Edward Flood wanted to be a writer, according to his brother Hugh, but found his calling as a firefighter and fire service educator. Chief Flood, 71, passed away in February.

Flood was the grandson of a Bronx firefighter and the son of a physician. After high school, he served with the Air Force during the Vietnam War era. At the age of 24, he was appointed to the Weehawken Fire Department.

He rose through the ranks and was named Chief of Operations. He was a big supporter of merging fire municipal fire departments in the densely populated North Hudson area, where firehouses are located on, or near, border lines. These departments had already merged its communication operations into one agency, dispatching North Hudson companies and using automatic mutual aid multiple-alarm running assignments.

In 1999, the departments of Weehawken, Union City, North Bergen, West New York and Guttenberg merged into the North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue, serving some 200,000 residents. Deputy Chief Flood was instrumental in the merger and became that department's third chief in 2001.

One of his passions was educating people. That, along with his love of writing, co-authored a book on fire service leadership with retired North Hudson Deputy Chief Anthony Avillo. Avillo, also a former member of the Weehawken Fire Department, is a well known author and educator. The book, released in 2017, is “Full-Contact Leadership,” featuring his photo on the cover at a multiple-alarm fire.

Chief Flood was a fire academy instructor, and he also co-founded Study Group, Inc., that consisted of emergency service training and management experts offering consulting services for operations and promotional opportunities for first responders. He retired from the North Hudson department in 2003, and focused on fire service instruction.

The chief's son, Terence Shevlin, is a captain with the North Hudson department.

Jersey City Battalion Chief Jack Johnson remembered Chief Flood on his Facebook page. “The first class I ever took in the fire service was with Chief Flood and Study Group in 1998. In the first five minutes of the class, I learned a few valuable lessons that I still use. Today, 20-years later, I still pass those lessons to everyone I can.”