Editor’s Opinion Ed Ballam

A new writer makes his debut with us in this issue.

Ed Boring is a retired deputy chief from the Hilton Head (SC) Fire Department, among other things. In this issue, he writes about a legend in the fire service, the late Alan “Bruno” Brunacini, the former Phoenix (AZ) fire chief.

Bruno was a seminal figure in the customer service philosophy of the fire industry. He believed that taxpayers and those who call for fire services are customers, and firefighters and first responders have the obligation to care for those clients as one might treat a customer who walks into a storefront or any other business. Firefighters have the obligation to be professional and polite and give the clients exactly what they need as efficiently as possible. It’s a great mantra for any business and, as it turns out, it is a good fit for the fire service too.

I had the pleasure of meeting Bruno a few times at fire trade shows. He was always in his signature Hawaiian shirt and always with a group of people who were hanging on his every word as Jesus to his disciples. He was that kind of guy. For more than 50 years, he shared his skills as a firefighter and his knowledge as a fire officer and was generous with his time and mentoring.

Bruno died in October 2016 but left a legacy that far exceeds his earthly years. Boring’s revisiting of Bruno’s lecture on the metaphor of delivering pizza in a cement truck caused me to think about all the other great fire service leaders past and present. And, obviously, I couldn’t help but think about my late boss, Bobby Halton. I miss him. Both men were legends, and the fire service isn’t the same without them.

Nevertheless, there are still a lot of living legends in the fire service, and most all of them are at the annual Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) next month in Indianapolis. They share their words and knowledge year after year to standing-room-only crowds. I won’t mention any legends by name for fear of forgetting some, but you know who they are and it’s evident when you see firefighters spilling into hallways outside packed FDIC classrooms straining to hear the words of the true leaders in the fire service.

• FDIC: Event Info and Registration
• FDIC International 2023 to Feature the Fire Rescue Station of the Future

FDIC is where the best instructors impart their knowledge

KME—Wadsworth (OH) Fire Department pumper. 100-inch KME SSX XLFD cab and chassis; Cummins L9 450-hp engine; seating for six; Waterous CSU 1,500-gpm pump; 1,000-gallon polypropylene water tank; 40-gallon foam cell; Waterous Aquis 6.0 single-agent foam system; Onan 10-kW generator; Hendrickson Steertek front axle; stainless-steel body. Dealer: Tim Besser, KME factory direct.

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Flint is using a budget transfer and reprogramming Community Development Block Grant funds to bulk up its fire department truck fleet, mlive.com reported.

The city council approved resolutions on Monday, March 13, to reroute the funding and to make the purchases, which comes to more than $3.3 million, the report said.

Council members made the moves after Interim Fire Chief Theron Wiggins delivered a harsh assessment of the condition of the current fleet of fire vehicles last week.

The city is using $755,000 in reprogrammed Community Development Block Grant funds to pay for one of the new trucks, a city official said, according to the report. 

Three vehicle purchases will be paid for by transfers within the city’s general fund budget, including a second pumper; a squad vehicle that provides on-scene support with extra air tanks, extrication equipment like the Hurst Jaws of Life, and other equipment needed at fire or accident scenes; and a fire apparatus commonly known as a quint with a 75-foot ladder, according to a city official, the report said. The quint is a fire pumper with a ladder that extends a deck gun high into the air to reach multi-story structures.

The Houston Fire Department said a chainsaw worth about $2,000 was stolen off a truck on March 9, abc13.com reported. Now the fire department is asking for help in finding it.

The equipment is often used during extractions or entanglement situations such as crashes or other operations, the report said.

HFD said they are working with the police department to identify those involved in the theft. HPD said the incident happened at about 10:20 a.m. at 3111 Woodridge in a parking lot, the report said.

Anyone with information regarding the theft is urged to contact authorities at 713-222-TIPS.