Associate
Former Deputy Fire Chief, Volusia County, Florida
Former Deputy Operations Supervisor, Volusia County Emergency Management
Former Fire Chief, Lake County Fire & Rescue, Former Director of the Emergency Services Institute
Volusia County Fire Services
Jim has a thirty (30) year career in public safety, beginning as a State Trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol. Since his retirement from Volusia County, Jim has embarked on a post-retirement career where he develops and conducts specialized training that includes incident command and management; wild land/urban interface suppression and defensible communities; design, development, implementation, and evaluation of emergency response exercises; firefighter principles and practices; fire company officer leadership, continuity of operations planning, and hazardous materials. Jim is certified in the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluator Program (HSEEP), and conducts training supported by the Department of Justice, State of Florida, National Wildfire Coordinating Group, FEMA, NIMS.
As an Assistant Chief with Volusia County, FL, Jim trained Florida’s first wildland fire crew in 1994; the Volusia County Fire Service Firewalkers. These 30 certified firefighters were trained in wildland firefighting tactics, Florida fuels topography, and weather. In 1998 the team was instrumental in saving lives, businesses and homes in Volusia County during what is still recognized as “the most complex fire in America’s history”. During this incident, Jim served as the Area Commander for the 6 weeks, managing resources for 968 individual wildland fires totaling 147,000 acres.
Jim is a subject matter expert in the concepts for determining the risks associated with the wild land/urban interface and Firewise Community development. Jim also has extensive experience in the principles and practices of Emergency Management. During Jim’s career in Emergency Management, he coordinated operations with sixteen (16) municipalities to incidents within the County during fifty (50) plus federally declared disasters. Jim maintains his Florida Department of Law Enforcement certifications and serves as a law enforcement Reserve Sergeant in Lake Helen, Florida.
Jim has completed coursework at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, MD, and holds numerous technical and instructor certifications in fire, emergency medical services, law enforcement, emergency management, incident command, Homeland Security, and firearms.