NFPA´s Russ Sanders of the CTIF Fire Prevention Commission receives the Mason Lankford Award

One of  CTIF´s longest standing members, Russ Sanders from the NFPA, has for the second year in a row been honoured with a distinguished award for his service and dedication to first responders. Congratulations, Russ!

In the video above you can hear Russ Sanders and and others talk about his long career within the fire service. In a future video interview, shot by CTIF´s reporter at Delegates Assembly in Las Vegas last year, you will hear Russ talk more in detail about his long standing work within CTIF, a dedication which spans over several decades.

This is what Lisa Braxton wrote on the NFPA blog on March 27:

The Congressional Fire Services Institute’s Board of Directors has selected Chief Russ Sanders as the recipient of the 2019 CFSI/Motorola Solutions Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award.

Russ Sanders is the NFPA regional director for the central region of the United States. The presentation will take place at the 31st Annual National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner on April 25, 2019, at the Washington Hilton, in Washington, D.C.

Throughout his distinguished career, Sanders has held leadership positions in numerous national and international organizations and committees, including Executive Secretary of the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association and the Director of Central Field Operations for NFPA.

On the international level, he serves as the President of the United States Delegation to the CTIF (Comite Technique Internationale de Prevention and d ’Extinction de Feu). He also is the NFPA representative to the European Fire Service, the National Fire Chiefs Council of the United Kingdom, the Institution of Fire Engineers, the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authorities Council, and the Global Fire Service Leadership Alliance.

“Russ Sanders has distinguished himself on so many levels and in so many areas within the fire and emergency services,” said Dr. William F. Jenaway, CFSI President. “He has made significant contributions in the areas of public safety and prevention, research, codes and standards, and leadership.”

In 2018, Russ Sanders was also presented with a prestigious award:

NFPA Regional Director Russ Sanders was honored with the 2018 Everett Hudiburg Award by the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) Executive Board. The prestigious award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the training of firefighters, and is named after IFSTA publications Editor Everett Hudiburg. Sanders accepted the distinguished honor at the 2018 IFSTA Validation Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma this past weekend.

 As NFPA’s regional manager for the central states, Sanders represents NFPA in Illinois,    Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Additionally,    he is the executive director of NFPA's Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association, and serves as    the President of the United States Delegation to the CTIF International Association of Fire and   Rescue Services, an organization that represents fire professionals in more than 50 countries.

The University of Louisville alumnus is well-known for being a subject matter expert (SME)    for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and their partner organizations and educational institutions, on structural firefighting and high-rise firefighting scientific research projects.. This work has guided response training and deployment decisions for fire departments throughout the United States. Prior to joining NFPA, Sanders was Chief of the Louisville Fire Department in Louisville, Kentucky.

On behalf of NFPA’s staff, heartfelt congratulations to Sanders for being recognized for his    unwavering commitment to improving and expanding training, and the enforcement of codes  and  performance standards.