Cover Photo: Krystyna Krakowski, far left, and her team at Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue. I remember attending a fire conference and the topic was Safety and Apparatus Response. A side discussion started regarding beating a first due company to their own call. The engineer joked that he carried business cards and said he would place them on t...
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1824 Hits
In this edition of Preserving the Perishable, I thought I would explain the do's and don'ts of photograph preservation briefly. As a historian and a genealogist, I frequently see the results of improper photograph archiving and how it destroys the precious history that we treasure. I remember, at the passing of my grandparents, shoe boxes and album...
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1318 Hits
The value of historical documents for research can be seen in one of the oldest artifacts in the National Fire Heritage Center archives. Pictured is a newspaper story in a Dutch newspaper published in 1684, that shows the state of building technology in contrast to the evolution of fire protection technology. The illustrated picture of a 4-sto...
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822 Hits
During a recent zoom meeting, the participants, including myself, shared stories of historically significant items being discarded by fire departments. Often, it's personnel unfamiliar with the fire service's history and in a well-meaning attempt to do their part in cleaning up the station, they begin to discard things into the dumpster. They may n...
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1607 Hits
Chief Alan V. Brunacini is one of the most highly respected figures in the fire and emergency services. He was born in Jamestown, NY, on April 18, 1937, to John N. and Mary T. Brunacini. The Brunacini family moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the early '40s, where Alan attended school and graduated in 1955 from Highland High School. With some amb...
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4497 Hits
Deborah K. Wintner joined STANLEY Security, a division of Stanley Black & Decker, as Vice President of Human Resources in May of 2018, where she has devoted her time establishing HR strategy and organizational capability in alignment with the business strategy. Deborah received a Master of Science degree in Organizational Development from Peppe...
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1289 Hits
Mr. Mace was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 23, 1939. He was raised on a farm in what is now the general area of the I-35/I-44 highway interchange in north Oklahoma City. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in Education from Central State University, now known as the University of Central Oklahoma. Upon graduating from college, he ...
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964 Hits
Ben May is a Board Director of the Center for Public Safety Excellence, and recently retired Global Director of Corporate Alliances for the Walt Disney Company. He worked with Disney to create seven figure, interactive, social marketing experiences dedicated to the betterment of society- specifically fire protection and prevention-as well internati...
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1402 Hits
Former Air Force Academy Chief Ernst Piercy has been named to the Board of Trustees for the National Fire Heritage Center Ernst is a retired fire chief, with more than 35 years in the fire service. Most recently, he served as the Regional Fire Chief for Navy Region Southwest in San Diego, California. Previously, he...
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1422 Hits
Background The National Fire Heritage Center Board of Directors has opened nominations for the Fire and Emergency Services Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leaders (HLLL). Nominations will be accepted from June 15, 2020, through August 15, 2020. The HLLL provides individual recognition of significant contributions and distinguished service to the Fire...
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2462 Hits
In July 2005, a group of individuals gathered in Frederick, Maryland to discuss a concept that had been in the incipient stage for years. Retired California State Fire Marshal Ronny J. Coleman who had been elected as a chair of a planning committee, brought the group together for the primary reason of determining what future course of action could ...
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1024 Hits
The Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leaders: Class of 2020, will be recognized at FDIC International 2021, April 19-24, 2021. The National Fire Heritage Center established the Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leaders (HLLL) ten years ago to recognize individuals who distinguished themselves in the fire protection disciplines. The HLLL is, in...
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2327 Hits
The concept for the Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leaders (HLLL) was presented to the National Fire Heritage Center board of directors by then vice-president Bill Killen to be the "Hall of Fame" for the fire services in 2009. Following several discussions and a couple of conference calls, the board adopted the concept and established the Hall of Le...
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3195 Hits
The National Fire Heritage Center's Who's Who in Fire Protection is the de facto list of people who are making a difference every day in the North American Fire Protection disciplines. This includes Combat Firefighters and Officers, as well as people in Fire Prevention, Fire Protection Engineering, Fire Training, Fire Equipment and Fire Truck ...
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4692 Hits
Wingspread 1 (1966) Download PDF File Here File Name: 1966Wingspread File Size: 279 kb Download File Wingspread II (1976) Download PDF File Here File Name: 1976Wingspread File Size: 1 mb Download File Wingspread III (1986) Download PDF File Here File Name: 1986Wingspread File Size: 250 kb Download File Wingspread IV (1996) Download PDF File H...
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1231 Hits
This is Part 5 in a series of articles that provide oral history guidelines for those who share our passion for collecting American fire history before it is lost to the ages. The types of questions you ask are critical to the success of your interview. Open-ended questions are questions that encourage people to talk about what is important to them...
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1512 Hits
This is Part 2 in a series of articles that provide oral history guidelines for those who share our passion for collecting American fire history before it is lost to the ages. Interview styles If there is a contemporary interview style that you could easily identify with and effectively adopt, it might be that of a mental health care professional. ...
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1144 Hits
The sixth Wingspread conference was held last year in Racine, Wisconsin. Wingspread conferences are convened once every 10 years to discuss issues impacting the fire and rescue service now and into the foreseeable future. Forty-three fire and rescue leaders were invited to this intense three-day meeting. Conference participants discussed fourteen i...
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1086 Hits