Jumpline magazine Spring 2025 - Flipbook - Page 23
George May, CFO
Bill Gustin Saved My Life (And Yours Too)
Last week, I was vacationing with my wife in Washington D.C.
when I received a call early in the morning that Bill Gustin had
taken his life. The news left me feeling hollow. The feeling
passed, but ever since I’ve been left with a sense of foreboding
and nervousness, like a passenger on a rudderless ship. The
Captain is gone, the sea is calm, but I’m not sure how we’ll get
back to shore.
Our course and our direction in the American
Fire Service has been thrown off.
If you’re a 昀椀re昀椀ghter, whether you know it or not, you’re a passenger on this ship and trust me when I tell you that Bill Gustin
was one of the captains of our ship. For all the prestige of the
National Fire Academy, with all of its programs and certi昀椀cations,
they mean next to nothing for the regular 昀椀re昀椀ghter and line of昀椀cer who goes to work every day looking to do right. The NFA
is for the pencil pushers and certi昀椀cate collectors and does not
guide the spirit of the American 昀椀re service.
No sir, that spirit, the expectation to serve courageously, is led by
a band of loosely connected instructors from all over the country
who deliver their messages over and over again
to the willing. Those participants then take the
lessons learned back to their 昀椀rehouses and
share them. And the cycle of meaningful education continues.
We all learn through sweat, repetition, and the wisdom of these
instructors. We all learn.
It should be noted that the DNA of 昀椀re instruction
today is in昀氀uenced and has descended
from the greats; Dunn, Norman, Pressler,
McCormack, and Fredricks among many
others. They took their cues from the generation before. We owe a debt to each and
every one of them, but chief among these
legends is William ‘Bill’ Gustin.
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day. He committed his life not only to our safety but to our success.
Bill Gustin was always compelled to learn, to teach, and to write.
Bill was proli昀椀c. Every 昀椀eld has their masters. There are scientists that push towards discovery and engineers who push re昀椀nements. There are athletes who take their sport to new heights
and craftsmen who take an object and create something no one
has ever seen before. It is a blessing to share time and space
with a true master. Very few of us ever get the privilege. A master elevates their craft and reminds the rest of us that we can and
should be better. They inspire us. Bill Gustin was a master of his
craft. Mastery of 昀椀re昀椀ghting is impossible to quantify though. We
can’t review his theorems. We can’t appreciate his inventions,
and we can’t admire his art. How, after all, do you quantify the
thousands of 昀椀re昀椀ghters who made the ‘right’ decision on the
昀椀reground because of lessons learned in Bill’s classes? How do
you quantify the injuries that never occurred because he taught
you a better, safer way to operate? How do you prove that the
昀椀re went out quicker because of what he taught you? I can’t
prove it, yet I know it’s true.
How do you thank someone who gave you the foundation for
your wins and for your saves? How do you say thank you for
the con昀椀dence to perform on a playing 昀椀eld where death and
injury are always lurking and waiting to strike? Bill, how can I
thank you?
For almost 50 years ‘the good Captain not only guided
MDFR but steered the American 昀椀re service bravely forward.
I can see his in昀氀uence in each and every class I take. I
see and hear a bit of him in every young instructor
that takes the responsibility to teach and keep us
safe, and I see his passion in the young men
and women who are students of the craft.
So yes, Bill Gustin saved me
many times, and he has saved
you, too. Keep learning. Keep
training and for God’s sake,
don’t let him down.
Bill Gustin never taught a class he didn’t
have to cut short. He never gave a
lecture where he didn’t wrestle
with what ‘must be removed’ for
time. This was always the struggle. Why? Because he had more
slides, more information, more
warnings than can 昀椀t into any
class, no matter the length.
https://hookandirons.com/blogs/hookand-irons/bill-gustin-saved-my-life-andyours-too
“George,” he would ask me, genuinely perplexed, “How do I decide what to remove? How can I take
out a slide that might save someone one day?”
This was his perpetual struggle. The desire to
share all the knowledge, and the compulsion to
gather all the mistakes, from all the 昀椀res, then
deliver lessons learned to every 昀椀re昀椀ghter that
was willing to listen and willing to train.
SCAN ME
Every class and every drill that Bill ever taught
never ended because Bill was done. They only
ended because time ran out, daylight faded, or exhaustion took over. Bill worried for all of you every
Spring 2025 | JUMPLINE Magazine
