The Volunteer Firefighter: Defining Commitment

Rick Lasky, a 40-plus year veteran of the fire service, served as chief of the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department for 12 years, prior to that as Fire Chief in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. Rick followed in his father’s footsteps beginning his career as a firefighter in the suburbs on the southwest side of Chicago and has been a line firefighter, firefighter-paramedic, company grade officer, training officer and command-level officer.

While in Illinois he received the 1996 International Society of Fire Service Instructors “Innovator of the Year” award for his part in developing the “Saving Our Own” program, a program designed to teach firefighters how to save firefighters that have become trapped or lost in a burning building. Throughout his 40-plus years in the fire service he has served as a career and volunteer firefighter. Rick is a long-standing editorial advisory board member for Fire Engineering Magazine, serves on the FDIC International advisory board and as an author has written over 200 technical articles that have been published in national fire-rescue journals. These magazine articles relate to fire department operations, administration, training and safety. He is the author of the best-selling books “Pride and Ownership-A Firefighter’s Love of the Job” and “Five Alarm Leadership: From the Firehouse to the Fireground” published by Fire Engineering Books and is the co-host for the podcast “The Command Post” heard on FireEngineering.com as well as the podcast “Old School.”

Rick has also served as a police officer and was wounded on several occasions, once while defending a victim of family violence and has received numerous fire and police awards and commendations. He was also honored in 2011 as an inductee into the Chicago Softball Hall of Fame. He is a Lewisville Honorary Police Officer and Honorary Battalion Commander in the 18th Battalion of the FDNY. In 2017, he was the recipient of the Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award.

Rick lectures at the local, state, national and international levels and is a sought-after speaker by both the public and private sectors. He is married to his best friend Jami and they have two children Rick and Emily.

John M. Buckman III served as a German Township Fire Chief managing volunteers for 35 years. He is most proud of the title “pawpaw.” Leslie his wife has spent 29 years together. He currently serves as Education Coordinator for the International Association of Fire Chief Volunteer and Combination Officers Section. He is the Director of Government and Regional Outreach for IamResponding. He served as the Indiana Fire Academy Director for 15 years. He served as President of the International Association of Fire Chief in 2001-2002.

He has authored over 150 articles in various publications. In 1996 he was selected by Fire Chief Magazine as Fire Chief of the Year in 1996. He has published 4 books and 7 photography books. He received the Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Meritorious Service Award. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2022 he received the Jimmy Seavey Health and Wellness award presented by the NVFC. and the Presidents Award from the International Society of Fire Service Instructors.

He was one of the founders of the Volunteer and Combination Officer Section (VCOS) and the National Fire Academy Alumni Association. He has contributed to several “ribbon reports” published by the VCOS. He was asked to be one of the editors for the original Lavender Ribbon Report published by the VCOS and NVFC in 2019. In 2021 he along with Brian McQueen spearheaded the update for the Lavender Ribbon Report. He is a principal author of the Yellow Ribbon Report and the updated updated Training Volunteers white paper published by the National Volunteer Fire Council and the Volunteer and Combination Officers Section.