Battalion Chief John Salka (ret.) is a 40-plus year veteran of the fire service. He served with the FDNY for over 33 years, the last 15 years a battalion chief in the 18th Battalion in the Bronx.

Chief Salka received the FDIC Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. He has presented and lectured at FDIC International where he received the 2001 FDIC Training Achievement Award for his "Get Out Alive" firefighter survival training program. He is a New York State certified fire instructor and lectures nationally.

He served as the co-lead instructor for the H.O.T. Firefighter Safety and Survival program at FDIC for over ten years and is the co-host for the podcasts “The Command Post” heard on FireEngineering.com and “Old School” heard on iTunes.

He is the author of the best-selling books First In-Last Out: Leadership Lessons from the New York Fire Department, The Engine Company, and co-author of Five Alarm Leadership, published by Fire Engineering Books & Videos. He has served as a volunteer firefighter throughout his entire fire service career.

Chief Salka writes a monthly back page column "The Fire Scene" in Firehouse magazine, which much of this book reflects. He has also written for Fire Engineering, Size-Up and the FDNY training magazine WNYF.

John M. Buckman III served as a German Township Fire Chief managing volunteers for 35 years. He is most proud of the title “pawpaw.” Leslie his wife has spent 29 years together. He currently serves as Education Coordinator for the International Association of Fire Chief Volunteer and Combination Officers Section. He is the Director of Government and Regional Outreach for IamResponding. He served as the Indiana Fire Academy Director for 15 years. He served as President of the International Association of Fire Chief in 2001-2002.

He has authored over 150 articles in various publications. In 1996 he was selected by Fire Chief Magazine as Fire Chief of the Year in 1996. He has published 4 books and 7 photography books. He received the Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels Meritorious Service Award. The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2022 he received the Jimmy Seavey Health and Wellness award presented by the NVFC. and the Presidents Award from the International Society of Fire Service Instructors.

He was one of the founders of the Volunteer and Combination Officer Section (VCOS) and the National Fire Academy Alumni Association. He has contributed to several “ribbon reports” published by the VCOS. He was asked to be one of the editors for the original Lavender Ribbon Report published by the VCOS and NVFC in 2019. In 2021 he along with Brian McQueen spearheaded the update for the Lavender Ribbon Report. He is a principal author of the Yellow Ribbon Report and the updated updated Training Volunteers white paper published by the National Volunteer Fire Council and the Volunteer and Combination Officers Section.