RANDY R. BRUEGMAN, chief of Clackamas County Fire District No. 1 in Milwaukie, Oregon, was named president of the International Association Of Fire Chiefs. Bruegman began his career as a volunteer firefighter in Nebraska; served in the Fort Collins (CO) Fire Department as a firefighter, engineer, inspector, lieutenant, captain, and battalion chief; and was a chief with the Campbell (CA) and Hoffman Estates (IL) fire departments before becoming chief of the Clackamas district in 1996. He has served on various IAFC committees, including the Accreditation Task Force, and was chairman of the Commission on Fire Accreditation International from 1997 to 2000. He is a member of the Institute of Fire Engineers, a Chief Fire Officer Designate, and a member of National Fire Protection Association.
JACK K. McELFISH has been named chief of the Gwinnett County (GA) Fire Department. Previously, he served as chief/director of Richmond (VA) Fire and Emergency Services from 1995, as chief of the Clayton County (GA) Fire Department between 1990 and 1995, and with the Wallingford (CT) Fire Department between 1981 and 1990.
JIM WHITE was named chief of the Winter Park (FL) Fire Rescue Department. He joined the department in 1992 as deputy chief. White was a volunteer firefighter in the Arlington (VA) Fire Department from 1978 to 1982 and joined the Myrtle Beach (SC) Fire Department as a firefighter in 1983, rising through the ranks to captain of the fire training and public education division. He is president of the Board of Trustees of the Central Florida Emergency Services Institute and served as a member of the Fire and Life Safety Board of Adjustment and Appeals for Orange County between 1997 and 2002.
MARC L. JANSSENS was named director of the Southwest Research Institute’s Fire Technology Department in San Antonio, Texas, responsible for the department’s fire research and testing activities. Previously, he was an associate professor with the Fire Safety Engineering Technology Program at the University of North Carolina and is president of Janssens Fire Consulting, Inc.
CHIP PRATHER, chief of the Orange County (CA) Fire Authority (OCFA), was named 2002 Fire Chief of the Year by the California Fire Chiefs Association. Prather was recognized for establishing the OCFA Leadership Institute, designed to develop future leaders; developing 80-hour fire captain and battalion chief academies; and making fire prevention, community risk reduction, and public education high priorities. he also was recognized for his leadership in creating a state-of the-art training facility and for his management of the OCFA’s $145 million operating budget.
ROBERT R. RIELAGE, Ohio state fire marshal, was elected president of the Institution of Fire Engineers, USA Branch, which promotes fire service engineering. Rielage is a 31-year veteran of the Ohio fire service and became state fire marshal in 1999.
JOE PERRY, chief of the Napa (CA) Fire Department, was named president of the Western Fire Chiefs Association. Perry previously served as president of the California Fire Chiefs Association and serves as its southern division director.
