Chief James Boness
One of my favorite and most vivid memories of second grade is when our fire chief came to talk to us students about fire safety. I was bursting with pride because the fire chief was my grandfather. After his presentation we drew pictures for him and wrote a big thank you note. When the time came for me to give him the pictures and thank you note I felt incredibly shy. At that moment he was more than my Grandpa Jim who ate big bowls of ice cream and loved to play cards, he was my hero.
Chief James Boness was a small town fire chief with a big time dream. He recognized the need for a school to train current firefighters and aspiring firefighters. Even while his health was failing he fought long hours to build the school and create a program. James Boness died in June of 1988 knowing that his dream became a reality. Shortly after his death, the Madison Area Technical College Fire Service Training Center was dedicated to my grandpa. Twenty years later MATC offers one of the best Fire Protection and Fire Science programs in the country. I am still bursting with pride.
Today, I am involved in developing online continuing education for emergency responders. As I work, I think of my grandfather often and am inspired by his dream of providing quality education to emergency responders. Recently, I had my first article (What you need to know about OSHA’s respiratory protection standard) published in EMS Magazine. I am positive that my grandfather would be proud of me too.
Tags: EMS Magazine, OSHA, Respiratory Protection