Take Note..
The Spring 2007 Meeting will be held May 20-21 in Rochester, NY. Please visit our Events Page for more information on how to participate.
In August of 2006 HELP met in Washington, DC for its summer meeting in concurrence with the National Association of State Fire Marshals Annual Conference. For more information on this meeting, click here:
August 2006 HELP Meeting Minutes
In July of 2006, HELP applied for and received American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accreditation to become a developer of American National Standards. For more information on ANSI accreditation and HELP’s ANSI procedures, click here:
HELP's ANSI Approved Operating Procedures
In March of 2006, HELP met in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This meeting focused on Emergency Response Training and Community Communications. For more information on this meeting, click here:
History
Alternative fuels pose new and different safety risks and have fallen prey to some of the uninformed rhetoric that surrounds pipelines and Liquefied Natural Gas terminals.
In August 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA – now known as RITA – the Research and Innovative Technology Administration) sought guidance from the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM) on how to involve emergency responders in the transition from fossil to hybrids, hydrogen-fueled autos and other alternative energies.
As a result, NASFM created the Hydrogen Executive Leadership Panel (HELP) with the goals of training emergency responders, helping to develop codes and standards to support a successful and safe transition and help to build public acceptance of alternative energy technologies. NASFM and RITA realize that in order to make this possible we must demonstrate to emergency responders that the risks associated with and inherent to these fuels can be mitigated safely. Because of its structure, RITA sponsorship and diverse membership, HELP is the organization with the greatest credibility with emergency responders who understandably must be able to differentiate between facts and the commercial and political rhetoric that so easily cloud these issues.
HELP’s first meeting was in November 2004 and was a brainstorming meeting to determine project areas. In Spring 2005, HELP met to further develop its list of project priorities.
Then, in October 2005, nearly 100 persons participated at HELP's first Annual Safety Summit at the NextEnergy facility in Detroit, Michigan. Michigan Congressman John Dingell - the Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives - presented NASFM's first Norman Y. Mineta Excellence in Transportation Safety Award to the man for whom the award is named, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mineta.
Click here for more information on HELP’s First Annual Safety Summit.
HELP continued to meet throughout 2006 and has been in the process of recruiting new members for its Leadership Panel, Advisory Committees and working groups. For more information on our members please visit our Members Page.
