Former Phoenix Fire Chief Alan Brunacini died suddenly on Sunday at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
Shelly Jamison, assistant chief of the Phoenix Fire Department, says Brunacini was an incredible presence in the firefighting community.
“We call Benjamin Franklin the father of the American fire service because he basically invented it. Well, Alan Brunacini would have been the prodigal son because he took fire service to a whole other level," Jamison said.
Brunacini helped shape modern firefighting incident response techniques. He was published widely and traveled frequently to share firefighter safety and customer service training.