIR
Originally Posted: October 9, 2007 8:58 PM
Last Updated: October 9, 2007 8:58 PM

On Tuesday, October 9, 2007 the White House Homeland Security Council released its National Strategy for Homeland Security, updating a prior homeland security strategy released in July 2002.

There continues to be tension between the Department of Homeland Security and the House of Representatives. Congress has given the Department many specific directions with specific deadlines. Department executives say they are innundated with Congressional requests for information and papers on various subjects. The letter below reflects the tone of the tension.

Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Chairman of the US House Committee on Homeland Security, issued the following statement:

When the U.S. Government releases a strategy document, people take notice. Sadly, any anticipation leading up to the release of this report may have been more exciting than the information contained within it.

This document represents a roadmap of broad principles, many of which are commonly supported. The real question is, nearly five years after the Department of Homeland Security was created, whats new in this national strategy and how will it better the national effort to secure the homeland? asked Rep. Thompson.

The reality is that this Strategy provides little guidance for the deficiencies already taxing our homeland security capacity, while at the same time, it attempts to define successes in border security, information sharing, and biopreparedness, which have not yet been realized.

On September 5, I presented Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff with a To-Do list of 6 points critical to achieving homeland security. The list includes programs and initiatives that this White House Homeland Security Strategy seems to gloss over. I only wish the White House spent as much time addressing these known vulnerabilities as it has producing this Strategy update.

AMERICAN AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION TEAMS WITH LOFTUS ASSOCIATES FOR OCTOBER 22-24, 2007 LV TRADE SHOW
Originally Posted: October 9, 2007 4:09 PM
Last Updated: October 9, 2007 4:10 PM

Loftus Associates has been selected by the American Ambulance Association (AAA) as their audio visual production and management partner for the AAA Convention and Trade show (Las Vegas, NV Oct 22-24, 2007). The partnership has continued since 2005.

"We are excited to be on the team and look forward to providing exceptional customer service to the AAA" , said Michael Loftus, president of Loftus Associates. Loftus also supported the International Association of Fire Chief's show in 2007.

AAA was founded in 1979 to promote health care policies in Ambulance Services.

"The mission of the AAA is to provide excellence in ambulance services and provide research, education and communication programs to enable its members to effectively address the needs of the community", said Maria Bianchi, CAE, Executive Vice President of the AAA.

"We are excited to work again with Loftus Associates. Most of our leadership know the Loftus Associates team and appreciate their commitment to detail", said Lesley Hunter, meetings and events manager.

The Association Management Group (AMG) provides management services to the AAA and is located in McLean, VA.

Loftus Associates is a fast growing audiovisual production, management and consulting companies in the nation. The company provides audio visual services to corporate, non-profit, and government events, including association meetings and conventions. Clients include: the American Immigration Lawyers Association; International Association of Fire Chiefs; Homebuyer Publications; Lockheed Martin Corporation; the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery and the American Urological Association.

MORE INFO? www.LoftusAssociates.com or (703) 476-4600 Elise Lindsey
Vice President, Business Developmentelindsey@loftusassociates.com

IRS SAYS OCTOBER 15, 2007 IS DEADLINE FOR EXTENDED TAX RETURNS
Originally Posted: October 9, 2007 2:29 PM
Last Updated: October 9, 2007 2:29 PM

The Internal Revenue Service says October 15, 2007 is deadline for extended tax returns. This is the first year of October 15 being the date for automatically extended federal returns. E-filing is still a viable option for extended returns. A record 58 percent of the 135.3 million returns received by the IRS so far this year have been filed electronically.

The IRS reports that more than 10.2 million taxpayers requested an automatic six-month extension this year and many of them have yet to file.

Before filing, the IRS urges taxpayers to take a moment to check out these often-overlooked tax breaks:

Telephone Excise Tax Refund: This is a one-time refund of long-distance excise taxes available on tax year 2006 income-tax returns. The refund applies to charges billed from March 2003 through July 2006. The government offers a standard refund amount of $30 to $60, or taxpayers can base their refund request on the actual amount of tax paid. Even if a taxpayer does not normally have to file a return, Form 1040EZ-T (also available through Free File) can be used to request this refund.
Earned Income Tax Credit: Earned income of less than $38,348 in 2006 may qualify a taxpayer to claim the earned income tax credit. This credit, worth up to $4,536, is available to low and moderate-income workers and working families. A special interactive " EITC Assistant" can help taxpayers determine whether they are eligible.

Savers credit: Low-and moderate income workers who contributed to a retirement plan, such as an IRA or 401(k), may be able to take the savers credit. This credit is available in addition to any other tax savings that apply. Use Form 8880 to claim the credit.

Extender tax breaks: Several popular tax breaks were renewed too late to be included on 2006 federal income tax forms. Accordingly, many taxpayers need to follow special instructions to claim the deduction for state and local sales taxes, the tuition and fees deduction, as well as the educator expense deduction. In addition, many who qualify for the tuition and fees deduction may reap greater tax savings by, instead, claiming the Hope credit or the lifetime learning credit for a particular student.

Some taxpayers can wait until after Oct.15, to file. This includes those serving in Iraq, Afghanistan or other combat zone localities and people affected by several recent natural disasters.

HOUSE TO CONSIDER ONE YEAR DELAY IN 3% WITHHOLDING LAW ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2007
Originally Posted: October 9, 2007 11:36 AM
Last Updated: October 9, 2007 2:03 PM

by Kenton Pattie, Executive Director
National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association (NEEDA)
KentonP1@aol.com 703 850 8552

HR 3056, the Tax Collection Responsibility Act of 2007, is scheduled to be on the House floor Wednesday, October 10, 2007. This bill delays the implementation of the 3% withholding by one year. It also prohibits the use of private debt collectors by the IRS.

NEEDA will be meeting with other associations on this issue at the US Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, October 18, 2007. If you would like to attend, please let me know (Kenton Pattie 703 850 8552.)

NEEDA opposes the 3% withholding provision. It should be repealed. We are particularly concerned that the Treasury Department is proceeding to implement this law while there is pending legislation in Congress that would delay or repeal the law that authorized the 3% withholding on all sales to Federal, state and local governments. In light of the impact this bill will have on small and large businesses, Treasury should delay implementation while Congress is debating the merits of postponing implementation or repealing the bill. As I mentioned before, there is already repeal legislation pending in the House and in the Senate.

NEEDA received a "Question: Since the 3% withholding provision is aimed at large contracts, why would it affect small businesses? "

Answer: As emergency equipment dealers we may be selling products under a manufacturer's GSA multiple award contract. While the manufacturer's contract itself may be large in dollar volume, the fact that the dealer's share of the contract is just a portion of the total would still make the dealer's sale subject to the 3% withholding.

If implemented, the law would require every buying entity to have the 3% program in place and be able to discriminate as to which sales are subject to the law and which are not. In many cases, not being able to sort out which purchases are subject to the 3% withholding, agencies will be inclined to make all purchases subject to the 3% withholding.

Further, even if smaller contracts are exempted by Congress, once this law is put into effect and the goverment sector starts seeing the advantages to keeping 3% of profits away from businesses for one year or more and limits will be reduced. So, in the long run all sales to the government sector, small and large will be covered by the law, with the law as written today just being the foot-in-the-door.

NEEDA supports H.R. 1023, legislation introduced by Congressmen Kendrick Meek and Wally Herger, which would repeal the withholding requirement. This bipartisan legislation has 179 cosponsors, many of them members of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

FIRE PREVENTION WEEK 07: PREVENT 67,000 ELECTRICAL FIRES AND 485 FIRE DEATHS WITH ARC FAULT CIRCUIT INTERRUPTERS (AFCIs)
Originally Posted: October 8, 2007 5:19 AM
Last Updated: October 8, 2007 5:23 AM

Arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) are electrical safety devices designed to prevent fires caused by dangerous electrical arcs. According to the U.S. Fire Administration,* home electrical problems accounted for an estimated 67,800
fires and $868 million in property losses in 2003. Electrical fires also cause an estimated 485 deaths annually and injure almost 2,300 more individuals.

For this reason, the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) suggests that homeowners consider installing AFC protection in general purpose circuits throughout the home.

Arc-faults can trigger fires and threaten life when flammable materials such as cloth, paper and wood in walls are resent. These arcs can occur along the circuit in residential lectrical systems and at outlets and switches, behind walls. Such hidden electrical fires can spread rapidly, undetected by smoke alarms, reducing the chances of survival.

"For example, if you're hanging a picture and nick an electrical wire with a nail, you may trigger an arc and not be aware of the hazard," ESFI Executive President Brett Brenner explained. "Arcing faults do not necessarily create an overload that causes a traditional circuit breaker to
trip or a fuse to blow."

AFCIs are the next generation product in electrical circuit protection. As you evaluate your new home's construction or consider upgrading or remodeling your current electrical system, consider enhancing the protection of your electrical system with AFCIs.

For more information on AFCIs visit the ESFI Library on the ESFI's website, http://www.electrical-safety.org to download a free copy of the AFCI brochure. Print copies can also be ordered through ESFI's website, or call ESFI at 703-841-3229.

ESFI reminds everyone that electricity is a powerful tool. It can also be a lethal hazard. Better safety standards have reduced electrical hazards that cause deaths, injuries and property damage. But good safety habits are still the best prevention against electrical hazards.

*USFA. 2006. "On the Safety Circuit: A Factsheet on Home Electrical Fire Prevention."

Founded in 1994 through a joint effort between Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL), the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), the Electrical Safety Foundation International (ESFI) is North America's only non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to promoting electrical safety in the home and workplace.

MORE INFO?
www.electrical-safety.org or 703-841-3229

HOME SAFETY COUNCIL AND JOHNS HOPKINS ISSUE REPORT ON FIRE AND LIFE SAFETY IN THE US FIRE SERVICE
Originally Posted: October 5, 2007 8:52 AM
Last Updated: October 5, 2007 8:57 AM

Currently, there is no clear national picture of the status of fire and life safety activities in the U.S. fire service. To maximize the effectiveness of public education, a comprehensive understanding of current practices, barriers and facilitators, and future needs is essential. A national survey of Fire and Life Safety Education (FLSE) was undertaken to address this need. The project was conducted in partnership with an Advisory Committee that included representatives from leading fire service and safety organizations and the U.S. Fire Administration.

The survey asked about the respondent (length of service as chief and in fire service); general aspects related to FLSE (average hours of FLSE per week, familiarity with FLSE standards, departmental training requirements, type of personnel who conduct FLSE, and certification for those individuals); types, number and focus of FLSE activities offered; whether FLSE targets needs of high risk audiences; FLSE partners and advocacy; use of FLSE educational materials and safety products; FLSE evaluation; satisfaction with FLSE activities; barriers and facilitators for FLSE; and interest in training.

The 2006 National Directory of Fire Chiefs and EMS Administrators was used to select a sample from among the 29,221 fire departments in the United States. A total of 7,408 fire departments, stratified by type of department, size of population served, and geographic region were selected to receive the survey. A 35-item mailed survey was used and a postcard reminder was sent to the full sample two weeks later. Telephone reminder phone calls were made subsequently to a subset of the non-responders. A total of 1,523 completed surveys were returned and analyzed using weighted analyses to create national estimates.

The results address five specific questions: 1) Who is doing FLSE? 2) What activities are being conducted? 3) How is FLSE perceived within the fire department? 4) What are the barriers and facilitators to conducting FLSE? and 5) What FLSE training needs do fire departments have? Analyses include frequencies for the entire sample as well as comparisons by type of fire department, population served, and region of the country.

In total, 86% of the fire departments in the U.S. report conducting FLSE. Volunteer departments were less likely than career departments to provide FLSE (82% vs. 99%), but there was no difference between career and combination departments. Departments serving a large population (>10,000) were more likely to provide FLSE compared to those serving a smaller population (97% vs. 83%). There was no difference by region of the
country. When asked who provides the FLSE, only 12% of fire departments had staff exclusively assigned to this responsibility; typically FLSE is provided by uniformed personnel who have multiple responsibilities (56%).

The most common FLSE activities are elementary school presentations (80%) and fire safety week or month activities (69%). Very few departments reported using specific curricula such as Risk Watch® (RW) or Learn Not To Burn® (LNTB), reported by fewer than 10% and 20% respectively. Fire prevention, fire escape planning and smoke alarms were the focus of the vast majority of the FLSE activities (>70%). In total, 51% of fire departments
reported distributing and/or installing conventional smoke alarms, with conventional smoke alarm batteries being distributed/installed by 32% and 20% for lithium batteries. A slight majority (52%) of departments reported evaluating their FLSE activities.

When asked if they promoted fire related laws, ordinances, or regulations by testifying, presenting information to legislators, working with coalitions or in any other ways, 46% of fire departments reported any advocacy activity. Among departments that did conduct advocacy, it was most often on the topic of smoke alarms (85%) and building or fire codes (62%). Far fewer responded that they conduct advocacy on the topics of sprinklers (30% for home and 36% for non-residential) or fire safe cigarettes (14%).

Two items assessed perceptions of FLSE. First, when asked how FLSE was positioned in the department, 40% reported that it was an important or critical part of the department activity. Second, when asked to rate their satisfaction with FLSE in their department, the average rating was 52 (0 being very dissatisfied and 100 being very satisfied). Career departments, those serving large populations, and those in the Southeast scored higher on both of these measures.

High priority barriers to conducting FLSE included not enough funding, lack of time, and too many competing priorities. When asked about the helpfulness of various facilitators to FLSE, the high priority responses included free community education materials, free safety products to distribute, and information about funding.

The vast majority of respondents were interested in training (93%), although only 17% reported that they would be able to pay for training. Printed materials, videos, DVDs or CDs were recommended training formats, along with local in-person training opportunities. Topics for training that were recommended included: programs for children, smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector programs, and FLSE skill building in advocacy, evaluation, and grant writing.

The results of this survey demonstrate that although a substantial majority of fire departments are conducting FLSE, there is significant variation in the scope and potentially the impact of these activities. Variation is seen by population served, type of department, and geographic region. Not surprisingly, departments that serve smaller populations and volunteer departments, both of which have significantly smaller operating budgets than their larger and career counterparts, are less likely to have personnel assigned exclusively to FLSE activities and to conduct as wide an array of FLSE activities. There were some interesting differences by region of the country, which may bear further examination. It would be important and informative to compare the types of activities undertaken to the types of fire- and burn-related injuries by region, which may help to explain why some regions conduct more juvenile fire setting programs or canvassing activities, for example.

The survey results highlighted a number of barriers and facilitators to expanding and strengthening FLSE across the country. The clear message in both the quantitative survey responses and the written comments was that limited resources -- personnel and funding -- are substantial impediments to progress. At the same time, however, the value placed on the importance of prevention among fire departments is equally clear. This commitment and
the strong interest in learning how to do more and better FLSE bode well for the future.

ADVICE ON SETTING UP NEW PAYROLL SYSTEM IN A DEALERSHIP
Originally Posted: October 3, 2007 5:07 PM
Last Updated: October 3, 2007 5:07 PM

For a small business with new employees, the process of setting up a new payroll system can be daunting. By breaking down the process into small steps, the process can go smoothly, employees will get their paychecks on time, and tax filing deadlines will be met with ease.

Step 1: Obtain a federal identification number from the Internal Revenue Service and a state identification number from your state revenue department. Federal id numbers can be acquired instantly by applying online (see New employer ID numbers now available instantly online). Contact your state revenue department directly for information on applying to be a payroll provider in your state. While you're at it, get a copy of IRS Circular E, Publication 15-A and a similar payroll tax publication from your state.

Step 2: Have your employees fill out necessary enrollment forms. For federal taxes, the employees must fill out Form W-4. There is a similar form available from your state. Note that employees may revise these forms at any time.

Step 3. Determine a pay period. Employers are entitled to pay based on any schedule they desire, so choose a schedule that fits best with your company and your schedule of receiving revenue. Typically companies pay weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly. The IRS and your state revenue department provide withholding tables and rates for all of these choices. Some states require employers to pay more frequently than monthly, so check your state regulations before making a decision to pay on a monthly basis.

Step 4: Determine company policy for sick and vacation days.

Step 5: Determine company policy for overtime and bonuses. Check with your state for rules on paying overtime.

Step 6: Decide upon benefits, such as health insurance and a retirement plan, which will be paid for through payroll withholding.

Step 7: Calculate withholding. If preparing payroll by hand, use the tables in IRS Circular E (see Step 1) and the printed tables you obtain from your state. If you are using a software program for processing payroll, the withholding calculation will be automatic.

Step 8: Make tax deposits. The amounts you withhold for taxes and benefits must be paid to the government and the benefits providers. Payments for federal taxes are deposited with your financial institution (however, some employers are required to make their deposits electronically see the IRS Employment Taxes for Small Businesses for more information.

Step 9: Prepare and file payroll tax returns. The IRS requires that you file a quarterly Form 941 (you can file less frequently if your payroll is below a certain threshold), reconciling the amount of tax you owe and the amount you have paid. Similar forms must be filed with your state revenue department. File Form 940 annually to reconcile the federal unemployment tax. Check your state rules for unemployment tax, which might be due monthly or quarterly. Prepare annual W-2 forms each January for all of your employees, showing how much they were paid and summarizing their withholding for the previous year. These forms are filed with the Social Security Administration and copies are sent to your employees.

DOING BIZ IN CALIFORNIA? US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OFFERS $100 AMERICAN EXPRESS GIFT CARD IF YOU ANSWER SURVEY BY OCTOBER 10, 2007
Originally Posted: October 3, 2007 1:34 PM
Last Updated: October 3, 2007 2:54 PM

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is surveying companies on their thoughts and opinions regarding doing business in the state of California, and we would appreciate your help. Findings from the survey will be used at Litigation in California - It's Everybody's Business on October 16, 2007 in San Francisco. All survey participants will have a chance to enter a drawing to win a $100 American Express gift card.
To participate in the brief survey, just go to:(www.uschamber.com/surveys/CA_business.htm(Responses will be collected online until October 10.
All survey responses will be kept confidential. If you have questions about the survey or summit, please contact Drew Preston, Program Manager at 202-463-5500 or NCFevents@uschamber.com.((Thank you in advance for your time!

This message was sent by the National Chamber Foundation (NCF). Kenton Pattie, NEEDA Executive Director, is a member of the Procurement Committee of the US Chamber of Commerce.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's is the world's largest business federation, representing 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

MORE INFO? U.S. Chamber of Commerce | 1615 H Street, NW | Washington, DC 20062-2000 (www.uschamber.com

WHAT IS THE SAFETY ACT?
Originally Posted: October 3, 2007 1:27 PM
Last Updated: October 3, 2007 1:29 PM

NEEDA recently received a question about the "Safety Act" which was passed by Congress following 9-11-01 and for which the final Federal Regulation was issued in 06. The implementation of the Act is in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security and changes are still being made to the regulations (which appear in the Federal Register).

As you know, there is equipment used in the fire industry or being manufactured by companies in the fire industry that is being used in Iraq. These companies have been advised by counsel to be careful in that the product may be used in a war zone or in a security situation where deaths and accidents may occur or where other countries having access to the equipment may acquire information needed to copy or compromise the equipment.

Here is a summary of the Safety Act, but by no means the entire Federal regulation which is quite lengthy.

The purpose of the Act is to ensure that the threat of
liability does not deter potential
manufacturers or sellers of anti-
terrorism technologies from developing,
deploying, and commercializing
technologies that could save lives. The
Act thus creates certain liability
limitations for claims arising out of,
relating to, or resulting from an act of
terrorism where Qualified Anti-
Terrorism Technologies (as such term is
defined in 6 CFR 25.2) have been
deployed.

For the complete answer to the question "What is the Safety Act?", click on the headline of this NEEDA Newsletter article. Kenton Pattie, Executive Director
National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association (NEEDA)

RULES OF TEAM SELLING BY ALLAN BORESS
Originally Posted: October 3, 2007 12:44 PM
Last Updated: October 3, 2007 12:44 PM

Allan Boress shares his top 10 rules for team selling.

In order to work effectively and create the desired result, certain guidelines of team selling need to be followed:

Rule #1: Select Team Members Carefully: Make sure there is a good chemistry amongst those going on the sales call. Don't bring with people who don't like each other. This lack of chemistry is unspoken and is always perceived by the prospective customer.

Rule #2: There must be an "Orchestrator": Someone should be the lead person on the interview. This person maintains order and controls the meeting, asks the majority of the questions and directs the customer's inquiries to the proper person for the best possible answers.

Rule #3: Stage a "Pre Briefing": There always must be a pre-meeting briefing to discuss the agenda for the meeting and develop the correct plan of action.

Rule #4: Hold a "De Briefing": Discuss what worked and didn't work, as well as the appropriate follow up by selected team members.

Rule #5: Prepare Questions: Every team member should prepare three questions that are brought to the pre-briefing. At that time the most vital questions can be sorted into the agenda.

Rule #6: Keep It To A Minimum: Only bring with those players who are absolutely necessary. Remember "Malthus' Rule of Team Selling: As one increases the number of people on a sales call arithmetically, the potentiality for problems increases geometrically!"

Rule #7: Answer Questions Succinctly: All too often sales interviews involving teams turn into "educational seminars" that not only can bore the prospective customers silly, but fail to allow enough time to get important concerns of yours answered by them.

Rule #8: Be Flexible As To Your Agenda: You may think the meeting should go one way, but the customer has another agenda in mind. Be adaptable enough to allow them to get their needs met and they will feel better about you as a provider of services.

Rule #9: Team Members Must Be On The Same Wavelength: Make sure everyone involved knows not to contradict other team members, or to step on their sentences. There must also be enough "space" for the client to air their concerns. Everyone must share the same goals going into the meeting.

Rule #10: Sell Something! Be committed to selling some piece of business every time you go out as a team, even if it is a sample order or a small study about a potential problem. Make your investment of time and effort pay off by getting your foot in the door for more business somehow.

UNITED STATES FIRE ADMINISTRATION TO BROADCAST VIA INTERNET MEMORIAL WEEKEND
Originally Posted: October 3, 2007 11:40 AM
Last Updated: October 3, 2007 11:40 AM

United States Fire Administration (Emmitsburg, MD) will join with WITF Studios of Harrisburg, PA Pennsylvania, IBM and Cisco to provide a live internet broadcast of the 2007 National Fallen Fighters Candlelight and Memorial services on October 6th and 7th. The broadcast quality production can be viewed on the Web and also by satellite. As firefighters from around the Nation come together in Emmitsburg, Maryland to remember the 87 firefighters lost in 2006, all firefighters, media, and the general public are
invited to join these national remembrance services through these live
Web broadcasts.

The events will be live on the internet at
www.ibm.com/PREPnet/Fallen-FireFighters. For information regarding this
broadcast, contact the National Preparedness Network (PREPnet) of the
USFA at 301-447-1853. Fire service members are encouraged to contact
their local media to capture the feed for rebroadcast on the local public,
governmental, or educational cable channels. The production is in the
public domain, so firefighters and media are welcome and encouraged and
to record this free programming.

2007 Fallen Firefighters Luminary Service (Candlelight Service)
Saturday, October 6, 2007 (5:45 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. EST)

2007 Fallen Firefighters Memorial Service
Sunday, October 7, 2007 (10:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. EST)

MORE INFO? www.firehero.org or
www.usfa.dhs.gov

NEW WITHHOLDING LAW WILL NOT ONLY TAKE MONEY FROM MEDIUM AND SMALL BUSINESSES WHICH DO BIZ WITH FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES: LAW WILL COST BIG BUCKS AS GOVERNMENT AGENCIES RE-DESIGN THEIR IT PROGRAMS TO ACCOMMODATE WITHHOLDING SCHEME
Originally Posted: October 3, 2007 11:20 AM
Last Updated: October 3, 2007 11:23 AM

Government Executive magazine has published this article on the 3% withholding law passed by Congress. Author Jill R. Aitoro (October 2, 2007) says the new law

"would require agencies to revamp financial management systems unless federal contractors are successful in convincing Congress to repeal the provision."

Her investigation shows that the it will be expensive for large Federal agencies to adapt to the new law, extracting 3% of income from every company. She does not go into the costs of managing this new law at the state and local government level.

Section 511 of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (TIPRA) requires federal, state and local government agencies to begin in 2011 withholding a tax of 3 percent of all payments of $100 million or more to government contractors. The 3 percent withholding would raise an estimated $7 billion between 2011 and 2015.

Congress added the provision to the law to make it more difficult for contractors to avoid paying income taxes, said Chris Braddock, director of procurement policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's economic policy division. The provision has ties back to a 2004 Government Accountability Office report that found, after reviewing Defense Department and Internal Revenue Service records, that more than 27,000 Defense contractors owed about $3 billion in unpaid taxes as of Sept. 30, 2002. Congress acted quickly to find ways to collect the unpaid taxes.

Those opposed to the rule say it will require agencies to dip into already tight IT budgets to reprogram financial management systems to keep track of the 3 percent tax. Rules and contracts will need to be modified to address the withholding requirement, which could cause a number of logistical problems, said Andrea Wuebker, a spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Budget.

"We have specific concerns regarding implementation and have reached out to the [Chief Acquisition Officers Council] and [Chief Financial Officers Council] to identify payments for which this requirement may pose challenges," Wuebker said. "For example, we expect this requirement will be difficult to implement for purchase card transactions."

The IRS is developing regulations to implement the rule. But individual agencies will be required to comply, which means IT managers must consider what they have to do to revamp financial management systems. How much agencies will have to reprogram their systems will most likely vary, depending on the applications the agencies use and how easily they can be customized.

"We are still evaluating what it will take to comply with this legislation," said Boyd Rutherford, assistant secretary for administration at the Agriculture Department. "However, our initial view is that our financial and acquisition systems will require substantial modifications to accommodate the new requirement."

Glenn Perry, senior procurement executive at the Education Department, also expects adjustments will be needed to the Oracle program used by the department's procurement office for billing. "If this does come to fruition, details would have to be worked out on how to modify the terms and conditions within the system for withholding the amount, and also handling the money once it comes in," Perry said.

He suspects IT shops in larger agencies could manage the change with a significant investment of resources. Because Congress provided no funding to make the change, agencies will be forced to tap their existing IT budgets.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, is leading efforts to repeal the provision. "Section 511 will . . . impose significant administrative costs on the federal, state and local governments," Craig said in a statement in March. "Congress never debated the merits of an expanded withholding requirement -- as a revenue-raiser or as a way to narrow the tax gap -- in a committee or on either chamber's floor. If it had, Congress would have realized that it does neither of these things well."

COPYRIGHT 2007 GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE

TEXAS BUSINESSES FACE NEW "MARGIN" TAX INSTEAD OF FRANCHISE TAX: 07 TAX YEAR
Originally Posted: October 3, 2007 11:13 AM
Last Updated: October 3, 2007 11:13 AM

Companies doing business in Texas must pay the state's new
margin tax instead of the current franchise tax starting next
May for tax year 2007. It's simply not enough to understand how
to calculate the new tax -- companies must act now to take full
advantage of new tax planning opportunities.

Though the margin tax calculation may appear simple at first
glance, it includes three alternative tax bases and rate
alternatives for industries such as manufacturing and
wholesaling. The days of avoiding Texas tax through liberal use
of LPs are over, although some entities remain exempt.

The Texas tax environment will be highly uncertain for the next
couple of years, as challenges to the new tax arise in both the
legislature and courts. Companies must make changes now to
their tax compliance and planning to navigate through that
uncertainty.

- Choosing a tax calculation alternative - Which of the three
methods will result in the lowest tax bill for your company?

- Mining tax planning opportunities - In the apportionment
formula, organizing a passive income entity, avoiding tax on
land sales, and other areas.

- Dealing with new complexities - How Texas' calculation of the
cost-of-goods-sold deduction and other definitions will test
corporations.

- Anticipating tough audits - Where the state is likely to
challenge your company on the tax calculation, a unitary filing
declaration, etc.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA STILL FAILS FIREFIGHTERS
Originally Posted: October 2, 2007 4:34 PM
Last Updated: October 2, 2007 4:34 PM

by Kenton Pattie
Executive Director
National Emergency Equipment Dealers Association (NEEDA)
KentonP1@aol.com
703 850 8552

Finding water to fight fires continues to be a big problem for Washington DC's firefighters. I have written in NEEDA Newsletter several times about this problem in the Nation's Capital.

In the latest four-alarm incident firefighters had to lay out 4,000 feet of hose to Connecticut Avenue and 3,000 more feet to Columbia Road before they could find an adequate working water source. They were trying to fight a fire in a large brick residence in Northwest Washington, a 30-unit condominium. There were no deaths or serious injuries; but undoubtedly the search for water increased the extensive fire damage to the building and put the residents in extreme danger.

The Fire Chief said the problem was his fireforce could not get enough water pressure to fight the fire.

The Mayor of Washington, Adrian Fenty, and Fire Chief Dennis Rubin are urging the DC Water and Sewer Authority to replace 170 miles of six inch underground mains. As mentioned in NEEDA Newsletter, this Authority has been criticized often in the past for hydrants that don't work and outdated water mains.

The Authority is working on a twenty year plan to replace aging mains, lead pipes and main valves as well as to improve wastewater treatment facilities.

The Authority has been part of the DC government since 1996. WASA Geneeral Manager told the Washington Post: "We were in survival and catch-up mode. Now we are in the sustainability mode." He credits $15 million per year budget for water main replacement. Mayor Fenty replies: "You cannot measure a time frame like this in decades. There is no accountability in that, no responsibility." (Washington Post, Oct. 2, 2007)

It took 25 minutes for firefighters to try dozens of unworkable hydrants before they found an adequate water source for this fire. When firemen first arrived "We barely had enough," the assistant fire chief said. And within minutes the water flow became very slow. Fire trucks with water aboard or pumping power were used.