Hodgens New FDNY Chief of Department
John J. Hodgens was tapped to be the 38th FDNY Chief of Department by Acting Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. He will oversee the department’s 16,000 uniformed firefighters and EMS personnel and four bureaus: Fire Operations, EMS Operations, Training and Fire Prevention. Hodgens, who is a 36-year member of the department, has been acting in the capacity of fire chief since January 2022, when then-Chief of Department Thomas Richardson retired. Before this post, Hodgens was chief of fire operations, where he oversaw the day-to-day work of more than 11,000 firefighters, officers and chief officers.
Hodgens studied at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and Columbia Southern University, receiving a Bachelor of Applied Science in fire science and emergency management. Hodgens also graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School—Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Executive Leadership Program.
APCO Introduces Diversity Workshop
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International introduced its DICE workshop—Diversity, Inclusion, Civility and Equity in the ECC—for emergency communications center (ECC) professionals. The three-day workshop is designed to help ECC staff to foster healthy workplaces where employees feel valued as their true selves.
The workshop brings together supervisory level staff and others from an ECC coupled with agency-specific data to explore experiences and viewpoints, to gain a better understanding of how perceptions can affect employee interaction in the workplace. The workshop’s goal is to identify the best practices for an agency to implement to achieve a more healthy and inclusive organization and create positive change in the workplace.
“We understand that each ECC is unique, and the DICE workshop addresses the concerns specific to an agency,” APCO Executive Director and CEO Derek Poarch said. “Training on such important topics requires much more than a one-size-fits-all approach.”
To learn more about the workshop, hosting requirements and the application process, visit apcointl.org/dice-workshop. Interested ECC directors should contact [email protected] for more information.
Charlottesville, VA, Fire Chief Is New CPC Commissioner
The Center for Public Safety Excellence appointed Hezedean Smith to the Commission on Professional Credentialing as the representative for career departments.
Smith is the fire chief of the Charlottesville, VA, Fire Department, which is an accredited agency through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
Smith recently retired as a chief officer of the Orlando, FL, Fire Department. He has a Doctor of Management degree from the University of Phoenix, a master’s degree, and two associate degrees (fire science and EMS). He also serves on the boards of the National EMS Management Association and the Black Chief Officers Committee.
Cameli Elected IFSTA Executive Board Chair
Mary Cameli, who is the fire chief of the Mesa Fire and Medical Department (MFMD) in Phoenix, was elected as the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) Executive Board Chair. She is the first woman to serve in the role.
Cameli earned recognition by spearheading MFMD’s Integrated Community Health Care program. She also was named the Metropolitan Fire Chiefs Association Fire Chief of the Year in 2021 (firehouse.com/21215087).
Duties of the IFSTA board include establishing policies and projects, approving scope and purpose statements, approving titles for new and revised training materials, advising fire protection publications on pertinent matters and maintaining external relations with other organizations.
Report: Firefighter Suicide Prevention Disappointing
Despite suicide rates for the general population declining during COVID-19, first responder suicides remain disproportionally high. Furthermore, mental health and suicide prevention programs haven’t exhibited much effectiveness, according to a white paper by the Ruderman Family foundation. The report indicates that there has been moderate to no decrease in suicides for all types of first responders.
“The Ruderman White Paper Update on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders” follows up on the Foundation’s 2018 report. According to the new report, the number of reported firefighter and EMS suicides stood at 127 in 2020, compared with 126 confirmed cases in 2017, this despite the increased mental health programming and resources for first responders to counter the new stress and isolation that was brought on by the pandemic.
“Our research underscores the ongoing mental health crisis facing first responders, which has become a perfect storm that combines the existing dangers of their work and the toll exerted by the pandemic,” Jay Ruderman, who is president of the Ruderman Family Foundation, said. “Despite their best intentions, programs aimed at promoting awareness of first responder mental health and at preventing suicide have not borne sufficient fruit so far. Exacerbating this situation, the shame and stigma often associated with the suicide of first responders lead to secrecy and silence surrounding the event, preventing appropriate processing of suicides by colleagues of the deceased.”
The report provides suggestions on how to counter the situation. Currently, no government organization requires mandated reporting of such deaths or attempts, something which would prove critical in understanding the multidimensional phenomenon of suicide and to better understand trends, patterns and relationships in the data.
View the white paper here.
Line-of-Duty Deaths
5 U.S. firefighters died in the line of duty. Two died from health-related incidents, two were killed in motor-vehicle accidents and one died in a helicopter crash. This issue of Firehouse is dedicated to these firefighters.
Lieutenant Roger Elliott Estes, 77, of the South Claiborne Volunteer Fire Department in New Tazewell, TN, died on July 4. Estes was serving on traffic control duties at a fire department fundraiser when he was struck by a passing truck. Fellow responders immediately performed CPR, including ALS care. EMS transported Estes to the Claiborne Medical Center, where he passed away shortly after arrival.
Chief William Halstead, 73, of the Sandy Hook, CT, Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company died on July 8. Halstead responded to a motor-vehicle accident and an automatic alarm. On his arrival at his residence after the incidents, he became ill. Despite the efforts of EMS responders, he passed away from an apparent heart attack.
Captain Brian Falk,47, of the Kern County Fire Department in Bakersfield, CA, died on July 14. Falk was at the fire station when he was found unresponsive by fellow firefighters. He was pronounced deceased at the scene. The cause and nature of his death are under investigation.
Firefighter/EMT Austin Duran, 25, of the Apopka, FL, Fire Department died on July 15. On June 30, Duran and another firefighter were moving a sand trailer to another fire station. In the process of hooking up the trailer, it fell, and Duran was pinned. He was taken immediately to the hospital, where he remained in the ICU until his passing.
Lieutenant Matthew King, 44, of the Bernalillo County, NM, Fire Department died on July 16. King and three members of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office were aboard a helicopter that was returning to Albuquerque. The four men had performed aerial wildland fire suppression at the East Mesa Fire. The helicopter crashed. All four occupants were killed. Investigation into the incident is ongoing.
