RESULT REPORT
The 25th General Conference
June 5 & 6, 2008
Tokyo Big Sight, Japan
The International Fire Chiefs' Association of Asia (IFCAA) held its 25th General Conference in Tokyo Big Sight, Japan from June 5 (Thurs.) - 6 (Fri.), 2008. The conference took place along with the 60th General Conference of the Fire Chiefs' Association of Japan (FCAJ).
Directors' Meeting
Commissioner Araki, FDMA
1st Vice President Grorud, IAFC
As the preliminary meeting for the June 5 General Conference, the IFCAA Directors' Meeting was held at 5:00 p.m. on June 4 (Wed.) in the hall Orion B on the first floor of the Hotel Nikko Tokyo in Odaiba. In the meeting, 29 IFCAA officers (from 12 countries and two areas) discussed and decided on the proposals for the General Conference (Regular Session).
On June 5 (Thurs.), the joint opening ceremony for the 25th IFCAA General Conference and the 60th FCAJ General Conference
took place at 10:30 a.m. in the International Conference Room on the seventh floor of the Conference Tower of Tokyo
Big Sight.
After the opening declaration for the ceremony came the following: the host city greetings
from Mr. Masaharu Nakamura (Deputy Director General for Crisis Management, Tokyo Metropolitan Government) for Governor
of Tokyo Shintaro Ishihara; the greetings from IFCAA President Kobayashi on behalf of IFCAA; the FCAJ commendations;
the congratulatory speeches from Mr. Keiji Araki (Commissioner, Fire and Disaster Management Agency, Ministry of
Internal Affairs and Communications), Mr. Toranosuke Katayama (President, Japan Firefighters Association), Mr. Katsumi
Kushida (Commissioner, Police and Fire Service Committee, Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly), and Mr. Larry Grorud (First
Vice President, International Association of Fire Chiefs) each on behalf of the conference guests; and the conference
guest introduction. The ceremony concluded with the announcement of congratulatory telegrams.
Regular Session
After the opening ceremony, the IFCAA Regular Session was held at 11:40 a.m. in the International Conference Room with IFCAA President Kobayashi as chairperson according to the IFCAA Constitution. At the session, Secretary General Hirose announced 14 people's entry into IFCAA: three from within Japan, one from Mongolia, and 10 from the Philippines all as active members. Next, the following eight proposals were deliberated on:
PROPOSALS
1 Achievements in the 24th Fiscal Year (2006-2007)
2 Accounts in the 24th Fiscal Year (2006-2007)
3 Operation Plan for the 25th Fiscal Year (2008-2009)
4 Revenue/Expenditure in the 25th Fiscal Year (2008-2009)
5 Effective Promotion of Fire Prevention Administration
6 Improvement of Rescue and EMS Systems
7
Establishment of International Mutual Aid Systems against Devastating Disasters [Additional resolution]
8
The 26th General Conference
The IFCAA Secretariat explained about the proposals 1-4; they were accepted and agreed on. PROPOSAL 5 and PROPOSAL 6 were made respectively by Director Gregory LO Chun-hung (Hong Kong Fire Services Department) and Commissioner James Tan Chan Seng (Singapore Civil Defence Force), and were adopted there. PROPOSAL 7, urgently put forward at the Directors' Meeting on June 4, was made by Chief Hiroshi Oikawa (Kawasaki City Fire Department, Japan), and was also adopted on the spot. With PROPOSAL 8 taken up, it was decided to hold the 26th IFCAA General Conference in Korea in 2010. The conference host greetings were then given by Director-General Li Ki-Hwan with the Bureau of Fire Service of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Commemorative Address
Lt. Col. Courvoisier (Paris Fire Brigade)
IFCAA Presentation I
Fire Suppression Div. Chief Ogino, TFD
After the Regular Session, with a lunch break in between, the 60th FCAJ General Conference for Japanese IFCAA members was held at 2:00 p.m. also in the International Conference Room. Meanwhile, non-Japanese IFCAA members went on the technical tour organized by the host city, visiting the two facilities of the Tokyo Fire Department (TFD): the Honjo Life Safety Learning Center and the Honjo Fire Station.
On June 6 (Fri.), Mr. Pierre Courvoisier (Lieutenant-Colonel, Paris Fire Brigade) made the commemorative address "The Paris Fire Brigade and Its Recent Adaptations to New Threats" at 9:00 a.m. in the International Conference Room. There at 10:10 a.m., the IFCAA Presentation‡Tbegan with three speakers: Mr. James Tan Chan Seng (Commissioner, Singapore Civil Defence Force), Mr. Gregory LO Chun-hung (Director, Hong Kong Fire Services Department), and Mr. Hideo Ogino (Chief, Fire Suppression Division, TFD, Japan).
After a short break, the IFCAA Presentation II started at 11:20 a.m. with three other speakers: Mr. Neil G. Bibby (Chief Executive Officer, Country Fire Authority, Victoria, Australia), Mr. Jasem AlMansouri (Major General / Director General, Kuwait Fire Service Directorate), and Dato' Wan Mohd Nor Bin Ibrahim (Deputy Director General, Fire & Rescue Department, Malaysia). The two IFCAA presentation sessions concluded with the awarding of mementos from IFCAA President Kobayashi to the French addresser and the six speakers.
IFCAA Presentation II
After lunch, at 2:00 p.m., the FCAJ held the 31st Japan's Fire and EMS Personnel Presentation in the International Conference Room. Each speaker fully expressed his/her opinion, and the result announcement with commendations was made at 3:30 p.m. After the presentation came the joint closing ceremony with the following given: the future life safety declaration as the 25th IFCAA General Conference's conclusion (by Chief Toshiyuki Onoda, Kobe City Fire Department, Japan), the closing address (by IFCAA President Kobayashi, with the future life safety declaration in view), and the 2010 IFCAA conference host announcement (with the conference host plate handed over, for the 26th IFCAA conference, from TFD Fire Chief and IFCAA President Kobayashi to Director-General Li Ki-Hwan with NEMA's Bureau of Fire Service). With TFD Deputy Yuji Arai making a closing declaration, the two-day international joint event ended up with a great success.
Conclusion: Chief Onoda, Kobe City FD
Host Plate: From Japan to Korea
As a post-conference assembly, the IFCAA-FCAJ joint press conference was held at 4:50 p.m. in the Room 703 on the seventh floor of the Conference Tower. At the conference, questions were posed and fully answered to and by IFCAA's president, vice presidents and directors.
*Participation (Announced by the host city)
1. Participants (in the joint opening ceremony) : 665
2. Countries & Areas: 15 countries and 2 areas
(1) With IFCAA Membership (13 countries & 2 areas)
Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan
(2) Others (2 countries)
France and the United States
Conference Dinner
Tokyo International Fire & Safety Exhibition 2008
Press Conference
