When Harvey Eisner first asked me to write the Fire Law column for Firehouse Magazine, I jumped at the opportunity. I had just completed my second book on legal issues in the fire service and thought, what better way to share the latest on fire service legal challenges than writing for Firehouse. As a charter subscriber to Dennis Smith’s original vision, Firehouse’s reputation made my decision all that much easier.
Forty years. Can it really be that long since I received that first mailing talking about a new fire service magazine? I recall a few years when I was in college wondering if I could afford to continue my annual subscription. I did, and those magazines—every one since 1976—still sit boxed in the attic over my garage. Many of the writers of those early articles are now close friends.
Today, besides the magazine itself, we have the online platform and the Firehouse conferences, all of which merge into a terrific source of information for firefighters of all ranks and from all types of departments. It’s been an amazing journey that I am proud to be a part of.
Curt Varone
CURT VARONE has more than 40 years of experience in the fire service, including 29 years as a career firefighter with Providence, RI, retiring as a deputy assistant chief (shift commander). He is a practicing attorney who is licensed in Maine and Rhode Island and served as the director of the Public Fire Protection Division at the NFPA. Varone is the author of two books, "Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services" and "Fire Officer's Legal Handbook," and remains active as a deputy chief in Exeter, RI.
