By Joanie Baker
Messenger-Inquirer

OWENSBORO, Ky. — Was it more difficult for the firefighters on Sept. 11, 2001, to climb the stairs into the World Trade Center than it was for others to climb into a Bronx house fire earlier that morning?

"Not a lick," New York Fire Department Battalion Chief John Salka told firefighters gathered Wednesday in an auditorium at Brescia University.

The 28-year veteran officer, who led firefighters through the catastrophic rescues in 2001, talked about the importance leadership training can have on all levels of fire department responses, from small house fires to large-scale attacks.

Over the next two days, Salka will continue to spread his message to the Owensboro Fire Department and others from Evansville, Russellville and surrounding counties by emphasizing department-related values such as integrity, initiative, innovation and inspiration.

Salka said the New York Fire Department relied heavily on innovation and leadership on the day of the terrorist attacks, as "none ever stopped and said 'let's leave;' all kept moving forward."

"Everything we did on 9/11 was innovative," he said. "I'd never done that before, I'd never had to gather parts of helmets into one bucket and body parts into another."

Salka — who wrote the book "First In, Last Out: Leadership Lessons from the New York Fire Department" — said he travels across the country all year conveying ideas of management and the importance of initiative that he has learned during his career.

"Everything we do and how we perform at those things is greatly influenced by leadership," he said at Brescia. "Leadership affects everything we do. If you have a good handle on leadership, all other things become easy."

Owensboro Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Leonard said the leadership training was essential to local firefighters because it presented them with fire department-specific views about management and command.

"Just as the Air Force wouldn't send its managers to Baskin-Robbins management training, the fire department shouldn't send its firefighters to a cookie-cutter leadership training because of the life-safety issues at stake," Leonard said.

"This type of training instills risk-management analysis and dealing with emergency management types of issues in a fire setting... we are very fortunate to have an individual of his caliber to offer instruction to our firefighters," he said.

Leonard also emphasized the cost savings of bringing Salka to teach leadership to firefighters instead of sending local officials outside the city for the vital training.

Bill Van Winkle, assistant chief at OFD, said he was inspired by Salka's book and his down-to-earth approach at teaching skills from his own experiences in the field.

"He's a fireman, not just some stuffy shirt kind of guy telling us about how to be a leader," he said, adding that Salka is one of the top speakers in the fire field.

"In the post I hold, I realize my actions and moods speak louder than words and the people feed off that either positively or negatively and hopefully it will allow me to realize that and be more of a positive role model," Van Winkle said.

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