Category: Dr. White

By Dr. Lynn White, President

A new billboard was posted in San Angelo, Texas, recently.  It showed three cowboys riding the range coming toward us. The Bank’s message was “Historically Thinking Forward”.

I immediately thought about the work of the National Fire Heritage Center.  While moving over 30,000 archived documents about America’s fire services and disciplines to Internet Archives in 2024, we are looking forward to scanning of these documents to begin in 2026 so anyone with a question about fire can search them through a link from our website directly to our library at IA.

This effort has led to our decision to publish a Fire Heritage Journal starting in 2026.  We look forward to receiving papers for review that are “Historically Thinking Forward”.  Choose a topic of concern or interest to you and share what you discover through research on what you have learned from the history on this topic as the basis for future research or best practices.  You might share some insights into how best practices in the past could help identify missing pieces.  

I’m reminded of a study done on protective gear that discovered that by designing PPE that could resist higher temperatures, we failed to consider the total PPE envelope.  Firefighters could remain cooler in their coats while their helmets were melting.  A firefighter looked at the history of back injuries and discovered a way to reduce the strain and damage to firefighter’s backs by inventing a device to roll up hose of varying widths while squeezing water from the hose. Then the hose could be rolled to the apparatus and unrolled as it was placed on the apparatus.

Recently, a firefighter was concerned about the limited number of responders in small departments.  He invented and tested a device to wear on the firefighter’s chest that holds the fire hose in the position and flow setting for the situation to use in approaching a fire while having free hands to use a thermal imaging camera, radio or do other search procedures.  How many of these tools are being used in your department?  When purchasing decisions are being made, how much research happens to find the best way to meet current and future needs, or do we just replace what no longer works with the same products?

If you aren’t into doing the research and sharing it with others, we invite you to learn from what others have discovered and share.  If you’re not receiving our updates through e-blast and blog messages, send your current e-mail address to archivist@fireheritageusa.org.  

If you have questions about submitting an article to the Journal, email the editor at fireheritagereview@gmail.com

I challenge you to”Historically Think Forward.”

Lynn White, President

NFHC Board of Directors

Support the National Fire Heritage Center

If you value our mission, we invite you to make a donation to the National Fire Heritage Center. Your contribution helps preserve and share vital knowledge that informs the future of fire protection. Click below to donate and make an impact today.

In honor of the father of America’s fire service, Benjamin Franklin, the National Fire Heritage Center was established to preserve the history of America’s fire services and disciplines.  One NFHC project is to honor writers of books and documents that tell our history.  Nominations are open now and we encourage you to choose an author whose works have helpful to you and submit a nomination.  Nomination forms are available to http://www.fireheritageusa.org. 

If someone in America’s fire service, an instructor, fire apparatus manufacturer, fire protection equipment manufacturer or perhaps a fire protection engineer has influenced your life, I encourage you to recognize them on Father’s Day with a donation to the National Fire Heritage Center with a note including their e-mail address to let us be able to notify them of your donation in their honor.  Join us in preserving America’s fire service and disciples’ history this Father’s Day.

Lynn White

President, NFHC

The National Fire Heritage Center thanks you for your past support of our mission.  We are thankful that you have enabled us to collect over 30,000 archive documents and want you to know that through an agreement we made this year with Internet Archives, in about two years, they will have scanned and entered these documents into their online library in the NFHC section.

We have kept items we consider prime archives of the history of America’s fire services and disciplines.  We are also building relations with the Fire Museum Network to facilitate transfer of non-archival items we receive so they can be properly displayed in participating museums.

Our headquarters had to be moved. We are thankful for the opportunity to have our office, some storage space, access to a conference room and exposure to traffic coming to the Allegheny Museum in Cumberland. Our new address is 3 Pershing Street Suite 307, Cumberland MD 21502 and our phone number is (301) 876-3454. Our budget for our office and storage is $900 a month, all utilities included.  

Our board had a successful meeting in October where we completed our strategic plan for the next 5 years.  Projects we have targeted to initiate in 2025 that are the focus of our new donor categories to sustain our finances.  They include:

• Building museum relations
• Launching a research journal
• Virtual training for archivists on fire services history
• Growing archive collection management
• Promoting fire history awareness via the NFHC blog and website

We look forward to hearing your response to our plans and your questions about how you can best support our efforts.  Do you have research to be submitted?  Do you have information to share through our blog? Who could you nominate for the Hall of Legends, Legacies and Leadership and the Ben Franklin Writers Award.  Will you be listed in our Who’s Who directory? We are thankful for your past and future contributions that sustain our efforts.

Regards,

Lynn White, President

Dick DeVore, Archivist and Executive Director

As a long-time supporter of the National Fire Heritage Center’s mission, I want you to know what we have accomplished this year and our plans for continuing our dedicated volunteer efforts to preserve the history of America’s fire services and disciplines.  Your continued support is vital to our success.

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Internet Archive

The board had been exploring how we might collaborate with other organizations to be more effective in archive management.  We learned in August 2023 that we needed to move to a new location by July 1, 2024.  We are pleased to share that the Internet Archives, whose mission is to become the world’s largest online library, entered an agreement with us in January and completed packing and moving 80% of our archives (over 700 boxes) for them to scan and place in their online library “free” of charge.  We chose items of significant historical value and items designated to stay in our possession to move to our new location, the Allegheny Museum in Cumberland, MD.  We will be hosting our first board meeting there on October 19th.

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Strategic Plan

We will continue to receive donations of archive materials and will work with Internet Archives to transfer annually the items that are best shared through their online library.  Many items are donated that are not documents and are best preserved and shared through fire museums.  We transferred some items to the West Virginia Fire Museum, returned items individuals had loaned and chose to have them returned. We will be presenting at the Fire Museum Network Conference in October to explore how we might best share future items donated to NFHC that need to be placed in a museum.  Watch our newsletter and a new NFHC blog to be announced soon for updates on archives received, archives available on the Internet Archives website, and items forwarded to a museum.

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New Strategic Plan

To guide our transition from focusing on a place to “store” archives to new ways to preserve our archives, we will be finalizing our new strategic plan at the October board meeting.  Our initiatives as they are drafted now include:

Advocacy

•  Engage policymakers to promote preservation.

•  Establish guidance for digital archives.

•  Raise public awareness through campaigns.

Capacity

•  Recruit and retain archivists.

•  Expand the collection and ensure adequate storage facilities.

•  Develop a sustainable staffing plan.

Connectivity/Synergy

•  Develop partnerships with fire service organizations and museums.

•  Foster a volunteer network.

•  Promote NFHC’s work through media channels.

Discovery

• Support research initiatives on fire protection and fire service disciplines history.

•  Promote scholarly use of NFHC’s collections.

Education

•  Develop educational programs for schools and museums.

•  Create online resources for broader engagement.

Engagement

•  Build relationships with fire service professionals and educators.

•  Host public events and exhibitions.

Impact

•  Measure the NFHC’s contribution to preservation.

•  Develop recognition programs for contributors to fire protection and fire service disciplines history.

 Infrastructure

•  Maintain and improve physical and digital infrastructure.

•  Secure funding for facility expansion.

Outreach

•  Develop marketing and outreach strategies.

•   Increase presence at fire service and historical conferences.

Research

•  Support and publish research on fire protection and fire service disciplines history.

•  Collaborate with academic institutions.

Support

•  Secure financial support through grants and donations.

•  Promote fiscal responsibility.

Long-Term Sustainability

•  Develop a sustainable funding model.

•  Invest in staff retention and development.

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Support Our Mission

To achieve what we have done this year, our moving, rental, and operating expenses have been $9,209, while our donations have been $4,503.  We have $57,000 in designated funds and about $3,500 in our checking account.  We’ve been so busy with archive management that we have not sent you renewal notices this year. 

I encourage you to go to fireheritageusa.org and donate before the end of September to update your Who’s Who status or to donate any amount you wish to support our mission. As a 501c3 organization, you can claim your donations as a tax deduction. Also, remember that NFHC donations are a wonderful way to provide memorials to fallen fire service friends and to honor people who have influenced your career.

We appreciate your past support and look forward to what you can donate to help us transition into a new era of fire heritage preservation and sharing.

Dr. Lynn White, President