The National Fire Heritage Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Linda Wells to the Board of Directors of the National Fire Heritage Center. Linda Wells is the Manager of the Research Library and Archives at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). She launched the NFPA Digital Archive to provide direct access to the full text of...

In January of 2021, the NFHC purchased access to an online museum cataloging software system known as PastPerfect, the world's leader in collection and contact management software. PastPerfect, produced by PastPerfect Software, Inc, out of Exton, PA, will allow for the cataloging of publications, documents, and photographs and store electronic...

Fire Chief (Ret.) DeVore began his tenure with the NFHC in April of 2020, serving as the Chief Archivist for the organization's expanding collection. In this role, DeVore initiated the steps toward digitization of the collection and made it more readily accessible for fire historians, educators, and researchers. This process was initiated...

Adrian Sheppard was appointed Fire Chief of the City of Richmond, CA, on December 31, 2014. Throughout his time in Richmond, Chief Sheppard has implemented technologies and strategies that capture data to improve the community's emergency response. He believes that using data leads to informed decision-making for the procurement and deployment of r...

"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 ...

Mary Tabata is a Ph.D. candidate in Organizational Leadership at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA. She is a Human Potential Catalyst and Teaching Academic in Leadership at Ducere Global Business School and has also taught as an adjunct professor of Organizational and Management Theory at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, California. Mary wo...

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...

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...

Dr. Waddell is currently serving as the U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay F&ES Deputy Fire Chief, possessing 28 years of experience in the fire service. During an adventurous career, he has served in every rank within the fire service. After completing four years in the United States Air Force, he started a civil service career at Fort Bliss, T...

Thomas Dunne is a retired Deputy Chief and 33-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department. He recently published a book about his experiences in the FDNY. Deputy Chief Dunne was with the FDNY from 1981 to 2015 and he experienced numerous historical incidents including the Happy Lands Social Club fire in the Bronx and the 9/11 terror...

    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...

Cover Photo: Curt Weldon former Congressman (left) with Mark Lamplugh (right) The National Fire Heritage Center is the result of a study done by the U.S. Fire Administration, where it identified that a "need to collect, preserve, and provide access to the historical records of the fire service/fire protection disciplines in the ...