NAMES IN THE NEWS
Robert E. Osby has been appointed fire chief of the San Jose, CA, Fire Department. He is the first chief ever hired from outside the department and the first black fire chief in San Jose’s history. Chief Osby previously served as fire chief of Inglewood, a position he held since September 1979. Prior to that, he served in the San Diego Fire Department for 20 years, where he attained the rank of battalion chief. Chief Osby replaces Vince Clet, who retired after six years as San Jose’s fire chief.
John J. O’Rourke, chief of the New York City Fire Department, received the Fire/ Safety Directors Association award for 1985. The award, presented at an association seminar last month, was in recognition of Chief O’Rourke’s dedication and commitment to the advancement of modern fire technology. Chief O’Rourke noted that a building’s fire safety director can provide valuable and vital information to the incident commander during a high-rise emergency situation.
Instructor of the year
“Care about everybody you teach and just give it your best shot.”
Ronald E. Moore, a firefighter with the Henrietta, NY, Fire District, does just that. A senior training technician with the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control, Moore’s dedication and commitment to fire service training and education has earned him the 1985 Instructor of the Year Award, the highest recognition given by the International Society of Fire Service Instructors.
Much of Moore’s background parallels that of George D. Post, in whose honor the award is given. Moore was a key developer of New York State’s general extrication and bus extrication courses, the latter stemming from several serious bus accidents on New York’s highways.
Despite degrees in fire protection technology, graphic arts, and photography, Moore is a true grass roots instructor, “delivering the (fire service) gospel out of the back of his car,” as one fire service official put it. Operating on a limited budget and with limited resources, he travels to various fire departments throughout the United States, teaching courses in rescue and extrication. Last summer, Moore and a six-man crew from the Henrietta Fire District spent their free time in automobile junkyards training for an international rescue competition that was held in Canada in September. Moore also takes his students into junkyards every Saturday to give them hands-on training in vehicle extrication.
This summer, Moore will be permanently assigned to the New York State Fire Academy in their curriculum development section.
Moore has written several articles for FIRE ENGINEERING, the latest in his bus extrication series having appeared in the March 1985 issue.
