The staff of Fire Engineering is sad to note the passing of longtime New Jersey fire chief, instructor, and author Edward Flood.
Flood served as the chief of operations for North Hudson (NJ) Regional Fire & Rescue, shepherding the transition phase of regionalization, after which he served as deputy chief, 3rd Platoon, regional tour commander. He retired as the first chief of the regionalized department. He was an instructor in the New Jersey Fire Academy and the Bergen County Fire Academy. He is the co-founder and president of Study Group Inc., a partnership of fire and emergency service training and management experts providing consulting services for corporations and organizations and promotional tutorial services for fire and emergency service professionals. Along with Anthony Avillo, Flood co-authored the text Full Contact Leadership (Pennwell, 2017).
“Chief Flood exemplified the genuine and altruistic mission of the fire service,” said Anthony Avillo. “He understood that the fire service exists only for the community it serves. He put the mission ahead of himself and left the service better than he found it…much better. It was always about DA JOB.
In his tenure in the service and in life, he continuously sought to bring out the best in those in his charge. The phrase ‘Leaders who develop others add; leaders who develop leaders multiply’ applies to the chief as he touched, taught, and mentored countless firefighters across the state of New Jersey and beyond with his great wisdom and incredible foresight. It seemed like he packed 90 years of work into 30 years of service.”
“The influence Chief Flood had on my career cannot be overstated,” Avillo continued. ” It is hard for me to put down on paper all that he did for me over the course of my career. I came out of college to the Weehawken Fire Department not knowing the difference between a wiffle ball bat and a screwdriver. I was willing to learn and approached DA JOB and its philosophies like a sponge. I had met Ed at the gym where I worked just before I got on DA JOB. After a brief stint on an engine company, I was assigned to Truck 222 where Ed Flood was the captain, and so began my journey. He demanded excellence and continuously challenged me and pushed me to challenge myself. I was held to the highest standard and those challenges took many forms, from tough love when required to being dragged kicking and screaming to assignments that he knew I was up for even when I didn’t. He groomed me to be an officer and throughout my career, he was always looked out for me. Even retired, I sought his advice and strove to meet the standards he set for me. I often still ask myself, ‘What would Chief Flood do in this situation?’ I am both a better person and a better firefighter for having been involved with him. I consider myself extremely fortunate and am forever grateful to the chief for allowing me to ‘snatch the pebble from his hand.'”
“The day I got on the fire department in 1984, Captain Flood said to me, “When you leave work after a shift and DA JOB isn’t just a little better because you were there, then you did not do your job,’” Avillo went on. ” I believed it then and I believe it now. I pass it on in all the classes I teach across the country. One of my proudest achievements was the publishing of our book in 2017. Full Contact Leadership is Chief Flood’s legacy to the fire service. I am so glad that his brilliance has been captured in print. Chief Flood understood DA JOB like no one I have ever come across. He left an indelible mark on the Weehawken Fire Department, the North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue, and the fire service as a whole. There will never be another like him. He was the real deal. Rest in peace my brother.”
Our condolences to his family, the department, and all the firefighters whose careers he influenced over the years.
Full Contact Leadership: Sounds Like Command Presence: Ed Flood
Edward Flood, fire service vet who created NJ’s first regionalized fire department, has died
