Retired Deputy Fire Chief James H. Brown (91) died on Friday, January 17, 2020. He was father of Michael L. Brown, (retired) Fire Chief at North Naples, and son of James J. Brown, a Detroit Firefighter. He and his late wife, Marilyn, were married for 68 years. Chief Brown leaves behind three (3) children, four (4) grandchildren and six (6) great-grandchildren. 

He was very proud to have served in U.S. Coast Guard during the WWII era. After being discharged he moved from Detroit to Fort Lauderdale. In January, 1956, he followed in his father’s footsteps and began his career with the Fort Lauderdale Fire Department. He advanced through the ranks and retired as Fort Lauderdale's Deputy Fire Chief in 1980. During his time with the Department, Brown assisted with re-establishing Local 765. He responded to the Everglades Fertilizer Fire in 1969, and years later was diagnosed with cancer, like almost every other firefighter who responded to that call. Brown also served as an instructor at the Broward Fire Academy, as well as in Coral Springs. 

After retiring from Fort Lauderdale, he took a job as Chief of Training for Broward County Fire/Rescue from 1981 to 1991. The Captain who reported directly to Chief Brown was Walt Dix, the current IAFF 12th District Vice President. Chief Brown was a proud member of Local 4321, and maintained his IAFF Retired Membership status until he passed away. Chief Brown was nationally recognized as an expert in Emergency Management and the Incident Command System, and taught and spoke at Conferences throughout the United States. He attributed Unions, Emergency Medical Services, and the Incident Command System as the most important changes during his tenure in the Fire Service.

Services will be held at St. David’s Catholic Church in Davie, Florida  on Saturday, February 22, 2020 at 10AM .  He will be buried at Lauderdale Memorial Park immediately following the Mass. A celebration of Chief Brown's life will take place at the Fort Lauderdale Fire and Safety Museum located at 1022 West Las Olas Blvd. at 1 PM. For additional details, please contact Mike Brown at (239-273-7930) or  mbrownfpf@aol.com.

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To all the Hallandale Beach Fire Merger members:

You should have, or will receive a “Ballot Election” for your pension. This email will outline if you are going into your municipal drop or electing to go into the FRS. 

One section will state the following:

City of Hallandale Beach’s retirement plan DROP Employees.

If you are currently in the City of Hallandale Beach’s DROP Plan and you elect to remain in the City of Hallandale Beach’s DROP plan, you are not eligible to join FRS until you exit DROP.  You do not need to complete a ballot at this time, please just sent me an email advising that you are going to remain in the City of Hallandale Beach’s DROP Plan.

If you are currently in the City of Hallandale Beach’s DROP Plan and you elect to terminate your participation in the City of Hallandale Beach’s DROP plan and begin to participate in the FRS, you will need to complete a ballot and select the third option. 

WE STRONGLY URGE YOU TO APPLY TO THE FRS IF THIS APPLIES TO YOU! 

If the FRS denies your entry, please contact your union eboard ASAP. We have a pension attorney overseeing this process for you! 

VP 1: Steve Bertuccio (954) 268-3808 sbertuccio@bcfire.com

VP 2: Charlie Bickman (954) 445-1409 cbickman@bcfire.com

VP 3: James Shetter (954) 383-2426 jshetter@bcfire.com

Staff Rep 1: Brendan Quilter (754) 264-2307 bquilter@bcfire.com  

Staff Rep 2: Joel Campbell (754)-235-3922 jcampbell@bcfire.com 

Staff Rep 3: Jeremiah Tomasini (561) 289-0435 jtomasini@bcfire.com 

Staff Rep 4: Mitch Iannatto (954) 649-8450 miannatto@bcfire.com  

Staff Rep 5: Josh Cornblit (954) 383-6776 jcornblit@bcfire.com 

Staff Rep 6: Rich Sieb (754) 224-0852 rsieb@bcfire.com  

Staff Rep 7: Kevin McNamara (954) 909-3430 kmcnamara@bcfire.com