The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) Fire Safety Educational Memorial Fund Committee has selected the Chautauqua County Hazardous Materials Response Team from New York as the recipient of the 2010 Warren E. Isman Educational Grant, according to an NFPA press release.

“The Chautauqua County team has been a leader in hazardous material response since 1981, as the second hazmat team ever organized in the state of New York. They are clearly a genuine asset to the County and we are very proud to present the Chautauqua County Hazmat Team with this grant,” said Ken Isman, chair of the Warren E. Isman Task Force, a subcommittee of the Fire Safety Educational Memorial Fund Committee and son of the late Chief Warren Isman.

Award recipients select a conference where they can attend specialized hazardous materials training and education sessions. The selected team has the opportunity to gain knowledge and enhance their ability to excel in this specialized field. The funds from the 2010 Isman Grant will make it possible for the Chautauqua County hazmat team to attend the IAFC International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference in Baltimore, Md., May 2010. The Chautauqua County Hazmat Team is an all-volunteer, highly-trained, group of firefighters. The team responds to incidents involving hazardous materials throughout the entire county and on average, is called about 40 times a year.

The $5000 grant is available to any established incident response team from a fire department, police department or other public-funded program. Qualified applicants are evaluated on leadership qualities, communication abilities, and must have been trained in accordance with NFPA 472, Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents, and NFPA 473, Standard for Competencies for EMS Personnel Responding to Hazardous Materials/WMD Incidents. The closing date for 2011 applications is September 15, 2010.

Established by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) following Isman’s death in 1991, the grant is named in honor of a man who was known to value training and education. He was the former fire chief in Fairfax County, Virginia, a senior instructor for the University of Maryland Fire Service Extension Program, and author of three fire-related textbooks. Isman served on the IAFC board of directors and was chair of both NFPA’s Technical Committee on Hazardous Materials Response Personnel and IAFC’s Committee on Hazardous Materials. NFPA’s Fire Safety Educational Memorial Fund was established in 1992. Upon request of IAFC, NFPA assumed administrative responsibilities of the Isman Grant in 1993.

To make a contribution to the Fire Safety Educational Memorial Fund or for more information regarding the application process, visit NFPA’s Web site at www.nfpa.org.