BY ROBERT HALTON
Brothers and Sisters, I would like to introduce myself. I am Robert Halton, known to most of you as Bobby, and I am a firefighter. I am very grateful to be sitting here in the editor’s seat. I am humbled to accept the position of editor in chief of Fire Engineering, the world’s oldest and finest firefighting publication. I pledge that, together with the support of the outstanding staff already in place at Fire Engineering, the history and tradition of excellence that have been Fire Engineering are going to continue. As your new editor, I promise that the focus of Fire Engineering will continue to be training and education, as it has been.
I plan on using this “seat” to talk about what this great magazine has been focused on for 128 years. This focus is not new or something from me or my predecessors; it is the very idea that this publication was founded on. It is what the FDIC was founded on. This publication has roots that are traceable to 1877. What you and I call Fire Engineering was born as “Our Paper” in the National Fireman’s Journal, Vol. 1 No. 1, on Saturday, Nov. 17, 1877. It was and is a labor of love, an expression of passion for the brotherhood, a tool to spread the wisdom that comes from the experiences of firefighters to and for other firefighters.
Those firefighters who wrote “Our Paper” knew that knowledge was not wisdom-that wisdom is found in the application of knowledge. Fire Engineering has answered that need for 128 years by providing this “organ” or tool for firefighters to train other firefighters. Training by its very definition is the passing along of wisdom, the practical application of knowledge. All the facts in the world are useless if you do not have a frame of reference to manage them within. That being said, I do not consider myself wise, but all of us know something that no one else anywhere can describe, tell, or instruct as well as we can.
Lots of smart people outside our business kindly provide us with information; some see that information as knowledge, but without a mental model of the “work” that we do, it serves no real purpose. When they try to explain it, they have no concept of how the field combat firefighter sees the world. So their interpretation of how we should use the information is based on a TV or Hollywood version of who we are. The true fire instructor/trainer/teacher is the one who takes knowledge and makes it useful and practical. This is a gift; the greats were and are gifted, and they use their gifts. The true warrior/poet/firefighter is a servant to the public as a combat firefighter and medic and a servant to the profession as a teacher and mentor.
We share, together, experiences that those who have not been in the arena can only imagine. I mean no disrespect to the nonfirefighting community; I hold all those who have in any way helped, supported, or struggled to make this profession safer in the highest regard. I simply mean that as an instructor and firefighter, I hope to be able on this page to share my thoughts on our fire service through the eyes of a firefighter. We are the first line of defense in the greatest country in the world; we need to share all we can. To do any less would be disrespectful to those who have gone before us.
One of the guiding principles written in “Our Paper” was “watch over the interests of the Firemen in all sections of the country, and endeavor to keep them all informed of whatever occurs that is likely to be of interest or advantage to them.” Fire Engineering has and will continue to cover the stories of the day, the tragedies and triumphs that define our occupation. I am asking those of you who live these events to share what you have learned so that we all benefit from your experience. I am asking you to help us to live up to those ideals by inviting us to your training; we will report on your work and share whatever we can at your events.
I promise to you to keep faithfully the ideals of the founders of our magazine, who wrote, “We shall also discuss, from an independent standpoint, the many weighty topics which are presented for the consideration of Firemen from time to time.” We will disagree as professionals on many things as they arise, but it will always be in the noblest tradition of discourse. Our discourse will be to find the truth as it is within our profession. It is fully acceptable and useful to present different points of view. What works for one city may not work for another, and the truth is in the practice and application of local models.
In some parts of every profession, the truth—and best practice—is defined by its practical application at the local level.
I know what you do, and I can relate to the struggles and the frustrations that come from the doing. I will always remember where I come from and whom I work for: firefighters. I can remember beginning my career and very early on realizing the true leaders of the fire service are not the managers but rather the instructors. I find myself amazed every day by how much my brother and sister firefighters know about our industry-things that if you studied day and night you could never hope to fully understand half of all we do. Instructors don’t work for money or the schedule; they work for firefighters.
I hope to see and meet as many of you as I can. I will try to attend as many of your conferences and training seminars as I can. I am going to continue to teach, speak, and train, as this is what Fire Engineering is all about. I want to see the fresh faces and fresh ideas that are out there. We at Fire Engineering want to listen to and distribute as many of the opinions and the discoveries as we can within the confines of our magazine and our Web site.
There will always be something to speak about in this column. I have no shortage of opinions, and we have much to talk about. Thankfully, when my opinion is off, one of you will surely set me straight. A really smart guy once said, “Any man worth his salt will stand up for what he believes, but a real man will also admit when he is wrong.” I hope I will report on the issues as you would want from a brother firefighter, honestly and always looking out for firefighters. I look forward to sharing my opinions and thoughts with you here every month.
