The IAFF is saddened by the September 28 death of IAFF 12th District Vice President Emeritus Dominick F. Barbera. He was 84.
“Not only was Brother Barbera a great union leader, he was a true friend,” says General President Harold Schaitberger. “This International owes him a huge debt of gratitude for his innovation and dedication to the firefighting profession and the labor movement. He will be missed.”
Dominick joined a small fire department in Bal Harbour, Florida, in 1966, which merged into Dade County in 1971. He then joined what is today Metropolitan Dade County Local 1403. He served as Local 1403 president from 1980-1993 and again from 2000-2003. During his tenure, he worked hard to improve the health, safety and working conditions of his members.
With wide support throughout the 12th District, Dominick was elected 12th District Vice President in 1984, a position he held until 2006. While he continued to advocate for his members, Dominick also became a strong supporter for fire-based EMS. In 1986, he made a motion to create the IAFF EMS Committee and later encouraged developing a biennial IAFF EMS conference. The first conference was held in 1991 in Dade County.
In 1998, IAFF convention delegates passed Resolution 86 to name the IAFF EMS Conference after Barbera upon his retirement in 2006. In 2008, convention delegates passed another resolution honoring Dominick’s service with Vice President Emeritus status.
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