On Oct. 23, 2014, the fire service lost an iconic leader and I lost a friend, a colleague and a mentor. At a time like this, it seems that there are never enough words to be shared nor are the words you choose comprehensive enough to effectively describe the importance of an individual or the appreciation you felt for them over the years.
Harvey Eisner to me would best be described as the QUIET GIANT of the American fire service. Harvey’s actions and demeanor epitomized that of a quiet leader one whose success was not based on ego and force, but rather their thoughts and actions.
In his book Good To Great, Jim Collins identifies the five levels of effectiveness people can achieve in organizations. At level five is the leader who combines professional will with personal humility. The “professional will” indicates how they are far from being timid wilting flowers and will march against any advice if they believe it is the right thing to do. In “personal humility” they put the well-being of others before their own personal needs, giving others credit after successes, but taking personal responsibility for failures. Harvey Eisner exemplified the professional will and personal humility of a level-five leader and a quiet giant in the fire service.
Harvey was an accomplished firefighter, fire chief and editor who never sought the limelight nor did he ever project the arrogance that oftentimes accompanies the immeasurable influence and knowledge he had earned throughout his career. Harvey was a humble man, a man with an unquenchable thirst for the betterment of the fire service.
I first met Harvey when I was invited to speak at Firehouse Expo in July 2000. Over the next 14 years, I would have the opportunity to work with and interact with Harvey as a friend, as an instructor and beginning in 2006, as a fellow editor-in-chief.
As I look back, the memories of Harvey are many, but the two things that stick out the most are Harvey’s passion for a good cover photo and a good kitchen table story.
Harvey’s passion for photos was like nothing I’d ever seen before. If there ever was a man who subscribed to the old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words, Harvey was definitely that man. In fact, upon hearing of his passing, aside from the emotions I’d felt having just lost a personal friend and mentor, one of the many thoughts that came to mind, was the remarkable loss that would be felt by the fire service community. For if a picture is worth a thousand words, Harvey’s passing marked a loss equivalent to the Library of Congress for the American fire service.
Throughout my career I have had the great privilege of meeting some great story tellers, most of which I must say are New Yorkers. I don’t know what it is, but folks from New York just seem to have an unmatched talent to tell stories, and Harvey was certainly one of them. Like many of us, Harvey had spent countless hours sitting at the firehouse kitchen table chewing fat with firefighters throughout the country. To his credit and to our benefit, Harvey took the time and energy to document these stories and share them with firefighters around the world in the pages of Firehouse® Magazine and through his countless books, the most notable of which was WTC: In Their Own Words, which captured the tragic events of 9/11 like only Harvey Eisner could do.
Today, I have the distinct honor of serving as the editor-in-chief of Firehouse®, the position that Harvey served in for the last 20 years. While I’m honored to have this opportunity, I can only wish we could have walked this path together.
Acknowledging that someone of a much of higher power, for whatever reason, has chosen not to allow us to chart this path together, I vow that the path we pave for the future of Firehouse® will be pursued with the constant memory of a friend, a colleague and a true fire service leader. A man who proudly served for more than 40 years with the truest of professionalism and the selflessness courage of few before him with one goal, the betterment of the American fire service.
Chief Harvey J. Eisner, you will not be forgotten, my friend. And on behalf the tens of thousands of firefighters around the world you touched throughout your career, I thank you for all you’ve done; your work and your tutelage have set the course for generations. You truly are a QUIET GIANT whose voice will forever be heard.
pull quote:
Harvey was a humble man, a man with an unquenchable thirst for the betterment of the fire service.
