PFFA History
Professional Fire Fighters of Arizona Organized October 16, 1967
The inception of the PFFA came about as a successor to the Arizona Sate Firemen’s Association, which was founded in 1924. The Firemen’s Association was headed up by then Tucson Chief, Joseph Roberts. Interestingly enough, activists in that original organization were mostly Chiefs and the organization was open to all Fire Fighters, Professional and volunteer. One key activist in the AFSA was Phoenix Deputy Chief, Jake Siken.
During the 1960’s a divide emerged between the career and the volunteer Fire Fighters. The volunteers wanted to focus on fraternal activities and remain out of the political fray. Career Fire Fighters wished to get more political and fight for hours reductions and a retirement system.
In 1967 the inevitable came and the career Fire Fighters formed the PFFA. The first convention of the PFFA was held in Tempe in October of that year. The first Fire Fighters to come to the convention came from Flagstaff, Glendale, Phoenix, Prescott, Tucson, Yuma and Tempe. The primary focus of the first convention was to ratify a constitution and bylaws. A unique provision of the initial constitution required that the PFFA President and Secretary/Treasurer come from the same Local. Therefore at this first convention, Walt Torgerson from Tempe was nominated by the Phoenix President, Paul Sanders and ultimately became our first PFFA President. Sylvester Anderson of Tempe was elected as our first PFFA Secretary/Treasurer.
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Walt Torgerson
1st PFFA President 1967 - 1969 Tempe Local 1643 |
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Art Apodaca
PFFA President 1969 - 1970 Tucson Local 479 |
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Frank Cowperthwait
PFFA President 1970 – 1973 Flagstaff Local 1505 |
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Jack Allen
PFFA President 1973 - 1980 Phoenix Local 493 President Allen was very active in State and Local politics. Jack Allen worked with Governors Bruce Babbitt and Raul Castro, Senator Dennis Deconcini and others to build the foundations for Firefighter political engagement. Spending a great deal of time at the Arizona Legislature Jack and the team were integral influences on the creation and advancement of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. Jack traveled the state connecting fire fighters and politicians across Arizona. |
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Duane Pell
PFFA President 1980 - 1987 Phoenix Local 493 President Pell became a Firefighter activist during some of the most dynamic times of the organization’s history. In Phoenix, there was tremendous labor unrest as the Fire Fighters met tremendous resistance to any forms of collective bargaining and arbitration. During these times employees were strictly prohibited from engaging in politics. Duane and others worked on behalf of their brothers and sisters under the constant threat of being fired. To overcome this challenge, Fire Fighters’ wives got involved and formed the Fire Bells. Local and PFFA leadership worked with the Fire Bells to achieve their political goals. One of the most significant goals was achieved when Phoenix fire Fighters won a Meet and Confer. Duane Pell served on the negotiating team for the very first M.O.U. in Phoenix. Interestingly enough, Duane retired from the Fire Department after that M.O.U. was negotiated and went on to run for and serve three one-year terms as Phoenix City Councilman. Duane negotiated Phoenix’s first contract as a union representative and voted on their second contract as a councilman. |
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Mike Bielecki
PFFA President 1987-1997 Phoenix Local 493 President Bielecki served the PFFA for a decade. In that role, he directed the business, political and legislative affairs for the organization. During his tenure as President, Mike worked proactively with Arizona legislators to obtain landmark legislation for Arizona Fire Fighters and built the organization into a significant political force in the State of Arizona. |
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Chris Medrea
PFFA President 1997-2003 Mesa Local 2260 President Medrea began his career in Mesa where he worked with the team to gain improvements in the working conditions of Fire Fighters and to get them active in East Valley politics. Chris was very instrumental in the creation of the Mesa City Council District system. Chris served as Executive Vice President of the PFFA for 6 years. During his time with the PFFA, Chris was very instrumental in the organizing private sector Fire Fighters and ambulance personnel and from these efforts came Local 3878, representing Rural-Metro Fire Fighters and Local I-60 representing Southwest Ambulance employees. When Chris became President he oversaw the organization during some of the most significant growth in our history. During this time the PFFA team helped pass one of the most significant benefit improvements to the pension system, the D.R.O.P. Under President Medrea 9 new locals were organized as Firefighter activism and empowerment expanded across Arizona. |
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Brian Tobin
PFFA President 2003-2005 Phoenix Local 493 As President of the Professional Firefighters of Arizona, Brian Tobin was able to show how any rank and file member can have a significant and positive impact as a leader in the community, the state and the national fire service. Brian’s interest in working with the Fire Fighters union began when he was 15 years old. While working as a member of the Phoenix Fire Cadet program, Brian assisted the Phoenix Fire Fighters Union during the binding arbitration campaign. Once he became a Phoenix Firefighter he immediately went to work for the union in the fight against Rural/Metro in Scottsdale. Brian’s interest in looking out for the members continued to grow, serving a 1-year term as a Trustee on the Board of the Phoenix Firefighters Pension Bonus plan in 1986. This experience would later serve to help him in his work as both a member of the Phoenix Pension Board as well as a Trustee of the Phoenix Firefighters Health Insurance Trust Fund from the 1990s to today. In Local 493, Brian served in the positions of Local Secretary, Treasurer, Fundraising Chairman and District Vice President. Throughout this period Brian was the Labor Co-Chair of three of 5 Big Five Labor/ Management committees. Chairing the Physical Resource Committee from’92-’98, Human Resources from ’98-’99 and Deployment/Emergency Services from 1999 to 2004. Brian served on every negotiating committee since 1988. Through a good bit of original thinking and costing, Brian was able to figure out a reasonable and affordable method to gain more time off for the Phoenix members without losing pay or benefits for our members. Brian conceived of a method that would incrementally over a period of time do the following: reduce the hours worked, hire more firefighters and create a system to choose your days off based on seniority. This was done without a reduction in pay or benefits and was made affordable for the city at the same time. Brian’s concept came to fruition and is now known fondly amongst Phoenix Fire Fighters as Tobin Days. On a local level the Mayor and Council appointed Brian to serve on the Community Development Block Grant Committee from 1997-2000. Brian was able to help many of our community groups and improve neighborhoods in Phoenix with the use of these grants. Both the past and current Presidents of the IAFF have entrusted Brian with a variety of issues that affect the membership on a national scope. These include Haz-Mat and F.I.R.E Act Grants among others. His intimate knowledge of member’s needs as well as operational priorities for Fire Departments earned him an appointment to the F.I.R.E. Act Grant committee. This board evaluates grant applications submitted to the federal government by departments from across the nation. These grants provide much needed dollars to departments across the country to purchase critical equipment in cities and towns without the budgetary resources to make the purchase. After the September 11th tragedy, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger, summoned Brian with other Local 493 officers to assist our fallen brothers in the FDNY. In his capacity, Brian assisted in setting up and implementing the UFA and UFOA Delegate Support Center which supported the unions’ programs in distributing $160 million from the New York 9-11 Firefighters Disaster Relief Fund. At the 2002 Biennial Convention in Las Vegas, Brian was appointed by IAFF District Vice President James Ferguson to represent the 10th District on the influential Policy Committee. Everyone who knows and works with Brian knows that he has a knack for cutting through to the heart of every issue. Determining what is best for the membership and the organization is at the core of his opinions and decisions. Since leaving his PFFA post, Brian has since promoted to Deputy Chief. Never forgetting his union allegiance, Brian organized the Chiefs and is now serving as President of the Phoenix Fire’s Command Officers Association affiliated with local 493. Education
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Tim Hill
Current PFFA President Phoenix Local 493 |