WASHINGTON, DC -- Accolades, a tribute, moments of silence and a review of the operation following the mid-air collision.
Those were just some of the things that occurred during the 35th annual National Fire and Emergency Services Symposium and Dinner.
Taking the podium, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly asked the audience to pause for a moment of silence for the 67 victims killed when a Black Hawk helicopter and a regional jet collided at Reagan National Airport last month.
Donnelly was headed home after dinner when he heard the captain on a fire boat calmly report they were responding to a helicopter crash at the airport. They were returning from another call when they saw the flash in the sky.
A few minutes later, the captain said there was a lot of traffic on the airport frequency and can't get through. He requests a water rescue assignment and a battalion chief. They smell jet fuel as they approach.
"Ten minutes after the crash, he reports: 'I found a wing.'
A battalion chief responded: "if you found a wing, that's not a helicopter."
Moments later, the captain reported he had found four bodies. It soon became clear it was an airliner.
Donnelly notified the mayor and the police chief as he headed to the airport.
"It's never good when the fire chief is the first person (to arrive). Let's be honest."
Donnelly said Battalion Chief Christopher Hols was doing an amazing job of coordinating the incident that quickly escalated with multiple crews from different agencies, states and disciplines.
"And they all began searching. My concerns as the fire chief, we've got to unify command. So, we sent a battalion chief an assistant chief and the deputy chief to the command post..."
From lessons learned from a previous incident, the chief knew the importance of the bodies going to only one temporary morgue. The D.C. medical examiner said the office would handle all the remains. If not, some may have ended up in Virginia.
Sending them to different states may have caused confusion about the number of victims as well as their locations.
An hour into the incident, Donnelly assumed command and unified the vast number of officials in the post. "The odd part about that was the incident was going well enough that we were in two secure places."
Early on, 2,345 people from 61 agencies were involved were operating in the unified command structure.
Donnelly was quick to point out that those in the command post worked as a team. And, they stood their ground on several occasions when days later, federal officials from different agencies walked in and announced they were in charge.
"...Not really," the chief said with a laugh.
There were meetings involving the airlines, fire officials and others about what information was going to be released. Grief counselors from various agencies offered their services to the families.
Peer support teams from the IAFF and other organizations deployed to help the crews. And, that effort continues.
Donnelly praised the media for how they conducted themselves. "They knew what was going on. They knew what we could and couldn't say...I think that goes to relationships with media. It goes to credibility and it's an important thing to understand."
While he was apprehensive talking to the victims' families, Donnelly said his meetings with them was rewarding as he helped guide them through their grief.
Getting back to command, the chief encouraged officers to establish relationships with local officials who need to be in the center. Working together was essential.
Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award
Teresa Crisman was honored for her life-long dedication to fire safety education.
Crisman said she was beyond surprised when she was notified that she was the recipient of the CFSI/IFSTA Dr. Anne W. Phillips Award for Leadership in Fire Safety Education.
"I got a call asking if I'd done this or that. And, I said: 'Yeah,'" she said, adding that she didn't give it a second thought.
She is the Director of Public Affairs – Community Risk Reduction in the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. For over 20 years, she was the Community Outreach Coordinator for the Prince George's County Fire/Emergency Medical Services.
Her interest in the fire service started when she was a toddler. She'd often hang out at the volunteer fire company in Greenbelt, MD where her father was the fire chief.
"One time I was playing with the Dalmatian and crawled into his box and fell asleep. Everyone was looking for me and calling my name. They eventually called the police too. They found me in there," she said with a laugh. "I don't know I guess I was tired and went to sleep."
She joined the department at 13 and used her love of drawing to promote fire prevention.
That became her life-long passion.
On Thursday night before the crowd of about 1.200 she thanked her parents and mentors for their accompanying her on the journey.
"It is a great honor to be the 20th individual to be presented this award. To all of those who have come before me and after, I stand here in your honor and say thank you for the trail that you have set in place before us all; and allowing us to carry the torch for fire prevention. Knowing each and every one of them personally and professionally has allowed myself the ability to strengthen and support my programs.
"I especially must thank Meri-K Appy, Jimmy Crawford and Mary Marchone for always pointing me in the right direction and helping me when I've had questions.
To Chief Ron Siarnicki, Chief Ron Blackwell and Chief Marc Bashor for my hire to the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department. You all gave me a great opportunity and who knew from me just answering phones and taking care of the FSB would lead me here tonight."
She also fondly called former Prince George's County Fire Public Information Officer Mark Brady her "work dad," and lauding him for helping to "navigate my many crazy hair-brained ideas and allowing the ability to help and support the county and state.."
Siarnicki said Crisman deserved the honor for her hard work over the years for promoting fire prevention that saved countless lives.
Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award
Union Fire District, RI, Deputy Chief Kevin Quinn, honored for his commitment to the fire service, was the recipient of the 2025 CFSI/Motorola Solutions Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award.
"I am grateful to have the general president of the IAFF nominate me, a volunteer firefighter," he said, adding that it shows the strength of Dr. Lori Moore Merrill's vision of one voice.
For over 40 years, he has served on the National Volunteer Fire Council’s Board of Directors and currently serves on the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Board of Directors.
He served for two terms on the National Fire Academy’s Board of Visitors and was a board member of the Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition. In his different leadership capacities, Quinn has helped shape fire service policy and programs at the local, state and national levels.
Quinn said the unity of the volunteer and career fire and rescue personnel sends a strong message to Congress.
Susan Nicol | News Editor
Susan Nicol is the news editor for Firehouse.com. She is a life member and active with the Brunswick Volunteer Ambulance & Rescue Company, Oxford Fire Company and Brunswick Vol. Fire Co. Susie has been an EMT in Maryland since 1976. Susie is vice-president of the Frederick County Fire/Rescue Museum. She is on the executive committee of Frederick County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. She also is part of the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS) Region II EMS Council. Susie is a board member of the American Trauma Society, Maryland Division. Prior to joining the Firehouse team, she was a staff writer for The Frederick News-Post, covering fire, law enforcement, court and legislative issues.
