Greg Noll, a longtime friend of Eversole told us in an e-mail, "John Eversoles do not come along everyday in our life. But the John Eversoles do have a profound influence upon our profession that continues long after they have passed.."

In Chief Eversole’s honor, the International Association of Fire Chiefs Hazardous Materials Committee has established the John Eversole Lifetime Achievement Award. The committee has planned to present the initial award to Chief Eversole himself at the annual conference on June 2 at Hunt Valley, Maryland. Although he won't be in Hunt Valley in person, he will be there in spirit and his friends will still honor him.

IAFC President Chief Jim Harmes said, "The fire service has lost a great leader. John Eversole was a big man physically, but he also loomed large in the fire service. He was a giant in the world of hazardous materials and devoted his life to affecting changes worldwide for the fire service and the protection of the public everywhere."

Chief Eversole helped shape legislation, trends and operations affecting the fire service, particularly in the areas of hazardous materials, terrorism and firefighter safety. He often testified before Congressional committees on issues involving domestic terrorism threats and he received many awards and recognitions. He served as Chairman of the National Fire Protection Association’s hazardous materials committee and was instrumental in developing the standards for competencies for hazardous materials responders. The latest version to the standard is up for vote at NFPA’s Annual Meeting in Boston in June.

Eversole was chair of the IAFC Hazardous Materials committee for 15 years and was instrumental in the success of the International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference. In 2004, Chief Eversole presented Gordon Massingham of Emergency Film Group with the Conference’s "Level A" Award for his service to the hazardous material response community.

Massingham says of the award, "I was truly shocked. John Eversole was the colossus of hazardous materials response and here he was giving this very prestigious award to a filmmaker. So, coming as it did from the hand of this man we all looked up to and admired, it was truly the greatest validation of our company’s work."

Chief Tim Butters of the Fairfax, Virginia Fire Department, Eversole’s successor on the committee and a close family friend said of him, "The breadth and depth of John’s influence on the hazardous materials response profession during his tenure as chairman is immeasurable. He was not only respected for his technical knowledge by the responders, but also officials in government and industry for his ability to find common ground on controversial issues without compromising the need to protect emergency responders and communities. I believe his greatest attribute was never losing sight of protecting the ‘guy in the street.'"

Chief Eversole, in addition to being a vocal supporter of the Emergency Film Group’s work, served on the technical committee for a number of the company’s projects including Terrorism: 1st Response, Terrorism: Biological Weapons and Terrorism: Chemical Weapons. He had just completed a review of an update of the chemical weapons project a week before his death.

John had been battling chronic health issues since a heart attack several years ago. He spent his last day in hospice with his family and close friends who came to say goodbye. Chief Eversole leaves behind his wife Susan and their son Michael and daughter-in-law Cindy; John and Susan had recently become grandparents.