5-alarm Task Force!

If you’re a firefighter and you’ve visited the City of Philadelphia, then I hope you took some time to visit one of the most important sites in American firefighting history – Firemen’s Hall. While this top-shelf museum deals mostly with the history of the Philadelphia Fire Department, it is also closely connected with the very first, organized volunteer fire department in, what was then the colonies – the Union Fire Company, founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1736. In front of the museum is the carved, stone trough used to provide water to the horses.The Union Fire Company was actually a, “bucket brigade,” and they did the best they could do with that they had. However, today’s volunteer and combination fire departments are a far cry from those of long ago. Yet, many of today’s volunteer fire departments are still working off the model that Franklin created, “neighbors helping neighbors.” My guest on this podcast, Chief John M. Buckman III, is a past-president of the IAFC and one of the great leaders and mentor