The Size-Up is the member newsletter of the Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs. The latest issue is below. Past issues are listed in the Issue Archive at the bottom of this page.
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Alabama Association of Fire Chiefs
The Size-Up
In a season of thanks, remembering the ones who made us better
Vol. 1, No. 1 • November 2026
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From the President
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I'd like to welcome you to the first edition of The Size-Up, the AAFC's member newsletter. My goal is to make sure we're getting information out to our members and to keep strengthening our lines of communication. It has been four months since I was sworn in as President of the AAFC, and we have tried to hit the ground running. I say "we" because this isn't just me. There are a lot of great people who are bought into this association and want to do great things. We welcome your feedback, and we always want to make sure we are a voice for our members.
In this first edition, I want to remind us of the season we're in. November is a month of being thankful. It's about looking past what we want, and what we think we need, to what we've been blessed with and what we sometimes take for granted: our families, our friendships, and the roles we get to fill. Those blessings are the reason we get to do everything we do. Sometimes we move so fast that it's easy to forget to stop and look at the scenery, and to see what has been placed in our lives.
This month's issue includes a memoriam for my friend Reid Vaughan, whom we lost this month. This was a hard one. Knowing Reid and working with him was a privilege and an honor. As I think back on our conversations, I'm thankful I had the opportunity to know him and to call him my friend. I'm thankful there are people out there who love the fire service as much as I do. And I'm thankful that God puts people in your life when you need them, whether you realize it at the time or not.
In closing, I hope you find this newsletter useful and that you'll share it with others. My intent is to serve this association to the best of my ability and to leave it better than I found it. I appreciate your support and look forward to the continued success of our association through the hard work of our members.
Josh McDaniel
AAFC President 2026-2027
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News & Updates
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AAFC Board Meeting
The AAFC Board met on November 12 in conjunction with the NAFCA meeting. Thank you to Chief Williams for the use of the Madison Public Safety Center, and to NAFCA for hosting us. The board passed the FY 2026–2027 annual budget and heard committee updates. Minutes from the meeting will be posted in next month's issue.
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AAFC-MAC Goes Online: Chiefs, Set Up Your Department's Login
The AAFC Mutual Aid Consortium now has its own home: AAFCMAC.org. It's built to manage resources, rotations and deployments for Alabama fire departments, and it replaces the spreadsheets, phone trees and group texts we've relied on in the past.
When a request comes in, like the hurricane deployment this fall, the consortium needs to know quickly who is available, what apparatus and personnel they can send, and how to reach them. AAFC-MAC puts all of that in one place. Each member department keeps its own information current: contacts, apparatus and equipment, and the personnel available to deploy. During an event, the system tracks rotations and deployments, so everyone is working from the same picture, from the first request to the last unit home.
Member departments: we need your help now. Have your fire chief go to AAFCMAC.org, create a login for your department and update your department's information. The system is only as good as the data in it, and the middle of a storm is the wrong time to find out a phone number or apparatus list is out of date. Departments will also review and update their information each year at the Summer AAFC Conference.
Not part of the MAC yet? Join us. Mutual aid works best when more departments can share the load, and every department has something to offer, whether that's a single engine and crew or a specialty team. AAFC covers the cost of the system, so it's free for member departments. Departments of every size are welcome, career, combination and volunteer. To get started, complete the short request-to-join form below.
Create your department login → | Request to join the MAC →
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Registration Is Open for the 2027 Mid-Winter Chiefs Conference
The Alabama Fire College and AAFC are bringing chiefs together in Hoover February 16–19. Conference registration is $250 for 16 hours of training, plus a full vendor expo at the Finley Center. The AAFC Business Meeting closes out the week on Friday.
Come a day early, Tuesday, February 16, for two pre-conference classes. You don't need to register for the conference to attend them. The ISO Public Protection Classifications class (9 a.m.–3:30 p.m., Finley Center) is free and covers lowering your community's PPC score, preparing for a field visit, and the documentation ISO expects. The Proactive Mindset Workshop with Bassel Ibrahim (8:30 a.m., Hoover Met Complex) is $50, includes lunch, and gives company officers eight hours on Mayday and survival, proactive RIT and training for high-risk events.
Hotel blocks: Homewood Suites (code CHW90N, book by Jan. 15) and Hilton Garden Inn (code AFC202, book by Feb. 1). The Hoover Met RV Park is also available. Questions: Alabama Fire College, 1-800-241-2467.
Register for the conference → | Sign up for ISO →
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Help Shape AAFC's Approach to AI: Take the Statewide Survey
AAFC's Ad Hoc Artificial Intelligence Committee, chaired by Chief Johnnie Phelps of Anniston Fire, is gathering a statewide picture of how Alabama fire departments are using AI, or aren't yet.
We need every department to respond, including departments that haven't started using AI. Your answers will show the committee where chiefs need guidance, training and policy examples. The survey takes just a few minutes.
Take the AI survey →
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NERIS: Alabama Needs Every Department Reporting
Alabama is behind on the move to the National Emergency Response Information System. Statewide, 78% of departments are registered but only 54% are actively reporting, which puts Alabama among the bottom four states. The goal is 90% registered and 90% reporting.
Version 1.5 is out. It adds new incident options, including agricultural vehicle fires, separate ice, flood and surf rescues, e-bike and scooter collisions, and data center occupancies. Direct Entry users already have the new fields. If you report through a connected RMS, ask your vendor about 1.5 support.
A reminder on mutual aid calls: each department that works a scene files its own report. If another agency handles a call in your district, they file it and list you as jurisdiction of record, so don't file a duplicate.
Questions? Contact NERIS Lead Jebb Harrison at 334-241-4166.
NERIS cheat sheet →
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Go for Gold: Join the National Firefighter Registry for Cancer
Cancer is the leading cause of line-of-duty death in the fire service. The National Firefighter Registry for Cancer, run by CDC/NIOSH, is building the data that will drive better prevention, screening and presumptive coverage for firefighters.
Alabama's goal is for 50% of departments statewide to reach Gold Helmet status. Congratulations to our current Gold Helmet departments:
Bay Minette Fire/Rescue
Dothan Fire Department
Gulf Shores Fire Rescue
Hamilton Fire Department
Irondale Fire Department
Moody Fire Department
Every firefighter, career or volunteer, active or retired, can enroll. Let's add more Alabama departments to this list. Encourage your members to sign up.
Join the registry →
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In Memoriam
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Chief C. Reid Vaughan
Fire Chief, Town of Cuba · Section Chief, Regional Services, Alabama Fire College
Cuba Fire Department, Sumter County
If you met Reid, the first thing that probably grabbed your attention was his laugh. If you were around him for any length of time, you were going to be laughing too. Even in a one-line email he couldn't help himself. When the 2026 CAFCA officers were announced, he congratulated the new officers and offered his "condolences to the long-standing officers (LOL)."
The more time you spent with him, the more you saw his love of the fire service. For Reid it went even deeper than that. It was about helping people. He did things that weren't part of the typical fire service, like going live on Facebook to give his community weather updates during storms, simply because it was a gap that needed to be filled.
Reid was the third in his family to lead the Cuba Fire Department, following Frank Fisher and his father, Chris Vaughan. He answered calls for Sumter County families, travelers on I-20/59 and neighbors across the Mississippi line, all while working full time at the Alabama Fire College. In 2024 the IAFC named him Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year. Somehow he still found time to coordinate Fire Explorer Weekend and help get the AFC kitchen trailer back on the road.
Most of us knew Reid as the steady voice on the other end of the line. For more than a decade he served as Secretary/Treasurer of the Alabama Joint Fire Council, and every legislative session he ran the Friday morning calls that kept the fire service informed and organized, often from what he called the "alternate EOC" in Cuba. That's where I really got to know him, when Chief McKenzie and I started working heavily on legislative matters through the Joint Fire Council. I learned just how deep his love of helping people went. There isn't enough room in this newsletter for everything Reid did, but he did what we should all strive to do in the fire service: see a gap and fill it. Not for recognition or accolades, but because we care, we want to make a difference in people's lives, and we want to leave things better than we found them.
Reid once said the real influences in the fire service "are the volunteers, who just get the job done." He was one of them, and the best of them.
When Chief McKenzie and I started Alabama's Fire Service Podcast, we knew Reid would be one of our first episodes. We knew the information would be invaluable, and that it would be a fun one to film. When I posted that episode, I could never have imagined that just a week later I would be following Reid on his ride home from UAB. We talked during the podcast about other projects to get more legislative issues in front of our members. We will do those things to honor Reid, but it will be bittersweet not being able to do them with our friend.
Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Rindy, his daughter, Ashlynne, and the Cuba Fire Department family.
Memorial arrangements: A celebration of Reid's life, faith and service will be held Saturday, November 14, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at The Station on the campus of the Alabama Fire College, 2501 Phoenix Drive, Tuscaloosa, with firefighter honors. Visitation begins at 9:30 a.m., and the family will also receive friends following the service. Because Reid's life was centered on people and relationships, his family welcomes the chance to visit with those whose lives he touched.
“Jurisdictional lines cannot define it, only people.”
Watch Reid on Alabama's Fire Service Podcast →
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Upcoming Events & Important Dates
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Feb. 16, 2027
ISO Public Protection Classifications (free)
Finley Center, Hoover
9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
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Feb. 16, 2027
The Proactive Mindset Workshop ($50, lunch provided)
Hoover Met Complex, Michael Jordan Room
8:30 a.m.
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Feb. 17–19, 2027
2027 Mid-Winter Chiefs Conference
Finley Center, Hoover
Pre-conference workshops Feb. 16 · Conference & vendor expo Feb. 17–18 · AAFC Business Meeting Feb. 19
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Fire Prevention Corner
Turn Your Attention to Fire Prevention
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Thanksgiving is the peak day of the year for home cooking fires, and the start of heating season isn't far behind. Now is a good time to share three reminders with your communities: stay in the kitchen when something is frying or on the stovetop, give space heaters at least three feet of clearance, and test smoke alarms before the holidays.
Older adults face higher risk from both fires and falls. NFPA's Steps to Safety program helps departments reach them with eight fire-safety and eight fall-prevention messages, and the Alabama Fire College offers training on delivering it.
One emerging hazard to watch: plug-in "balcony" solar panels can create shock, backfeed and overload risks. Expect to see them more often in homes and apartments.
Steps to Safety training → |
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Minutes & Documents
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Have news for the next issue? Send it our way!
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