On October 23, 2015 the Bergen County Fire Chiefs Association sponsored the first annual Harvey Eisner Training Weekend at the Bergen County Fire Academy in Mahwah, NJ.
The goal of the Chiefs association in sponsoring this event was to honor Harvey’s life-long commitment to providing outstanding training opportunities to our nation’s firefighters and to sustain his legacy as a National Fire Service icon. To complete their objective the group engaged a number of nationally recognized fire service instructors and “Friends of Harvey” who offered a variety of outstanding training opportunities to the 166 attendees during the one-day program. Topics presented included Private Dwelling Fires, Basement Fire Operations, Officer Leadership, Command/Control/Accountability, Rescue Operations, Fire Attack, Fires in Fast Food Restaurants, and Engine and Truck Company Operations.
The instructor staff included Deputy Chief William Goldfeder who provided the keynote address, Deputy Chief John Norman, Deputy Chief Anthony Avillo, Chief Robert Moran, Lieutenant John Lewis, Deputy Chief Stephen Kalman, Battalion Chief John Salka, Deputy Chief Michael Terpak, Lieutenant Mickey Conboy, Captain James Ellson, Captain James Kirsch, and Firefighter Joseph Alvarez. All of these instructors were fortunate to have been given the opportunity to grow their careers and instructor skills through the expert guidance and support provided by Harvey through his Editor and Conference Coordinator positons with Firehouse Magazine. In respect and gratefulness for these opportunities and to honor their friendship with Chief Eisner the entire instructor staff donated their time and travel to lecture at the event.
While sponsored by the Chiefs Association all facets of the program were managed through the dedicated efforts of the current Association President Peter Hodge, Vice-President James Kirsch, and former President Jack Murphy. Recognition must also be given to the Bergen County Fire Academy for allowing the program to be held at their outstanding training facility and to each and every attendee for their support of Harvey’s legacy and their desire to improve their fire service knowledge. All event proceeds were donated on behalf of the Eisner family and the Bergen County Fire Chiefs Association to the New York Firefighters Burn Center Foundation and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in Harvey’s name.
The Second Annual Harvey Eisner Memorial training program is currently scheduled for Saturday October 15, 2016. Further information regarding the exact location and instructor line-up will be available in the near future. We look forward to your continued support in keeping Fire Chief Harvey Eisner’s name and training legacy a prominent piece of our Nations fire service!
