Firehouse Year in Review 2019

Closing out another year of providing news and feature content for our readers offers the team here at Firehouse a chance to reflect on quite a few things.

Along with the heroic acts to commemorate and tragic losses to mourn, there are vital lessons to be learned as well as new ideas to explore concerning tactics, leadership, and safety and health, among other topics.

Although the fire service is heavily steeped in tradition—something its membership should always be proud of—it remains a constantly evolving industry at the forefront of innovation. Firehouse takes pride in providing you with content that celebrates those traditions while also challenging you to find ways to improve the culture and the vital services you provide to your communities.

As we bring 2019 to a close, we say thank you to all the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every single day when the tones go off, and we'd also like to thank all the family members and loved ones who provide the emotional support you need when the shift ends and you head home.

Stay safe out there in 2020 and beyond!

Line-of-duty deaths

The most important thing to remember when we look back on any year are the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the course of protecting lives and property. There were 58 line-of-duty deaths in the United States in 2019, according to the US Fire Administration. While we should always consider even one LODD to be one too many, the numbers from this year represent a drastic drop from the 84 who lost their lives in 2018.

Below we have listed the names of these 58 firefighters and links to the news coverage we provided at the time of their passing:

Eric M. Hosette (Clinton, IA); Steven H. Pollard (FDNY); Jason Byrd (Fayette County, TN); Brenden A. Pierce (Pinson, AL); Thomas Nye (Marion, MA); Joel Barnes (Berwick, ME); Jacob Ringering (Godfrey, IL); Michael Bernstein (Philadelphia); Daniel Laird (US Forest Service, Nevada City, CA); James Woodman (West Haven, CT); John Leming (Cape May Point, NJ); Dwain Hudson (Custer, SD); Michael Watkins (Mountain Home, AR); Brad Gregrich (Desoto County, FL); Kody Vanfossan (Christopher, IL); Barry Boulton, Sr. (Plantation, FL); William N. Franck (Willow Street, PA); Mitchell F. Lundgaard (Appleton, WI); Charles A. Ruffing (Boise, ID); Angela N. Chadwick-Hawkins (US Army Environmental Division); Christopher Moore (Maryland Heights, MO); Todd Lanthrip (Mathiston, MS); Jared W. Echols (Springville, AL); Coleman Loadholdt (Jasper County, SC); Michael Powers (Libertytown, MD); William C. White (Artesia, NM); Neil B. Cope (Belle Vernon, PA); Jeff Stroble (Roswell, NM); Yaroslav Katkov (CAL FIRE-Sacramento); James E. Sommers (Live Oak, FL); Norman E. Klenow (East Tawas, MI); Brian J. Sullivan (FDNY); Walter Wagaman (Orrtanna, PA); Michael Bell (Farmington, ME); Edward Nulton (Dallas, PA); Claud G. Messer (Waynesville, NC); Kenneth Stavinoha (Houston, TX); Scott R. Neumann (Martin County, FL); Dale Jaynes (Burdett, NY); Christian D. Johnson (Okanogan, WA); Paul Rotondaro (CAL FIRE-Merced County); Paul E. Quattlebaum (Lexington, SC); Steven P. Henderson (Louise, TX); Greg Garza (San Antonio, TX); Michael Johnston (Equality, AL); Robert H. Bush (Homer, NY); Alex Graham (Washington, DC); Brian Serdynski (Union Grove, WI); Dwain S. Bradshaw (Escambia County, FL); John Sing (Boys Town, NE); Jason Menard (Worcester, MA); Darryl Rollins (Amityville, NY); Michael C. Malinowski, Sr. (Morton, PA); George Childs (Jefferson, GA); Robert White, Jr. (West Stockholm, NY); Kenneth Jones (Frisco, CO); Michael Cardinale, Sr. (Farmingdale, NY); Otis L. Isaacs, Jr. (North East, MD).

Two of these 57 line-of-duty deaths shined a light on topics that are becoming increasingly prevalent in the fire service: firearm protection and behavioral health. Appleton, WI, firefighter Mitch Lundgaard was shot and killed during a response in May by a patient who had just been administered Narcan, and Boise, ID, firefighter Charles Ruffing was struggling with post-traumatic stress symptoms when he took his own life at his station that same month.

And in a tragic twist following the heroic death of Berwick, ME, Fire Capt. Joel Barnes—who was killed while saving a colleague during a fire—Oxford Fire Chief Gary Sacco had a heart attack and died while in Portland to attend the fallen firefighter's funeral.

This year was also significant in that it marked the 20th anniversary of the Worcester, MA, Cold Storage Fire in which six firefighters—Paul Brotherton, Tim Jackson, Jerry Lucey, James Lyons, Joseph McGuirk and Thomas Spencer—perished on Dec. 3, 1999.

Firehouse offered extensive coverage of the anniversary, including this article by Gus Maynard that reflects on the incident and the lives lost, as well as Joe Vince's piece that features interviews with several sons of the fallen firefighters who have gone on to join the Worcester Fire Department.

"Rescue Me" actor Denis Leary, a Worcester native whose cousin and childhood friend were two of the six firefighters who died, also debuted a documentary entitled "The Worcester 6: Heroes Remembered" released through The Leary Firefighters Foundation.

Lastly, we encourage you to read this heartfelt open letter penned by Lt. Tom Spencer's widow Kathy as she calls for increased safety measures for firefighters and relates what life has been like for her and her children in the 20 years since she lost her husband.

This year also marked 20 years since three firefighters—Dave McNally, Jason Bitting and Nate Tuck—died in Keokuk, IA, while searching a burning home for three children. A young girl who also perished was found in the arms of one of the firefighters.

Firehouse Editor in Chief Peter Matthews addressed both the Worcester and Keokuk fires in his December column, with a strong emphasis on the need to focus on more training drills.

Major stories & incidents

Throughout the year, we do our best to provide news coverage for major incidents and fire service developments throughout the country, and we greatly appreciate when our readers provide us with tips on various responses and rescues that we may have missed.

Below is a list of some of the most viewed content we provided this past year on firehouse.com.

• ME Aerial Damaged in Training a Total Loss
• Watch Ladder Pipe Fail Los Angeles County Firefighters
• Report: Badly Burned DE Firefighter Wore Improper Gear
• FL Firefighters Stabbed During Medical Call
• Missing VA Firefighter Found Dead in NC
• Fired Transgender GA Chief Claims Discrimination
• WA Fire Chief Quits over Event at City's Only Station
• FFs Trapped as CA Wildfire Burned over Apparatus
• Did TX Medics Do Enough to Save Dying Crash Victim?
• IN Chief Under Fire for Suicide Comments
• PA Chief and 16 Firefighters Ousted from FD
• Homes Burn Down on CA Island with No Fire Station

Topics & trends

As mentioned above, the safety of fire and EMS personnel concerning firearms as well as mental health issues related to post-traumatic stress are dominating many conversations in the fire service along with occupational cancer and new approaches to leadership.

Our contributors touched on a variety of these topics this past year, including fire law expert Curt Varone asking whether firefighters should be armed, and the leadership of Dallas Fire-Rescue offering a detailed look at how the agency built its behavioral health program following a member's suicide in 2017.

Brandon Dreiman bridged the gap between work-related stress and cancer by asking if chronic stress contributes to the growth of the disease in firefighters, and Tyler Greenwood shared how the fire service impacted his family and what happened after he arrived first-due to a crash that killed his wife.

In the leadership realm, Chief Darryl Jones explained how problems arise when fire departments prioritize image over mission, and Chief Brian Schaeffer touched on how arrogance in leadership and irrational decisions can lead to sickness within organizations.

Dr. Stephen Solomon took a look at recent studies to address whether vehicle color plays a role in apparatus safety, and Joe Vince touched on roadway incident safety with a piece on successful programs in Irving, TX, and Dallas that re-purpose aging apparatus to serve as "blockers" at high-traffic scenes. With roadway incidents contributing to a rash of line-of-duty deaths in recent years, Billy Goldfeder shared two incidents underscoring the danger of operating on roadways.

Devon Wells explained how rural volunteer agencies operate similarly, but differently, from their suburban and urban counterparts, and Marc Davidson underscored the need to move past the fire service’s failure to its officers by creating a better approach to training.

Lastly, Curt Isakson, who delivered a stirring keynote address at Firehouse Expo in Nashville, pushed the idea that taking risks to save lives should be “a given.”

Cancer prevention projects

During the past year, the Firehouse team continued our efforts to provide supplemental content containing the latest information and research on topics related to cancer prevention. We strongly encourage you to view these materials to educate and protect yourself and your colleagues:

• Cancer Awareness and Prevention 2019
• 2019 Firefighter Training: Smarter, Safer
• Cardiovascular & Chemical Exposure Risk Considerations During Training
• The Clean Cab Project

____

Make sure to click the "View Gallery" button on the top of this page to see some of the most striking Hot Shots provided by our contributors this past year.

We look forward to seeing you at Firehouse World in Las Vegas Feb. 24-27 and again in Nashville for Firehouse Expo July 20-25.