"Our past history informs our present condition, as we chart our course for the future," this is the tagline that Rodney Slaughter, CEO/President of the National Fire Heritage, uses to remind people of our purpose. The mission of the National Fire Heritage Center (NFHC) is to preserve the perishable history of the fire services and fire protection ...

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...

This is Part 4 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 pre-plan In preparation for your interview, you should: Learn as much as you can about the person beforehand.Bring a file folder of archived material.Be prepared with a s...

This is Part 3 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. There is a pretty good chance at this point that you already know a person that you would like to interview. If not, look around your organization and you will probably find ...

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. ...