When the presenter handed out the first Fred Allinson Scholastic Award during the 1992 Washington State Fire School conference, he mistakenly called it the Fred Allinson Memorial Award. "I was winging it," says Brian McMahan, past president of the Washington State Firefighters Association. "It just didn't come out right."

Allinson, who was named Fire Chief Magazine's 1999 Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year at Fire-Rescue International in August, had just stepped down from a 17-year stint as the conference organizer, but he was far from gone.

A life-long volunteer firefighter active at the local, state and national levels, Allinson continues to devote much of his time, energy and enthusiasm to the fire service. He's currently chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council, a post he's held since 1995.

Earlier this year Allinson officially retired from his position as a battalion chief with the North Highline Fire District in Seattle, but that hasn't stopped him from continuing to contribute to the department. "We would like to see Fred not leaving," says acting Chief Michael J. Collins. "We hope that he continues to come around, which he will. He's going to continue to be active and keep us involved."

Someday Allinson hopes to leave the fire service behind to pursue golf, woodworking and horseback riding, and to spend more time with his wife, Carolyn, who recently retired."When I leave the National Volunteer Fire Council, it's going to be hard," Allinson says. "It's been a life-long thing, and it's been a big part of my wife's and my life."

A natural leader Although leaving the fire service may prove difficult for Allinson, he started out fairly simply. He was hanging out at a friend's gas station when a fire truck whizzed by. Allinson's friend then took off in his own truck, leaving Allinson to wonder how he could get involved and serve the community. "I was talking to him a few days later, and he said, 'Why don't you do it,'" says Allinson, who worked for United Parcel Service from 1956 to 1970. "So I did."

After his friend's gentle prodding, Allinson joined King County (Wash.) Fire District 2 in 1963. Ed Johnson, who joined King County two years later, followed Allinson up the chain of command. "When he became a captain, I became a lieutenant. When he became a battalion chief, I became a captain. When he left the department, I became a battalion chief," says Johnson, who served King County as a volunteer firefighter and officer for some 30 years. "I was kind of able to follow in his footsteps, and he laid a great foundation that made it easy to follow."

From the early days of his career to the present, Allinson has been somewhat of a "gentle giant," Johnson says. A leader by example, Allinson took the time to show others how to do a job and then stood back and let them do it. "Fred was never the kind of person to come charging in and take over the scene of an emergency," Johnson says. "He would let those of us working with him - I say working with him, rather than for him - just handle the situation if we were capable of doing it. But we always knew if we got into any kind of problem, Fred would be there to help us out."

Even in difficult situations, Allinson would offer support and solutions rather than wresting control from others on the scene. "It was never a matter of him jumping in and saying, 'I'm going to bail you out,'" Johnson says. "Some leaders are that way, but he would give you suggestions about things you might do to get it to go a little better."

In 1993, Allinson joined the North Highline Fire District. He served as the combination department's volunteer coordinator until his retirement in July. Throughout his tenure at North Highline, he managed the department's volunteer recruitment and training program in a "quiet, unassuming manner," Collins says.

"He gets the job done without making a lot of noise," Collins adds. "He does get a lot of attention, but he does it without a lot of fanfare. You know how some people are always on the bandwagon? Fred's not. He's quiet, and he gets the job done, and he does it without ruffling feathers."

Throughout his career, Allinson has served as a valued mentor to volunteer and career firefighters alike. However, his role as a father figure was more situational than intentional, Allinson says. "I've been in the fire service for 36 years," he explains. "I've seen a lot of young fellows come in with the volunteer fire service and moved right up into the career. A lot of them have gone all the way to becoming chief of the department. That's pretty gratifying to see it happen, to watch as these guys do that. I'm so proud when I can say, 'He was one of my volunteers.'"

Bridging the gap There's a reason many of Allinson's volunteers have found success in the fire service. At North Highline, he was committed to making sure that the value of volunteers wasn't underestimated by the department or the career firefighters. "He was very respectful to the role that they played," Collins says. "He makes sure that the volunteers do not get cut short, that they are kept up to speed on what is going on, and that they remain active and willing participants in the department. He doesn't just view them as numbers, but as personnel, with names and responsibilities."

Allinson also ensured that his volunteers received the same training as the career firefighters, and he was a strong advocate of volunteer preference points at North Highline. "In one respect, we have benefitted because he has kept us a good pool for hiring personnel," Collins says. "He's made sure the volunteers have met all the requirements and stayed with their duty nights and got their training. So when we did have openings, we could hire from that pool."

Although he was a volunteer advocate, Allinson also had the support and respect of the career members, says Chief Dan Packer, East Pierce Fire & Rescue in Bonney Lake, Wash. "He displayed an amazing ability to prevent relational issues of career and volunteer firefighters from interfering with service to the community," says Packer, who worked under Allinson for 14 years as a career officer at King County. "I don't know exactly what his style advantages were other than he just was a good listener and was able to understand differing opinions and differing interests."

Allinson was also extremely approachable and down-to-earth. "He didn't strut or hide behind his bugles or flash the battalion chief thing around, and I know that certainly got him points with the career members," Packer says.

With the respect of career and volunteers members alike, Allinson worked hard to keep the two groups from going head-to head. "He was able to point out the commonalities that different groups shared," Packer says, "like the reason that we enjoy being in the business, and that it really didn't matter whether you got a paycheck or you donated your time and energy."

Now the head of a combination department, Packer tries to live by a simple principle that he learned watching Allinson. "Every member, whether it's the lowliest rookie all the way to senior chief officers, deserves equal measures of respect and has earned dignity and respect just by being people. I really try to emulate that."

Washington and beyond Allinson's influence hasn't been contained to the Seattle area. His leadership ability has led him to several key positions in the Washington state fire service and his current position as nvfc chairman. In addition to his longtime role of conference supervisor, he was a board member of the Washington State Firefighter's Association from 1973 to 1983, including a term as president in 1980. In 1986, the governor appointed him to the Washington State Fire Protection Policy Board, where he represented the state's volunteer firefighters until 1992.

"When Fred is in a position of leadership, either on a fire scene or the Washington State Firefighters Association or now of course with the National Volunteer Fire Council, his opinions and his thoughts and his direction are very highly respected by all of the people who work for him," says Johnson, who served as president of the Washington State Firefighters Association in the mid-'80s.

During Johnson's term, the association was wrestling with the idea of becoming a strictly volunteer organization. Johnson sought advice from Allinson, who argued that the organization's volunteer focus was important, but that it also needed to serve the career firefighters."Based on his advice, my decision was that we didn't make the change at that time," Johnson says. "It was a good idea."

Allinson was also instrumental in getting the state of Washington involved in the nvfc during the national organization's inception. Since then he's taken on new leadership challenges with the nvfc. In 1993, he was elected second vice chairman, and he has served as chairman since 1995.

Under his leadership, the nvfc has experienced increased membership, corporate sponsorship and visibility, says Heather Schafer, executive manager of the nvfc. "We've developed some really good partnerships during his tenure as chairman. He is just a good spokesperson for the organization. It's not that he's a figurehead, but he's a volunteer firefighter and he brings that background with him."

As chairman, Allinson has been traveling all over the United States and the world representing the nvfc. His wife, Carolyn, has found at least one comforting commonality during their travels. "No matter where you go, it's all the same," she says. "The fire service is a family."

And perhaps the volunteer fire service has found a father in Fred Allinson.