“The outcome of the 1% of the time we spend on the fireground is based on the actions, discipline, and leadership we display the other 99% of the time in the soft environment.” - Anthony Avillo

For those of you who do not know, Anthony Avillo, a 25- year veteran, is a deputy chief in North Hudson Regional (N.J.) Fire & Rescue, assigned as 1st Platoon Regional Tour Commander. Chief Avillo has a B.S. in Fire Science from New Jersey City University. He is an instructor at the Bergen County (N.J.) and Monmouth County (N.J.) Fire Academies. Avillo, an FDIC instructor, is a member of the FDIC advisory board and is an editorial advisor to Fire Engineering Magazine. He is the author of Fireground Strategies, 2nd edition (Pennwell 2008) and Fireground Strategies Workbook Volume II (Pennwell, 2009). Anthony is a contributing author of the Fire Engineering Firefighters Handbook (Pennwell 2008) and will be co-author of the Fire Engineering Firefighters Handbook Study Guide (Pennwell 2009).

To make the interview a bit easier to follow I have listed the questions I asked along with a timestamp of when the question was asked incase you wanted to fast forward. Again, of you have any other suggestions for people to interview or questions to ask e-mail them to info@hooks-irons.com.

Click Here to Download The Interview

1.  For those who do not know who Anthony Avillo is, tell me a little about yourself.  Both inside and outside the fire service. 0:50

2.  Most recently, you contributed to Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I & II.  A tremendous book filled with tons of information written by many of the top names in firefighting, that takes a new approach to training the Firefighter.  What was this like and how do you think this approach will change the fire service?  3:35

3.  In your book, Fireground Strategies, you do a tremendous job showing how apply individual tactics to the overall stagey of an incident.  What inspired this book and what changed between the two additions? 7:08

4.  Your a regular contributor to the on-line publication Fire Nuggets with your Bigger Picture segment.  Tell us a little more about this valuable resource and what your contributions have been.  10:04

5.  Here in the Chicagoland area we have hundreds of smaller career departments operating next door to each other, but maintaining an individual status. You have experienced consolidation first hand.  What have been some of the positive and negative aspects of this? 14:12

6.  In your writing and lectures, you have clearly defined what makes and successful company officer and how they directly affect their company.  What are the most important traits for a leader to have? 20:50


7.  Fire volume for many departments is much lower than that of previous years.  Combine this with the fact that those “salty dogs” who thrived in this environment are also leaving their respective departments, whats left is a relatively inexperienced fire service specifically in the officer ranks.  What do you think is the best way for young fire officers to gain the much needed experience in today’s environment? 22:54


8.  You are credited with one of my favorite quotes pertaining to the fire service.  “The outcome of the 1% of the time we spend on the fireground is based on the actions, discipline, and leadership we display the other 99% of the time in the soft environment”.  To me this summaries the importance of using your downtime to learn and study firefighting in depth. What books do you believe every firefighter should add to their library?  Both specific to the fire service and in general. 27:03


9.  Tell us one story that has influenced you and shaped who you are as a firefighter. 32:58

"2000 years of tradition, enhanced by progress."

The title to this post was a quote by a great leader in the fire service.  A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to talk with Chief Bobby Halton about the present day fire service and what he sees as keys to success.  For those of you who do not know, Chief Bobby Halton ret. is currently editor in chief of Fire Engineering magazine and education director of the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC). Chief Halton is a native New Yorker. He began his career in structural firefighting with the Albuquerque (NM) Fire Department and rose through the ranks to include chief of training. Bobby was chief of operations until his retirement from Albuquerque in 2004. He then became chief of the Coppell (TX) Fire Department, Bobby left Coppell to assume the duties as editor in chief of Fire Engineering Magazine.

Chief Halton is a graduate of the University of New Mexico, left a member in good standing with the International Association of Fire Fighters, is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and has served on several of the National Fire Protection Association technical committees. He is active with the National Fallen Firefighters Life Safety Initiatives. He has done extensive speaking and training for the fire service in the United States, Canada and internationally.

To make the interview a bit easier to follow I have listed the questions I asked along with a timestamp of when the question was asked incase you wanted to fast forward. Again, of you have any other suggestions for people to interview or questions to ask e-mail them to info@hooks-irons.com.

Click Here to Download The Interview

1.  Tell me a little more about your career before becoming Editor in Chief of Fire Engineering. 1:30

2.  What is a typical day like for you being the Editor of Fire Engineering Magazine?  3:30

3.  Do you see the international community and domestic community becoming more of a globalized fire service? 6:40

4.  The fire service continues to evolve and it has always been important for the practitioners of our craft to be constant students; not only by preforming practical evolutions, but also reading.  What books do you believe every firefighter should add in their library?  Both specific to the fire service and in general? 13:15

5.  What are you thoughts of a failure of application teaching only the “basics” in current fire service instruction? 17:05

6.  Fire volume for many departments is much lower than that of previous years.  Combine this with the fact that those “salty dogs” who thrived in this environment are also leaving their respective departments, whats left is a relatively inexperienced fire service.  What do you think is the best way for firefighters to gain much needed experience today’s environment?

24:50  

An Introduction of Sorts

Here starts a new endeavor and before we get started I thought an introduction of myself and the blog would be in order.

Lets start with myself.  My name is Eddie Crombie and I currently maintain the website Hooks & Irons.  Many of you may have visited and read some of my ramblings, but if you have not I would certainly encourage you to give it a once over.  I am currently a firefighter with the City of Joliet in Illinois.  It is about 45 minutes south of Chicago and we protect between 150,000 and 200,000 citizens out of 10 stations with around 200 sworn personnel.  Prior to that I volunteered and worked for Minooka Fire Protection District which is a smaller suburban department.  Overall, I have 10 years in the fire service.

Lets talk about this "Conversations" bit.  This will not replace Hooks & Irons.  I will continue to maintain that site.  Essentially I will be posting conversations I have had with various figures in the Fire Service.  My goal is for you, the reader, to get a better feel of who they are as a person and what some of their views of the Fire Service are.  I plan on posting at least once a month with a format much like my interview with Chief Peter Van Dorpe.  It is going to be a journey and exciting to see where this takes us.

What do I need from you?

1. I would like to know of anyone you would like to see interviewed.  I am not only looking for big name authors or instructors that are nationally renowned.  If there is a special individual in your career that has a unique view let me know.
2. Send me questions you would like to see asked.  This will me seen on a national level and the issues I have may be different from those you are experiencing.  Do not hesitate to give me some input of what you want to see.
3. Continue to educate yourself and look for things outside your comfort zone.  Then apply them to the Fire Service.  We all need to constantly evolve to make the service as a whole better.

Well here goes nothing.  It should be a trip!

Eddie C.

ecrombie@hooks-irons.com