Baltimore fire chief to join panelists at Brunacini Retreat

Balitmore Fire Chief James Clack

The Brunacini Fire-Rescue Leadership Institute will present the Chief Brunacini Leadership Retreat to area firefighters and emergency service personnel on July 18-20 at the Hilton Baltimore, 401 W. Pratt St. in Baltimore.

This educational and motivational leadership workshop introduces attendees to an array of case studies and personal experiences by some of the nation’s fire service leaders. Roundtable discussions and presentations will be led by renowned fire chief Alan Brunacini and include Billy Hayes, vice president of marketing and outreach at CSU and a former fire chief in Riverdale, Ga.; Bruce Varner, retired fire chief in Santa Rosa, Calif.; Dennis L. Rubin, a former fire chief in Norfolk, Va., Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Joining this panel of experts will be guest James Clack, fire chief of the Baltimore Fire Department.

“Chief Brunacini is an icon of the American fire service and I am honored to participate in any event where he is participating in the discussion,” said Clack. “I am looking forward to exchanging/debating new ideas and learning from the experiences of other fire officers from around the country.”

Clack spent the first 22 years of his career in Minneapolis where he started as a firefighter and retired as a fire chief before taking on his current role in 2008. He was the unified incident commander for the Interstate-35W bridge collapse over the Mississippi River in downtown Minneapolis on Aug. 1, 2007.  He and fellow panelists will be discussing many issues facing today’s fire officers and demands of leadership.

“The most important issue fire officers face today is meeting increasing service demands with shrinking resources,” Clack said. “It is a challenging time to lead firefighters, but it is also a very rewarding time to be a leader.”

“The Brunacini Leadership Retreat is an opportunity for folks that are fire chiefs or interested in becoming fire chiefs to get together and have a three-day experience where they can exchange ideas and learn new information,” added Rubin.

Participants also have the option to earn two continuing education units and/or three optional hours of CSU college credit upon successful completion of additional coursework and a Blue Card Command Certification Program 50-Hour Online Course.