I first heard about Firehouse Magazine through a promotional mail piece that was sent to solicit charter subscribers for the new publication. In 1976, there were only a handful of fire service publications—no email, Internet or other sources to keep up with the latest news, training and resource information for everyday firefighters. Once I communicated with a few friends who expressed interest, it seemed like to good idea to send off your subscription and hope that the magazine met your expectations.
Fast-forward to the mid-1990s, when I was attending the annual Firehouse Expo in Baltimore. A close friend, Mark McLees, who later became the chief in Syracuse, NY, inquired if I would like to meet FDNY Lt. Mike Wilbur. I had read Lt. Wilbur’s EVOC column in Firehouse for many years and was honored to meet with him, with all of us eventually going out for dinner after the show. Lt. Wilbur did not fit my image of a FDNY truck officer, yet we had an enjoyable evening and continued to communicate on fire apparatus design and operations. While Mike was enthusiastic about my interest in FDNY tactics and operations, he held a dim view of my passion for engine company work and hose loads.
I had never written for a national publication, and in late 1999, Mike sent me a draft of an article on department apparatus committees that did not meet favor with then-Firehouse Editor Harvey Eisner. After a few emails and phone calls, we agreed to write the article together and then submit it for review by Harvey and the Firehouse Magazine staff. I was never so proud as when the first Apparatus Architect article was published in August 2000. To see Mike’s and my name and photos within the magazine was a fine moment and one that I thought would only happen once.
Within a few weeks, Harvey reached out to Mike to inquire as to what we had in mind for the next article; he was looking for a headline that they could promote to prospective advertisers. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. Mike and I now had to plan and lay out a strategy for a series of articles to inform, educate and train a generation of firefighters to pass along our collective experiences with the hope of making a difference. Being able to put all of your thoughts into the written word was not always easy, but we seemed to come up with topics that were timely with a focus on safety.
For the past 16 years, we have authored more than 80 articles covering all aspects of fire apparatus design, specification development and maintenance, with the hope of making everyone’s job safer by spreading our knowledge and personnel experiences. I hope to continue the great tradition started by Dennis Smith to advance the training and knowledge base for all fire and emergency personnel. Best wishes to Firehouse Magazine and all past and current staff members who contribute each day to making us better at our craft.
