From the Publishers Desk
departments
Information to the “Profession” Key to Fire Engineering Policy
As you are undoubtedly aware, Fire Engineering carries the subtitle “The Journal of the Fire Protection Profession Since 1877.” Now, there are still some who will reject the word profession as applied to the fire service, but not we. In Webster’s dictionary, one of the definitions of “profession” is: a principal calling, vocation, or employment—which neatly fits the whole body of persons engaged in fire prevention and suppression.
In a sampling of our subscribers we found lieutenants of a large department, officers in a military department, chiefs of all ranks in volunteer departments, fire protection engineers, building officials assigned to fire code enforcements—in fact, everybody who is a somebody connected, even remotely connected, to the fire service. We took this sampling because the number of our subscribers has just reached its all-time high, giving us the largest circulation (of fire service activists) of any magazine.
We and our predecessors (going back more than a hundred years) have always tried to make Fire Engineering the most authorative book in its field.
One of the reasons why we are the most authoritative is that our authors come out of the “fire protection profession” and not from a variety of freelance writers who lack the experience, knowledge and feel for this profession. Another is that in our editorial policy we do not differentiate between paid and volunteer, or among chiefs, assistant chiefs, company officers or firemen. We feel that any one of these groups contributes to the efficiency and well-being of a department. And that all should be kept informed. Common sense tells us that today’s lieutenant might be tomorrow’s chief, and a communications officer or the captain in charge of the shops might have more input on the purchase of equipment than the chief.
Finally, we have news coming particularly out of the United States Fire Administration and other fire service groups—on training, fire prevention, fire fighting tactics and what have you.
All this information is essential to the fire protection profession and we try our best to provide it.
