40th Anniversary: Bringing the Wildland/Urban Interface to Firehouse

It has been about 12 years since I last wrote an article for Firehouse Magazine. Some may recall that I usually wrote about wildland/urban interface (WUI) fire protection designed for the structural firefighter. But I was not a one-dimensional journalist and photo guy, as I had written about “other” topics germane to us firefighters.

So, where do I begin? At the beginning, of course. I’ll be as brief as possible, which will be difficult because I have been in the fire/EMS world for more than 50 years—half a century! A little about me: I began this “labor of love” for a paycheck when I was 18 years young. I was a fire buff (spark) hanging out at a neighborhood fire station long before that. I was a seasonal firefighter for the Massachusetts Department of Natural Resources; drove an ambulance; took the exam for entry into the City of Boston Fire Department; was hired and climbed up the ladder to the rank of a district fire chief; retired after 32 years and moved on to Arizona, where I was involved with WUI fire protection and prevention. Years later, I moved to Georgia, where I was hired as a county fire chief. One more move brought me to the beautiful forests and mountains of northern Georgia, where I volunteer my time in a county combination fire service.

Now, at the mature age of 69, I am still putting on PPE and SCBA. The “youngsters” here wonder how and why I keep doing this work. The answer is simply that I love it and love to help people who are in trouble. I lament over the rapid passing of time. I think back to those good times in Boston, the great firefighters with whom I had the honor of working, and quietly grieve the LODDs of members and others who have passed on.

It was the very early 1990s that I began writing for Firehouse Magazine. I located my first article in the November 1992 issue. It was titled “What Are Brushbreakers?” From that point on, I focused mainly on the WUI fire challenges geared specifically for the structural firefighters. WUI fires, at that time and before, were focused primarily on California and the Western states, even though the WUI was seasonally problematic throughout much of America. I was greatly interested in the WUI fire challenges and figured that Firehouse would be an excellent medium to get the message out that it was not “only” a problem for Western states.

One question that arose: How could a Boston fire guy accurately write about WUI fires? Good question! Answer: I was involved in WUI prior to Boston, went to schools for it, studied it, often traveled out West to learn about it, was the IAFC’s first WUI coordinator and was a member of the NFPA’s Wildland Fire Management Section. I also developed Boston’s first brush fire units and was certified by the feds with an interagency firefighter “Red Card.”

As time went on, the late and great Harvey Eisner asked me to begin a regular column in Firehouse called Structural/Wildland Interface, or SWI, and that started in February 1996. Eventually, and to keep current, the column’s title was changed to Wildland/Urban Interface.

Here are a few of the more memorable (to me) articles published in Firehouse over the years. Keep in mind that I was not a one-dimensional journalist and did write about “other” fire service subjects as the opportunities arose.

1) February 1998: SWI in Boston, Past & Present

2) November 1998: Fire, Explosion & Building Collapse—a first-person account where I was the initial incident commander

3) October & November 1999: Native American Firefighters of the Southwest, Parts 1 & 2

4) November 2000: A Warning—Ever Heard of Tinnitus Hearing Loss to Firefighters? (I have Tinnitus and hearing loss due to job-related high-decibel noises.)

5) October 2000: Fire Storm at Cave Gulch—a first-person account where I was assigned to a large WUI fire in the Helena, MT, National Forest. Four of us firefighters became trapped and were burned over. How we survived with no injuries was amazing!

6) June 2002: The Rodeo/Chediski Fire—nearly 470,000 acres, more than 400 buildings burned … and I was there.

7) July 2002: The Indian Creek Fire-Prescott, AZ, and I was there, too.

8) April 2004: Prescott Fire Chief receives coveted award from the U.S. Forest Service (this was my last article with the magazine).

Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse Expo provide amazing pathways to all firefighters, rescue personnel and all others who directly or indirectly are involved with all aspects of fire protection and prevention. Over the 40 years, Firehouse has provided the opportunities to millions of people in the areas of advancing the world of fire and rescue, safety and health, sharing ideas, education, information dissemination to help reduce the numbers of LODDs, and learning how to cope with LODDs. Firehouse has partnered with the NFPA, IAFF, NVFC, IAFC, NFFF, USFA and other fire service-related organizations nationally and internationally. The hands-on programs were exceptional. The vendors’ displays were an avenue for all to see, feel and try out fire/rescue and EMS equipment from A to Z! The networking between attendees and presenters was like no other firematic venue.

It had been a privilege to have written for Firehouse Magazine for those many years as well as to be an occasional presenter at Firehouse Expo.

Congratulations to everyone at Firehouse, past, present and future.

“Live long and prosper!”