On June 29, 1966, at 19 years of age, I was sworn into the Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD) as a fireman, a title that appropriately would be changed to firefighter years later. My class would graduate 74 new members. I went through 12 years of school with one class member. I attended high school with another. That mattered little, because we all were members of the 127th graduating class of the PFD. Men who I would see on firegrounds throughout my career. Men who I could approach and discuss events that were happening at an incident scene.
First assignment
Upon graduating one August day, I was assigned to Engine 30, which is a busy inner-city engine company. In the 1960s, fires were plentiful, and I would get my share of experience. Engine 30 had its share of large, single-family houses and many apartments/tenements.
When I reported for duty at E-30, I met the firefighters who would teach me my trade. Good guys who would take the time to show me the right way to handle an assignment. These firefighters and officers would guide me along the road to competency.
Lieutenant
During my early years in the department, I made many friends who I relied on when I needed information. I studied hard, and in 1972, I was promoted to lieutenant. Firefighting was the same, but now I had responsibility for a platoon of firefighters. That meant that my job was to ensure that those firefighters left the firehouse at the end of their shift the same way that they entered, meaning uninjured.
Captain
Through hard work and studying, I was promoted to captain in 1974 and assumed more responsibility. My first assignment was as a relief captain who filled in for officers who were on vacation or other leave. A few months later, I was assigned to Engine 49 in South Philly, which is an area that included the Philadelphia Navy Yard and the sports complex that was home to the 76ers, Eagles, Flyers and Phillies. My extended response area included a number of refineries, port facilities and other industrial areas.
During my first eight years in the department, I wasn’t involved in refinery fires. That would change my first day in Engine 49 C platoon. My first shift was relieving my D platoon at what developed into an 11-alarm fire that took the life of eight firefighters and severely injured two others. On arrival with Engine 49, I learned that we lost Firefighter John Andrews (E-49) and that Firefighter George Schrufer (E-49) sustained career-ending burns. It was a hellacious start, and it immediately sent me to the books to learn everything that I could about refinery fires. In my two years at Engine 49, I responded to five more multiple-alarm refinery fires.
I was transferred to Engine 20 and spent three years as the captain of the center-city company, where the first-alarm district response encompassed well more than 300 high-rise buildings. I learned the nuances of high-rise firefighting.
I feel fortunate to have worked during the tumultuous years of the 1960s and 1970s as a firefighter and company officer. During those years, I responded to thousands of fires. There were many nights when we went from fire to fire. Many times, we would be restoring hoseline and equipment on our apparatus at a fireground and hear another fire being dispatched. We would make ourselves available for service and immediately respond to another working fire. The ability to respond to so many fires permitted us to reach a level of teamwork where companies functioned as well-oiled machines.
Another plus was that if we made a mistake, we didn’t have too long to dwell on it before we had to respond to another fire and rectify the previous mistake.
Battalion chief
In 1981, I was promoted to battalion chief, and a new learning process began. I was assigned as a hazmat chief in the 10th Battalion. At the time, it encompassed the largest industrial area on the east coast of the United States. I was introduced to chief officers who would help me further my education.
My immediate supervisor was Deputy Chief William Richmond, who later would lead the PFD as chief of department. He was a man who taught me many things, from firefighting to leadership. He was a man who led by example.
I also learned from my fellow battalion chiefs.
After three years, I transferred to the busy inner-city 3rd Battalion, which usually led the city in runs and working fires. I headed back to the heavy-hitting firefighting that I enjoyed.
Days before my transfer, a good friend, Firefighter Joe Konrad (E-25), was killed in a vacant building collapse during his attempt to rescue a reported occupant.
When I met with a battalion chief who I relieved on my first shift, I asked him what had changed in the inner city since I last worked there. He told me that the firefighters were as good as ever but that the buildings had deteriorated and there were thousands of vacant structures that were the source of a heavy firefighting workload. This drove me deeply into building construction and building collapse. I always had been involved in construction, but now I looked into the collapse aspect. I developed familiarization programs for the battalion and showed dangers that needed to be avoided. I tried to keep it informational but interesting. It seemed to work, because the firefighters became more aware of the potential dangers.
National Fire Academy
This led me in 1984 to being invited to the National Fire Academy (NFA) to take the course “Command and Control of Fire Department Operations at Multi-Alarm Incidents.” The course was developed by a team of national experts that was led by Deputy Chief Vinnie Dunn of the FDNY. Vinnie was everything one would expect in a national expert. He was knowledgeable, inquisitive and, certainly, friendly. I have considered Vinnie a friend since that initial meeting.
Among many other lifelong friends who I met was Captain Bill Jacobs of the Auburn, NY, Fire Department. Bill taught me many things that have stayed with me throughout my career.
At the NFA, I was able to continue to interact with Bill Shouldis and Phil McLaughlin, two Philly guys who always shared their knowledge with whomever would listen.
Gary Seidel of the Los Angeles City Fire Department is another friend who has seemingly unlimited knowledge. So is retired Trenton, NJ, Fire Department Deputy Chief Len Carmichael. I also spent a lot of time talking firefighting and sharing thoughts and ideas with Billy Goldfeder and Bobby Halton.
I also was able to teach incident command for the Emergency Management Institute and met diverse individuals from various agencies.
I had the opportunity to meet and interact with the leaders of the NFA and the U.S. Fire Administration, including Harry Walsh, Dr. Denis Onieal, Tonya Hoover and Eriks Gabliks.
Firehouse Magazine
I had found Firehouse Magazine to be the go-to magazine for innovation. Through it, we have had the ability to see how the rest of America does things.
From the publication’s beginnings, I regularly copied the good ideas to improve our fireground operations.
Like every firefighter, we kept looking for those little things to make us stand out from the companies we responded with. I remember prior to pre-connected crosslays of 1¾-inch hoselines becoming standard equipment on newly delivered apparatus, we built plywood trays that held the hoseline in the jump seat area and could be deployed from either side of the apparatus much more quickly than from the rear hosebeds.
Deputy chief
In 1987, I was promoted to deputy chief and given the responsibility for operations for half of the city. I previously wrote a few articles for national fire magazines. I was approached by Firehouse Magazine Founder Dennis Smith to write the “Fire Studies” column for the magazine, starting in April 1988. My initial meeting with Dennis, Janet Kimmerly and Harvey Eisner went great.
My writing of this column now ends with this final piece. I have been fortunate in that, after working with Janet, I had the opportunity to work with Jeff Barrington as my editor for a great many years. Jeff was a total class act and became a good friend.
Between writing the articles and meeting the leaders in the fire service, it was tremendous. My association continues today, being able to work with Pete Matthews as the editor-in-chief and Rich Dzierwa as the managing editor.
I continued my friendship with Vinnie, strengthening it each year at the Firehouse Expos.
I also had the pleasure of meeting Chief Leo Stapleton of the Boston Fire Department. He was a man full of knowledge and friendship, a down-to-earth guy who always had positive words of encouragement, along with a smile.
Firehouse Expo also provided the opportunity for me to meet Alan Brunacini, the Phoenix Fire Department Fire Chief who led with his progressive public service message for firefighters.
Firehouse Expo allowed me to gather with other writers and contributors, including Deputy Chief John Norman and Battalion Chief John Salka Jr. from FDNY, and it always was enlightening and enjoyable.
What have I learned?
I found that I never stopped learning. Often, I would hear something, and it would stir a thought in me. While working on a project for the state of Pennsylvania a few years ago, a state official stated that the on-scene arrival time of the first-due engine company in the state was 10 minutes. I never gave any thought to the subject, because the department coverage in Philly was usually 3–4 minutes for the arrival of the first-due engine, and in most areas of the city, the entire first alarm—meaning four engines, two ladder/truck companies and two battalion chiefs—would arrive within 6–7 minutes. If it were a working fire, an additional truck company, a heavy rescue and a special operations company usually would get there within 10 minutes.
All of this made me realize that what the first-arriving engine would face at the 3–4-minute time frame would, in most cases, be of a larger magnitude at 10 minutes. A controllable fire possibly contained to a room and contents could be a few rooms involved and spreading.
Another factor would be minimum staffing, where the career department would have minimum staffing on each apparatus versus possibly fewer firefighters on volunteer and combination fire departments. Someone may ask, “Does this really matter?” It does. Having a fully staffed fire department on scene in 3–4 minutes often can mean the difference between a quick knockdown of a fire versus a fire that has taken control of the building. It told me that, with limited resources, the company officer and initial chief officer must weigh their options on how to initially attack the fire. It might be best to go with an exterior offensive attack and knock down the fire to gain control of the fire and then proceed with an interior attack if it can be safely accomplished.
In most cases, the problems that confront the companies that arrive at the 10-minute mark will be compounded.
I found that firefighters in every town and city in the United States know their job. They also have no problem sharing their knowledge. Traveling across the country, giving seminars and meeting firefighters from every size fire department has shown me that talented firefighters are found everywhere. It has shown me that camaraderie is alive and well in the fire service. It makes me proud to say I’m a firefighter!
Sharing knowledge
I have garnered a wealth of experience and knowledge—much of which I learned the hard way—that I want to share. My son, Jim, has made a career of the fire service, now serving as the fire chief of the Ocean City, NJ, Fire and Rescue Department. We talk all of the time, but there is so much information that I want to share that I decided that writing a book seemed like the best path. It was a lot of work and time, but it’s something that I am proud of, and, hopefully, it will be read and will keep firefighters safe.
So, I’m signing off now. I have to mention with pride that my induction into the Firehouse Hall of Fame in the Class of 2016 was a milestone in my career. To be mentioned with such class acts who have achieved that status is an honor.
And finally, I must recognize my wife, Pat, who has been beside me this entire trip. Without her love and support, none of this would have happened. There also is my son, Jim, and my daughter, Colleen, who always are there for me, along with my grandchildren, Ashley, Tyler, Justin, Brendan and Sarah, and my great-grandson, Myles.
Remember, family is always first!
Be safe out there!
To read a special tribute from James Smith Jr., click here.
