By Jim Carney
The Akron Beacon Journal
Akron Beacon Journal
Copyright 2007 Akron Beacon Journal
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News
AKRON, Ohio — Larry Bunner joined the Akron Fire Department 35 years ago.
He was named fire chief earlier this year with the retirement of Charles Gladman.
Bunner, 58, is originally from Cuyahoga Falls, but now lives in Akron.
He has led the way to have the city’s minimum age for firefighters dropped from 21 to 18. The Civil Service Commission approved the change, which will be in effect for the next test for firefighters expected to be given this fall.
Q: Why did you want the minimum age dropped to 18?
A: Lowering the age to 18 gives the Fire Department the opportunity to expand our choice of men and women, currently 21 to 31, to maintain our diversity, to give this age group a possible direction in life and keep their jobs here in Akron.... All major cities in Ohio, including Barberton and Cuyahoga Falls, have been doing this for years.
What was your best day and worst day on the fire department?
A: Best day, June 6, 1972 (first day on job). Worst day, Sept. 11, 2001.
Q: What were you doing on Sept. 11, 2001? And how did that day affect you?
A: On 9/11 I was working in my office when one of the secretaries came rushing in and asked if I had heard that a plane had just crashed into a building in New York. I turned on the TV and watched things unfold from there. When the second plane hit, it was obvious this was no accident. When the towers collapsed, my heart just sank, knowing the loss of civilian and firefighter lives would be immense. Thus, my worst day.
Q: How did Sept. 11 and the threat of terrorist attacks change things for the fire department?
A: 9/11 has certainly raised the level of awareness and training, not just in the USA but around the world for all safety forces.
Q: You were in the Navy out of high school. What did you do?
A: A gunner’s mate on a destroyer out of Newport, Rhode Island.
Q: How has adding the EMS changed things on the fire department?
A: Prior to EMS, fire runs accounted for 100 percent of our runs. EMS has been with us for almost 30 years now. Currently, EMS accounts for 80 percent of our runs. What a better way for a city’s fire department to serve its citizens than to give them fire protection and medical service.
Q: How many of your EMS runs are really not emergencies?
A: We have a variety of calls that we are dispatched to as an emergency and upon arrival we find that it is not so. These could end up as a good intent call, a call for Akron Police, etc. We treat all calls that we are dispatched to as an emergency.
Q: Firefighters work 24 hours on and 48 hours off. Why is that a good system?
A: The 24/48 hour shift, three platoon system, works best for manpower purposes. To change shifts more than once a day only increases manpower and overtime needs.
Q: What are a few simple safety measures residents can take to prevent fires?
A: Unattended cooking is and has been our No. 1 cause of fires over the past several years. No. 2 is careless smoking. No. 3 is electrical wiring. Plan escape routes from your home. Keep lighters and matches out of reach of children. Have working smoke detectors on all levels.
Q: Did you always want to be a firefighter?
A: I was laid off from Goodrich. A friend told me about the upcoming fire department test and 35 years later, here I am.