Firehouse marks a milestone this month as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Firehouse.com. Designed by firefighters for firefighters, Firehouse.com was the first website dedicated to covering the fire service around-the-clock, and the impact it has had on firefighters around the world is immeasurable.
Inception and launch
Charles Werner authored the first internet-focused article for Firehouse Magazine and later began authoring a regular fire service technology article. Werner saw the need for Firehouse to develop a website, so he reached out to Hyattsville, MD, firefighters Chris Hebert and Dave Iannone, who had developed the Hyattsville Fire Department website, along with a Washington D.C.-area firefighter news website. Firehouse leadership soon gave the pair the green light to develop a fire service website focused on providing breaking news, along with an interactive network for firefighters.
On Dec. 25, 1998, Firehouse.com launched with sections featuring news, fire photos, information about the magazine and Firehouse Expo, plus the interactive forums. On the first day, 3,500 people visited Firehouse.com. Today, over 25,000 people visit the site daily to get the latest news, read articles from their favorite authors, and keep up with changes to technology, safety and operations.
Major news
Firehouse.com quickly became firefighters’ go-to source for major news. Just weeks before its first anniversary, six Worcester, MA, firefighters lost their lives at the Worcester Cold Storage fire on Dec. 3, 1999. Firehouse staff worked night and day for weeks covering the news as it unfolded. Firehouse.com shared stories about the lost firefighters, the tight-knit Worcester Fire Department, and how fire departments from across the region responded to the fire or covered Worcester stations. The Firehouse.com forums were busy as firefighters from around the world shared their condolences.
When it was confirmed that there would be a memorial service—quite possibly the largest memorial in fire service history, ultimately attended by 15,000 people—Firehouse.com staffers worked with airlines, Amtrak and hotels to help the thousands of firefighters secure discounts as they traveled from around the globe to support the Worcester Fire Department. Readers who had messaged each other in the forums over the previous year were finally able to meet face-to-face.
Firehouse.com has been instrumental in the coverage of and response to other major disasters as well. In fact, the week I joined Firehouse.com in 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. As the editors reported on the regions that were devastated, we learned that countless fire stations and apparatus, along with the firefighters’ equipment, were also destroyed, leaving communities without basic protection in areas where resources were already drained.
In response, Firehouse staff members started the “Adopt a Firehouse” program, matching departments that had extra resources to help the devastated communities in the Gulf Region. Within days, the late Montgomery County, MD, fire chief, Tom Carr, assigned a few light-duty firefighters to our Maryland office and helped coordinate this effort. Firefighters who were willing to help their brothers and sisters in need were teamed with communities where responders needed a few days to unwind or help gutting their flooded fire stations and homes.
Spreading the word
A longtime contributor to Firehouse Magazine, Dr. Harry Carter was the first columnist to commit to writing for the website. Over the last 20 years, he’s authored over 400 articles and blogs for Firehouse.com.
In 2006, Carter and his best friend, Jack Peltier, drove around the country for the FIRE Act Road Trip, visiting departments to share the success of the federal grant program. After each visit, Carter updated his Firehouse.com blog to help firefighters and politicians understand the impact of the federal grant program that allowed departments to purchase much-needed equipment, whether it was bunker pants, hoods or SCBA, or a department’s first new apparatus or thermal imaging camera.
As technology has evolved, Firehouse has been able to offer more to our readers. Webcasts bring conference sessions directly to personal or station computers. Helmet camera videos share what crews encounter during fireground operations. And the forums continue to provide a place where firefighters can discuss incidents and operating policies.
To the next 20 years …
Firehouse would like to thank all those who have worked at Firehouse.com, including the fellow staffers and contributors who have reached countless readers over the years. And thank you to all the readers who have been using Firehouse.com as their source for news, training and research. We are committed to bringing you the latest fire service information and training for the next 20 years and beyond!
