John Salka, Battalion Chief, FDNY

John Salka, a forty-plus year veteran of the fire service, served with the FDNY for over thirty-three years, the last fifteen years a battalion chief in the 18th Battalion in the Bronx. His tenure as an officer in the department had included instructing at the Probationary Firefighters School, the Captains Management Program, and the Battalion Chiefs Command Course. He is the author of the bestselling books First In-Last Out: Leadership Lessons from the New York Fire Department, The Engine Company, and Five Alarm Leadership: From the Firehouse to the Fireground.