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Chicago Air Crash, 1979: Crash of Flight 191 - FIREHOUSE Magazine
Chicago 1980: Anatomy of a Firefighter's Strike- FIREHOUSE Magazine
On the Picket Line - FIREHOUSE Magazine
Another County Road - American Motorcyclist Magazine
Training for Space Shuttle Blastoff - - FIREHOUSE Magazine
A Fire at 3 A.M - Des Plaines Times, & various
Networking Yields More Than Just Leads - The Business Ledger
CHICAGO AIR CRASH 1979 - PRE-PLANNING PAYS OFF
(CRASH of FLIGHT 191)
Abridged and Unabridged versions
Published: Firehouse Magazine/October 1979
Copyright © 1979 By Richard C. Ornberg
This article provides an in depth look at the actual emergency response to the single largest airline disaster in US history. Since the article was prepared for a Fire Service trade magazine, I took advantage of a unique combination of participating in the response and being part of an earlier large scale training exercise planning for such an event. Since emergency responders are always eager to learn from mistakes, and apply those lessons to future contingencies, the article is, in my view, presented as objectively as possible. It also became the basis for an extensive pre-planning training slide show for numerous agencies nationwide. Much of the training exercise details have been left out, but are included in the unabridged version.
CHICAGO 1980: Anatomy of a Firefighters’ Strike
Published, FIREHOUSE Magazine, May, 1980
Copyright © 1980 by Richard Ornberg
When Chicago firefighters went on strike in 1980 – an unprecedented event for a city the size of Chicago– I was both thrilled and petrified when FIREHOUSE Magazine founder and editor Dennis Smith called me at home to discuss covering the strike. Smith, a best-selling author of “Report from Engine Company 82” had recently written another novel depicting a fictional fire department strike in New York City, and was considering coming to Chicago to cover this real strike himself. After questioning me on how I would approach the coverage, and on the recommendation of his managing editor who had worked with me in the past, he finally – and somewhat reluct a ntly – gave me the assignment for what was at the time one of the biggest stories that the magazine had dealt with. Little did I know that the strike would last over three weeks. His next call, after the completed article was submitted, was much more positive. In what I considered a major compliment, he decided to run the article and related sidebars without any changes.
On the Picket Line: (Sidebar to article above)
Published, FIREHOUSE Magazine, May, 1980
Copyright © 1980 by Richard Ornberg
This ran as a sidebar in the same issue as the larger, more comprehensive article on the 1980 Chicago firefighters’ strike. This focuses on actual individuals, many of whom became part of the new “Brotherhood of the Barrel” that was created as striking firefighters huddled around 50 gallon drums with burning wood to keep warm while non-strikers watched from inside fire stations throughout Chicago
Published in American Motorcyclist Magazine, April, 1983
Copyright 1983© By Rick Ornberg
This piece was written immediately after a long day’s ride north of Chicago into southern and mid Wisconsin. I noticed a storm brewing several miles away late that afternoon and kept watching the storm and the lightning it generated for quite some time. The panoramic view of the storm started me thinking, and the line “lumbering across the countryside on stilts of lightning” literally popped into my head. Needing a vehicle – actually an excuse – to use such a corny line, I wrote “Another Country Road” that night. Other biker friends, and American Motorcyclist Magazine, however, liked it too.
TRAINING FOR SPACE SHUTTLE BLASTOFF
Published, FIREHOUSE Magazine, March, 1986
Copyright © 1986 by Richard Ornberg
I pitched the idea for a story on the Kennedy Space Center fire service to FIREHOUSE Magazine and it took almost a year to obtain both the official assignment and then the required press credentials. I spent three days at the Kennedy Space Center, escorted by KSC Fire Chief Richard Cross and his officers for a unique “insiders view” preceding and including the last successful launch of the Challenger space shuttle on October, 1985. It was a tremedous thrill to actually visit the launch pad, ride in nearby rescue vehicles, and have such “backstage” access for such an experience. The article was actually published two months after the Challenger tragedy in March, 1986.
A Fire at 3:00 AM: What It’s Really Like
Published in Des Plaines Times, numerous FD brochures, etc. 1980’s
Copyright © 1981 by Richard C. Ornberg
Written over two decades ago, this account is typical of a residential fire, and describes an actual fire response. It should be noted that the Fire Service has matured and improved each year since and there have been substantial improvements in both safety equipment for firefighters, and firefighting procedures continue to evolve. The hazards described still exist today with even new hazards popping up each year for firefighters as new household materials are developed.
Networking Yields More Than Just Leads
Published in The Business Ledger, April, 2005
This short article covers some business networking advantages not o therwise explored by people anxious to gather leads without considering all the potential benefits of business networking events. Though written while Executive Director of a Chamber of Commerce, the article applies to any of the individual networking organizations that have proliferated over the past few years