JOHN (SKIP) COLEMAN retired as assistant chief from the Toledo (OH) Department of Fire and Rescue. He is a technical editor of Fire Engineering; a member of the FDIC Educational Advisory Board; and author of Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer (Fire Engineering, 1997), Managing Major Fires (Fire Engineering, 2000), and Incident Management for the Street-Smart Fire Officer, Second Edition (Fire Engineering, 2008).

 

Nate DeMarse is a firefighter with the Fire Department of New York. With his brother Curtis, DeMarse is a co-owner of Brotherhood Instructors, LLC. He is the photo editor for Fire Engineering.

 

ANTHONY AVILLO, a 25-year veteran of the fire service, is a deputy chief in North Hudson (NJ) Regional Fire & Rescue, assigned as 1st platoon regional tour commander. He has a B.S. in fire science from New Jersey City University. He is an instructor at the Bergen County (NJ) and Monmouth County (NJ) Fire Academies and a member of the FDIC advisory board and of the Fire Engineering editorial advisory board. He is the author of Fireground Strategies, 2nd Edition (Fire Engineering, 2008), Fireground Strategies Workbook Volume II (Fire Engineering, 2009), a contributing author to Fire Engineering's Handbook for Firefighter I and II(Fire Engineering, 2009), and co-author of the Firefighters Handbook Study Guide.

 

ALAN BRUNACINI joined the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department in 1958, served in every department position, was promoted to fire chief in 1978, and retired in 2006. He is a graduate of Oklahoma’s State University’s Fire Protection Technology program and has BS and MPA degrees from Arizona State University. He formerly chaired the NFPA board and its Fire Service Occupational Safety Committee (Standard 1500). He chairs the NFPA Fire Service Career Organization and Deployment Committee (Standard 1710). He and his firefighter sons are developing and teaching the local command level Blue Card hazard zone management program. He is the author of Fire Command, Command Safety, Timeless Tactical Truths, Essentials of Fire Department Customer Service, and The Anatomy and Physiology of Leadership. He and his son John own and operate the Web site www.bshifter.com.

 

 

MICHAEL N. CIAMPO is a 25-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Fire Department of New York. Previously, he served with the District of Columbia Fire Department. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire science from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC Portable Ladder H.O.T. program. He wrote the Ladder chapter and co-authored the Ventilation chapter for Fire Engineering's Handbook for Firefighter I and II (Fire Engineering, 2009) and is featured in “Training Minutes” truck company videos on www.FireEngineering.com. He writes the column On Fire for Fire Engineering.

 

PAUL T. DANSBACH has worked in code enforcement for 31 years and has been the fire marshal of Rutherford, NJ, for 24 years. He is a fire instructor at the Bergen County (NJ) Law & Public Safety Institute and has been a member of the Rutherford Fire Department for 32 years, where he also served as chief. He teaches CEU classes for fire inspectors and fire subcode and building subcode officials for Kean and Rutgers Universities. He was a task force investigator for the Bergen County Arson Squad, Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, for more than 10 years. He is a Fire Engineering editorial advisory board member and an FDIC advisory board member. He is the coauthor of Study Guide for Fireground Size-Up (Fire Engineering, 2003).

 

FRANK L. FIRE worked for40 years in the plastics industry andretired as executive vice president of sales, marketing, and international from Americhem, Inc., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. He has a B.S. degree in chemistry and an M.B.A. degree in marketing, both from the University of Akron. He has taught “Chemistry of Hazardous Materials” to emergency responders for 33 years in the Fire Protection Technology program at the University of Akron (OH) Stark State College; at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland; and, most recently, to civil support teams of the National Guard in Missouri and Minnesota. He is the author of The Common Sense Approach to Hazardous Materials,  The Common Sense Dictionary for Emergency Responders, A Study Guide to the Common Sense Approach to Hazardous Materials, Combustibility of Plastics, Chemical Data Notebook: A User’s Manual and a coauthor of SARA, Title III: Intent and Implementation of Hazardous Materials Regulations. He has written more than 120 articles on individual hazardous materials for Fire Engineering.

 

 

BILL GUSTIN, a 37-year veteran of the fire service, is a captain with Miami-Dade (FL) Fire Rescue and lead instructor in his department’s officer training program. He began his fire service career in the Chicago area and teaches fire training programs in Florida and other states. He is a marine firefighting instructor and has taught fire tactics to ship crews and firefighters in Caribbean countries. He also teaches forcible entry tactics to fire departments and SWAT teams of local and federal law enforcement agencies. He is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering.

LEIGH T. HOLLINS began his career in 1976 at Nottingham Fire Company in Hamilton Square, NJ, before relocating to Manatee County, FL, in 1977. He serves as a battalion chief in the training division at Cedar Hammock (FL) Fire Rescue and is vice president and director of STARFIRE Training Systems, Inc. He is the author of numerous fire-related articles, teaches nationally, and produced Fire Engineering’s School Bus Extrication DVD as well as “Training Minutes” school bus extrication segments for fireengineering.com. He serves on FDIC’s educational executive committee and as a member of Fire Engineering’s editorial advisory board. He has been an FDIC H.O.T. lead extrication instructor since 1997. 

ARTHUR L. JACKSON is chief investigator for Peter Vallas Associates, a fire origin and cause forensic analysis and private detective agency, where he has worked for 21 years. A 40-year veteran of the fire service, he is also chief of fire prevention and fire subcode official for the Hasbrouck Heights (NJ) Fire Department.

 

STEVE KREIS has been a member of the Phoenix (AZ) Fire Department for 35 years. He started in 1975 as a firefighter and was promoted through the system up to his present position as the executive assistant chief of fire department operations. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in public administration from Arizona State University. He was an adjunct instructor at Phoenix College and is an instructor in the fire science curriculum at Arizona State University. He is a member of the FDIC advisory committee and served on the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) executive board for eight years. He is a member of the Fire Engineering editorial advisory board.  

 

RICK LASKY, a 29-year veteran of the fire service, is chief of the Lewisville (TX) Fire Department. He began his career as a firefighter in the suburbs on the southwest side of Chicago. He received the 1996 International Society of Fire Service Instructors “Innovator of the Year”award for his part in developing the “Saving Our Own” program. He served as the co-lead instructor for the H.O.T. Firefighter Survival program at FDIC for more than 10 years, is an editorial advisory board member of Fire Engineering, and is a member of the FDIC advisory board. He is the author of the “Pride and Ownership--A Firefighter’s Love of the Job” leadership series, published in Fire Engineering, and the book of the same name, and hosts the online radio show at fireengineering.com.

 

JOHN M. MALECKY is a retired battalion chief of the Bayonne (NJ) Fire Department. He joined the department in 1970 and was named a lieutenant in 1987, a captain in 1994, and a battalion chief in 2000. He is author of Apparatus Deliveries in Fire Engineering.

 

DAVID McGRAIL is a 28-year veteran of the fire service and a district chief with the Denver (CO) Fire Department. He instructs internationally on fire service topics, specializing in high-rise firefighting and standpipe operations. He is the lead instructor for the FDIC H.O.T. Engine Company (standpipe). He is a member of the FDIC and Fire Engineering educational advisory boards. He is the author of Firefighting Operations in High-Rise and Standpipe-Equipped Buildings (Fire Engineering, 2007). He has two associate degrees in fire science technology and two bachelor’s degrees--in human resource management and fire service administration.

JOHN W. MITTENDORF was a 30-year veteran of the Los Angeles City (CA) Fire Department when he retired as a battalion chief. He has an associate degree in fire science and has nationally and internationally instructed in fireground operations for the past 26 years. He was the recipient of the Fire Engineering 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.

FRANK C. MONTAGNA, a 40-year Fire Department of New York veteran and a battalion chief for 23 years, is assigned to FDNY’s Training Academy and is responsible for curriculum development. He has created numerous courses for his department, and his fire simulations are used in FDNY’s promotion courses. He has a B.S. in fire science and lectures on various fire-related topics, including those covered in his book, Responding to Routine Emergencies and its Workbook (Fire Engineering 1999, 2005respectively).

 

MIKE NASTA is a 25-year veteran of the Newark (NJ) Fire Department, serving as deputy chief in charge of the Training Division. He is also a member of the South Hackensack (NJ) Volunteer Fire Department and served two terms as chief. He is a NJ-certified level 2 fire instructor and a senior fire instructor at the Bergen County (NJ) Fire Academy. He is a H.O.T. coordinator for FDIC. He coauthored Fireground Officer Development with Anthony Avillo and has authored numerous fire service articles. He is also an adjunct instructor at Kean University and New Jersey State University, where he teaches the program he coauthored.

 

 

John P. O’Connell retired from the Fire Department of New York after 26 years of service. For his last 18 years with FDNY, he was assigned to the department’s Collapse Rescue Company No. 3. He is a principal member of the NFPA 1670 committee and is the task group chair for the structural collapse section. A former task force leader and rescue team manager for New York City’s US&R Task Force 1, he has served on several FEMA development committees in the past 15 years, as well as a lead instructor for FEMA’s rescue specialist training. He has written and taught rescue curriculum for FEMA, FDNY and the OFPC of the state of New York. He is a rescue team manager with IN-TF-1. He has been the lead H.O.T. coordinator for FDIC for the past seven years. He is the president of Collapse Rescue Systems Inc., an international training company specializing in technical rescue. An author of numerous articles on structural collapse and technical rescue, he is also the author of Emergency Rescue Shoring Techniques (Fire Engineering). He is a member of the FDIC executive advisory board.

 

 

ROB SCHNEPP is the special operations chief for the Alameda County (CA) Fire Department. He is a member of the NFPA 472 Technical Committee on Hazardous Materials Response Personnel and an instructor for the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, providing hazmat/WMD training to an international audience. He is a member of the Fire Engineering and FDIC editorial advisory boards.

WILLIAM J. SHOULDIS retired as deputy chief of the Philadelphia (PA) Fire Department, where he served in line and staff positions for more than 34 years. His assignments included working directly for the chief on labor relation and accountability issues and serving as field commander for one-half of the city, department safety officer, director of training, and hazardous material task force leader. He is an instructor at the Graduate School at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia (PA), the National Fire Academy, and the Emergency Management Institute. He has a master’s degree in public

safety.  

 

MICHAEL A. TERPAK has been in the fire service for 34 years and has spent the past 30 years with the Jersey City (NJ) Fire Department, where he is assigned as a deputy chief and citywide tour commander. He lectures nationally on fire/rescue and related topics. He founded Promotional Prep, a NJ-based consulting firm that prepares firefighters and fire officers for promotional exams. Terpak has a B.S. degree in fire safety administration from the City University of New Jersey and is the author of Fireground Size-Up and Assessment Center Strategy and Tactics (FireEngineering, 2002 and 2008, respectively).

JERRY TRACY is a 32-year veteran of FDNY, where he is Battalion 49 commander. He is an adjunct instructor for FDNY’s training academy. He has conducted scientific research on fire behavior on wind-driven fires in high-rise buildings and been instrumental in keeping SOPs current for the department.

ANDREA ZAFERES has spent 21 years teaching thousands of water rescue/recovery personnel worldwide. She is vice president of Lifeguard Systems, a NAUI/ACUC course director, a noted author, a medicolegal death investigator, and a public speaker. She has received such awards as the DAN-Rolex Diver of the year and the Beneath the Sea Diver of the Year.