COLUMBIA, Mo. – Kevin Zumwalt and David Hedrick, former directors of the MU Fire and Rescue Training Institute, have been awarded the 2022 Benjamin Franklin Writer's Silver Award from the National Fire Heritage Center for an outstanding contribution to preserving the written history of America's fire service.

Zumwalt and Hedrick collaborated with Ken Willette, executive director of North American Fire Training Directors (NAFTD), to research and write "NAFTD 2021 Administrative Survey Report" on U.S. and Canadian fire training systems.

Zumwalt says the survey collected data on almost 50 topics related to emergency services training. The report is used by NAFTD members for comparison and benchmarking. "It also serves the organization and the fire service in general as a tool for a view of fire and emergency services training in the United States and Canada," he says.

More information: Press release from the National Fire Heritage Center.