Brunacini's Words, Wisdom Impacted Many in the Fire Service

The fire service lost an icon Sunday when former Phoenix Fire Chief Alan Brunacini passed away at age 80.

Members of the fire service shared their stories with Firehouse:

"One of my best memories was, ironically, in an airport. Bruno spent a lot of time in airports, everywhere. I was coming home early from a conference in the Midwest and had several hours to waste in the airport before my flight departed and I dozed off just sitting in a chair. Bruno woke me up with his normal 'Hey, whatcha doing?' Although I spent three intense hours just listening and sharing ideas with Bruno, it went by so fast and it felt like it was just 30 minutes. We talked about everything from old fire trucks to our philosophical feelings about the fire service… and I made fun of his cartoons. The one thing he left me with, was that the cartoons and pictures were the only things that would keep us firefighters engaged in a book. I think he is right."

    -- Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, Spokane, WA, Fire Department

"I would love to point to one moment or lecture or interview where his reflections impacted my career, but I cannot. An icon like Chief Brunacini leaves an indelible mark on your perspective toward our duty each time you hear him speak. For me, the best way to honor him is to follow the example he put in place to better the fire service that we share a love for.

From a simple company officer in a small career department from Jersey who always made time to hear him speak at every conference I attended as both a student and as a speaker, I offer my heartfelt condolences to the members of the Brunacini family, and to his extended fire service family. We may never see an influence like his passion for the fire service any time soon, if ever at all."

    -- Lt. Michael Daley, Monroe Township, NJ, Fire District No. 3

"Alan Brunacini was a great man and will be truly missed. It was always my pleasure to see and interact with Alan at the various seminars and training sessions over the years. He was a leader in the fire service and showed many the safe way to operate. The fact that he was honored by so many organizations for his leadership, including being inducted into the Firehouse Hall of Fame in 2015 as an original member, speaks volumes. With everything said, he was a personable man who took the time to say hello and was always interested in hearing what you had to say and discussing issues with you. May he rest in peace."

    -- Deputy Chief (ret.) Jim Smith, Philadelphia Fire Department

"To my surprise, one of the very first presentations I ever gave featured only two presenters that day—me and Chief Brunacini. I stumbled through my presentation on the Worcester Cold Storage Fire “Lessons Learned” while the chief attentively listened. He congratulated me on a job well done despite my limited presentation skills and obvious nervousness.

After a short break, Chief Brunacini 'held court' with an enthralled crowd, passing on his tremendous wisdom to the crowd gathered in his typical self-effacing, humorous fashion. As I would come to learn quickly, the chief would rather talk “with” you than “at” you. After only about 40 minutes of “lecture,” he pulled up a chair on the stage to spend the bulk of the session answering questions from the audience. As he began, he recounted how his good friend and presentation partner, Chief Tom Brennan, had passed not long before, and that he was accustomed to answering questions with a co-host on the stage. To my horror and incredible honor, Chief Brunacini invited me to join him on stage to answer questions from the crowd. I had only been a chief officer for approximately 3 seconds, compared to his tenure, and certainly had little to offer in the shadow of the most revered chief in the history of the American fire service.

Chief Brunacini made me feel larger than life that day and every time our paths crossed afterward. A hand-written note arrived at my home some weeks later, and every year a card came for the holidays.

This legendary figure had no pretense, not an ounce of superiority; his cup was filled to capacity with humility and genuine compassion for every person he met.

I am a better man and officer for his example."

    -- Deputy Chief of Operations John F. Sullivan, Worcester, MA, Fire Department

"Chief Brunacini not only impacted my career, but also, and as equally, my life. I was blessed to be a college intern for the Phoenix Fire Department, working in Administration during the day and living in the fire station to experience operations and all in between.

Over the next 25 years, 'the Boss' supported, guided, influenced and always encouraged me. I have hundreds of AVB (that’s how I make a note of what he says in my notebooks) quotes over our 25-plus-year relationship. The one I’ll leave you with goes with a picture I have of he and I when we were conducting research burns in Spartanburg, SC. Chief Brunacini said, 'Shane, I’ve been watching things burn for over 50 years; when you can do it today and make me say ‘wow,’ you have done something!' I never tried to impress him; I only tried to implement what he taught me."

     -- Shane Ray, president, National Fire Sprinkler Association and lifetime member, Pleasant View, TN, Volunteer Fire Department

"I had the honor of meeting and talking with Chief Bruno on several occasions. But first and foremost, Bruno was the Godfather of Incident Command and his ICS series was a big part of shaping my career as a fire officer. Once I shared a taxi ride to the Boston airport and as we passed a Boston engine company fighting a vehicle fire, Bruno said 'That's where the fun is and where you make a real difference, I envy that time!' At the 2008 National Fire Chief Award Dinner, Bruno told me to remember not to focus so much on the destination, but to enjoy the journey of the experiences and friends you'll meet along the way. I will miss his wisdom and fun loving wit."

    -- Fire Chief (ret.) Charles Werner, Charlottesville, VA, Fire Department

"My whole career I have preached fire prevention and community relations, that our role in the community is so much more than putting out fires. One of the very first books I read as a new firefighter was Chief Brunacini’s customer service book and his stories about Mrs. Smith. It shaped my whole view of the fire service and our role and responsibility to the public. He is one of the reasons I believe what I do and why my career has been so fulfilling. He helped me realize the potential of my badge. 

   -- Lieutenant/Paramedic and Community Support Officer Dan Byrne, Burton, SC, Fire District

"In the 90’s I was fire commissioner of Woodinville, WA Fire and Rescue and I wanted to learn from the best so I would fly into Phoenix to meet with Chief Brunacini about marketing in the fire service. Then he would send me to spend the night in his son, John’s firehouse, to go on calls. 

One day he asked me to review his manuscript for Essentials of Customer Service for the Fire Service because of my marketing background. 

Then we would go to his favorite Mexican restaurant. I was in a tie and pinstripe suit pontificating about the various market segments that could use different aspects of the fire services. In between the arrival of the tacos and guacamole, he drew a pie chart on a napkin, looked at me and said, ‘We don’t segment our market, Ben.’ ‘We want the entire market, including non-emergency incidents!’ The man was a genius. I begged him to become his PIO after Steve Jensen (his PIO) died. I almost convinced him. But he felt it should be a uniformed position so it went to Bobby Kahn. It was a big disappointment but things worked out as they always do. He was available anytime and I called him quite a bit, peppering him with questions. He was the heart and brains of the very best of leadership and innovation in the US fire service. It is a very sad day for us all. Personally I will miss his constant support and friendship."

   -- Fire Commissioner (ret.) Ben May, Woodinville, WA, Fire and Rescue

"Chief Brunacini reinforced why fire departments are in business (service) and revolutionized the concept of incident command. I had the very good fortune of getting to know him through his involvement with the National Fire Fighter Near-Miss Reporting System, Blue Card Command and being an “opening act” for one of his presentations several years ago. His messages of 'Be Nice,' '8 Functions of Command' and countless others are timeless. 

When my son became a firefighter a little over five years ago, my gift to him was to pay forward what Chief B has done for me by giving my son a copy of Timeless Tactical Truths. To call Chief Brunacini an icon is an understatement. To have known him and been able to spend time with him an honor."

   -- Interim Fire Chief John Tippett Jr., Charleston, SC, Fire Department

"His teaching said that any trained firefighter, regardless of rank, could serve as an incident commander. I was mesmerized by a story he told about two young firefighters, staffing an ambulance and arriving first at a working structure fire. He relayed how these two individuals assumed command, developed a tactical game plan based on SOPs, provided initial arrival instructions to incoming companies, and retained command even after the battalion chief arrived. The battalion chief provided aid and encouragement but did not take over the incident. I thought, in my world this would never happen! In my world, if two young firefighters tried something like what he described, they would be ridiculed, beaten down and given specific orders to never pull a stunt like that again. As I left this training I began to think about written policies and this issue of incident command.  I began searching for examples to use as templates and started the process of constructing SOGs and a 'skills and maintenance' training manual for use by my departments. It took some time, but this “written thing” caught on, and our guys started relying on the documents to assist in their decision making, including a focus on incident command that did not solely revolve around rank. Today it seems strange to think that departments would not have written policies, but back then, at least in my area, it was commonplace.  Brunacini’s teaching that day changed how we did business and made my departments better, more professional operating organizations."

    -- Fire Chief Craigh Haigh, Hanover Park, IL, Fire Department

"I came on with the Phoenix Fire Department in 1984 and I had an opportunity to work for Chief Brunacini all the way up to deputy fire chief, so I spent a lot of time with him. What he has done for me is he made me a better fire chief. If I hit a rough spot, if I had something going on, I could call him and he was always there to give me guidance or make me laugh. He was so quick-witted that it was always enjoyable to spend time with him.

One of the things that I really took from him was to know your firefighters. ... And Chief Brunacini, he knew firefighters. So when I say it's a blow, it's a blow to the Phoenix Fire Department, it's a blow to the fire service as a whole. I can't think of anybody else in the fire service that has had the impact upon so many people that he did. He's going to be greatly missed.

I've been blessed to have him in my life and I am totally devastated, because I thought this man was going to live forever. He changed the fire service for the better throughout his career and was still doing that right up until the day he died."

    -- Fire Chief Charles Hood, San Antonio, TX, Fire Department

"I only met Chief Brunacini a couple of times at Firehouse Expo in Baltimore in the 1990s. He was a warm and friendly person and I enjoyed talking with him. His impact on me as a firefighter was immeasurable. Often I utilized his incident command wisdom, both in teaching and in my daily operations. The Phoenix Fire Department was a leader in innovations early in my career and played a big role in motivating me and making my role in my departments better. In my opinion, this innovation was encouraged by Chief Brunacini. I am saddened by his death and send my condolences to his family and friends, which I am sure number in the thousands. He has likely touched more lives than any member of the modern fire service."

    -- Robert Burke, Hazardous Materials and Fire Protection Consultant

"In February 2009, I had written an article for Fire Chief magazine on mental health and then presented a pilot program ‘May Day for Mental Health’ at the National Fire Academy in June. In October 2009, the subject of mental health was really a taboo subject in the fire service. Chief Brunacini was hosting a meeting of some of the most influential fire service leaders, and Chief Mark Burdick (ret. Glendale, AZ) invited me, and to my surprise Chief Brunacini asked me to do the presentation. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck, as to me Chief Brunacini was on the Mount Rushmore of the fire service leaders. After I finished, he put his arm around me and said, 'OK, Pat, you’ve got our attention, now what do you want us to do about it?'

Since that day, he was one my most staunch supporters on a national stage to promote that message. Personally, he was also very supportive through my wife’s illness until she passed. He was never afraid to do the unorthodox if he felt it was the right thing to do. I, along with literally thousands of others, learned so much just being in his presence and will be forever grateful for his personal guidance. Rest in peace, chief.”

   --Patrick Kenny, Director of Fire and EMS, Village of Western Springs, IL

"As a summer intern with Phoenix Fire Department in 2003, Chief Brunicini would make a point to spend time with the interns. He would always sit with us at lunch at the symposiums when there were people from all over the world who wanted some of his time. He has influenced the leader that I have become today.  

    -- Paramedic III/Field Training Officer James Lombardo, Sussex County, DE, Paramedics

Reactions to Chief Brunacini's death were also abundant all over social media, with Firehouse.com's Facebook post on his passing being shared over 1,800 times and eliciting scores of heartfelt comments from our readers:

"The greatest fire educator the industry ever had. His wisdom and insight have developed many new leaders over the years. I know, I attended one of his seminars while still in the military. Chief, fair winds and following seas."

    -- Michael Minter

"I am proud that I actually got to meet the man and even ate lunch with him. He was a wealth of knowledge and a great man. Rest In Peace, Chief, we have the watch from here."

    -- Jim Hargraves Jr.

"An awesome, kind and caring man!! He hired me and was very supportive of my career, my brothers and family. Truly a great instructor, visionary and leader in the Fire Service and honored to have known you and work for you at Phoenix Fire Department. Thank you Chief Brunacini."

     -- Mike Dudzinski

"Sad to hear this. I think I learned more from a couple of Chief Brunacini's seminars than most classes I attended. 'Fight the fire from the unburned side.' 'You gotta put the wet stuff directly on the red stuff.' He gave you information you could take back to your station and implement immediately."

    -- James Stokely

"The heaven brigade it's complete with the master Chief, Rest In Peace Brunacini, it was a pleasure to meet you on your visit two years ago in our Fire station in Tibas, Costa Rica!!!"

    -- Luis Rojas

"Rest Easy Chief, with the knowledge, wisdom and guidance you have provided over the years, your Legacy lives on in the Firefighters that you instructed and the Firefighters that they come into contact with. Godspeed."

    -- Gerald Allen

"A part of fire history has indeed left this world. God speed sir. I learned a great deal from you."

    -- Marie Crosby-Stilley

"He made big changes to the fire service. I attended his command class in 1987 and a couple of his conferences at PFD. His humor helped me teaching my own incident command classes . RIP Chief. Well done sir."

    -- Gary Ingram