Former Phoenix Fire Chief Alan Brunacini dies
Oct 16, 2017, 6:39 AM
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PHOENIX — Longtime firefighting expert and former chief Alan Brunacini has died, Phoenix Fire Department officials announced.
Brunacini, who was city fire chief for 28 years, held every sworn position in the department. He joined in 1958 and went on to become a captain, battalion chief and assistant chief before assuming the top job in 1978.
He died Sunday at age 80.
“Chief Brunacini’s impact on the Fire Industry is impossible to quantify and our Brother and Sisters around the world grieve for his family,” the department said in a post on Facebook.
Brunacini’s mastery of fire service earned him praise and respect not only in Arizona but around the world.
FireEngineering.com, a magazine and website dedicated to firefighting training and management information, said the retired Brunacini received the Fire Department Instructors Conference International lifetime achievement award.
One of Brunacini’s innovations has led to improved safety of firefighters on the job.
After the 2001 death of a Phoenix firefighter, Brunacini set about researching rapid intervention teams and incident command, according to Firehouse.com.
He later created Blue Card, a program that trains command officers how to uniformly supervise and manage emergency incidents.
“As the father of incident command, he brought the fire service into the modern age of fire scene management,” Glenn Corbett, associate professor of fire science at John Jay College in New York City and a technical editor of FireEngineering.com told the website.
“His impact on the fire service will still resonate many years from now.”
Funeral arrangements were pending.