Bruce Bowling
1937-2014
Bruce Bowling, a member of the team that founded Firehouse magazine and a luminary in the fire service business, died on October 21. He was 77.
Bowling was elected to the Fire and Emergency Manufacturers and Services Association (FEMSA) Board of Directors in 1995. In 1996, he was elected as Board President and served for four years in that position plus one additional year as the Past President. He retired from the Board in 2001.
Firehouse founder Dennis Smith once called Bowling “a bastion on the business side of the fire service, known to every man and woman in the country who has a product to sell to firefighters or fire departments.”
He retired as Firehouse’s group publisher and director of advertising in April 2005, having joined the business in 1975 as the director of advertising, a full year before the first edition of the magazine was published.
Upon retiring in 2005, Bowling recalled those seminal days of Firehouse.
“We originally planned Firehouse to be a bimonthly publication, budgeting for 11 pages of advertising in the charter issue and nine pages in the second issue,” he recalled in an interview. “In fact, we sold 54 pages of ads for the charter issue and 49 for the second issue. At the time, the ads pitched everything from fire trucks to smoke detectors, and from motorcycles to liquor and cigarettes.”
“He was my boss, but more than that, we were business partners and good friends,” said Firehouse Associate Publisher Jeff Barrington, who worked with Bowling for 10 years prior to his retirement. “Bruce recognized the importance of objective coverage of the fire service and always supported the editorial team, never failing to publicly praise us when we earned it and privately chastise us when we deserved it.”
Although he was not a firefighter, he educated himself about the fire service and he knew how to foster connections between fire departments and the companies that provide everything that firefighters need, Barrington added.
“Perhaps most important, Bruce was always a gentleman,” Barrington said. “He will be missed. On behalf of the entire Firehouse editorial team, we offer our condolences to his wife, Phyllis, and his son, David.”
Cygnus Sells Public Safety/Security Groups to SouthComm
Cygnus Business Media sold a large group of tradeshows, website portals and publications to SouthComm, Inc., a publishing and communications company based in Nashville, TN, for an undisclosed amount. The transaction was handled by Corporate Solutions, LLC and was finalized on November 3, 2014. Firehouse Magazine, Firehouse.com, Firehouse Expo and Firehouse World were included in this deal.
According to Cygnus CEO John French, “Five years ago we embarked on a mission to improve Cygnus and return value to our shareholders. During the last several years, the company has worked hard to turn its properties into multi-platform industry-leading brands because we knew one day the company would be sold. With this sale today, we take another step toward that ultimate goal.
“After working with SouthComm on this deal for the past few months, we could not be more impressed with their team. We realized that their leadership team has a great vision for the future of these brands. We believe that our employees will find a good home and Southcomm will benefit from their creativity and experience.”
The properties sold include the Public Safety and Security Group, which is made up of: Firehouse, Firehouse.com, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, EMS World, EMSworld.com, EMS World Expo, Law Enforcement Technology, Law Enforcement Product News, Officer.com, Security Technology Executive, Security Dealer & Integrator, Secured Cities, Locksmith Ledger International, LocksmithLedger.com and SecurityInfoWatch.com. The sale also included Mass Transit, MassTransitMag.com, Professional Tool & Equipment News, Professional Distributor, Fleet Maintenance and VehicleServicePros.com.
“We applaud John and his team for the work they’ve done to make these properties industry leaders and profitable,” said SouthComm founder and CEO Chris Ferrell. “We are excited to add these groups to the SouthComm portfolio of businesses and continue to provide leading content to all of the audiences served by these well-known brands.”
Iroquois Capital Group advised SouthComm, Inc. All employees related to these businesses will be retained by SouthComm, Inc.
James E. Leonard Named FDNY Chief of Department
FDNY Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro has appointed James E. Leonard as Chief of Department – the highest ranking uniformed position in the FDNY. Chief Leonard, a 35-year veteran and Brooklyn Borough Commander since 2010, will oversee the Department’s 15,000 uniformed firefighters and EMS personnel and four major agency Bureaus: Fire Operations, EMS Operations, Training and Fire Prevention. Chief Leonard succeeds Chief Edward S. Kilduff, who retired.
“Chief Leonard’s exemplary service as a firefighter and fire officer, along with his extensive field experience and leadership as a chief officer and incident commander, makes him a great choice to serve as Chief of Department,” said Commissioner Nigro. “I am confident he will work hard to improve our fire and EMS operations, while ensuring the safety of the brave men and women under his command who selflessly serve our city.”
“It’s a tremendous honor to have been selected to serve as Chief of Department in the world’s greatest fire department,” said Chief Leonard. “I feel lucky and privileged at having already had an incredible career with the FDNY, and I’m excited and eager to help the Commissioner and Mayor [Bill] de Blasio achieve even greater success for the Department in the years to come.”
Line-of-Duty Deaths
Eight U.S. firefighters recently died in the line of duty. Five career firefighters and three volunteer firefighters died in eight separate incidents. Five deaths were health related, two deaths were caused by motor vehicle accidents and one death was the result of direct fireground operations.
FIREFIGHTER KEVIN BELL, 48, of the Hartford, CT, Fire Department died on Oct. 7. According to reports, Bell was found missing after all firefighters had been ordered to evacuate the two-story residence. He was found unconscious in a room on the second floor of the house by members of Tactical Unit 1, who removed him from the building. He was transported by ambulance to Saint Francis Hospital, where he died. Three other firefighters were injured in the fire. Bell was a six-year veteran of the department.
PILOT GEOFFREY HUNT, 62, of CAL FIRE in Sacramento, CA, died on Oct. 7. Hunt was operating a Grumman S-2E/G air tanker at the Dog Rock Fire in Yosemite National Park when the plane crashed. The turbo-prop aircraft can carry 1,200 gallons of fire retardant. Hunt had made one retardant drop and had refilled at Columbia Airport. He was employed by DynCorp International, a contractor for CAL FIRE, for 13 years.
FIRE CHIEF EDDIE JOHNSON JR., 45, of the Alton, MO, Fire Department died on Oct. 20. Johnson, who was also a police officer, was responding to a residential structure fire when he lost control of the police vehicle he was operating on U.S. 160 west of Alton and crashed. Reports indicated that he was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash and was ejected from the vehicle. He was transported to Ozarks Medical Center in West Plains, where he died. Johnson was a five-year veteran of the department.
CAPTAIN TROY MAGEE, 39, of the New Orleans, LA, Fire Department died on Oct. 26. Magee became ill while participating in special operations training course in Albuquerque, NM. He was a 13-year veteran of the department.
FIREFIGHTER CHRISTI RODGERS, 26, of the Robert Fulton Fire Company in Peach Bottom, PA, died on Oct. 24. Rodgers became ill at home while preparing to answer a residential structure fire call. Reports indicated she went into cardiac arrest. She was transported to the hospital where she died. Rodgers was a 10-year veteran of the fire service.
MAJOR MALCOLM JENKINS, 60, of the Fern Creek Fire Department in Louisville, KY, died on Oct. 30. Jenkins was found dead in his fire department vehicle at the department’s offsite medical provider’s facility. He had participated in the department’s mandated annual physical agility test. Jenkins was a 30-year veteran of the department.
FIREFIGHTER DONALD MARTIN, 84, of the Sanborn, NY, Fire Company died on Oct. 30. Martin became ill while at the fire station for mandatory training. Fellow firefighters transported him to his residence, where he became unresponsive. Martin was a 53-year veteran of the fire service.
FIREFIGHTER/PARAMEDIC KELLEN ANDREW FLEMING, 29, of the Westview-Fairforest Fire Department in Spartanburg, SC, died on Nov. 1. Fleming suffered an apparent heart attack in the station’s bunkroom. Fellow firefighters provided immediate aid and transported him to a hospital, where he suffered cardiac arrest. He had responded to several calls during his shift. Fleming was a 10-year veteran of the fire service.
—Jay K. Bradish
