The International Association of Fire Chiefs Foundation's board members awarded $30,000 to 33 first responders representing a range of departments and ranks to further advance their fire-service education. The foundation increased its total level of support for first responders seeking advanced education this year to ensure current and future leaders of the fire service are well-educated and prepared to address the complex issues faced in the fire and emergency services, said Chief Steven Westermann of the Central Jackson Fire Protection District in Blue Springs, Mo., and a foundation board member. A further motivation for the foundation to offer more scholarships was to pay for training to upcoming officers, because in five years about 50% of officers will be retiring, he said.

"That is a lot of expertise and knowledge that will be gone by the wayside and we want to make sure we have first responders are up to date and have the knowledge to deal with current challenges," Westermann said.

Westermann was a recipient of the scholarship in the 1970s when he was working on his bachelor's degree. It helped build a stable foundation for his career — and for many others, he said. In fact, the foundation has offered nearly 950 scholarships worth more than $600,000 since it was chartered in 1974.

Private/public partnerships have helped the foundation provide more scholarships. For example, a new scholarship has been established by Motorola. The Foundation Future Leaders Scholarship Fund are for individuals pursuing higher education and are currently or recently enrolled in IAFC's Company Officer Leadership Development Program offered annually at the IAFC's annual conference.

The Foundation Future Leadership Scholarship Fund winners are:

• Company Officer Merritt Kearns, Statesboro (Ga.) Fire Department;
• Capt. James Paul, Prince William County (Va.) Department of Fire and Rescue; and
• Capt. Donald Willbanks, Sandy Springs (Ga.) Fire and Rescue.

The Garry L. Briese Scholarship Award for the Motorola Foundation winner is:

• Lt. Richard Petersen, Manteno (Ill.) Community Fire District.

The first annual Heather Westphal Memorial Scholarship Award benefits women in the fire service winner:

• Firefighter/Paramedic Christina Fazio, Bolingbrook (Ill.) Fire Department.

The IAFC's Federal Military Section winner is:

• Lt. Daniel E. Manley, Fort Bragg Fire and Emergency Services and Stoney Point (N.C.) Volunteer Fire Department.

The Volunteer and Career First Responders Educational Scholarship winners are:

• Firefighter Nicholas Brooks, Atlas Township (Mich.) Fire Department;
• Lt. Edward Carter, Georgetown (S.C.) County Fire EMS;
• Firefighter/Paramedic Joseph Fagan, Bolingbrook (Ill.) Fire Department;
• Firefighter Charles Frey, Central Mat-Sun (Alaska) Fire Department;
• Firefighter Brian Gettemeier, Cottleville (Mo.) Fire Protection District;
• Firefighter/Paramedic Brian Hartwig, Freeport (Ill.) Fire Department;
• Firefighter/Paramedic Michael Heimbecker, Lombard (Ill.) Fire Department;
• Div. Chief Michael Hoag, Chesapeake (Va.) Fire Department;
• Lt. Stephanie Julazadeh, Spartanburg (S.C.) Fire Division;
• Firefighter/Paramedic Joseph Lafftery, Shawnee Township and German Township (Ohio) Fire/EMS;
• Asst. Engineer/Firefighter Chris Leier, College Park (Md.) Volunteer Fire Department;
• EMT Charmaine Rice, CyFair (Texas) Volunteer Fire Department;
• Chief Joseph Tanner, Georgetown, S.C.;
• Lt. Justin Tirelli, Arlington County (Va.) Fire Department;
• Driver/Operator Fritz Wiedenhoff, Northern Lakes (Idaho) Fire District;
• Firefighter/Paramedic Jamie Wilkey, Lemont (Ill.) Fire Protection District;
• Senior Firefighter Jimmy Willis, Williston (Fla.) Fire Rescue;
• Reserve Firefighter Tear Sy Yean, Pullman (Wash.) Fire Department; and
• Firefighter/Paramedic Nick Zamiska, Brecksville (Ohio) Fire Department and Valley Fire District.

The Reed Elsevier Foundation made it possible for the IAFC Foundation to award scholarships to the following young Fire Explorers:

• Matthew Carmack, Gales Ferry (Conn.) Fire Company;
• Michael Cote, Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Fire Rescue;
• Dillion Houser, Lincolnton (N.C.) Fire Department;
• Patrick Kellam, Fort Oglethorpe (Ga.) Fire and Rescue;
• Kate Kotecki, Vigant (N.Y.) Fire Company;
• Joshua Lowe, Dekalb County (Ga.) Fire and Rescue;
• Samuel Smith, Winston-Salem (N.C.) Fire Department; and
• Kevin Lehberger, Ashland (Mass.) Fire Department.