Brentwood Firefighters Aldrich and Thorpe Honored for Quick Thinking at Conference
The leadership class was so popular that more than 200 people crowded into the small lecture hall.
“It was a packed class, everyone shoulder-to-shoulder,” Brentwood Fire Engineer Rose Aldrich said. “It was very hot.”
In that full room, sweat beaded over foreheads and the air seemed to grow thin. A woman in one of the middle rows started swaying. When she collapsed, chairs screeched against the floor and everyone around her stood up.
It was late April 2023, and firefighters from across the globe had converged on Indianapolis, Indiana, for the annual Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) – the largest fire service-related conference in the nation. About 30,000 fire professionals attended the event, including firefighters from Iceland, Canada, and Ukraine.
Brentwood Fire Lt. John Russ serves as one of the event’s volunteer coordinators, and this year he convinced Aldrich and Fire Engineer Robyn Thorpe to help. They spent that afternoon checking people into the class, and when they were done, the two Brentwood firefighters decided to stay and learn a little about leadership. They didn’t realize that during that day’s lecture, they’d provide a real-world demonstration of leadership in action.
“An hour into the class, all these people start standing up from the same row, and they start walking away,” Aldrich said.
The two Brentwood firefighters quickly stopped the seminar and went toward the commotion. That’s where they found a woman having a medical emergency.
“We just went up to the woman, and I made sure people got out of the way,” Aldrich said. She shrugged as if it was no big deal, noting that her job in Brentwood is all about helping people in an emergency. “We grabbed her, gave orders, and told people what to do and directed to get her out of the room. We were able to get her out of the classroom and into capable hands.”
The two Brentwood firefighters tried to resume the conference as if nothing happened, but Fire Lt. John Russ was quick to point out what they’d done – in a room packed with firefighters.
“They both jumped into action, taking control of the scene, provided initial medical assessment, and helped to transfer care to (Indianapolis Fire) on their arrival,” he said. “You can imagine the difficulty in scene management with so many off-duty medical professionals. They did an outstanding job.”
Later in the conference, Aldrich and Thorpe were awarded Bobby Halton Commemorative Coins for going above and beyond the call of duty. The late Bobby Halton, a retired Coppell, Texas, fire chief, was a major figure in the fire service industry, serving as editor-in-chief of Fire Engineering Magazine and as educational director for the Fire Department Instructors Conference. The coin with his name is one of the top honors bestowed during the conference.
“It was totally unexpected and totally not needed,” Aldrich said, still uncertain why everyone was congratulating her for just doing her job. A moment later, she smiled. “But it was a really nice sentiment.”