As Firehouse Sees It: Building Upon The Foundations of Success

Publisher’s note: Tim Sendelbach was appointed editor-in-chief of Firehouse on Aug. 1. For more information about Tim’s appointment, visit Firehouse.com.

To our readers, contributors and supporters, it’s an honor and a privilege to assume the role as your editor-in-chief. Since joining the fire service as a volunteer firefighter in 1985, Firehouse® Magazine has served as one of my most reliable resources for news, training and critical information related to our profession. As a young firefighter, Firehouse® Magazine was the first publication I subscribed to and it has become an essential resource for training and educating firefighters and fire officers throughout the country. I’m humbled to have the opportunity to serve as the editor-in-chief of this longstanding publication, and I look forward to continuing the proud tradition of serving America’s bravest.

Over the course of my 29-year career, I’ve had the honor of serving as a firefighter and fire officer in numerous cities throughout the country. I’ve also had the great fortune of being able to train and learn from volunteer and paid firefighters serving in the most rural settings to our largest urban cities. In each case, I’ve grown and developed as a student and an educator of the fire and emergency services. As I assume this role, I hope to share with you the lessons I’ve learned and to enlist the talents and personalities of the men and women I meet over the course of my travels, all with the goal of improving and enhancing the safety and operational effectiveness of our nation’s firefighters.

In September 1976, as a 13-year veteran of the FDNY, Firefighter Dennis Smith penned the first “As Firehouse Sees It – Letter from the Editor.” In this letter, Dennis confirmed what we who serve in this profession know very well, “We firefighters are simply not like other people. Our lives are different. Our families’ lives are different. We put our futures on the line when duty calls, and duty can call all the time, 24 hours a day. Firefighting is not a nine-to-five, five-day-a-week job. It is a life’s commitment, and Firehouse® Magazine is dedicated to serving the people who make that commitment: firefighters, their families and their friends.”

As the creator of this publication, Dennis also served as the editor-in-chief for six years before turning over the reins to other firefighters and editors before a young volunteer fire chief named Harvey Eisner took over in 1994. In addition to his role as a fire chief, Harvey was a crime scene photographer for the District Attorney’s Office in the Bronx, and a regular at fire scenes throughout the boroughs of New York City and the streets of New Jersey. For the next 20 years, Harvey carried the reins of this publication and he helped build a brand that’s long been recognized as a leader in the fire service.

As the newly appointed editor-in-chief, I firmly acknowledge that I’m following on the heels of an individual who has put forth a lifetime of dedication in developing Firehouse® Magazine and its related products. I’m proud to have the opportunity to serve your editor-in-chief with the support and guidance of Harvey serving as our Editor Emeritus. I’m confident that with Harvey’s experience coupled with the team of talented professionals here at Firehouse we will continue to strengthen and develop this magazine and our related products to better serve you, our readers and supporters.

Just as it was when Dennis created this magazine, my goal is to use this medium as a means of educating the fire service, our families and our friends with the hopes of enhancing the services we provide to the citizens and communities we’re sworn to protect, to seek out the most qualified and capable contributors, to facilitate debate and to bring attention to the most critical issues facing our nation’s firefighters. At the same time, I recognize that we work/volunteer in a dynamic profession, a profession that demands a constant level of change. I also recognize that it’s our responsibility to build upon the foundations of our past successes and prevent these same successes (personally and professionally) from becoming the barriers of our forward progression. The fire service is changing, and so too are the wants and needs of those who fill our ranks.

As we begin this journey together, we at Firehouse® will pursue the talents and innovations to continuously refine and progress, and I welcome and encourage each of you to share your thoughts; ideas and suggestions so we can better serve you as a reader and a contributor.

Again, thank you for the opportunity, and please remember – I stand ready to listen, learn and share.

TIMOTHY E. SENDELBACH is a 29-year student and educator of the fire and emergency services, currently serving as the Editor-in-Chief for Firehouse. He is responsible for the content and editorial direction of Firehouse® Magazine, Firehouse.com, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World and related products. He has served as an assistant fire chief with the North Las Vegas, NV, Fire Department, as the chief of training for Savannah (GA) Fire & Emergency Services and as assistant fire chief for Missouri City, TX, Fire & Rescue Services. He is a credentialed Chief Fire Officer and Chief Training Officer and has earned a master’s degree in leadership from Bellevue University, bachelor’s degrees in fire administration and arson and an associate’s degree in emergency medical care from Eastern Kentucky University.

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Firehouse, create an account today!