Fire Engineering at 140: Still “Devoted to the Interests of the Firemen of the Country”
By Glenn Corbett
Trust is why our oldest American institutions have stood the test of time. For 140 years, America’s firefighters have trusted Fire Engineering to bring them the information they need to do their jobs effectively and safely, to advocate on their behalf, to admonish them from time to time, and to live up to the mission statement proclaimed in the very first issue: “Devoted to the Interests of the Firemen of the Country.”
Digging deep into Fire Engineering’s past is to relive the most pressing issues that our predecessors faced and learn how they dealt with them. Some of the stories you will find include the transition from horse-drawn to motorized apparatus, the introduction of the halligan tool, the tragic fires that led to stricter fire safety measures, the first self-contained breathing apparatus, and the incredible loss of our 343 brothers on 9/11. During this 140th anniversary year, each issue of Fire Engineering will feature an article from one decade that will allow us to compare and contrast the issues of yesterday and today. Progress in firefighting and fire protection is achieved through lively discussion and debate. Some of these arguments are still unresolved; some are resurrected.
In this early verbal tug of war below, the excerpts concern hose stream selection. Many will likely find it entertaining, if not amusing, when comparing them with contemporary arguments over smooth bore vs. fog nozzles. I hope all of you will find this and future anniversary issues an incentive to reflect on how far we’ve come and how far we still need to go.
The Fireman’s Journal, June 16, 1883:
Charles Oyston of Little Falls, New York, patented the first fog nozzle in 1863 and is referenced below as an advocate of the use of multiple smaller streams vs. one larger stream.
Large vs. Small Streams. The discussion in these columns of the relative merits of large and small streams of water in the extinguishment of fires has excited marked attention, not only in this country, but [also] in Europe …. We reproduce an editorial from the London Fireman which will be read with interest by all who desire to inform themselves on the subject.
An interesting discussion upon the relative value of large and small streams for fire extinguishing has recently been proceeding in the columns of the Fireman’s Journal of New York. The use of small streams is advocated by Mr. Charles Oyston; a veteran Fireman, well known in America, and Chief Martin Cronin, of Washington, comes forward as the champion of larger jets …. [W]e are strongly of opinion that [the] question will not be satisfactorily decided upon scientific grounds …. [N]o two fires are exactly alike ….
Mr. Oyston … argues that sixteen smaller streams will cover more surface, and therefore are better adapted for fire extinguishing, than the single two-inch stream. Now, we have very little to object to Mr. Oyston’s theory, … but we do not see that the question is of much practical importance to Firemen. We do not believe any experienced Fire Brigade officer would sanction the use of a two-inch stream if he could get near enough to the fire to use the smaller jets; but if the fire were raging fiercely and a near approach could not be gained, the smaller streams might not reach the seat of the fire at all, and the relative value of the two sizes under such circumstances is not worth discussing. On the other hand, our experienced officer would not dream of sending a man up a ladder with a two-inch or even a half-inch stream to fight a fire in a closet …. In determining the proper size of the stream to be employed, we repeat that all the conditions previously mentioned will probably have to be taken into account.
The case may, we think, be stated thus: For the purpose of extinguishing the fire only, the greatest possible amount of water which can be brought into contact with the seat of the fire, that is to say, with the substances actually burning, is the most effective. But for the purpose of extinguishing the fire with the least possible damage and loss, which all Firemen should aim at, the least quantity of water which will hold the fire in check and prevent its spreading must be employed. If the water does this perfectly, it will soon gain ground and extinguish the fire ….[A] little practical experience is worth any amount of science, and upon the former reliance must always be placed by Fire Brigade officers ….
The Fireman’s Journal, December 29, 1883:
Chief Martin Cronin responded in the excerpt below, from the first of three articles. Quoting the editorial, “…the question will not be satisfactorily decided upon scientific grounds,” he continues as follows:
Scientific Knowledge and The Fire Service. …. I suppose the able editor means to say that all a fireman needs to make him an A No. I in his profession is experience.… It is surprising that at this day. . . that such an opinion should be gravely put forward in a paper which holds itself up to the world as an authority in one of the most important departments of municipal government. The time has gone by for the issuance of such delusions for the guidance of others. The question will be decided upon scientific grounds, as the physical forces brought into action thereunder are capable of, if not rigorously direct, at least approximately quantitative, measurement, sufficiently accurate for our purposes. In this case no amount of experience can avail …. How shall the fireman know the different conditions he has to deal with unless he is theoretically familiar with the nature of the work he has to do in the way of the extinguishment of fires? … A man with scientific knowledge and equal experience is far the superior of the man who has merely experience to guide him … the fireman of the future … will be one who has given his days and nights to the study of thermo-dynamics.
From National Fireman’s Journal to Fire Engineering
By ROB MALONEY
National Fireman’s Journal first appeared on November 17, 1877, with the motto, “Devoted to the Interests of the Firemen of the Country.” The 16-page weekly offered news and comments on firefighter salary reductions, poor building construction, kerosene dangers, hydraulics, quality fire equipment, arson, and more. Although the Journal would be an advocate for firefighters, the editors would nonetheless “indignantly repudiate” the idea that in such a role it would be “the tool of any clique or ring, for the promulgation of any particular ideas, or for the advancement of the special aims of any person.” Fire departments from around the country welcomed the prospect of a dedicated firefighters’ journal.
On January 4, 1879, it became The Fireman’s Journal and ran 20 pages. The editors recalled that some had “predicted it would not live a year. We call the attention of these croakers to Volume III, which not only indicates that it ‘still lives,’ but has met with so fair a degree of success as to justify it in enlarging and improving its general style. We propose to go on living for many years to come, and shall not be satisfied until we have added many pages to our weekly issue.”
Fire and Water became its name with the 34-page, November 27, 1886 issue. The editors noted that “fire protection is impossible without both the fire and water branches of the public service.”
Celebrating the magazine’s 10th year, editors recalled being warned that firefighters would only subscribe to a magazine filled with “blood and thunder” stories. “We had a far better opinion of the firemen … [and] never sought to cater to the rougher elements … [We] urge the respectable men in the service to weed out those who are unworthy … A majority of the firemen are intelligent … good citizens who devote their services to the public without compensation or hope of reward.”
With the January 3, 1903, issue, the weekly magazine became Fire and Water Engineering, filled 28 larger pages, but was the “the same old friend, only in a new and improved form. We bespeak for it a hearty welcome and a patronage worthy of its contents.” It laid an especial emphasis on municipal water supply in addition to firefighting in its editorial and advertising pages.
Finally, with the January 10, 1926, issue, the magazine first appeared as Fire Engineering. The now semimonthly was the result of the merger of the weekly Fire and Water Engineering and the monthly Fire Engineer, which had been published for some 13 years. The 60-page magazine was then semimonthly and became a monthly publication with the January 1932 issue.
The Editors
By Rob Maloney
Fire Engineering has had many notable editors over the years. Here’s a brief summary.
National Fireman’s Journal was founded in 1877 by Peter Y. Everett and Clifford Thomson, both New Yorkers who had experience in journalism. More important, they were “Old Vamps”—New York City volunteer firefighters before the city organized a paid full-time municipal service in 1865. Everett had a long association with the old volunteer department and retired as an assistant engineer (assistant chief). Everett’s name would disappear from the Journal after 1878. Clifford Thomson would remain, addressing all manner of fire service issues. Most importantly, he urged applying science to firefighting and provided a forum for presenting and critiquing new ideas in firefighting. That tradition continues in today’s Fire Engineering.
Fred Shepperd came from Montana to New York and worked as an office messenger for Fire and Water Engineering, published by his uncle, F. W. Shepperd. He obtained an engineering degree, helped to organize the Fire College of New York in 1909, and served with the Army Corps of Engineers in World War I. He founded the magazine Fire Engineer, oversaw its merger with Fire and Water Engineering in 1926 to form the semimonthly Fire Engineering, and became the new journal’s managing editor. He continued to bring science into the world of firefighting, contributing features on hydraulics, and edited “The New York Fire College Course” series. Sheppard produced the first edition of The Fire Chief’s Handbook (1932) and Fire Service Hydraulics (1941). He continued as editor until 1956 and as editorial director until 1958, after which he revised the Fire Chief’s Handbook and other books. Fire Engineering, in noting his passing in 1971 at the age of 79, said, “Perhaps to no one else does the fire service owe so much as to Fred Shepperd, the first fire service editor.”
Roi B. Woolley had edited the magazine’s “The Watch Desk” column since 1938 and became assistant editor in 1944. He was then also chief of fire coordination of the Office of Civil Defense in Washington, D.C. He was assistant chief of the Larchmont (NY) Fire Department and an advocate for mutual aid. Woolley became editor in 1956, writing on overhaul and salvage and on firefighting involving hazardous metals. He vociferously criticized a proposal to merge the police and fire services, which he said might save money but would compromise firefighting effectiveness. On his retirement in 1958, Woolley noted that great strides had been made in the fire service despite staffing and equipment shortages.
Donald O’Brien joined Fire Engineering in 1956 as assistant editor; he became associate editor in 1957 and editor in 1958. He had served as an officer with the Auburn (NY) Fire Department and had worked for the Bureau of Fire in the New York State Division of Safety, and for the New York Fire Insurance Rating organization. School fire safety and preparation for nuclear war were just two issues current in that era. O’Brien edited the second edition of The Fire Chief’s Handbook. In his final editorial in July 1965, he urged firefighters to cooperate in a U.S. Department of Labor survey pertaining to death and injury rates among firefighters. He believed that lack of fire service statistics is a weakness, especially when answering critics.
Jim Casey joined Fire Engineering in 1962 as assistant editor and became editor in 1965. He had joined the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) in 1938 and had edited the department’s magazine, WNYF. Volunteers Corner, written by Richard Pratt Sylvia, first appeared in 1964. Building construction, urban unrest, emergency medical services, women in the fire service, and the establishment of the United States Fire Administration and the National Fire Academy were significant events during his tenure. By 1981, when he retired, the technology available to firefighters included radios, pagers, computerized dispatching, and more.
Richard Pratt Sylvia became editor in 1981, but he had contributed to the Volunteers Corner column since 1964. He had a background in journalism and served for a time as chief of the Noroton (CT) Fire Department, which he joined in 1954. Editor Jim Casey called him a “walking encyclopedia of fire service knowledge—training, equipment, apparatus, budgeting”—topics on which he lectured around the country. Advocating firefighter training, he wrote, “Training doesn’t need friends half as much as it needs fighters who will battle for it.” He left the magazine in late 1982 to participate in an outreach course at the National Fire Academy.
A second-generation firefighter, Jerry Laughlin succeeded Sylvia in 1982; he had served as associate editor since 1981. He joined the Birmingham (AL) Fire Department in 1970 and was the youngest member to become a certified fire instructor. Before joining the magazine, Laughlin worked for Oklahoma State University as associate editor and later as supervisor of fire training publications issued by the International Fire Service Training Association. He then was fire service publications editor for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). He stepped down in 1983 to return to the NFPA.
Tom Brennan joined the FDNY in 1962 and commanded Ladder Company 111 when he joined Fire Engineering in 1983, when it was at a low ebb. Five years later, he recalled, “Soon after coming on board, I was told by a publisher more interested in prostitution for advertising than information for subscribers, ‘Damn you, Brennan, you’re making this a magazine you want to read.’ Reflecting on this five years later, he wrote, “I knew who I was: I was you [firefighters]. I marched into the office with my (our) answer: ‘Yeah, I’m making it something I’d (we’d) read. Why did you hire me?’ More importantly, why the hell would I stay here if I’m (we’re) producing a magazine that I (we) won’t read?”
Bill Manning became editor of the magazine in 1990. Although experienced in publishing, he had no firefighting background and learned on the job, ultimately becoming a fierce advocate for the best interests of the fire service whether it was developing a national fire incident reporting system or challenging the excesses of the firefighter safety culture vs. aggressive, effective firefighting. Manning was the first education director of the Fire Department Instructors Conference, which Pennwell acquired in 1997.
Bobby Halton became editor in chief of Fire Engineering and educational director of the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) International in 2005 and had previously been chief of the Coppell (TX) Fire Department after retiring as deputy chief of operations for the Albuquerque (NM) Fire Department, where he served for 22 years. He was an FDIC board member, a Fire Engineering contributor, and an FDIC presenter. Assuming his duties, Halton continued his work on several critical fire service issues. Halton has worked closely with the National Institute of Standards and Technology and Underwriters Laboratories, conducting fire behavior and construction-related studies. He serves with the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, advancing firefighter cancer awareness as well as cardiovascular and autoimmune disease awareness. Halton serves on The Rosecrance Florian board, promoting firefighter mental health. He is active with the Sons of the Flag, advancing burn care for first responders and the military. In 2013, Halton assumed the role of editorial director for Fire Rescue and Fire Apparatus and Emergency Equipment.
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140 Years of Fire Engineering: The Tradition Continues
140 Years of Fire Engineering: The Back Page from ‘Random Thoughts’ to ‘On Fire’
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