The Massachusetts Institute of Fire Department Instructors was organized on September 30, 1959.  The members of this new organization were all fire department Training Officers, or at that time the department “Drill Masters”.

These men provided the first and ONLY training for new “firemen”.  There were very few resources for teaching tools and recruits were usually trained in one or two weeks in-house and then told to “get on the back step when the bell rings and hold on!”

The Drill Masters also had the difficult job of continuous training for all department members.  The communities that had their own training facilities or “drill yards” were very fortunate.  The facility that Brookline operates must have been the envy of many during that era, and still is to this day.

Training at that time most certainly consisted of; drafting, the use of the “All Service Mask”  (only when absolutely needed), handling hose lines, and raising ground ladders, lots of ground ladders.  Oh, and don’t forget the life net!

The one thing that these instructors had to rely on was each other, to not only share ideas with, but to seek answers.  And so they formerly organized to provide, not a social club, but a training information resource.

The first person elected by his peers to be President of M.I.F.D.I. was Timothy D. Herlihy, Assistant Chief of the Newton Fire Department.  President Herlihy was born on November 19, 1904.  He was appointed to the Newton Fire Department on August 3, 1939 and quickly rose through the ranks as a Lieutenant in 1945, Captain in 1949, and Assistant Chief in 1958.  Chief Herlihy served as the department Drill Master for many years and he retired on September 7, 1969 after 30 years of service.  Tim passed away on April 26, 1995 at age 90.

So here we stand today just seven years away from the 50th anniversary of M.I.F.D.I. and the mission remains the same, “To promote fire department training and education by the mutual sharing of knowledge”.

Timothy Herlihy - The first President of M.I.F.D.I.