Fairfax, VA – International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Executive Director Garry L. Briese, CAE, was awarded the James O. Page Award for his years of support and service to the emergency medical services community.
With over 30 years of fire service experience and 19 years as the IAFC executive director, Briese has long championed the emergency medical services field. He received his first EMS certification while serving as a volunteer fire fighter in Jacksonville, Fla. In the late 1970s, Briese played a vital role in the establishment of the state of Florida’s EMS system as a regional EMS specialist for the state. He was later recruited by Florida’s EMS director, Dr. Bill Haeck, to work for the American College of Emergency Physicians. After serving at ACEP headquarters for three years, Briese accepted the position of executive director for the Florida College of Emergency Physicians. In 1985, Briese became executive director of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
Briese is a well-known author and lecturer in the fire and emergency services community and has co-authored two emergency medical textbooks for first responders. He has been involved in the development of numerous EMS-related conferences, including Florida’s Clinical Conference on Prehospital Emergency Care, the National Disaster Conference and the Florida Advanced Life Support competition. Briese also has worked to promote training and education in the extrication field-he founded the Carbuster Automobile Extrication Team (which went on to develop the highly successful Carbuster extrication videotape series) and did extensive teaching and development in the extrication field.
One of the first fire/emergency service leaders to recognize key role of the fire and emergency services in preparing for and responding to terrorism incidents, Briese continues to speak extensively on the subject. He was deeply involved with the training of the first class of paramedics in Israel, and he worked closely with Eugene Nagel, MD, and Nancy Caroline, MD, on the initial development of Israel’s pre-hospital EMS system.
Professionally, Briese holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation from the American Society of Association Executives. He has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of South Florida and a masters degree in public administration from Nova Southeastern University. He is an adjunct associate professor at both the University of Maryland and George Washington University. He is active at the troop, council and national levels of the Boy Scouts of America, is a National Distinguished Eagle Scout and serves as the National Chairman for the Fire and Emergency Services Exploring Program.
Sponsored by Medtronic-Physio Control and presented by the IAFC EMS Section, the award is presented to an individual who has played a key role in creating and/or promoting non-clinical innovation and achievements in fire service management. The award, presented to Briese in April at the Fire-Rescue Med conference in Las Vegas, is named for James O. Page, who has been a visionary and national leader in fire service EMS for more than three decades.
