Harvey Eisner, a long time Editor of Firehouse Magazine, provided a view of the fire service through a camera lens that the public doesn't often get to see. He grew up as a boy in awe of the many fire stations and apparatus of the FDNY. This article is a glimpse of Harvey J. Eisner, the silent giant in the fire service that captured the American Fi...

Adrian Sheppard was appointed Fire Chief of the City of Richmond, CA, on December 31, 2014. Throughout his time in Richmond, Chief Sheppard has implemented technologies and strategies that capture data to improve the community's emergency response. He believes that using data leads to informed decision-making for the procurement and deployment of r...

"Our past history informs our present condition, as we chart our course for the future," this is the tagline that Rodney Slaughter, CEO/President of the National Fire Heritage, uses to remind people of our purpose. The mission of the National Fire Heritage Center (NFHC) is to preserve the perishable history of the fire services and fire protection ...

The mission of the National Fire Heritage Center (NFHC) is to preserve the perishable history of the fire services and fire protection disciplines. The Hall of Legends, Legacies, and Leaders (HLLL) helps fulfill that mission by providing recognition to the individuals who have made significant contributions and have distinguished themselves in the ...

The mission of the National Fire Heritage Center (NFHC) is to preserve the perishable history of the fire services and fire protection disciplines. The Hall of Legends, Legacies, and Leaders (HLLL) helps fulfill that mission by providing recognition to the individuals who have made significant contributions and have distinguished themselves in the ...

Cover Photo: Names Left to right: John Crisman, Charles Wright, Dr. John L. Bryan, and William L. Miles, Department of Fire Protection Engineering - University of Maryland. Dr. John L. Bryan is considered a pioneer and his countless contributions to the fire service and fire protection engineering are well known throughout the United States and aro...

Another Fire Prevention Week is upon us and the fire service takes this week to focus public attention on the need to practice fire prevention throughout the year. This is a necessary time to reflect that remembering our past helps preserve and protect our future. By looking back into history, we can chart a pattern of safety changes in fire preven...

Cover Photo: Krystyna Krakowski, far left, and her team at Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue. I remember attending a fire conference and the topic was Safety and Apparatus Response. A side discussion started regarding beating a first due company to their own call. The engineer joked that he carried business cards and said he would place them on t...

In this edition of Preserving the Perishable, I thought I would explain the do's and don'ts of photograph preservation briefly. As a historian and a genealogist, I frequently see the results of improper photograph archiving and how it destroys the precious history that we treasure. I remember, at the passing of my grandparents, shoe boxes and album...

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...

During a recent zoom meeting, the participants, including myself, shared stories of historically significant items being discarded by fire departments. Often, it's personnel unfamiliar with the fire service's history and in a well-meaning attempt to do their part in cleaning up the station, they begin to discard things into the dumpster. They may n...

Six firemen fell to their deaths as the blazing roof of a Brooklyn supermarket collapsed yesterday morning. It was the worst accident involving the city's firefighters in a dozen years. As the roof suddenly erupted in a burst of flames, dropping men into the center of the fire, a handful of other firemen —members of the first ladder companies to re...

Mary Tabata is a Ph.D. candidate in Organizational Leadership at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA. She is a Human Potential Catalyst and Teaching Academic in Leadership at Ducere Global Business School and has also taught as an adjunct professor of Organizational and Management Theory at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, California. Mary wo...

As a member of the fire service community, so many of us tend to naturally become collectors. Whether it be books, toys, models, hose appliances, or even up to and including antique apparatus, the fire service offers a little something for everyone. If you aren't a collector of something, I would venture a guess you just haven't been around the fir...

Chief Alan V. Brunacini is one of the most highly respected figures in the fire and emergency services. He was born in Jamestown, NY, on April 18, 1937, to John N. and Mary T. Brunacini. The Brunacini family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the early '40s, where Alan attended school and graduated in 1955 from Highland High School. With some amb...

Deborah K. Wintner joined STANLEY Security, a division of Stanley Black & Decker, as Vice President of Human Resources in May of 2018, where she has devoted her time establishing HR strategy and organizational capability in alignment with the business strategy. Deborah received a Master of Science degree in Organizational Development from Peppe...

Mr. Mace was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 23, 1939. He was raised on a farm in what is now the general area of the I-35/I-44 highway interchange in north Oklahoma City. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Education from Central State University, now known as the University of Central Oklahoma. Upon graduating from college, he ...

Ben May is a Board Director of the Center for Public Safety Excellence, and recently retired Global Director of Corporate Alliances for the Walt Disney Company. He worked with Disney to create seven figure, interactive, social marketing experiences dedicated to the betterment of society- specifically fire protection and prevention-as well internati...

Dr. Waddell is currently serving as the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay F&ES Deputy Fire Chief, possessing 28 years of experience in the fire service. During an adventurous career, he has served in every rank within the fire service. After completing four years in the United States Air Force, he started a civil service career at Fort Bliss, T...

Thomas Dunne is a retired Deputy Chief and 33-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department. He recently published a book about his experiences in the FDNY. Deputy Chief Dunne was with the FDNY from 1981 to 2015 and he experienced numerous historical incidents including the Happy Lands Social Club fire in the Bronx and the 9/11 terror...