Chief Jack Henderson

His Work: Deputy Fire Chief

“The best workspace is a burning building” “You drive up, the smoke is blowing out all the windows, fire is coming out, people yelling, but it is a great workspace because we’re gonna do something here.”

A burning building is perhaps an unusual preference of workspace for those of us not involved in the fire department but Chief Jack Henderson explains why this is such a great workspace. He tells me “If I were to say the best workspace is a burning building, only a firefighter would understand because you go in and put out the flames.” He describes how the best workspace is about what you can accomplish. “Your accomplishment gives you acceptance of your workspace. Like us, let’s say as a firefighter, you can say the workspace is a burning building. That’s not the best workspace there is, there is other better places, however you’re there to help, you’re there to put it out and it’s the greatest job, so that’s your favorite spot.”

Jack Henderson has worked his way up through all the different positions through several fire departments. His work as Deputy Fire Chief is a managerial position and leaves him in charge of all fire and EMS operations and training for the city. He says “after 28 years I’m excited to come to work.” He has been working in this office for 8 years. When I ask about his workspace he says “my space is adequate” and tells me that he is provided with everything he needs. He tells me “I have a great view of the outside. I can actually see Seattle in the winter time.”  He tells me that the window is “tremendously important to me” and that “being a windowless office, or a small window, would just be depressing to me.”

There is one design aspect of the office that is unique. He tells me in a thankful tone, that his office has a glass door, glass wall, two sidelights, and a large window. One of the things he likes about it is “the feeling of openness, just like here we want to be able to see everything but we need some privacy to their use of glass, like between the offices, to me, if an amazing touch that you don’t see everywhere.” One thing that he emphasizes is the responsiveness of the facilities department and how that helps him to enjoy the office.

When I ask Chief Henderson about his work he says it’s “the most fulfilling. It’s the best job on the face of the earth. It’s truly a gift of god, since I’m a Christian, if there’s a heaven I can’t imagine not having fires in heaven for firemen that go there.” He was a marine in combat during the Vietnam War and he tells me that there is kind of focus and camaraderie that is similar between marines and firefighters. He says “if you could take that same strength… if you could take all that camaraderie and all that dedication and all that focus and put it in a totally positive vein—that’s what the fire department is. We’re a brotherhood, whether it be male or female.” Chief Henderson tells me that the department is like a family, two firefighters could be strongly arguing and that when the bells go off “we would risk our lives for each other without a second thought.”