FHExpo: Distinguished Contributors Inducted into New Firehouse Hall of Fame

Baltimore, Md., July 17 — Four distinguished contributors have been inducted into the new Firehouse Hall of Fame. Deputy Chief Vincent Dunn, FDNY; Chief Alan Brunacini, Phoenix Fire Department; Chief Harvey Eisner, former Firehouse Magazine editor-in-chief; and Hal Bruno, former political director for ABC News, were honored at a special event on Friday, July 17 at the Horseshoe Casino as part of the first-annual Legends & Icons program at Firehouse Expo in Baltimore.

As part of the induction ceremony, Firehouse Editor-in-Chief Tim Sendelbach highlighted the accomplishments of these iconic figures of the American fire service.

After receiving his Firehouse Hall of Fame plaque, Chief Brunacini expressed his gratitude to Firehouse and added, "This is interesting company for me to be in because these guys are my heroes, too."

Chief Brunacini’s accomplishments include his work as chairman of both the NFPA 1710 Technical Committee for Fire Service Organization and Deployment Projects and the NFPA 1500 Technical Committee on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health. He was the first active fire service member to hold the position of chairman of the Board of Directors of the NFPA. Brunacini has authored or co-authored nine books, including Fire Command, which have been used by fire departments across the nation.

Deputy Chief Dunn, who was unable to attend the event, writes the Safety & Survival column for Firehouse Magazine. He was honored for his many contributions to the fire service, including his 42 years with the FDNY, during which time he served as a division commander for midtown Manhattan. A nationally renowned lecturer, Dunn is the author of the best-selling text and DVDs Collapse of Burning Buildings and textbooks Safety and Survival on the Fireground, Command and Control of Fires and Emergencies and his new book Strategy of Firefighting – How to Extinguish Fires.

Eisner and Bruno were honored posthumously.

Eisner, to whom Firehouse Expo is dedicated, served as the editor-in-chief of Firehouse Magazine from 1982 until his death in 2014. He was a retired chief of the Tenafly, NJ, Fire Department, which he joined in 1975 and where he served as chief of department for 12 years. Eisner was an honorary assistant chief of the FDNY and program director for the Firehouse Expo and Firehouse World conferences. He covered many major fires and disasters and interviewed numerous fire service leaders for Firehouse. He edited the books WTC – In Their Own Words and Hot Shots, published by Cygnus.

Bruno was a Firehouse contributing editor of the Fire Politics column and a former political director for ABC News in Washington. Bruno originally became a volunteer firefighter during the 1940s and remained in firefighting for more than 60 years. During his early career as a journalist, Bruno covered the Our Lady of the Angels School Fire. On September 11, 2001, he was among the first to call in details of the attack on the Pentagon. Bruno served as the chairman of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation from 1999 to 2008, and remained Chairman Emeritus after retiring from the post. He was named “Fire Service Person of the Year” by the Congressional Fire Services Institute in 1995. Bruno served as director of the Chevy Chase, MD, Fire Department, and was on the board of advisors for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase, MD, Rescue Squad from 1971 until his death in 2011.

Pictures of the honorees will be on display at the Firehouse Expo booth throughout the conference.