Editor’s Note: The Firehouse staff wanted to share some of long-time Editor in Chief Harvey Eisner’s work. Harvey, a fixture on New York City firegrounds and at major events and conferences since the 1970s, passed away on Oct. 23. He was 59. He has worked with Firehouse since its inception in 1976. He began serving with the Tenafly, N.J., Fire Department in 1975 and served as chief for 12 years.
One of our biggest goals is to reduce firefighter line-of-duty deaths and injuries. We do that by publishing articles in Firehouse Magazine, posting information on Firehosue.com and addressing the issue at our two conferences, Firehouse Expo and Firehouse World. No matter what we do, there are still those once-in-a-lifetime incidents that become instant that firefighters and families will always remember.
In 2013, there was an overabundance of serious incidents around the United States. Two firefighters were killed in Bryan, TX, on Feb. 16. A chemical plant explosion in West, TX, killed 12 firefighters on April 17. A restaurant fire in Houston, TX, killed four firefighters and critically injured several others on May 31; one of those firefighters is still recovering. A wildland fire near Yarnell, AZ, killed 19 Hotshots firefighters from Prescott on June 30.
This year, I took part in many events for the first time. I attended the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) Annual Memorial Service at Emmitsburg, MD, in October. Because of the federal government shutdown, it cost the NFFF a large amount of money to hold the ceremony for the fallen firefighters’ families from this year and from previous years. The ceremony carried on despite the government shutdown. They rose to the occasion. I recommend that every member of the fire service see what goes on for the families with dignity, dedication so they will never forget. Recently, the NFFF came out with another slogan, “Always Remember,” so they can present these and other programs. I have listed the link to donate to the NFFF. It’s the right thing to do. http://donate.firehero.org
Recently, I attended the Volunteer Chief Officers (VCOS) “Symposium in the Sun” in Florida. The VCOS, part of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), put on an interesting, educational seminar. On July 1, I attended the 25th annual memorial service for the five firefighters who were killed in a truss-roof collapse in Hackensack, NJ, on July 1, 1988. I wrote three stories about that incident, which opened the eyes of the fire service to the hazards of truss roofs. It was a quite an impressive turnout.
Right after Hackensack, I went to the San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) in Texas. One of the center’s specialties is to treat our Wounded Warriors who have been critically injured. I personally purchased a bicycle through the FDNY Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post, the only VFW post in the nation that is comprised of all firefighters. We presented this special bicycle to a soldier who lost part of his leg in the explosion of an improvised explosive device while deployed in Afghanistan. The soldiers were grateful for our visit, as the government does not provide these bikes individually, only during therapy. It was something I wanted to do.
As I write this on Veterans Day, I salute the Wounded Warriors of the military and also those in the fire service. They are truly “soldiers in a war that never ends.”
91
2013 firefighter line-of-duty deaths at press time
1,958
2013 civilian fire fatalities at press time
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