Friendship Fire Association
The Friendship Fire Association (FFA) started just before World War II when a group of fire buffs – firefighting enthusiasts and supporters of firefighters – came together to support the D.C. Fire Department. According to a December 11, 1940 Washington Post article, the Association took its name from George Washington’s engine company. During the War, members of the FFA who were not eligible to serve in the military served as Auxiliary Firefighters for the Department. After the War, they continued to support the Department and its members through social activities, public education, canteen service at firegrounds, and rehabilitation services designed to evaluate firefighters’ health and wellness after engaging in fire suppression activities. The Department took over the rehabilitation function in 2015. Today, the FFA continues to run the canteen unit, as well as the Washington, DC Fire and EMS Museum at Engine 3 at 439 New Jersey Avenue, NW, the source of many of the historic photos on this website. We pay tribute here to the organization, as well as individuals who played a leading role in preserving the Department's history.
Retired Lieutenant James Embrey
James Embrey was appointed to the DC Fire Department on May 4, 1972 to Truck Company 6, and retired on December 2000 from Truck Company 9 as a Lieutenant. Throughout his service and following his retirement, he was a passionate follower of, and then educator on, the history of the Department. He was a loyal and active member of the Friendship Fire Association for many years, including as its President. During his membership of the FFA, he was a reliable member of the rehabilitation and canteen units. He also served as Assistant Curator of the Washington, DC Fire and EMS Museum until the time of his passing on January 9, 2022.
As Assistant Curator, Retired Lieutenant Embrey played an instrumental role finding, curating, and maintaining items for the Museum’s collection. He was a tremendous source of institutional knowledge and historic information. He spent countless volunteer hours managing the Museum and advocating for the preservation of its collection.
The Foundation is very grateful for James Embrey’s work, much of which resulted in our being able to access a large collection of photographs for inclusion on this website. The work of telling the history of the DC Fire and EMS Department will continue, and we are
pleased to do it in honor and in memory of James Embrey.
Please enjoy the following video on the History of the Box Alarm, just one example of Embrey’s vast knowledge and contributions (it also features Mark Tennyson, the Museum’s Curator).
Walter Gold
We also would like to extend our gratitude to Walter L. Gold and his family. Gold was a long-time member and President of the Friendship Fire Association and very active in its Canteen and Rehab units. He helped establish the DC Fire & EMS Foundation and was instrumental in the creation of the DC Fire and EMS Museum. He was a graduate of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and a US Army veteran. He volunteered in various capacities for the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad and the Jewish War Veterans of the USA.
Gold also had a career in journalism as a reporter for The Washington Star and The Washington Times, and as a producer for WTOP-TV (now WUSA-TV). He later became a public information officer for the DC Metropolitan Police Department and the US Department of Transportation. He was a founder and owner of the Washington News Network, a broadcast production facility that served local news stations from around the country. He passed away in 2020 at the age of 84. After his death, in recognition of his long-term generosity and devotion to the Department, the DC Fire and EMS Chief named him Honorary Fire and EMS Chief.
Sheldon Levy
Sheldon Levy was born in the Bronx in New York City. Following service in the United States Army, he worked as a dispatcher for the Fire Department of New York. In his off hours, he would take photos and videos of fires, leading to the creation of a company called Action Movie News. The Washington Post referred to Action Movie News as “what was thought to be the first company that provided breaking news film and videotape to television stations in 1973.” One of his employees was Vito Maggiolo. Levy and Maggiolo covered what is now referred to within the FDNY as “the war years” when there were large fires every night in New York City during the 1970s.
Levy moved to Washington, DC in 1978 to work for the Independent Television News Association. Maggiolo joined him. They then started Mobile Video Services of Washington, which provided audio visual and logistical services to CNN’s Washington, DC Bureau. Levy was a member of the Friendship Fire Association for 23 years and for a period of time served as its President. He also was a member of the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department from 1990 to 2001, rising to the rank of Deputy Fire Chief.
Levy and Maggiolo also volunteered their services as photographers for the DC Fire Department during their off-duty hours through the Car 99 program. Through this work, both men created an incredible library of video of the DC Fire Department’s work that spans decades and is an indelible contribution to telling the history of the Department.
Levy’s work documents neighborhoods throughout the city during years when DC’s crime and murder rate was at historic highs and the DC Fire Department faced challenges with funding and resources. His videos bring to life a Department and workforce that persevered under any circumstance, putting themselves at risk to make heroic rescues and preserve property.
Levy was also a staff photographer for WUSA-TV on the overnight shift from the mid-1980s until his death on May 13, 2004. His frequent partner in this work was Dave Statter, a reporter who also closely covered the Department and shone a light on the risks associated with under-funding its life-saving work. Levy won three local Emmys for his work for WUSA, including for the filming the rescue of four children from a burning rowhouse on Missouri Avenue NW. This same film won a New York Film and TV Festival award and a White House News Photographers award.
We are very grateful to Sheldon Levy’s family, Dave Statter, and WUSA-TV for providing the Foundation with access to Levy’s collection for this exhibit.
Sheldon Levy frequently arrived at fire scenes in time to capture firefighters in the process of rescuing people from burning homes. His most well-known and award-winning footage is from the 1989 Missouri Avenue fire, which is captured in the following WUSA 9 story (below).
Click here to open external link.
In this video, Sheldon Levy captures the overhaul process after a fire – the process of searching for and extinguishing possibly hidden traces of fire, as well as removing and watering down combustible debris that could reignite later. On first look, this footage may be mistaken for the uninteresting part of a fire scene after the action is over. In fact, it reveals the grit, ritual, and camaraderie that follow a fire and that exist between the men (and now women) after a proud day’s work is done.
Vito Maggiolo
Vito Maggiolo was born in the Bronx in New York City around the corner from Engine 62 and Ladder 32 of the Fire Department of New York. From his earliest memories, Maggiolo was fascinated with firefighters and firefighting. He has spent his life as a “fire buff,” an enthusiast and supporter of the fire service, in New York City, Washington, DC, and New Orleans, LA.
After graduating from college and working briefly as a newspaper editor, Maggiolo worked for Action Movie News, which the Washington Post reported “was thought to be the first company that provided breaking news film and videotape to television stations in 1973.” Together with his boss, Sheldon Levy, Maggiolo covered what is now referred to within the FDNY as “the war years” when there were large fires every night in New York City during the 1970s.
He and Levy moved to Washington, DC in 1978 to work for the Independent Television News Association. They then started Mobile Video Services of Washington, which provided audio visual and logistical services to CNN’s Washington, DC Bureau. Maggiolo would go on to work as an assignment editor and producer for CNN for 35 years. During his time with CNN, he covered countless emergency incident scenes, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine school shooting, the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, Operation Desert Storm, and the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Levy and Maggiolo also volunteered their services as photographers for the DC Fire Department during their off-duty hours through the Car 99 program. Maggiolo began a decades-long relationship with Rescue Squad 1, a special operations unit located in the center of the city, one of the busiest fire neighborhoods in the city. Through this work, both Levy and Maggiolo created an incredible library of video of the DC Fire Department’s work that spans decades and is an indelible contribution to telling the history of the Department. They documented neighborhoods throughout the city during years when DC’s crime and murder rate was at historic highs and the DC Fire Department faced challenges with funding and resources. Their videos bring to life a Department and workforce that persevered under any circumstance, putting themselves at risk to make heroic rescues and preserve property.
Maggiolo holds two National Emmy Awards for his international work for CNN. He also received an award from the White House News Association for a story entitled “Mayday” by Dave Statter on the 2008 Mt. Pleasant Street fire. This same video earned him second place in the TV News Story category of the International Association of Firefighters 2009 media awards contest. Maggiolo currently serves as the Public Information Officer for the DC Fire and EMS Department.
We are very grateful to Vito Maggiolo for providing his collection to the Foundation for this exhibit, as well as for his participation in an oral history interview.
