This June, 18 firefighters from the St.Louis City and County Fire Departments journeyed to New Orleans to attend the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute (EDI). Among them were six proud members of F.I.R.E., representing a powerful legacy of leadership, impact, and Black fire service excellence deeply rooted in both St. Louis and the very foundation of EDI. What they brought back wasn’t just training—it was purpose, power, and an unshakable sense of why we serve.
What Is EDI?
The Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute is one of the most transformative leadership programs in the fire service. Founded in 1991 by retired Assistant Chief Carl Holmes—the first Black Assistant Chief in Oklahoma City—the Institute was created to elevate minority firefighters through hands on leadership, management training, and national networking. Held annually at Dillard University in New Orleans, EDI offers fascinating command simulations, emotional intelligence workshops, promotional strategy labs, and late night spiritually uplifting dialogue—combined into one immersive, life changing week.
A Life-Changing Experience
Attendees this year described the week as intense, uplifting, humbling, and empowering. You’re surrounded by Black and Brown leaders—rising chiefs, captains, battalion commanders—all contributing their knowledge and faith. By day, you face simulation drills, tactical training, fire department budgeting, and promotional interviewing drills. By night, you’re talking legacy, healing from mental health workshops, sharing testimony, and forging lifelong bonds. EDI doesn’t just prepare you to get promoted—it equips you to lead with integrity, influence, and confidence. You leave with a blueprint—for your career, for your life, for your legacy.
Why It Matters to St. Louis
St. Louis’s influence on EDI runs far deeper than attendance. From EDI’s earliest days, our city was at the heart of its formation:
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In the early 1990s, St. Louis fire leaders collaborated directly with Chief Holmes to shape EDI’s curriculum—ensuring it addressed the unique challenges Black firefighters faced in municipal departments .
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Over the years, numerous STLFD chiefs, captains, and battalion chiefs have served as EDI instructors, facilitators, and mentors, representing the city on panels, in workshops, and on its Wall of Honor .
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St. Louis hosted key regional conferences in the late 1980s—bringing fire service equity advocates, accreditation leaders, and minority fire professionals to our doorstep. These gatherings helped lay groundwork principles that would later become central to EDI’s mission.
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When we attend, we don’t just show up—we return. We enter a legacy we helped build. We stand in classrooms shaped by our insight. We claim a collective story written in part by St. Louis leadership—and continued by FIRE members today.
Why You Should Go Next Year
If you’re seeking more—more clarity, more mentorship, more purpose, more community—EDI will meet you where you are and elevate who you can become.
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You will be intentionally challenged in leadership, communication, operations, and self-awareness.
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You’ll be mentored by nationally respected fire leaders who’ve walked the path before you.
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You’ll forge bonds with peers who share your background and are invested in your success.
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You’ll learn visionary leadership tools—budgeting, media engagement, community relations—you can bring back to St. Louis to impact your station and your city.
Ask this year’s 18 St. Louis attendees, especially the six FIRE members who represented our history with pride—they’ll tell you:
“You don’t come back from EDI the same. You come back better.”
Final Word
The time to start preparing for EDI 2026 is now:
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Apply early—applications usually open in February.
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Talk to your leadership—let them know you want to invest in intentional development.
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Seek funding support—grants, training budgets.
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Commit to showing up—fully and courageously.
Carry the torch. Continue the legacy. Be the next generation of St. Louis fire leaders—and EDI’s next-page writers.
EDI doesn’t just build leaders—it brings you home.
