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Meet Our Advisory Committee
This month we continue our series of profiles on the members of the Fireman's Fund HeritageSM Advisory Committee, a distinguished group of fire service professionals who give us advice on our work to support the fire service. Their insights and experience help guide our efforts, keeping us in tune with current and future firefighter needs and challenges.
Chief Bruce Varner
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Chief Bruce Varner, Santa Rosa, Calif. Fire Department |
A 40-year veteran of the fire service, Chief Bruce Varner joined his hometown Phoenix Fire Department as soon as he met the minimum age requirement of 21. His initial interest in the fire service began even earlier, and in a way different from that of most rookies. As a young freelance photographer working local fires, Varner became more interested in the firefighters' work than in his own.
Rising through the ranks of the Phoenix Fire Department to deputy chief in 1985, Varner was next offered the post of chief for the Carrollton, Texas Fire Department in 1992, where he served until 2004. His next step was to become chief of the Santa Rosa, Calif. Fire Department, where he continues to serve today.
Throughout his career, one of Chief Varner's top areas of concern has been firefighter safety. Varner was the fire safety officer for the Phoenix Fire Department and also became involved with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) programs. In Carrollton, he had his department take part in testing and research programs for the development of safer PPE and helmets — just one example of his interest in using technology as well as common sense measures to improve safety in the fire service. It was due in no small part to his emphasis on safety that Chief Varner was named Fire Chief Magazine's Career Fire Chief of the Year in 2001.
At this year's FRI in August, Chief Varner will join Washington, D.C. Fire and EMS Chief Dennis Rubin, another Heritage Advisory Committee member, in a presentation on reducing the transportation-related injuries and fatalities suffered by firefighters and EMTs. Entitled "Life and Death in the Fast Lane," the presentation will cover both apparatus-involved accidents and the deaths and injuries occurring among fire service professionals when responding to scenes on roads and highways.
Chief Varner tells firefighters to drive defensively — as though every vehicle on the road were a potential threat. Civilian drivers may be distracted by the emergency lights, sirens and slow or stopped traffic. "Firefighters sometimes can think they're invincible," he explains, "because they walk into fires and save people. But they can also get tagged on the freeway or rear-ended on the way to the fire, and get injured or worse.
"The number one thing we can do," he emphasizes, "is to wear a seat belt! Despite our training and education efforts, some firefighters are still not wearing their seat belts when riding to a fire scene," said Chief Varner. "There's a button on top of my computer that says ‘Put your seat belt on.' I'd like to add to that: ‘Put your seat belt on, dammit!'"
Background
Currently head of the Santa Rosa, Calif. Fire Department, Chief Varner continues to serve on the NFPA's Technical Correlating Committee on Fire Service Protective Clothing and Equipment. He also chairs the NFPA's Technical Committee on Electronic Safety Equipment for Fire and Emergency Services, which is responsible for standards on Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS).
Varner also serves as a member of the Fire and Emergency Television Network Board of Advisors, and is an active member of the IAFC's Safety and Health Section. Chief Varner is also an active member of the California State Firefighters Association, California Fire Chiefs Association, NFPA, Fire Department Safety Officers, International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the Institution of Fire Engineers. Chief Varner has a BS in Business Administration from Trinity College and an AA in Fire Science from Phoenix College.
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