My first encounter with Firehouse Magazine was when a friend, who was a fire buff, showed me a copy of the magazine in the late 1970s. Not only was I impressed, but I immediately became a subscriber and an avid reader. Hard-bound copies of the first three years of the magazine still set on my bookshelf.
One of the many things that appealed to me was the annual Firehouse Expo in Baltimore, especially the muster that was held on the docks of the inner harbor. Added to my bucket list was to be able to attend an Expo, which at the time seemed like a dream. Not in my wildest imagination could I have thought that not only would I attend an Expo, but would be a presenter—as well as a contributing editor with a bi-monthly column. Thirty-plus years in the fire and emergency services have been filled with great opportunities and proud accomplishments. Affiliation with Firehouse has been one of the most satisfying.
In July 1987, I received the best birthday present ever—my first article was published in Firehouse. Many changes have occurred over the past 28 years, from typewriter to computer, from film camera to digital camera, from firefighting to EMS, hazmat and terrorism. Several changes have also occurred in editors and staff, but no matter who was in charge, the staff at Firehouse has always been supportive to me as a contributor. Harvey Eisner and Jeff Barrington were there the longest, and I miss them.
For whatever reason, I have always been interested in hazmat since its introduction to the fire service. As a result, most of my articles in Firehouse have been about hazardous materials, usually through my column titled Hazmat Studies. One of the biggest challenges as a contributor was to be able to provide timely and interesting subjects that would help the readers in their daily jobs. Hearing from readers over the years has been very satisfying to me. Getting both positive and negative feedback has helped me become a better writer and has been a learning experience as well.
One day I received a phone call from a Secret Service agent who said he had been reading my columns for years. One of my hazmat team articles was about the Charles County (MD) Hazmat Team. This team is comprised of many federal and fire service members who serve there on their days off from their other jobs. Included in their membership are several employees of the Pentagon Force Protection Team. Their team, among other things, is charged with protecting the Pentagon from hazardous materials and terrorism. They asked if I would be interested in doing an article on the Pentagon team. Visiting the Pentagon with team members was an experience I will never forget.
I have been honored over the years to be invited to events involving hazardous materials milestones and memorials for firefighters lost responding to hazardous materials incidents. Ron Gore is credited as being one of the pioneers of hazmat response. The Jacksonville Fire Department celebrated the 30th Anniversary of the establishment of the first emergency services hazmat response team in the United States, and being there was one of the highlights of my career. Gore is credited with establishing this team and has been a friend since the early 1980s. It was great meeting and talking with other former team members and learning about the evolution of their team—and writing about it in Firehouse. Sadly, the memorial visits were not commemorating such a happy event as Jacksonville. It was my honor to attend and write about memorial services honoring firefighters who lost their lives responding to hazardous materials incidents in Texas City, TX, Philadelphia, PA, Kansas City, MO, Kingman, AZ, Waverly, TN, Crescent City, IL Weyauwega, WI, and Richmond, IN. No one was killed in Weyauwega, WI, but the town was evacuated for 21 days when a train carrying propane derailed in town. The fire chief there said he used the lessons learned in Waverly, TN, in the management of his incident.
I was in Richmond, IN, to learn more about a dynamite explosion that killed 41 people in 1968. I was taken aback by one of the survivors, Jack Bales, who had been at ground zero of the incident. The explosion occurred when he was standing next to his best friend. Jack lived and his friend died. I tried to locate him to no avail. Then one day several months after the article was published in Firehouse, I got the following email from Jack: "I received a call from Mike Stewart from the Howard Colorado VFD. He stated that he was reading your article in the March 2015 Firehouse Magazine and wanted to know if I was the same Jack Bales mentioned in the article. I told him that I was the same person mentioned in the article. I had lived in Howard Colorado for 14 years and was a member of the Howard VFD, plus on the Fremont County search and rescue. Mike said all the years that we worked together, you never mentioned that you were in an explosion, but remembered that I was originally from Richmond, Indiana. In 2014, I moved back to Richmond to be closer to my kids and grandkids, plus my 85-year-old mother who still lives in her own home. I am always amazed at how small the world really is, for someone 1,200 miles away to read an article about an explosion that happened 47 years ago, then pick the phone and call me.” Jack has invited me to come to his home to view the wall he has created in his basement of the Richmond Explosion articles.
During my travels around this great country during the past almost three decades, I have enjoyed meeting fellow brother and sister firefighters and other emergency responders. Many of those have become friends and will be for life. It has also been a thrill to have the opportunity to meet other Firehouse contributors over the years at Firehouse Expos. None of this would have been possible to the extent it has been if not for my affiliation with Firehouse Magazine. I am grateful to Dennis Smith for founding the magazine and all of the Firehouse staff over the years for their mentorship, collaborations and friendship.
