Robert J. Brady: Fire and EMS Audiovisual Training Pioneer
Robert J. Brady, Sr. (1919-1992), an audiovisual pioneer, combined new and developing training technology with Fire and EMS content to form the Robert J. Brady Company, one of the world's largest Fire and EMS publishing companies. His love and respec...
Preserving the Perishable: Remembering the Forgotten Fire of Peshtigo
With fire prevention week upon us, our minds naturally turn to the Great Chicago Fire, and with good reason, not only because Fire Prevention week got its start in memory of the Great Chicago Fire, but also just by the sheer massive size of the confl...
Oral History Interviews Panel Discussion
Oral History Interviews allows you to capture and preserve the memories, history, traditions and importantly the stories of survival and success, along with lessons learned. It is said that the loss of a single firefighter is like losing an entire li...
Heritage Hall: A Common History for the Fire Service/Fire Protection Disciplines
On July 17, 2006, a group of individuals gathered in Frederick, Maryland, to discuss a concept that had been in the incipient stage for years. Retired California State Fire Marshal Ronny J. Coleman, who had been elected as a chair of a planning commi...
The Wingspread Conference Reports
Wingspread, like many successful conferences that have had a lasting importance to the nation's fire service such as the Williamsburg '70 Conference, the Stonebridge Conference, the Rockville Report, etc., the name often associated with such meetings...
NFHC NOMINATION INSTRUCTIONS THE HALL OF LEGENDS, LEGACIES, AND LEADERS: Class 2023
Background The National Fire Heritage Center Board of Directors is accepting nominations for the Fire and Emergency Services Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leaders (HLLL).Nominations will be accepted from June 15, 2022 through September 15, 2022. The HLLL provides individual recognition of significant contributions and distinguished service to the F...
SOAR With The NFHC
Revitalizing the Commitment and Culture of the National Fire Heritage Center, Library and Archives - Rodney Slaughter, President/CEO Download PDF File Here File Name: Soar With The NFHC - Article File Size: 2.7 mb Download File SOAR With The NFHC Presentation File Name: NFHC SOAR File Size: 320 kb Download File NFHC Talking P...
National Fire Heritage Center: Annual Report 2020
All - for those interested in seeing that historically important written aspects of prevention and prevention advocacy don't get lost, the attached annual report from the nation's fire-related archive effort is likely to be of interest. Based in Emmitsburg, a short distance from the NFA/USFA-NETC, the National Fire Heritage Center (NFHC) is focused...
Media Advisory: Membership
The value of historical documents for research can be seen in one of the oldest artifacts in the National Fire Heritage Center archives. Pictured is a newspaper story in a Dutch newspaper published in 1684, that shows the state of building technology in contrast to the evolution of fire protection technology. The illustrated picture of a 4-sto...
Fire Engineering: The Future Firefighter Podcast With President Bill Killen
President Bill Killen is a Fire & Emergency Services Executive and retired Fire Chief with 64+ year's fire risk management and fire and emergency services management experience, with 39 years at the Chief Officer level. He commissioned the National Mutual Aid System Task Force following Hurricane Katrina, September 2005, resulting in the Nation...
Who's Who in Fire Protection
The National Fire Heritage Center's Who's Who in Fire Protection is the de facto list of people who are making a difference every day in the North American Fire Protection disciplines. This includes Combat Firefighters and Officers, as well as people in Fire Prevention, Fire Protection Engineering, Fire Training, Fire Equipment and Fire Truck ...
Assistant Fire Chief Frederick R. "Bob" Seibel III
Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leaders, Inductee #48Frederick R. "Bob" Seibel IIIFire Chief & EducatorBorn: December 12, 1931Died: April 9, 2020 National Fire Heritage Center, Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leaders, Inductee #48, Assistant Fire Chief Frederick R. "Bob" Seibel III, passed away April 9, 2020, at home with family. Chief Seibel ...
NATIONAL FIRE HERITAGE CENTER PRESIDENT PENS HISTORY
William D. "Bill" Killen, National Fire Heritage Center President/CEO and past president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, has authored and published History of the Apollo and Skylab Astronaut Rescue Team. The release of the 186-page book coincides with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 12, the sixth crewed flight i...
September 2018 collection donations
The National Fire Heritage Center recently received two very generous donations of storage equipment and historic texts. Flat files The NFHC was pleased to receive four flat files donated by Jay Livingston of Livingston Fire Protection. The files are ideal for preserving large old-time photos, drawings, posters and even smalls (stored in acid-free ...
Open-Ended Questions For Oral History Interviews
This is Part 5 in a series of articles that provide oral history guidelines for those who share our passion for collecting American fire history before it is lost to the ages. The types of questions you ask are critical to the success of your interview. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage people to talk about what is important to them...
Oral History Tools of the Trade and Interview Questions
This is Part 4 in a series of articles that provide oral history guidelines for those who share our passion for collecting American fire history before it is lost to the ages. The pre-plan In preparation for your interview, you should: Learn as much as you can about the person beforehand.Bring a file folder of archived material.Be prepared with a s...
Put your money where your mouth is
You have probably heard this old cliché before, "Put your money where your mouth is." The inference is that when you talk about a particular course of action, it doesn't make much difference how much talk you engage in unless you actually do something about it. On the one hand, it is great to have vision and to be pursuing a course of action, but i...
Preplanning Your Oral History Interview
This is Part 3 in a series of articles that provide oral history guidelines for those who share our passion for collecting American fire history before it is lost to the ages. There is a pretty good chance at this point that you already know a person that you would like to interview. If not, look around your organization and you will probably find ...
Ethical Considerations For Oral History Interviews
This is Part 2 in a series of articles that provide oral history guidelines for those who share our passion for collecting American fire history before it is lost to the ages. Interview styles If there is a contemporary interview style that you could easily identify with and effectively adopt, it might be that of a mental health care professional. ...
Wingspread VI Conference Report
The sixth Wingspread conference was held last year in Racine, Wisconsin. Wingspread conferences are convened once every 10 years to discuss issues impacting the fire and rescue service now and into the foreseeable future. Forty-three fire and rescue leaders were invited to this intense three-day meeting. Conference participants discussed fourteen i...
Conducting Oral History Interviews
The American fire service is fascinating in terms of the breadth of its history, the richness of its traditions, and the deeply embedded values and beliefs of those that serve this profession. The National Fire Heritage Center (NFHC) exists precisely to document and hold in trust the history and culture of the American Fire Service for future gener...
40 Years Ago: The Day the American Fire Service Changed
A fire that swept through the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Southgate, Kentucky, on May 28, 1977, killed 162 people and injured more than 100. As a result of this tragedy, national fire codes for public assembly occupancies were changed to require — for the first time — fire alarm and fire sprinkler systems to help prevent such an event from happeni...
Sprinkler System Dedication
Following months of massive work, planning and coordination, the April 8 sprinkler system dedication ceremony was accomplished with 200 visitors on hand. NFHC leadership attending included President Coleman, who served as emcee, plus a number of officers, directors, key personnel and staff. The dedication was followed by lunch at the Emmitsburg Sen...
Tree dedication in memory of Jan Gratton
A memorial tree was planted on April 24 at the National Fire Heritage Center in memory of Jan Gratton, a national leader in public fire education. Jan's family — daughter Laurie Welton, granddaughter Jenny and grandson Frank — traveled from California to help plant the tree. The U.S. Fire Administration's Mary Marchone and Doc Kinny with the ...
