IFSTA 90th

FACILITY FIRE BRI FIRE AND EMERGENCY SERVICES INS FIRE PROTECTION, DETECTION, AN

FIRE SERVICE HYDRAULICS AND WATER SUPPLY HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TECHNICIAN PRINCIPLES OF PASSENGER VEHICLE EXTRICATION GROUND COVER FIRE FIGHTING FOR STRUCTURAL FIREFIGHTERS

Figure 5

The conferences also followed the pattern Heisler laid down in 1934. Between yearly meetings, Heisler compiled the information contributed at the last conference. He wrote the text on yellow legal paper, then had it typed up and sent it out to area fire chiefs and other knowledgeable people for their comments and criticism. Some manuals or parts of manuals were written by others in the field. Hudiburg wrote some sections and so did Chief Lothar Smith of Edmond, Oklahoma. It should be noted that Smith was the father- in-law of Harold Mace, who later became Director of the fire programs at OSU. Revised drafts were then presented at the

next conference for validation. Delegates met at Stillwater’s No. 1 (Central) Fire Station until 1938 when the No. 2 Campus Fire Station was constructed (Figure 6) . After the Student Union was built on the Oklahoma A&M campus, delegates worked in the basement “Howdy Room,” dodging the posts to see the speaker. Until the last move, Heisler himself sat up front and read the draft aloud word for word to the whole group. When anyone objected to a point in the draft, the participant spoke up. Discussion (or argument) followed until the question was resolved. Then the reading continued. New material could be created this way, and in time, older manuals were revised. As Heisler initially knew little about fire fighting, the material in the manuals had to come from those who did. From their experience, conference delegates gave expert advice about equipment and techniques, but some material came from other sources. Professor R. J. Douglas, head of the Department of Firemanship Training at Oklahoma A&M,

Figure 6

IFSTA/FPP: THE FIRST 90 YEARS 9

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