Tuesday, March 16, 2010
2009 Career Chief Award Winner
Chief Randy Bruegman, Fresno (Calif.) Fire Department A Good ExampleChief Randy Bruegman has quite a résumé. He currently is the fire chief at the Fresno (Calif.) Fire Department. He's published two books about the fire service and is working on his third, Advanced Fire Administration. He also is president of the Center for Public Safety Excellence headquartered in Chantilly, Va., which is one of the many leadership positions he's held at the local, state and federal levels. In fact, he is a past president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and has worked with the Department of Commerce's National Research Council, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in several leadership positions. That's just a sample of Bruegman's many accomplishments from throughout his more than 30 years of fire service. Bruegman said he joined the fire service as a young volunteer firefighter in Fort Collins, Colo., back in the 1970s. He was attracted to the job's variety of duties, which included an unpredictable day where anything could happen and the physical challenges associated with fighting fires. However, the greatest attraction to the job was being able to help those citizens who were in need or found themselves in extenuating circumstances. |
2009 Volunteer Chief Award Winner
Chief James Seavey, John Park (Md.) Fire Department The Listening ArtistChief James Seavey was 16 years old when he first joined the fire service as a volunteer firefighter. Seavey credited the opportunity to become a volunteer as his saving grace, taking what he dubbed “a troubled youth” and putting him on a life course that centered on public service. “It not only got me out of a troubled youth, but it also gave me my career,” he said. “It was the conduit to do what I loved to do on a full-time basis.” More than 30 years ago, the volunteer fire department was even more family centric than it is today. In most cases, only family members were recruited to join the service, while outsiders were deterred or simply not invited to the table. The cultural roadblock did little to deter Seavey, who contacted the volunteer department in his area monthly until he finally was allowed to join the department. He said it took seven months of pursuing the fire chief before he was welcomed into the service. |
