The International Society of Fire Service Instructors opens its election process! 

ISFSI Board Elections

The ISFSI will be hosting elections for the 2010-2012 open seats for the Board of Directors from January 2010 - March 2010. These elections will take place with an online ballot service. Active ISFSI members will be sent information via email when voting begins. Please take the time to vote!

The following candidates will be running for the open Board seats:

President - Eddie Buchannan

1st VP - Doug Cline

2nd VP - Chris Naum

Western Region Director - Tim Zehnder, Philip Oaks

Eastern Region Director - Forest Reeder, Sean M. Canto, Tommy Fuqua

Member At Large Director - Kevin Milan, Steve Pegram

Edward (Eddie) Buchanan began his career in the fire service in 1982 and currently serves as a Division Chief with Hanover (VA) Fire & EMS. He is author of The Volunteer Training Officer's Handbook from Fire Engineering Books & Videos and serves on the Board of Directors for the Volunteer / Combination Officer's Section of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He also serves as President for the International Society of Fire Service Instructors. He is the former Chief of the Henry Volunteer Fire Department and remains a life member today. He is an Adjunct Instructor for the Virginia Department of Fire Programs as served as a Hands-On Training (H.O.T.) Instructor for the Fire Department Instructor's Conference and has written various articles on training issues.

Douglas Cline, is a 28-year veteran and student of the Fire Service serving as Training Commander with the City of High Point (NC) Fire Department and Assistant Chief of Administration with the Ruffin Volunteer Fire Department.

Cline, a passionate fire instructor and former Fire Chief, is a North Carolina Level II Fire Instructor, National Fire Academy Instructor and an EMT-Paramedic instructor/coordinator for the North Carolina Office of Emergency Medical Services. Cline is a member of the North Carolina Society of Fire Service Instructors and the International Society of Fire Service Instructors where he serves on the Board of Directors as The First Vice President.

Cline serves the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs as the second vice president. Cline also serves as a FEMA grant criteria development committee member, peer reviewer for the Fire Act Grants, the Northern Director for the Piedmont North Carolina Fireman’s Association, Piedmont Director for the North Carolina Fallen Firefighters Foundation and Southeastern Association of Fire Chief’s Second Vice President.

Cline was honored as the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI), 1999 George D. Post Instructor of the Year. Commander Cline is also a member of National Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE). He holds a Bachelors Degree in Social Services with a Minor in Education from Concord University.

Commander Cline is a well known international speaker presenting High Intensity / Dynamic programs on instructor development, officer development, rapid intervention team training and firefighter safety and survival. Cline also is a highly published author with the most recent publications being with Thomson-Delmar Learning. The Publications are the Company Officer Test Preparation Guide Book with a scenario training DVD. Cline is the technical content advisor for the Rapid Intervention Team Book published by Thomson-Delmar Learning and contributing author to the instructor support materials for the Rapid Intervention Team Book published by Thomson-Delmar Learning, test bank developer for the Fire Department Incident Safety Officer Book and contributing author to the instructor support materials for the Rapid Intervention Team Book published by Thomson-Delmar Learning.

Cline also has multiple training videos with the Fire Emergency Training Network (FETN) and American Heat to include, Rapid Intervention Team Training, Vehicle Fires, Emergency Vehicle Operations, Fire Ground Safety and Survival and Hose Line Management. Cline is also hosts a monthly Pod Cast on Training and Tactics with Radio Firehouse.com. Cline is a contributing editor to FIREHOUSE.com and the Pennsylvania Fireman Magazine.

Christopher J. Naum, SFPE is a 35-year fire service veteran and presently serves as the Second Vice President with the International Society of Fire Service Instructors. A member of the ISFSI since 1981, he is a former Fire Chief/ Fire & Safety Coordinator at a U.S nuclear power plant and previously served as a commanding company officer for over twenty years in field operations with a volunteer fire department in Central New York. He is presently the Chief of Training for the Command Institute; a Washington, DC based emergency management, research, development & training organization. A nationally recognized authority on building construction, structural collapse and command management, he has traveled throughout the United States and internationally delivering training programs on building construction, command risk management and firefighter safety.

An Adjunct Instructor with the National Fire Academy, he specializes in training courses for Structural Collapse, Building Construction and Firefighter Safety & Health. A Contributing Editor with Firehouse Magazine since 1988 and Firehouse.com since 2002, he has authored numerous articles on building construction, firefighting operations, command, leadership and special technical rescue operations. He authors the periodic column at Firehouse.com entitled- Structural Anatomy that focuses on building construction, command risk management and firefighter safety and also advocates and writes extensively within various fire service internet training forums and groups including Fire Engineering, FireRescue1 and Firefighter Nation where he authors the Command Safety and Building Construction & Firefighter Safety Groups. He was the 1987 ISFSI George D. Post National Fire Instructor of the Year as presented by the International Society of Fire Service Instructors. In addition, Mr. Naum has over fourteen years of experience within the areas of architectural design and planning & having served as a project architect for an architecture & engineering firm. He has served on numerous FEMA, USFA, NFPA, IAFC and ISFSI task forces, committees and panels over the past thirty years and holds full professional member grade Fire Protection Engineer-SFPE, status from the Society of Fire Protection Engineers.

He is an active supporter and participant of the NFFF, The Everyone Goes Home Initiatives and the Near Miss Reporting Systems. A member of the IAFC since 1987, he served over ten years as a charter member of the IAFC Urban Rescue Structural Collapse Committee and is a member of the Safety, Health & Survival Section and the Volunteer Chief Officers Section. He also serves on the Board of Directors with the International Association of Fire Chiefs, Safety, Health & Survival Section (IAFC SH&S) and on the Board of Directors of the Open Fire Academy International (OFA).

Tim Zehnder started his career in 1990 with the Truman Fire & Rescue, where he is currently the Captain on Rescue 2 and helps with training. He is the president of the local Relief Association and has served as 2nd Assistant Chief. Captain Zehnder worked 2 years full time with the US Forest Service in Idaho as a firefighter on an Engine Company. He is also currently the Fire & Rescue Training Program Manager at South Central College in North Mankato MN where he has been an adjunct Instructor since 1992 and full time since 2005. He is an Advocate for the Everyone Goes Home Program and the State Rep. to the ISFSI for the Fire Instructor & Training Officers Organization of Minnesota. Captain Zehnder is passionate about training and is involved in writing programs to help make our industry safer. He has been a presenter at the Minnesota Fire Department Conference, along with other Fire schools in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

He is married to Angie and has 3 daughters, Shauna 14, Katy 10 & Lilly 5. He enjoys spending time with his kids, hunting, Fishing and playing softball. The fire service is a large part of his life and he want to make a difference.

As a director with the ISFSI, he would like to help get the message out, he wants to see every state have a chapter of the ISFSI and be active. ISFSI is the voice and everyone needs to hear it, Zehnder plans to use his contacts in the upper Midwest to help spread the word and make sure the firefighters are getting what they need. I will give a 100% to this organization, as I do with whatever I am involved in, Thanks for the opportunity.

Philip Oakes joined Laramie County Fire District #2 in September of 1993, where he served as a volunteer. With this department, he obtained certification up to the Fire Officer II level. Responsible for writing and administering the department’s first ever Assistance to Firefighters Grant. He was promoted to the level of Captain, prior to moving to a new town, and is still an honorary member of this department. Oakes served in multiple roles from Administration Officer, Public Information Officer, Training Officer, and Supply Captain. After moving to a new town, he joined Laramie County Fire District #4, where he serves to this day. During his time with this agency, he obtained Fire Officer III and Fire Instructor III.

While volunteering, Director Oakes changed careers and became an emergency services dispatcher for Laramie County, WY. He worked there for three years and was promoted to the level of Field Training Officer, prior to leaving to work as an EMT-B for American Medical Response. During his time with AMR, he conducted training for the agency and supplemented the administration and supervisory staff as needed.

Oakes joined the Wyoming State Fire Marshal’s Office in 2002, where he continues to work to this day. He originally was the state’s Fire Incident Report Coordinator (due to his experience with Laramie County Fire District #2’s reporting system, and as a contract instructor for the state). Within two years, he was promoted to the position of Trainer/Fire Investigator, and after an additional two years to the level of State Training Director (the position he currently holds). During his tenure as State Training Director, the agency tripled its number of classes delivered, doubled the number of certifications issued, obtained National Accreditation for those certification programs, as well as purchased and began operating the first and only State Fire Training Academy. Since acquiring the academy, they implemented over one million dollars in improvements, including a new live fire training facility, seven new props, and is currently being renovated to better meet ADA requirements. The agency has also begun to hold annual Chief Officer Symposiums and Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Conferences. In addition, Oakes division also published a Line of Duty Death and Injury manual for the State of Wyoming and a Manual for Training Officer.

During Director Oakes time in emergency services, he has also done work as a reviewer/contributor for Delmar Cengage, IFSTA, Jones and Bartlett, and McGraw Hill. He also worked as an adjunct instructor for Casper College’s Fire Science program, specializing in building construction for the fire service. He has instructed classes throughout the western states.

If selected to the board of the ISFSI, the number one thing I would like to accomplish is to get the word out. The ISFSI is a great organization, but particularly in my part of the county, no one seems to know about it. For any organization to truly become effective it needs to be known and it needs to be accessible. I hope to help the ISFSI expand its membership and provide solid benefits to those members. People are looking for real benefits for their dollar these days. ISFSI has those, and I would love to help it add even more.

Something else, I would like to accomplish is to mend fences. Several times in my current role as a State Training Director, when I mention ISFSI, people seem put off. Regardless of what has happened in the past, my intention is to help people over it and to move forward. I know serious effort has been made in the past and there has been some success, but the attitudes and opinions are still there to be overcome. I hope to make great strides in this effort and help the ISFSI grow and move forward.

Why I want to serve:

I know in this day and age the phrase may be over used or sound corny, but the truth is I am in this to help people. It is why I joined a volunteer department all those years ago. It is why I ran for the office of Mayor in my hometown. It is also why I applied for and received my promotion to State Training Director. In my role as a trainer, I helped firefighters around the state, but as a State Training Director, I help them all every day, by ensuring that they receive top notch training from everyone in my agency. Additionally, I can ensure our programs and the programs we bring into Wyoming are of the highest quality and will do the most good, for the most number of firefighters. So yes, it might sound corny, or out dated, or over used, but in my case, it is one hundred percent applicable. I am in this to help people. I take a tremendous amount of pride in helping my brother and sister firefighters. Where else can one have a greater impact than helping instructors around the country to help their own firefighters and community? What an awesome responsibility and one I feel I am up to.

Forest Reeder began his fire service career in 1978. He currently serves as Battalion Chief / Director of Training & Safety with the Pleasantview Fire Protection District and is the Director of Training for Southwest United Fire Districts. These responsibilities include the design, implementation and coordination of in-service training activities as well as a full-service fire training academy program. Additionally, Forest is the author of the weekly drill feature at http://www.firefighterclosecalls.com and at http://www.fireengineering.com. He was the coeditor and contributing author of Fire Service Instructor, Principles and Practices, 1st edition published by Jones and Bartlett.

He has instructed at FDIC for over 10 years and trains both locally and nationally on fire service training, safety, and officer development related topics. Several articles on these programs were published in major trade publications.

Forest holds many Illinois fire service certifications and a Masters Degree in Public Safety Administration from Lewis University. He was awarded the George Post Instructor of the Year by the International Society of Fire Service Instructors at FDIC in 2008.

Sean Canto is a career Division Chief / Paramedic with the Harrods Creek Fire Department in the Metro Louisville Area. Chief Canto has over 17 years experience in the fire service, and has worked in Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Ohio, and Kentucky. He has served in many different fire service positions in suppression, prevention and training. Chief Canto served as a member of the Educational Advisory Board for the Fire Science program at the Dona Ana Community College in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Chief Canto has an Associates Degree in Fire Science from the Kentucky Community and Technical College and a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Bellevue University.

Chief Canto has also been accredited in several levels through the International Fire Service Accreditation Congress and has completed his 2nd year in the Executive Fire Officer Program.

Chief Canto is an active instructor with the Indiana Fire Instructor’s Association and continues to teach in the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana Tri State Area. Chief Canto is active in Special Operations Teams in Metro Louisville to include the Louisville Metro Urban Search and Rescue as a Rescue Manager and the Jefferson County Water Rescue Team as the Team Commander. Chief Canto is a member of the International Association of Firefighters, International Association of Fire Chiefs, Fire Department Safety Officer Organization and the International Society of Fire Service Instructors.

Goals- As Eastern Director, I will display a deep commitment to furthering the cause of the fire service through training and safety. This commitment will advance firefighter operations as well as fire ground effectiveness and safety. I will challenge personnel to no longer accept firefighter injuries and fatalities and to walk the walk we have been saying we have been doing for quite some time. I will be a positive role model for other fire instructors and firefighters throughout the country as well as the Eastern Region. My goal is to take the profession of firefighting to the next level and to foster a new safety conscious attitude with recruit personnel. This goal will be accomplished by having Chiefs, Company Officers, and Instructors practice safe operations and challenging all personnel to train as if their life depends on it!

Tommy Fuqua began his Fire Service career in 1962 at the age of 17. He was a member of the Vinton, Virginia Volunteer Fire Department. During his early years, he joined the U.S. Army Reserves and was on active duty for basic training as well as attending and graduating from the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School at Ft, Knox, KY in 1965. After returning home, he began training volunteers and in 1973, Fuqua attended the Virginia Fire Services Instructor certification course and was certified as a State Instructor. He began teaching other departments as well and continued as a State Instructor to date. I have a BS degree in Safety and Security Administration.

In 1973, Fuqua was hired as a Firefighter at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Salem, Virginia. When the government started contracting with local governments in 1977 to provide fire protection he became a firefighter for the Roanoke County, Virginia Fire and Rescue Department. During his tenure, Fuqua worked his way up and was appointed Chief of Department, a position that he held for 15 years. As Training Chief, Fuqua implemented a new recruit school for new hires as well as a separate recruit school for new volunteers. In addition, he was the lead for the designing, building and management of a multi-jurisdiction fire and rescue training facility. He was also very active in the Virginia Fire Chiefs Association and was elected as President in 1991.

Fuqua became an adjunct instructor for the Fire Science Program at Virginia Western Community College in Roanoke Virginia in 1997. In 1999, he was accepted as a Contract Instructor at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland and continues to teach the following courses: Training Operations in Small Departments, Challenges for Local Training Officers, Training Program Management, Fire Service Course Design and Executive Analysis of Community Risk Reduction(2nd year Executive Fire Officer Class).
Fuqua was appointed by the Governor of Virginia in 2000 to represent the Virginia Chapter of ISFSI on the Virginia Fire Services Board (same as State Fire Commissions). He served two terms, the maximum under state law.

Fuqua retired from Roanoke County Fire and Rescue in 2003. With the time he has available, as well as his continued participation in training and instruction on both a state and national level, he plans to promote the ISFSI and the many opportunities it offers firefighters in the training/education field. In addition, he plans to participate in all activities required of th position of Eastern Director or Director-at-Large.

Kevin Milan is the Division Chief of Training for the Golden Colorado Fire Department. A 16 year veteran of the fire service, Kevin has progressed through the ranks with a constant focus on training. He maintains a professional educator's license in addition to extensive fire service credentials. Kevin currently serves as President of the Colorado Training Officers Association and is active in bringing research based instructional strategies to the fire service. Milan was recognized in 2006 for excellence in research by the United States Fire Administration, and is a recipient of the Don A Manno award from the National Society of Fire Service Executives for his research on fire service instruction. Kevin is finishing the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy and is currently pursuing his Masters in Fire Service Leadership. He is a contract instructor for the State of Colorado, in addition to presenting at numerous national conferences.

Steve Pegram - Chief Pegram is currently the Deputy Fire Chief with the City of Xenia, Ohio. Chief Pegram was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, however he started his fire service career in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania while still in high school. Soon after high school, Chief Pegram moved to New Jersey where he attended college and served as Fire Inspector for Princeton, NJ as well as Fire Chief in Pennington, NJ. In 1997, Chief Pegram moved to Mason, OH where he was Deputy Fire Chief until October of 2000. For the past seven years, Chief Pegram has served as the Training Officer and Shift Commander with the Loveland Symmes (OH) Fire Department.

Chief Pegram has an Associated Degree in Fire Science and is currently pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Fire Administration from the University of Cincinnati. Chief Pegram is a 1998 graduate of the National Fire Service Staff and Command School, and he has completed multiple courses through the National Fire Academy. Chief Pegram serves on the editorial board for Fire Rescue Magazine and has published more than 20 articles pertaining to fire service operations. Chief Pegram currently resides in Maineville, Ohio with his wife and two children.