Names in the News
Yost Appointed Chief
Deputy Chief John Yost was appointed chief of the Norwalk, Conn., Fire Department, effective October 1. He succeeded Chief Eugene R. Seymour, who had headed the department since July 1, 1974.
The new chief became a fire fighter on September 11, 1958, and received a promotion to captain five years later. When Yost was appointed as deputy chief January 2, 1969, he was assigned as training director, a post he held until July 1977, when he became a platoon commander.
Yost holds an associate in applied science degree in fire technology from Hartford State Technical College and is a candidate for a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology and public safety at Central Connecticut State College.
Seymour became a call fire fighter in 1938 and was appointed to the permanent force April 1, 1943. He was named a captain in 1959 and deputy chief in 1962. He became the department’s first training director in 1968.
Banes Leaves Wake Island
Herbert S. Bane, manager of fire protection and crash rescue at Wake Island since 1973, has been named senior advisor at Damascus, Syria, by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
From 1966 until 1973, Bane was assigned to Vietnam where his duties varied from training military and civilian fire fighters to commanding tactical fire teams throughout the republic. He has served as consultant to numerous United States Government and foreign government agencies. Under the United Nations Development Program, he conducted the first senior rescue fire course from the Singapore ICAO training center.
Bane, a graduate of Sussex University with a B.S. in fire administration, has authored numerous articles in national and international fire journals as a qualified expert in airport fire protection, operations and management.
He has been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations. Among these are the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, the Civilian Award of Valor, and the Benjamin Franklin Fire Service Award.
Boxdorfer Heads IMSA
Robert L. Boxdorfer, Sr., St. Louis Fire Department alarm and signal superintendent, was elected president of the International Municipal Signal Association at the recent 84th Annual Conference of IMSA in Toronto, Ontario.
Boxdorfer, a Marine Corps veteran of the Korean conflict, is a graduate electrical engineer of the University of Missouri, and has pursued graduate studies in traffic engineering and administration at the University of Illinois and Saint Louis University. He is a registered professional engineer in Missouri.
