Tom Janney who was my mentor in the first couple of years of my blog on aerial wildland firefighting died on March 9, 2024. Tom, may you rest in peace and fly in favorable winds, My prayers are with your wife Debbie and all of your many friends in the wildland firefighting community and elsewhere loved you.
I want to take some time in today’s post to share about how Tom mentored me and other ways he helped me.
As some of you know, I first got interested in wildland firefighting in late summer of 2008 and I began to learn on my own about wildland firefighting. Since I had this blog at this time, I began to share what I was learning about wildland firefighting. I knew that if I was to continue to blog on aerial wildand firefighting that I would need some help, so At some point in early 2009 I went to a couple of now defunct wildland firefighting forums on the web sharing about my interest in wildland firefighting and my blog. That is how I first met Tom Janney, who at the time I knew as TL Stein. Tom told me that he used to be a pilot who flew fires in California for what was then known as the California Department of Forestry, now known as CAL FIRE. He told me that he was an aviation historian and offered to help me learn about the world of aerial wildland firefighting. I jumped at his offer to teach and mentor me about aerial wildland firefighting.
While he had not flown as a pilot in a few years when I met him online in 2009, I knew right away that he was very knowledgeable about aerial wildland firefighting.Tom’s mentorship, especially in the first months after I started to blog on aerial wildland firefighting, was crucial. Over the last couple of days since I learned that Tom had passed, I realized that I could not have made the transition to blogging about aerial wildland firefighting and related issues without Tom’s help. Early on he suggested that I write about some of the different aircraft that were flying fires at the time and he taught me about the use of retardant. He was the one who helped to guide me to reliable websites where I could learn about the aircraft flying fires at that time and just as important he taught both through our correspondence ad reliable sites some of the basics about aviation that are important.
Tom also facilitated introductions to wildland firefighting pilots that he knew who helped me as I continued to learn, some of these conversations (on and off the record) were the basis for some blog articles on the aircraft they flew. He also encouraged me to reach out to other pilots and those who provide ground support, these contacts were and continue to be very helpful, especially in the first couple of years of my blog.
I mentioned that Tom was an aviation historian, so in the few years that I was doing my blog on aerial wildland firefighting, we discussed aviation history as pertains to wildland firefighting but we also discussed other aspects of aviation history. He referred me to a couple of books and tapes that I purchased as well as referring me to some websites focusing on aviation history in general. His knowledge of aviation history has been very helpful to me not only as I was first learning about aerial wildland firefighting but as I continued to write my blog, I wanted to know more aerial wildland firefighting history.
Perhaps one of the more important things that Tom did for me in addition to his mentoring was to help me be right sized and not write beyond my abilities. That is, while I believe that he recognized and had respect for my research abilities, he knew that I was not any type of wildland firefighter on the ground or in the air. Moreover, he knew that I was not a pilot. He gently explained to me that what I can do on my blog is limited because I am not in the wildland firefighting business. While sometimes difficult, We talked about my being right sized and not writing beyond my abilities. I owe Tom a debt of gratitude for his gentle guidance that helped me to be right sized. He was the first to encourage me to write within my abilities but not the only one.
On a more personal note, as I navigated my way through learning something about general aviation through sitting in on FAA ground school and came to the hard to accept realization that I can never be a licensed pilot, he listened and supported me with understanding. One day as I was especially discouraged over not having a pilots license, I encountered a Red Tailed Hawk sitting on a utility pole and I felt comforted in a way that was hard to explain. I told Tom about this when I got home, he told me that the Hawk was releasing me into their world. That meant a lot to me. We chatted about other aviation related things.
As time went on and I had been writing the blog for a couple of years, I had more confidence and I was doing more on my own with Tom sitting by quietly. As the years went on, we gradually lost touch, that happens sometimes. We would chat every so often on social media and I saw in one social media platform that we both used how much he was respected and loved by many in the wildland firefighting community and friends.
Tom, I miss you already. However, I know that in your own way that you continue to be with me as I continue to blog about aerial wildland firefighting. You gave me a couple of aviation related tokens that I treasure even more now that you are gone. May you rest in peace and fly in favorable winds.
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