By Sandra Laborie
The Times-Picayune
NEW ORLEANS — Michael Labruzza, of Gretna, learned the art of firefighting as a young boy, accompanying his father, Anthony Labruzza, to many fires, watching and learning everything he could.
At age 16, Michael Labruzza joined the David Crockett’s Junior Fire Department, when it began in 1977. He learned to help the operators at fires by retrieving the equipment from the fire trucks and picking up after the fires were put out.
At the age of 21, he became a captain; three years after that, he became first assistant chief, a position he has held for 25 years.
This summer, Michael Labruzza presided over the opening ceremonies of the 104th annual Louisiana Firemen’s Association Conference at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans, where he dedicated the ceremonies to his father.
“I didn’t have to look far when considering the person I wanted the conference dedicated to,” he said. “My father is a veteran volunteer firefighter with more than 50 years of service.”
The conference was hosted by the David Crockett Steam Fire Company No. 1 of Gretna, and as president of the Firemen’s Association for the 2008-09 year, Labruzza was master of ceremonies.
The younger Labruzza has served in the association as a representative for Jefferson, Orleans, St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes for more than 10 years.
He became president of the association in August 2008.
During his time as president, many items of legislation of importance to firefighters were passed. Among those was the Cigarette Lighter Law, which prohibits the sale of novelty lighters that look similar to a toy that might be appealing to children. Another was a law that was passed requiring the fire marshal to obtain worker’s compensation coverage for all volunteer members of fire companies.
“This law is vital to our efforts to get more volunteers. Knowing they will be covered will help ensure that the welfare of their families is not jeopardized in the event of an accident or injury,” Labruzza said.
Labruzza also said that at the recent conference, he announced that a $1 million federal grant was awarded to the Louisiana State Firemen’s Association to aid volunteer firefighters with college tuition for continuing education.
Labruzza said that he hopes the grant will encourage volunteers to continue their education, which will help them get higher-paying jobs. This may give them more time to volunteer.
“Getting and maintaining volunteers has been difficult in these hard economic times because so many people have to work more than one job or work longer hours at their jobs,” Labruzza said. “This doesn’t leave enough time or energy for them to volunteer.”
At the conference, the firefighters attended numerous education seminars conducted by nationally known speakers. There were also more than 70 exhibitors demonstrating the most up-to-date equipment.
Also on display at the conference was the David Crockett 1876 steam fire engine, that is housed at the historic David Crockett Fire Station Museum on Lafayette Street in Gretna. Actually, that David Crockett Fire Station was the location of the very first meeting of the LSFA in 1906, when the association was formed.
With only a handful of members at the first meeting, the statewide association has grown to more than 13,000 members. The annual conference is traditionally held in or near the hometown of the presiding president.
Michael Labruzza and his wife, Sheri, live in Gretna. They are the parents of two daughters, Michelle and Meagan. In addition to his work as a volunteer firefighter, Mike has been employed as a fire training officer for Jefferson Parish Eastbank Consolidated Fire Department for 12 years.
Prior to his present job, he was a rescue truck operator at Harvey Volunteer Fire Department for 14 years.
Copyright 2009 The Times-Picayune Publishing Company