LAFD officials from left, Chief Troy Hughes, former Training Chief Benjamin Stone, former Battalion Chief Paul Grano, former chief member of command staff Hank Blackwell and Deputy Chief Wendy Servey gathered recently outside the Blue Window. Not pictured former Deputy Chief Steve Dawald. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com
By CAROL A. CLARK
Los Alamos Daily Post
caclark@ladailypost.com
Many members of this community are dedicating their careers to lead and serve others. The Los Alamos Fire Department (LAFD) is among those organizations boasting a treasure trove of such individuals. Just the other day I personally witnessed two young EMT/firefighters arrive in the ER at Los Alamos Medical Center to prepare a friend of mine for transport. The respect and gentle kindness with which they treated her would have made their chief very proud. The ER nurse caring for my friend was equally admirable.
While these EMT/firefighters are in the early stages of their careers, they certainly exhibit a calling to go on to lead and inspire others as they advance through the ranks.
LAFD at the senior level has six individuals who have risen through the ranks to achieve the title of Certified Executive Fire Officers – an intensive four year program of the National Fire Academy: Chief Troy Hughes, Deputy Chief Wendy Servey, former Deputy Chief Steve Dawald, former Training Chief Benjamin Stone, former Battalion Chief Paul Grano and a chief member of the command staff Hank Blackwell.
This certification means they have learned the exercise of leadership in crafting bold and imaginative public policy solutions that keep the community safe. They have obtained the leadership skills to strengthen the LAFD and help make the community more resilient. By applying the teachings of the Executive Fire Officer program, the officers are able to help their personnel understand how their work ties into the overall service to the community.
So who inspires these inspiring individuals?
Fire Chief Hughes
“I admire Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., because doing what was right no matter the conditions was important to him. He stayed steady despite working in ‘five-alarm fire’ conditions … like we do in a way … but we have different conditions … we see deaths from fires but the intensity is similar to his life,” Chief Hughes said.
Chief Hughes earned his Executive Fire Officer Certification in 2010. He has served in the fire service for more than 38 years, 11.6 of those years with LAFD.
What drew him to the fire service and what has kept him on the job for nearly four decades?
“Initially the excitement of the lights, sirens and opportunity to help people drew me to the fire service,” he said. “I also admired the team environment … we often help each other with house projects and other activities … it’s that team bonding that makes the fire service so great.”
Deputy Chief Servey
The person Deputy Chief Servey admires most is Ruth Bader Ginsburg who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020.
“I like that she was always fighting for the underdog … I’m also a person who fights for the underdog,” she said. “I like the fair justice system because they look at decisions with a balance between fairness and interpreting the law … I like to make decisions based on that balance.”
Deputy Chief Servey earned her Executive Fire Officer Certification in 2019. She has served in the fire service for 23 years, 17 of those with LAFD. She explained that she joined LAFD because it had the best overall reputation as a good department with excellent training.
“I was drawn to the fire service because I wanted a job that was physical and where I could help people and where there was variety,” Deputy Chief Servey said. “I was working in a corporate office before so entering the fire service was a career change for me … I’ve never regretted it.”
Deputy Chief Dawald
“I’ve always admired Peyton Manning,” he said. “From his days as a Tennessee Volunteer, an Indianapolis Colt, and a Denver Bronco, he has always been the ultimate team player. His ability to excel through adversity while motivating others to better themselves and not settle for less are attributers that I tried to emulate throughout my career. I’m no Peyton Manning, but I did do my best to excel at my craft, respect my supervisors, peers, and subordinates, and played a small part in helping others advance in their careers be it in the classroom, or in the field … ‘Best job ever’”.
Deputy Chief Dawald has served 30 years in the fire service. 23.5 with LAFD. He held the ranks of Firefighter/Paramedic, Engineer, Captain and Battalion Chief prior to Deputy Chief.
He explained what drew him to the fire service.
“A family friend who was a Fire Captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department invited me to the fire station when I was in high school to show me what the job was about. I fell in love with the idea of becoming a firefighter right away,” he said. “Teamwork, making a difference, and putting others’ needs before their own was what I witnessed. It felt right, so I decided to see if I could do it. He helped me get started with the Explorer program and from that point on, I never looked back. I went to college and started working on my fire science degree, earned my EMT and Paramedic Licenses, and began working with a private ambulance service and volunteered with three local fire departments. I loved every minute of it. I believe these experiences helped me to get hired with LAFD.”
He said that the best thing about being a firefighter was “being a part of something bigger than myself. Making a difference in people’s lives during their times of need and helping them through those tough times motivated me to be the best I could be at my job. I always would say, “give more than you take and the job will pay you back more than you could ever imagine.”
Deputy Chief Dawald said that he stayed with LAFD for so long “because it was a great place to work … I also made a promise to myself to give my all to the first fire department that offered me a job. I kept that promise for 23.5 years.”
Deputy Chief Steven Dawald retired and is working with the Fire Protection Office as a Fire Protection Specialist focusing on LAFD support.
Training Chief Stone
The Dalai Lama is the person Chief Stone most admires.
“He is a Buddhist and I am a practicing Buddhist and I admire how peaceful he is and how he can bring any group of people together,” Training Chief Stone said.
Training Chief Stone earned his Executive Fire Officer Certification in 2022 and was the recipient of the prestigious MANA Award that year.
He explained that was drawn to the fire service because he comes from a family of public servants including his father and uncle.
“Our best thing at LAFD is our people … they all have a passion for helping the community … there is nothing negative I can say about anyone of them.”
Training Chief Stone has served in the fire service for 24 years, 20 at LAFD in September and four at Warners Hose Company in Syracuse, NY. He recently retired.
Battalion Chief Grano
“The person I admire most is my dad – his character, he was the best person I have ever known,” he said.
Battalion Chief Grano served 20 years in the fire service including a year volunteering in California and 19 at LAFD. He earned his Executive Fire Officer Certification in 2018.
“My family had lots of blue collar workers … lots of firefighters and cops and my dad retired as a police officer … I talked to my family about their work,” Grano said. “I decided on becoming a firefighter because I do like to help people and I wanted a challenging career and one in which I could support a family with good pay and benefits.”
Grano said that he was pleased with his decision to join LAFD.
“I really liked the people at LAFD and I love this community, I bought a house here and built a life here,” he said. He is now retired.
Chief member of command staff Blackwell
“I’ve always admired Nelson Mandela … but my three heroes are my daughters,” he said. “They are remarkable women in spite of their dad.”
Before joining LAFD, Blackwell joined the Los Alamos Mountaineers and trained in High Angle Rescue. He joined LAFD in 1987, was a member of the very first class of the Executive Fire Officer Program certified at the National Fire Academy.
“As a little kid I was intrigued with firefighters, rescue and helping people … none of us go into it for the money … it’s to help people,” Blackwell said.
He left the LAFD in 1996 to accept the position of Fire Marshal for Santa Fe County Fire Department and Deputy Fire Chief under Chief Don Visconti. Jim Trehern had just retired, he said. In 2006, he retired from Santa Fe County Fire Department and spent the next 15 years working in Counter Terrorism.
About the Certified Executive Fire Officers Program
The certification is awarded fire officials by the U.S. Fire Administration, headquartered in Emmitsburg, Md., which is an entity of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The mission of the U.S. Fire Administration is to support and strengthen fire and emergency medical services (EMS) and stakeholders to prepare for, prevent, mitigate and respond to all hazards.
About LAFD
LAFD has served Los Alamos County since 1989 and is considered one of the best fire departments in New Mexico. It has a standard for excellence in being Internationally Accredited, as well as a Class 1 ISO public protection classification rating. Being in close proximity to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), LAFD is an all-hazards nuclear grade fire department. Due to LANL, all LAFD firefighters maintain a top security clearance.
To learn more about LAFD, visit www.losalamosnm.us.