Ronny J. Coleman, retired state fire marshal for the State of California, was awarded the 2014 Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award at this morning’s General Session.
“The selection of Ronny J. Coleman as the 2014 FDIC Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award recipient is an acknowledgment of what is known as a life well lived,” says FDIC Education Director Bobby Halton, who presented the award. Halton hailed Coleman as “the modern day Renaissance man; a man of letters and intellect; a man of action and compassion; and, most importantly, a gentleman and a leader.”
“Chief Coleman set a standard for excellence and involvement during his career,” Halton notes. “He has never ceased in his relentless devotion to the fire service and his fellow firefighters. Whether it be strategy and tactics, building codes, or preserving the heritage and legacy of our traditions and thoughts, Chief Coleman has been at the forefront.”
The recipient of numerous awards and honors in his illustrious career, Chief Coleman explained, “Each and every award that you receive has a special place. It has been my great pleasure to interact with many of the individuals that awards are named after, and that is what gives them special significance.”
Alluding to the most recent of his awards, he noted, “Tom Brennan was a friend, a peer, and a mentor for many years. Having my career compared to his is an honor beyond explanation. I find this award especially important to me because of who Tom was. I can only hope that my contributions to the fire service are in some way comparable to his.”
Among the awards and honors Chief Coleman had received were the 2011 Congressional Fire Services Institute Mason Lankford Award and special recognition from the International Code Council for his lifetime involvement in the development of fire codes. He also has had numerous awards named in his honor including the California Fire Chiefs Association Annual Fire Chief of the Year Award and the Center for Public Safety Excellence perpetual trophy devoted to excellence in leadership.
His involvement and service spanned across the fire service, encompassing codes as a member of the ICC Membership Development Committee and organizations as the president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs; vice president of the International Committee for Prevention and Control of Fire; president of the California League of Cities, Fire Chiefs Department; chairman of the California State Firefighters Association Volunteer Committee; a member of the Public Safety Committee for the League of California Cities, and the chairman of the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
Still active and involved in the fire service, he serves on the Fireman’s Fund National Committee, is president of The National Fire Heritage Center, is chair of the International Accreditation Services, Technical Advisory Committee on the Accreditation of Fire Prevention Bureaus for the International Code Council; and is a member of the National Construction Safety Team panel, under the jurisdiction of the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Tom Brennan was the editor of Fire Engineering for eight years and a technical editor. He had served more than 35 years in the fire service, including more than 20 years with the Fire Department of New York and five years as chief of the Waterbury (CT) Fire Department. He was co-editor of The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth Edition (Fire Engineering Books, 1995) and the recipient of the 1998 Fire Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award.
