Government
BY COLE GEE
Meet the Fire Chiefs Association president, Raymond Flannelly On Jan. 8, Raymond Flannelly was officially elected as president of the Montgomery County Fire Chiefs Association. A 45-year veteran of the force, Flannelly has served the county as fire chief of Montgomery County Emergency Services District No. 9 for the last 16 years. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity. What are your responsibilities as president of the Fire Chiefs Association? Really, it’s just to keep each fire department, there’s 12 fire departments in Montgomery County, ... keep them informed of what we’re doing, any future growth, training options, anything that better prepares us to assist the citizens that reside in Montgomery County or traveling through Montgomery County. You’ve been a part of the firefighting world for around 45 years, going up to now. How’s it changed since you first started? It’s changed tremendously, and the change is for the better. The firemen in the beginning of time didn’t worry about things like cancer or mental health, and that’s the biggest change. Take a fire coat, for example. A bunker coat that a firefighter puts on has a life expectancy of 10 years. And every year, that coat has to be tested by a third- party tester, and it has to pass inspection. Until recently, we never cared about the person wearing that coat. How messed up is that? ... Now we have things in place to protect the firefighters’ longevity. Cancer is running crazy in
the fire service. ... I’m thankful that we’re finally realizing mental health and cancer prevention are things that are important again for the longevity of these firefighters. Is there a moment in your career that most shaped the kind of leader you are today? A moment, no, but I’ve been very blessed to work around very talented officers. I picked and chose from each officer what I felt would be a ben- efit to me and my leadership style. I’ve always led by example, 35 years as a company officer in the city of Houston, the third-largest fire department in the United States. What are some of the bigger challenges fire departments in Montgomery County face right now? Growth and financing, Montgomery County is growing so fast that each department in the county has a hard time keeping up. ... To build a station nowadays is roughly about $5 million on the low end, and they don’t have to plan for that. ... So a fire chief has to always think about tomor- row; planning is a huge part of what’s going on in the fire service in Montgomery County. Are there any initiatives you hope to implement as Fire Chief Association president? I would like to see us train together more. It’s 12 different fire departments, and your homeowner’s insurance is based on an ISO score. An ISO score has many elements to help maintain an affordable home insurance policy on your house. Well, when we train with our neighbors, you get points for that to help reduce your homeowner’s insurance. So I’d like to see more interlocal training, which has really started to gear up over the last couple of months. ... The great thing about the fire service in Montgomery County is if my department is tied up on an incident, our neighbors will come in and just
COURTESY RAYMOND FLANNELLY
assume the role as if it were their incident, and that’s pretty significant. What would you say to a young person considering a career in firefighting today? I would suggest education. ... Degrees are important. Certifications are important, but more importantly, your physical shape and use [of] the programs that are available to you. Mental health, cancer screening, physicals and take care of yourself.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. For a longer version, visit communityimpact.com .
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