He's definitely considered a leader among fire chiefs in the industry. His emphasis . . . has always been to ensure our crews are performing with the highest level of professionalism and have the best training and equipment.
(He) walked over to this thing, grabbed it with his thumb and forefinger, and lifted it off the table. The place just erupted.
From a fire department standpoint our number 1 priority is life safety.
Our fire department is better than it has ever been. It's as a result of his leadership without a doubt. The next fire chief to walk in . . . will have big shoes to fill.
Coincidentally the crews were actually in the midst of doing high-angle scenario training at our training and maintenance centre this morning when the call came in.
He literally spent every waking hour walking around with those things in his hand, squeezing them. He was determined to improve.
