Yes, I am a fire fighter. Actually, I am the Training Chief of the Tyler Fire Department located in Tyler, Texas. I have been a member of the Tyler Fire Department for 22 years. I am also a member and past president of the Tyler Professional Fire Fighters Association, Local 883, International Association of Fire Fighters. I am a charter member and served as the first Secretary of the Texas Association of Fire Educators. I currently serve as treasurer of the Texas Association of Fire Educators. As if this were not enough, I am the president of the East Texas Historical Fire Society.

I have been married to an absolutely wonderful woman for 22 years. She is a professional educator, author, unbelievable gardener, and gaming zone addict. I have one step-daughter and one 11 year old granddaughter.

If you are interested in trading patches, please E-Mail me.

The Tyler Fire Department is a fully paid department consisting of 4 divisions with 129 personnel. Of this total, 127 are civil service uniform personnel and three are civilian. There are seven structural fire stations and one airport station. These stations serve approximately 50 square miles of incorporated city and protect approximately 80,000 citizens. The City of Tyler has annexed an additional 4 3/4 square miles in 1998. The annexation will take effect on May 1, 1999. Because of this annexation, the fire department was approved to add one additional engine company and will soon be building a new fire station 9.

The department is divided into four divisions. These are administration, prevention, maintenance, and suppression. Our department has an annual operating budget of 6.3 million dollars. Take this link to see a listing of current equipment in our department.

The administration division consists of the Fire Chief, Assistant Fire Chief, Training Chief, and two secretaries. The adminstrative services division is responsible for direction and control of the department, purchasing and finance, and emergency management for the entire city.

The Maintenance division consists of a Maintenance Chief and a civilian apparatus technician. This division is responsible for oversight of the departments preventive maintenance program, apparatus maintenance and repair, maintenance and certification of SCBA, and SCBA/air support at fire scenes.

The Prevention division is made up of a Fire Marshal and three Fire Investigator/Inspectors. This division is responsible for enforcement of fire codes in the City of Tyler, investigation at all suspicious fires, maintenance of fire reporting and records systems, and management of the public fire prevention program.

The Suppression division is by far, the largest of the four divisions. There are 39 personnel on each of three shifts for a total of 117 personnel. Our department has 4 personnel assigned to each pumper and our minimum manning policy states that we maintain three.

The training division consists of the Training Chief, the Training Captain, and the Airport Captain. This sub-division of the administration division is responsible for all in-service training of suppression personnel, maintenance of State Fire Commission training records, maintenance of the fire hydrant maintenance program and the station inventory control program. As if we didn't have anything to do, we are also responsible for maintenance of the departments Computer Assisted Dispatch and Fire Records computer software programs.

Our department is currently undergoing a major technological upgrade. Within the next 9 months, our city will have completed several major projects that include installation and implementation of a City-Wide 800 MHz radio system. Within the next few years our entire county emergency services will be on the same radio system. Our city has also signed contracts and has begun the installation of a new Computer Aided Dispatch, Fire Records, Police Records system. The new system will be with HTE Inc. Our city has committed to the entire package. We will be installing on-board computer systems in all rolling stock of the department. We will also be using AVL's (automatic vehicle locators) which will allow us to track locations of all emergency apparatus at all times.

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The East Texas Historical Fire Society was founded in 1983. This group is dedicated to the history of the fire service, in particular, the history of the fire service in East Texas. The ETHFS is recognized by the State of Texas as a non-profit organization and has been recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(3)(c) tax exempt organization. Donations to the group are tax deductable.

The East Texas Historical Fire Society is affiliated with SPAAMFAA, The Society for the Preservation and Appreciation of Antique Motorized Fire Apparatus in America. The East Texas Chapter currently owns 19 pieces of fire apparatus. Our goal is to open a fire museum in Tyler, Texas that is dedicated to the fire service of East Texas.

Our group has been successful in acquiring a sizeable collection of antique fire apparatus. We are also the repository for fire records of the Tyler Fire Department when they are removed from the files of the department. We have also acquired antique fire dispatch equipment from the Dallas, Texas fire alarm office just before it was torn down. This equipment is dated in the 1910's.

Each year around the end of October, the ETHFS holds a fire muster. Fire Buff Groups from around the state and surrounding states come to Tyler for a weekend of fun, pumping, restoration ideas, and antique trading. See and read about the equipment owned by our group by taking this jump. There are a number of pictures.

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