By Peter Goldring, Goldring Protection
Innovative products, reliability, integrity and great people set DMP apart as a leader in the security industry. But as a manufacturer, one thing that sets DMP apart from almost all others is its deeply rooted charitable culture. In a recent conversation about giving back with Mark Hillenburg, we spoke about volunteer first responders in our space. Here, we’ll look at some members of the DMP family who give back to their communities every day.
Volunteer firefighters make up 71% of the fire service in the United States. It’s estimated that volunteer forces reduce the tax burden on municipalities by $4.7 billion per year.
It’s our hope that these stories will encourage readers to consider volunteering and to help owners understand the importance of encouraging and supporting their staff in giving back to their communities.
If you know industry veteran Patrick Egan, you undoubtedly understand how important the volunteer fire service is to him. An abrupt end to a telephone conversation after hearing his pager sound is fairly common. Egan joined the Wheatland Fire Company in 1966 and served as its chief from 1986 until it merged with Lancaster Township Fire Department in 1991. A life member, he is still a very active chauffeur. Patrick estimates he encouraged or influenced 25 people to become volunteer firefighters, including the author, as well as his nephew who is now a Lancaster Deputy Chief.
Egan founded Commonwealth Security Systems in 1971. He later owned Select Security, Security Partners and is currently CEO of Egan Security Group, a consulting firm, all based in Lancaster, PA. Patrick served as ESA president, founded and was first president of the Pennsylvania Burglar and Fire Alarm Association. In 2014, he was inducted into Security Sales Magazine’s Hall of Fame and was a founding partner in the Security Network of America. He’s served on two NFPA Technical Committees. Egan founded and is a past chairman of the Lancaster City Fire Foundation and is an avid collector of antique fire apparatus. His prized piece is an immaculately restored 1938 Mack, which served as Engine 6 of the Lancaster Fire Company.
Egan’s first experience with DMP was at Commonwealth Security in 1990 and he continued as a dealer until Select Security’s sale.
In 1996, Rick Reuther joined the Brewster Fire Department in Brewster, NY. He rose through the ranks to chief and was recognized as a life member before relocating to Palm Coast, FL in 2022. Reuther works for Seibold Security as a field technician in Florida. The company specializes in bank security and is a DMP dealer. Rick started in the security industry in 1986 with Simplex.
When Mark Tognoni first joined the industry in 2017, his mentor was a volunteer firefighter. Tognoni was bitten by the bug, but his local department was a paid service. In 2022, when he moved to a suburban area, he promptly joined the New Melle Fire Protection District in St. Charles, MO, where he just completed his probationary period.
DMP’s Northeast Regional Sales Manager Chris Hummel got his start in 1989 as a firefighter with the Voorhes Township Fire Company in Gloucester County, NJ. Each September, New Jersey hosts an annual statewide firefighter convention in Wildwood. Hummel is well known for his 23 years of service as DJ of that event. Wildwood attracts thousands of firefighters from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Before joining DMP, Chris was with a large industry distributor and a leading lock manufacturer. He began his career as a police dispatcher in Camden County, NJ. Hummel currently serves as vice president of the New Jersey Electronic Security Association.
David Raizen volunteered with the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps in 1977 before he was even old enough to become an EMT. Over the years, he climbed the ranks and currently serves as its president. Raizen is a paramedic, a rare position for a volunteer due to the intense training requirements exceeding 1,500 hours. David has received numerous awards and commendations, including recognition during COVID for providing testing and vaccination for thousands of area residents. He founded SDM- 100 company Scarsdale Security Systems in 1982.
The author, Peter Goldring, joined the Melville Fire Department in Melville, NY in 1989. He served as a firefighter/EMT, engineer and lieutenant. His move to New York City in 1992 started what would be a 29-year hiatus from being a first responder.
After getting remarried and moving to New Jersey, two people inspired and motivated Goldring to become a volunteer firefighter again. Patrick Egan and David Raizen were both very influential in his decision.
In 2018, Goldring joined Adelphia Fire Company in Howell Township. He serves as a firefighter, engineer, and fire instructor. He is also fire commissioner of Howell Fire District No. 2.
Inspiring Goldring to join the fire company wasn’t the only thing Egan was responsible for. Goldring purchased a 1983 Mack CF fire engine from Egan in 2020, starting his collection. In 1982, at the age of 11, Goldring immersed himself in his family’s alarm business, which was founded in 1923. After selling that business to Holmes Protection in 1995 and working in senior management at Holmes and ADT, which later acquired Holmes, he joined industry consulting pioneer Larrabee Ventures. He currently operates Goldring Protection, a DMP dealer that protects jewelers and highrisk retailers, as well as prominent individuals and celebrities.
This article originally appeared in Issue 10 of the Security Dealer Digest.