NAMES IN THE NEWS
Donald M. O’Brien, a former editor of FIRE ENGINEERING, died May 4, 1986. A native of Auburn, NY, where he joined the Auburn Fire Department, Mr. O’Brien later moved to the Bureau of Fire in New York State’s Division of Fire Safety. He served in the Marine Corps during World War II, and received the Bronze Star and the Combat “V” for lifesaving during the Iwo Jima Campaign.
In 1956, Mr. O’Brien joined FIRE ENGINEERING, becoming editor in 1958. From 1965 through 1975, he was general manager of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. After this, he was the general manager of the International Municipal Signal Association in Washington, D.C. From 1980 until January 1986, Mr. O’Brien served as the executive vice-president of the New Jersey Hotel and Motel Association.
Russell E. Sanders, a 19-year veteran of the Louisville, KY, Fire Department, was appointed fire chief of the Louisville Divfsion of Fire. He succeeds Chief Larry Bonnafon, who retired July 1.
Chief Sanders joined the department in 1967 as a firefighter and rose steadily through the ranks. He has completed more than 420 hours in special training and is currently in the third year of a new threeyear Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, MD.
Chief Sanders has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and a Masters degree in education, both from the University of Louisville. Next year, Chief Sanders will complete work on a second Masters degree, this one in the field of community development.
John P. Caulfield, the assistant leader of the Democratic majority in the New Jersey Senate and fire director of Newark for 24 years, died August 24,1986. He was 67 years old.
Mr. Caulfield was widely known as a champion of fire safety, a field in which he was considered a leading expert. As fire director, he oversaw operations at some major explosions and fires, such as the January 1983 gasoline storage tank incident in the Port of Newark. He said deaths caused by accident or arson impelled him to seek safety measures.
Mr. Caulfield was chairman of the State Fire Safety Commission and, at the behest of the legislature, headed an 18-month study that in 1983 produced a detailed set of recommendations for a uniform statewide fire safety code and a central office to administer it.
Before his appointment as fire safety director, Mr. Caulfield was a Newark police officer, an Essex County sheriff’s officer, and a detective in the County Prosecutor’s Office.
Mr. Caulfield studied at St. Peter’s College and Seton Hall, Rutgers and New York Universities. He served in the Navy from 1941 to 1945 and saw action in the Pacific.
