Founder of Firehouse.com Reflects on 'Where It All Began'

Ten years can seem like a long time and a short one all at once. On a trip to Southern California for Christmas vacation last week, I visited the real "home" of the television series Emergency!, Los Angeles County's Station 127 in Carson, California. It was a fitting "personal" celebration of the 10th anniversary of Firehouse.com, because if it wasn't for that show you probably wouldn't be visiting the site now.

When I was a kid, reruns of Emergency! on a random UHF channel in Baltimore is what got me interested in the fire service. I sent a letter to my local fire chief of the Hyattsville (Maryland) Volunteer Fire Department when I was just 12 asking to come hang out and learn what it took to be a firefighter. To my surprise, he wrote back.

Fast forward to the tender age of 22 and you'll find me and my best friend Chris Hebert, also a volunteer at Hyattsville, sitting in the mecca of the fire service media world, the Long Island headquarters of Firehouse Magazine. We were pitching this "crazy" idea of a Web site where firefighters from around the country (and the world) could go online to get their daily fix for news, training, photos and such. Ten years later, Firehouse.com stands having accomplished so much more - both in itself and beyond.

That first meeting was pushed by Firehouse Contributing Editor Charles Werner, now Fire Chief of the Charlottesville, Virginia Fire Department. Charles was already writing a column for each issue on technology and the fire service, along with a list of the "Hottest" firefighting and EMS Web sites online. The site of my own volunteer fire department in Hyattsville, Maryland, was among the first featured by Charles. Beyond our own department's latest doings, hvfd.com featured the "Metro D.C. Fire/Rescue Wire" which posted stories and photos from throughout the Washington area, plus one of the largest directories of fire departments around the country - plus a fan site for Emergency! , of course.

The Internet was mighty young then. The thought of transforming how the Firehouse brand name could evolve, grow and thrive online was a challenge for a traditionally print publisher. As a team we forged ahead, led by the management at Firehouse parent company Cygnus Publishing. The two executives who helped drive our ideas into reality in our initial partnership were former cable television executives Gerry Hogan and Blair Schmidt-Fellner.

These were guys who "got" what it means to create new means of media delivery. With our ideas and their support, combined with the power of one of the largest circulation magazines in the industry and a leading trade show and conference in Firehouse Expo, Firehouse.com was born. It was an amazing experience helping drive the magazine we read as young firefighters into this new age of online. In those ten years, Firehouse.com has worked front and center - and behind the scenes - to become a powerful information resource. Here are a few of moments that we will always remember:

• 9/11 - I remember that chilling call from our Director of Sales, Mike, that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Those days, weeks and months that followed are a blur. From creating a permanent memorial and profiles of all the emergency responder victims to helping raise tens of millions of dollars for their families, how our team responded to 9/11 is what I'm personally most proud. To all of us it was a highly personal experience that will never be forgotten.

Ladder 49 - Filmed just a few dozen miles from our office, the Ladder 49 filming was an experience in itself as was all the hoopla that went with it. It was a pretty surreal moment as we filmed the final funeral scene on Lombard Street, seeing eight full blocks of firefighters and firefighters on either side standing at attention - all Firehouse.com users. The one thing we always tried to do was make the site visitors feel involved in the fire service, not just reading articles and such. This was certainly one of the cooler moments. The Worcester Six - Worcester was early on in Firehouse.com's life, less than a year after we launched. We were still young firefighters ourselves and seeing the glimpse of the Cold Storage Warehouse as we drove into town for the memorial service will stick with us forever, as will the outpouring of support from throughout the community and around the world. The Fire Grants - Since their inception, the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program was always one of the things that we tried to cover every angle of. We knew funding for fire departments was one of the most pressing topics - given that police get some many billions of Federal funding, it was about time that Fire and EMS benefitted as well. From helping drive support to secure the initial funding to reporting on each week's new "winners", the grant program's coverage has become a staple of Firehouse.com. Emergency! Fest - As I said earlier, the show had a tremendous impact on my personal involvement in the fire service. And in 1999, sponsored by Firehouse.com, we had the opportunity to hold a three day series of events called Emergency! Fest. We brought in the cast and crew, had "Squad 51" in our very own firehouse and thousands of fans (and Firehouse.com users) turned out. The Tornado - Just weeks after 9/11, a tornado tore through College Park, Maryland and hit our office nearly head on. We watched as it ravaged the campus of the University of Maryland, killing two young women who had just visited their dad at the Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute headquarters, who himself became trapped in the rubble. A firefighter also died after returning to the station from supporting operations. As the twister veered toward our office, we evacuated to the basement as the wind whipped through the garage, popping out lights and ravaging the area. The Death of Andee Huber - We won't soon forget one of the bigger preventable tragedies in the fire service in the last decade, the death of Andee Huber. Huber was a popular fire explorer killed in a rollover accident of a fire tanker - and the firefighter behind the wheel was intoxicated. One of the most emotional commentaries I wrote at Firehouse.com was on this topic. The People - One of the biggest things I'm still proud of was our team. Our first 10 staffers - many firefighters and first responders themselves. Their passion for the job and driving Firehouse.com forward are what made the site and its mission a success. To Chris, Lon, Pete P., Heather, Jenni, Tim, Brian, Pete M., Paul, Jessica, Bill and Mike, the site would have been nothing without you and all of those who passed through the doors as staff in the last decade.

As with any company that evolves over a decade, much of the "original" Firehouse.com team has moved on, including Chris and I. Yet the sense of pride in what Firehouse.com became and the role it has played in the lives of firefighters and first responders worldwide will be with us forever.

With that pride, the excitement of the next evolution of the content, services, features, education and interactive tools yet to come via the Web, mobile and more that will enable all of us to save lives and protect property more efficiently, successfully and most importantly SAFELY than ever before.

To all of you, have a very safe - and successful - New Year.

Dave J. Iannone is the Founder and former Publisher of Firehouse.com. He is now President/CEO of Go Forward Media, an eMedia strategy firm based in Columbia, Maryland. He also owns FirefighterNation.com, a social and professional network for firefighters.