DALLAS, TX—The International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and Pierce Manufacturing Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation, announced the winners of the 2018 IAFC Fire Chief of the Year awards. Volunteer Fire Chief, Herbert Leusch, of the Glen Echo Fire Department, Bethesda, Maryland, and career  Chief, Joanne Hayes-White, of the San Francisco (CA) Fire Department are this year’s honorees. 

A selection committee appointed by the IAFC reviewed nominations for active chiefs of departments that have shown exemplary contributions in the areas of leadership, innovation, professional development, service to the public, and contributions to the fire service community as a whole. Sponsored by Pierce, the 2018 Fire Chief of the Year award recipients will be recognized during a presentation taking place on Thursday, August 9.

“I look forward to the captivating moment each year when we share the nominations for the two Fire Chief of the Year award honorees,” said Jim Johnson, president of Pierce Manufacturing. “Chief Leusch and Chief Hayes-White have had distinguished careers. These two leaders have shown how to lead with grace, professionalism, and devotion that inspires others. On behalf of the Pierce Manufacturing team, we’d like to share heartfelt congratulations to Chiefs Leusch and Hayes-White.”

Volunteer Fire Chief Honoree - Herbert Leusch, Glen Echo (Bethesda, Md.) Fire Department

Over the last 25 years, Chief Herbert Leusch has exhibited the highest standard for volunteer fire-rescue through extraordinary dedication. During his career, his competency and outstanding achievements have led him up the ranks from Firefighter to Deputy Chief, to his current position of Fire Chief which he took on nearly a decade ago with the Glen Echo Fire Department. In his current role, Chief Leusch is responsible for all operational aspects of a combination fire department made up of 70 personnel, responding to over 2,200 calls a year. Chief Leusch has maintained the highest level of commitment to service throughout his distinguished career and has been an inspirational role model for others. Some of his most notable accomplishments include successfully establishing a bicycle emergency response team, developing a heavy apparatus driver training program, building Advanced Life Support capabilities, and co-leading a firefighting task force in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Chief Leusch’s exceptional leadership is evident not only through his actions, but also the recognition he’s received including a high-level citation for “Dedication and Heroic Service” in Maryland from Congressman Chris Van Hollen, an official citation from the Maryland General Assembly for “Distinguished Service,” and multiple top-responder awards. Not only is Chief Leusch a highly decorated and respected volunteer fire-rescuer, he has accomplished these achievements while excelling in his day job as Senior Principal at General Dynamics Information Systems. While juggling both his fire-rescue and professional career, Chief Leusch has made his family and continuing education top priorities. In conjunction with earning multiple graduate degrees and educating others in various areas of fire-rescue service, Chief Leusch is wholeheartedly committed to be a devoted husband and father. He genuinely epitomizes what it means to be a great volunteer fire chief. Chief Leusch is a clear representation of the highest ideals demonstrated by a Fire Chief of the Year.

Career Fire Chief Honoree - Joanne Hayes-White, San Francisco Fire Department

Chief Joanne Hayes-White began her career with the San Francisco Fire Department 28 years ago as she embarked on

By Michael N. Ciampo

The Village of Oswego is located 50 miles southwest of Chicago, Illinois, in the northeast portion of Kendall County. The word Oswego comes from the Mohawk Indian name meaning mouth of the stream, since it located on the Fox River and mouth of Waubonsie Creek. The area was once known for its rural farmland but had a famous drag strip that featured muscle car races from 1955 to 1979. In the 1950s the area began to see significant growth to a suburban community with Caterpillar and Western Electric plants built nearby. The Oswego (IL) Volunteer Fire Protection District was originally formed in 1893 after a large church fire occurred, and its first hose cart was purchased in 1895. The fire district was formed in 1936 by voter referendum, and in 1986, ALS ambulances were in service. In 2008, the district hired full time firefighter paramedics, and now they operate out of four stations with a full time staff of 70 with some additional part-time firefighters. The area has a large mix of residential dwellings, from single-family homes to townhomes and condominiums, commercial strip malls, factories, and light industrial. It has three state and two U.S. highways as well as two railroad lines that run through its district.

Owego’s Engine Company 3 is the proud owner of a 2016 E-ONE Typhoon pumper. Its raised roof cab is painted white over red with the rear body having roll-up compartment doors painted red. The rig has three reflective stripes running low along the cab, then running diagonally upward on the first compartment door, and then running horizontally on the upper section of the body to the rear of the rig. The front cab doors boast the Oswego Fire Protection District signage in gold leaf while the crew cab doors have gold leaf and a large “3” embedded on them. The large “3” is unique because when looking closer you’ll notice its diamond plate design. On the smaller roll-up compartment on the crew cab, the unit’s logo is attached—Engine 3 is known as the Pride of the Westside. This logo is also on the upper section of the hosebed’s back wall. The front grill has a decorative design with the American flag painted on the grill. Just above the grill, Oswego is written in gold leaf. The rear of the apparatus has the safety chevron pattern on it and large reflective “E-3” graphics on the rear compartment.

The apparatus is powered by a Detroit engine and Allison transmission. It has a 1,500-gpm Hale pump and a 750-gallon booster tank. The pump panel has large chrome handles for opening the discharge valves. The extended front bumper has a large-diameter intake that stands out due to it being chrome. On the front of the cab, mounted above the front windshield, are two LED scene lights that provide sufficient lighting at nighttime incidents. The cab has seating for six firefighters—two in the cab and four in the crew cab. The rear of the rig has a low hosebed consisting of four separate storage spaces, and one bed is equipped with the RAM by Elkhart Brass for a quick fire or “blitz” attack line. The rear compartment has storage for the unit’s AMKUS hydraulic extrication tools, which are stored on a pull-out tray.

On the officer’s side of the apparatus, the crew has quick access to their hand tools and extinguishers when deploying from the crew cab. The first compartment behind

When there is an emergency, calling 9-1-1 is what we instinctively do. Within minutes, assistance is on its way to help, whether it is a fire, accident or medical call. Reece Chambers, 41, a lieutenant with East Jefferson Fire-Rescue (EJFR), is one of those dedicated professionals who often answers the call and renders aid.
- PUB DATE: 8/7/2018 7:16:55 AM - SOURCE: Port Angeles Peninsula Daily News

By Alan M. Petrillo

The Luxemburg (WI) Community Fire Department is a previous customer of Marion Body Works, having purchased an engine, a rescue squad, and two tenders (tankers) from Marion. So when Luxemburg started having lots of mechanical issues with a non-Marion-built engine and decided to replace it, the fire department went to its tried-and-true apparatus manufacturer.

Todd Prellwitz, owner of Emergency Vehicles Services, who sold the Marion engine to Luxemburg, says that the fire department checked out the vehicles at his department [Clintonville (WI) Fire Department] and then learned that Marion had a demo unit on the production line. "After looking at the Marion trucks in my fire department, they went to Marion and worked to modify the design of the demo, changing the engine to the specs the department wanted to see on their unit," Prellwitz says. "They changed several things, like a preconnected low-level suction hose in a special compartment on the rear of the vehicle, adding swing-out tool boards in some compartments, and changing to Whelen LED warning lights and Whelen LED scene lighting."

Lew DuChateau, Luxemburg's chief, says the department wanted a custom chassis and cab with seating for six firefighters, a 1,500-gpm Hale Qmax pump, a 1,000-gallon UPF Poly III water tank, an integral 20-gallon foam tank, a FoamPro 1600 Class A foam system, ladders on top of the rig in a rack to allow more compartment space, a generator for lighting, a front suction, and roll-up doors. "We got everything we wanted on the new engine from Marion," he says.

The Luxemburg Community Fire Department protects 140 square miles of three full townships, two partial townships, and the village of Luxemburg with 32 volunteer firefighters from one fire station. Besides the new Marion pumper, the department has a 75-foot quint aerial ladder with CAFS, three tenders, a rescue truck, and a brush vehicle. While the village is hydranted, the rest of the district, which is mostly rural, is not. The district has a population of about 2,600 in residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural areas.

Shane Krueger, sales manager for Marion, says that Marion installed a Zico single-arm hydraulic ladder rack on the right side of the pump in order to allow for more compartmentation, which the department requested. "We also put on Whelen PF2 LED scene lights for them, as well as a Whelen LED warning lights," Krueger says. "They also had us install preconnected LDH in a well on the curbside pump panel."

The Marion pumper has 150 feet of 1¾-inch hose in the rig's front bumper, two crosslays of 200 feet of 1¾-inch hose midship, as well as 200 feet of preconnected 2½-inch hose with a Task Force Tips Blitzfire nozzle at the rear. The pumper's hosebed holds 600 feet of five-inch LDH, and 600 feet of 2½-inch hose.

DuChateau points out that the pumper carries a set of HURST Jaws of Life hydraulic rescue tools, including a spreader, cutter, and set of rams powered by a gas power unit, plus a 150 feet of electric cord on a reel at the right side of the vehicle's dunnage area.

"This pumper has worked very well for us," DuChateau says. "Our quint runs first out and drops its LDH halfway down a driveway. The Marion engine b