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Jim Talbert
Jim Talbert has over 39 years experience in fire and emergency services.  He started out in Prince George’s County, MD in 1973 and became a career firefighter with the District of Columbia Fire & EMS Department in 1977. 

He was a line officer for 15 years and a chief officer for eight.  As a chief officer, he was the Chief of Special Operations, worked in the two busiest battalions and was a city-wide shift commander. 

As Chief of Special Operations, Chief Talbert managed programs for haz mat, technical rescue and counter-terrorism response, and worked numerous National Special Security Events including Presidential Inaugurations, State of the Union Addresses and World Bank Conferences.  He worked to improve emergency response to the city’s Metro subway system and co- wrote the Department’s Metrorail Standard Operating Procedures Manual.  He is a founding member of the National Capital Region Incident Management Team and serves as an Incident Commander, Operations and Planning Section Chief.  In addition to local missions with the NCRIMT, he served with the team in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina and in Texas after Hurricane Ike.


Chief Talbert retired as a Deputy Fire Chief in the Operations Division.  Chief Talbert has an Associate’s Degree in fire science technology and is a Certified Public Manager.
Walt Lewis
Walter Lewis is a 21-year member of the fire service, the last 15 with the Orlando (FL) Fire Department. Currently, he is a Lieutenant/Paramedic on Engine 11. He has served in various positions with OFD including the Training Division and as a member of specialty teams. 
During his time in the OFD Training Division, he was as an on-scene instructor at a live-fire exercise in Osceola County, Fl where a flashover took the lives of two personnel. 
From this, state legislation was written requiring all instructors using live fire to complete a 40-hour program to become a Live Fire Training Instructor- a program Lt Lewis was an integral member of helping develop. He is also a Technical Search Specialist on Florida USAR Task Force 4. 
Daniel "Boone" Gardiner
Daniel B.C. Gardiner retired as the Chief of Department of Fairfield (CT) Fire-Rescue.He served in all ranks within the department for over 30 years. He is a past President of the Fire Department Safety Officers Association as well as a past President of the ISFSI. For over 20-years he served on the NFPA committee on Professional Qualifications for Fire Officers (NFPA 1021). 
He currently serves on two NFPA technical committees: Standard for Providing Fire and Emergency Services to the Public (NFPA 1201), and Recommended Practice in Fire and Emergency Services Organization Risk Management (NFPA 1250).

Chief Gardiner is a Nationally Certified Fire Officer II and Fire Instructor II.  He is a member of the Certified Fire Protection Specialist Board of Directors.  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fire Science Technology and has two Master’s Degrees, one in Fire Science and one in Public Administration; all from the University of New Haven, Ct.
 
Jason Blake
Jason Blake is a veteran of the fire service for the past 23 years. He works in Montgomery County (MD) has served aas In-Service Training Coordinator at  the Montgomery County Fire Rescue Service Fire & Rescue Training Academy. He has been an H.O.T. Instructor and Speaker at FDIC, Firehouse Expo and other fire service seminars. Jason was recently promoted to the rank of Captain.

Tom Winship 
Tom began his fire service career in 1987 serving as a firefighter, company and chief officer in a large metropolitan combination fire department. He has been a firefighter with FDNY since 2003, assigned to Squad 288 in Queens.  

Previously he was assigned  to Ladder 55 in the South Bronx. Tom serves on the FDNY Incident Management Team, where he works in the Planning Section.  

Tom is an  Adjunct Instructor at the National Fire Academy and holds Bachelor's Degrees in History and Fire Science and a Masters of Public Administration.

Ryan McCormick
Ryan McCormick is a Captain in the Bryant (AR) Fire Department where he heads the department’s training division. 
Prior to his current assignment, he was assigned to various truck and engine companies. 

Ryan’s personal dedication to public service is a life-long commitment with more than 15 years of experience in both career and volunteer service in states that also include Pennsylvania and Illinois. 

He previously worked as a member of the Little Rock Police Department where he served a patrolman. 

Ryan is a graduate of Kankakee Community College with a degree in Business Management and Paramedic Supervision.