Fire Chief

Using the future direction of the military at that time, we tried to predict the future direction of the fire service. Of course, these predictions were made in pre-9/11 days, and subsequently the mission of both services has been greatly expanded.

The haunting sound of the lone bagpipe lingers in my ears. There isn’t a dry eye as I watch the final hugs at the cemetery. I am miles away at the studio of WKRC-TV in Cincinnati trying to add a firefighter’s perspective to the procession.

A couple years ago, my department was awarded a $300,000 Assistance to Firefighters Grant to upgrade our communications equipment. At that time our dispatch center, transmitter and antenna system all were 40 to 50 years old. It was designed to use a dedicated telephone line to carry audio from the dispatch console to the transmitter that was over a mile away on the city’s water tower.

Every day fire marshals, prevention officers, public educators, inspectors, plans examiners and fire engineers make decisions that will affect the public for years to come as they deal with new construction or enforcement of the existing fire code. These decisions guard the welfare of the community and make it safer for residents and firefighters should a building catch fire.

Since the first of the year, Ohio has suffered several serious fires that have raised media attention. In just this state, there have been 14 to 16 fire fatalities, depending on the coroners’ final determinations. Two of the fires, which appear to be arsons, have claimed 11 of those lives.

With the holiday season here, the NFPA updated its statistics on holiday-related fires. The data includes the average annual number and severity of incidents, loss estimates, and injuries and deaths related to fires from holiday decorations, lights, trees and candles. But another statistic generated by the NFPA caught my eye even more than the holiday update.

Recently I was asked at one of our area hospital’s quarterly employee meeting. The hospital’s CEO gave a “state of the hospital” briefing, and I followed with my presentation on fire and EMS response in the post-9/11 world.

The AFG program is constantly looking to document success stories. These success stories help illustrate and reinforce the value of the program and how it has made a difference in our ability as the fire service to handle both routine and extraordinary emergencies.

How many unsung heroes have you lost? I’ve lost two in the past six weeks. Both were long-serving firefighters in their mid-50s who died of cancer. Like cardiac disease, cancer is much more prevalent in firefighters than in the general population.

Dr. Thomas Bay was one of the keynote speakers at Fire-Rescue International in Atlanta. As a cancer survivor, his main theme was to remind us as chiefs to protect both our firefighters and ourselves from the carcinogens that surround us daily.