Tried and True Truckies

Fire Specialist Michael Heeney

Fire Specialist Michael J. Heeney has been with The City of Austin Fire Department for 12 years, Austin runs more than 85,000 calls annually out of 48 stations. He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and started his fire career in 1998, going on to work with multiple departments starting on the west coast and finally making a permanent home in Austin, TX. This is a family tradition, as his father spent 30 years with the Philadelphia Fire Department. Michael currently works on a rescue company in central Austin and serves as a Rescue Squad Officer on Texas Task Force 1.

Lt. Sammy Hittle

Samuel Hittle is a Lieutenant with Wichita Fire. He has an Associates in Fire Science, he is an FDIC, Traditions Training, and Wichita HoT Instructor, FDIC Lecturer, contributing author for Fire Engineering, Urban Firefighter, and Fire Rescue, Fire Nuggets, and FiRescue Interactive publications, is a two time Firehouse Magazine Heroism Award recipient (2012 and 2015), Kansas State Fire Marshall Tom McGaughey Award Recipient, Wichita Fire Department Firefighter of the Year, Wichita Fire Truck Company Coordinator, served on the Interior Attack Technical Panel for UL, and a member of the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) Executive Advisory Board.

Firefighter  Michael Torres

Michael Torres is a 17 year veteran of the fire service.  Mike is a firefighter paramedic with the Chicago Fire Department (Tower Ladder 34).  He also serves as a candidate instructor at the Quinn Fire Academy.  Mike is a captain and training officer for the Hometown, Illinois Fire Protection District.

  Mike's life is dedicated to the preservation of tradition and continued development of the fire service.  He serves as an instructor throughout Illinois. Serving for the Romeoville Fire Academy, Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) and Prairie State College fire science program.

   Mike is a member of Illinois Task Force 1, Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team.  In his free time, Mike volunteers for local charities and donates instruction time with the south side F.O.O.L.S.  A fraternal organization dedicated to the fire service.

Capt. arthur ashley

Captain Ashley has been a firefighter since 1986.  He has been with the City of Lexington, Kentucky for over 22 years, assigned to both engine and ladder companies.  Captain Ashley is assigned to Ladder Company 1 in downtown Lexington, the 34th busiest firehouse in the U.S. 

Arthur is a Kentucky Level II Instructor and is a Kentucky State Fire School instructor, where he is the lead instructor for the very aggressive 4-day class “Truck Company Operations.”  He is an adjunct instructor with Lexington Fire Training Academy.   Arthur travels throughout the state of Kentucky and around the country teaching hands on training sessions in truck company operations and speaking on leadership and crew management.  

Captain Ashley is a co-creator and administrator of Truckie-Talk, a social media based training page focused on passing along training tips and highlighting the rich tradition of the fire.