.@BobbyHalton & Eileen Brennan presenting the Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award to Chief Bill Peters #FDIC2015 pic.twitter.com/rWtOzrska1
— Fire Apparatus (@FireApparatus1) April 23, 2015
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William C. Peters is the 2015 Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. The award was presented at this morning’s General Session by Chief Robert Halton, editor in chief of Fire Engineering and FDIC International education manager.
“William “Bill” Peters, known to many of us as Willy P, is a firefighter’s firefighter and is one of the most well-informed, well- educated, and most proficient firefighters.” Halton noted as he introduced Peters to the audience.
FDIC International Lifetime Achievement Award Winner: William C. Peters
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Peters began his fire service career in the Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department in 1975. He quickly rose through the ranks from firefighter to lieutenant, captain, and battalion chief. He earned several departmental commendations for heroism including the rescue of civilians and saving the life of a fellow firefighter.
Frederick G. Eggers, Chief of Department, Retired, Jersey City Fire Department’s Peter’s former boss, sums up their work experience:
“It is my sincere pleasure to congratulate Bill Peters on receiving this Lifetime Achievement Award. It is well deserved. Bill was the supervisor of apparatus for the Jersey City Fire Department for many years, and he was, and is, an expert in the field of fire apparatus. We served many years together, having come on the job together. He made our working together a rewarding experience for me, the Jersey City Fire Department, and the fire service in general.”
As a battalion chief, Peters was appointed apparatus supervisor. In this position, he was responsible for the purchase, repair, and maintenance of the fire department fleet
as well as the maintenance of all hose, nozzles, tools, and other equipment. He additionally responded to all greater-alarm fires to supervise the operation of the fire apparatus.
Superintendent of the National Fire Academy Denis Onieal, who went up through the ranks of the Jersey City Fire Department with Peters, notes:
“He took over our apparatus responsibilities at a time when our equipment was in tough shape and the apparatus had long suffered from neglect. Through an adept mechanical talent, insightful organizational acumen, and tremendous interpersonal skills, he turned our situation completely around in a short time. He organized and executed apparatus maintenance and purchasing that ensured safety for our firefighters and officers, but he didn’t stop there. He put the fire department on the map by assembling his thoughts and experiences. In 1994, he published the Fire Apparatus Purchasing Handbook, the very first on the subject. It remains the bible for those organizations purchasing a new fire truck; the text is remarkable in both its details and insight.
“Billy and his work have been in high demand–here and around the world–for more than 20 years. Fire Engineering made the right call on this Lifetime Achievement Award. It was well-earned and is long overdue.”
Among Peters’ accomplishments in Jersey City were the purchasing of apparatus and equipment for Jersey City’s first hazmat company and the reactivation of Rescue Company One, a heavy rescue unit that had been disbanded 20 years earlier. He also
wrote the department’s Large Diameter Hose (LDH) standard operating procedure (SOP) and supervised the introduction of LDH supply hose as standard feed lines for the department. He wrote the specifications for the department’s first mask service unit, which supplied spare breathing air cylinders as well as refilled on the fire scene and the department’s SOP on aerial safety.
Peters became involved in National Fire Protection Association apparatus standards committee work and served on several apparatus task groups before being appointed as a user representative voting member of the apparatus committee.
His dear friend Assistant Chief Donald L. Frazeur, Los Angeles (CA) Fire Department, shares:
I first met Bill when I became a principal member of NFPA 1901, Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus. Bill taught me to never personalize an issue. When he speaks to a concern being considered by the committee, he conveys a depth of knowledge that commands respect. He always takes a practical approach, keeping the end firefighters’ interest and perspective in mind. I liken his impact on the NFPA 1901 Committee to the financial stature EF Hutton marketed years ago: ‘When Bill Peters talks, people listen.’
“I now chair the 1901 Committee. On a personal level, Bill’s tutelage helped me to move apparatus issues within the NFPA consensus process. I have deep respect for Bill’s ability
to work through people, to make a sound argument, and to share information.”
“Beyond NFPA, Bill has been a persistent force at the Fire Department Safety Officer Association’s annual Apparatus Specification and Maintenance Symposium held in Florida. He is an excellent public speaker who really knows his subject. To sum it up, I say you have made an excellent choice. Bill Peters’ impact on the fire service is profound.”
On the local level, Peters is an active member of his community’s emergency management team and has obtained his Amateur Radio Extra Class license to assist in emergency communications during disasters.
Looking ahead, Peters sees as a growing challenge in the upcoming years “trying to contain the cost of new apparatus.” The cost has been rising as a result of inflation, government regulations, and National Fire Protection Association compliance, Peters explains, and the municipal budgets have been shrinking as the result of recession and the high number of foreclosures” “We will all have to ‘sharpen our pencils’ to a greater degree in the future.”
Since the early 1990s, when Peters began teaching his “Apparatus Purchasing” program, he estimates he has helped literally thousands of firefighters in the United States and Canada to prepare the specs for new apparatus.
Deputy Chief Richard Lundholm, Cape May (NJ) Fire Department, shares about one of those experiences:
“I met Chief Peters when he was hired by the City of Cape May (2002) to assist in replacing several pieces of apparatus. Chief Peters guided the process from meeting to discuss our needs, to writing specifications, evaluating the bids, and doing a final inspection to ensure that our purchases met our expectations. Through his consulting, Chief Peters has used his knowledge to ensure that apparatus not only meets purchaser specifications but federal safety standards as well. Chief Peters is not endorsed or sponsored by any manufacturer. His business is based on working for/with fire Departments to ensure that apparatus are built to meet the customer’s needs, specifications are followed, and firefighter safety is not compromised. Throughout my 27 years in the fire service, I have not met a man more dedicated to representing firefighters.”
Assistant Commissioner (Ret.) Tom McDonald of the FDNY recalls Peters working with FDNY:
“I was assigned to Technical Services at FDNY in the fall of 1994. Commissioner Howard Safer ordered a change in how we specified apparatus. I had written specifications for the a few small volunteer fire departments, so to say that I was in over my head is an understatement. I looked to strengthen our successes and change our failures. Chief Ray Downey had been my captain. He introduced me to Chief Peters while attending FDIC in the spring of 1995. Bill gave me the “bible,” the Fire Apparatus Purchasing Handbook. Although my name went on the FDNY specifications, it was Bill’s experience that went into the FDNY specifications. I continued to build our relationship every chance I got. He and I walked many of the trade shows. All the while, Bill was pointing to innovation and safety ideas being presented. I owe my professional successes to my friend Chief Bill Peters This award is so well deserved.”
When asked by Fire Engineering what advice he would give to departments anticipating the purchase of a new unit of apparatus, Peters responded: “First, do not use the manufacturer’s specifications ‘as is.’ Use the information in the specifications to organize your own specifications. Second, arrange for a good preconstruction conference to take place at the manufacturer’s plant.”
The Lifetime Achievement Award is named for Tom Brennan, who was the editor of Fire Engineering for eight years and a technical editor. Brennan had more than 35 years of fire service experience, including more than 20 years with the Fire Department of New York and five years as chief of the Waterbury (CT) Fire Department. He was co-editor of The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth Edition (Fire Engineering Books, 1995) and the recipient of the 1998 Fire Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award.
