Lessons, Leadership and Leeb: Room 235 and The Weight of Leadership

This photo hangs on the wall inside the Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Los Angeles. It shows the front of the building on Sept.27, 1980, the day of the fire.

How the fire service carries its history, losses, and leadership lessons into every room we enter

From coast to coast, thousands of miles separate New York City from Los Angeles. Yet, no matter the distance, one truth remains universal in the fire service: the way we honor and remember our fallen members defines who we are. I recently had the privilege of presenting at a leadership training at the Frank Hotchkin Memorial Training Center in Los Angeles, an experience that reminded me of the weight of the badge we wear and the responsibilities it carries.

The facility itself has a rich and varied history. Before becoming a cornerstone of firefighter training, it served as, among other things, a quarantine hospital for smallpox and later as a Naval and Marine Corps reserve center, with original signage still visible on the front of the building. But the most profound legacy of this site is far heavier, touching every firefighter who walks its halls.

On Sept. 27, 1980, the Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to a fire at this very location. Firefighter Frank Hotchkin was on the roof when it collapsed, claiming his life. He was found in Room 235 on the second floor. Fourteen years later, the LAFD transformed this location into a training facility, naming it in his honor.

Today: View of the front of the building where the fire occurred.

Where History, Loss, and Leadership Converge

During my visit, LAFD Captain Andy Ruiz gave me a tour of the facility. I did not know Frank Hotchkin\u2019s story before arriving. Captain Ruiz took me to Room 235, showing the exact spot where Frank was found. Outside the room hung a plaque commemorating his sacrifice, and the floor tiles in that area were intentionally different from the rest of the floor, a subtle yet powerful reminder of the loss that occurred there. Standing in that room, hearing the story, and seeing the location, I felt the hair on my arms stand on end. It was a visceral reminder that the lessons we teach, the training we provide, and the leadership we practice carry weight far beyond the classroom.

Every firefighter who steps into Room 235 is reminded of the enormous responsibility we carry to our brothers and sisters on the fireground. Leadership is about tactics, strategy, decision-making, and ensuring every member of your team is prepared, protected, and able to return home at the end of the day. Sometimes, as I often say, the heaviest tool on the fireground is the flashlight, given the enormous weight of leadership.

I thought of other fire departments that have memorialized their members in similarly impactful ways. In Worcester, Mass., after the Cold Storage and Warehouse Co. fire in 1999 claimed six firefighters\u2019 lives, the city built a firehouse on the site and erected a memorial in front. These firefighters are known as \u201cThe Worcester Six.\u201d In Charleston, S.C., a memorial has been built on the former site of the Sofa Super Store, which took nine lives. A new firehouse adjacent to the memorial features nine vertical windows in the apparatus bay, open toward the Charleston 9 Memorial, honoring their sacrifice. These are two powerful memorials that I have visited and paid my respects to and can attest to their powerful impact.

Never forget: The plaque that hangs outside Room 235.

Memorials That Teach, Inspire, and Hold Us Accountable

I also reflected on the FDNY and my time at the Fire Academy, where we \u201cdecorate with a purpose.\u201d A visitor once remarked on how our training spaces communicate a message beyond instruction. I later wrote in FireRescue1.

\u201cA training classroom with posters or props on the wall is an excellent example of decorating with a purpose. Marketing the message can be as simple as a message board or a monitor continuously playing training videos. There is perhaps no better place than the Fire Academy or training center to ensure your members are fully immersed in the training experience. Think outside the box and develop innovative and memorable experiences for your firefighters. This is how true learning and remembering take place.\u201d

Honoring our fallen is more than memorials or plaques. It is about embedding their legacy into the very fabric of our DNA, culture, training, and leadership. Every time a firefighter walks into a training room, steps foot into a training academy, or a firehouse, gives us the opportunity to remember, reflect, be better, and recommit ourselves to the promise that no sacrifice will ever be forgotten while striving to be the best we can be.

A subtle reminder: The floor tile inside Room 235.