Bob Barraclough, a 50-year veteran of the fire service and fire manufacturing industry, died Friday at his home in Plano, Texas, age 70.
Barraclough, who was chief columnist for Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment magazine and a 20-year member of the NFPA 1901 Fire Apparatus Standards Committee, is survived by his wife, two daughters, son, and three grandchildren.
“Bob was unmatched in his passion and efforts to ensure firefighter safety was a foundation of NFPA 1901,” said Ken Willette, division manager of Public Fire Protection at the NFPA.
“He provided his ideas, advice, and leadership to the committee for over 30 years and carried this good work around the world in his lectures on apparatus safety and improvements for the betterment of the fire service.
“The NFPA family mourns his passing but is comforted that his vision will be carried on by the legacy of his leadership in apparatus design and the efforts of the many Technical Committee members he mentored over the years.”
Writing in the TheSecretList, Chief Billy Goldfeder said he first met Barraclough at FDIC in Memphis in the early 70s while attending one of his apparatus classes.
“We remained friends ever since,” Chief Goldfeder said. “Bob was an outstanding gentleman who, without question, very positively influenced firefighters everywhere and always had time to talk, discuss, answer or just catch up.”
A memorial service is said to be planned later in the year for Barraclough, who served as a fire marshal on the USS Enterprise and spent 25 years as a volunteer firefighter.
He was a principal organizer of the annual FDSOA Apparatus Specification Symposium, and a former president of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association.
His career also included executive positions at E-ONE, Hale Fire Pumps, National Foam, Span Instruments and Class 1, and also served as a consultant to Rosenbauer America.
Bob was a member of the Executive Board of the Congressional Fire Service Institute and served as Chairman of the Civil Service Commission in Plano
In 2004, he was presented with the “Joe Fischelson Award” — an award presented annually for excellence in customer service to the fire service — for his many years of dedication toward making a better and safer fire service.
“For me, Bob was the face of the fire apparatus industry,” said Robert Tutterow, president of the Fire Industry Equipment Research Organization. “He was such as treasure because of his thirst for knowledge and the passion he displayed in sharing that knowledge.
“He was a regular speaker at all the big fire shows for a reason — he always packed the room! I am deeply grateful to him for helping me form my ‘personal culture’ of firefighter safety as it relates to fire apparatus. “