CPC's nine members represent a cross-section of the emergency services industry, including career, combination, and volunteer departments; city and county management agencies; the Department of Defense; and the industry at large. They meet in person in the spring and during the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Fire Rescue International conference in the fall, with regular teleconferences in the intervening periods. The commission oversees the development of materials and training to support its mission and makes recommendations to the board of directors for policy and financial decisions.
Richard Mason, CFO, Chair
Representative: At Large
Director
New Hampshire Department of Safety
Division of Fire Standards & Training & EMS
33 Hazen Drive
Concord, NH 03305
(603) 223-4220/FAX (603) 271-1091
richard.mason@dos.nh.gov
Richard Mason became the third person to head fire training in the State of New Hampshire in 1996 when the governor appointed him director of the Division of Fire Standards and Training in the Department of Safety. In 2000 he was among one of the first to become designated as a Chief Fire Officer.
Mason completed the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy and is a member of the Institution of Fire Engineers. He presently serves as the president of the North American Fire Training Directors. He also is active in the New Hampshire Boy Scouts, serves as president of the Safety & Health Council of Northern New England and is past president of the Portsmouth Sunrise Rotary Club.
Prior to his career at the state's fire academy, Mason served for more than 20 years in three New Hampshire city fire departments: as a shift captain with the City of Lebanon Fire Department; deputy fire chief for Nashua Fire Rescue; and operations and training chief for the City of Portsmouth Fire Department.
Mason has an associate's degree in fire protection from the New Hampshire Community Technical College and a bachelor's degree in public safety management from the University System of New Hampshire.
Tim L. Holman, CFO, Vice Chair
Representative: Volunteer Department
Fire Chief
German Township Fire & EMS
P.O. Box 353
North Hampton, OH 45349
(937) 408-1396/FAX (937) 964-1671
htdholman@donet.com
Tim Holman serves as chief of the German Township Fire & EMS in Clark County, Oh. He received his CFO designation in 2003 and was Fire Chief magazine's 2002 Fire Chief of the Year. A 29-year veteran of the fire service, he has an extensive background in health care management, the fire service, and organizational development.
As a speaker and seminar leader, Holman has conducted programs throughout the United States on a variety of fire and EMS management and leadership issues. As a member of the National Speakers Association, he receives frequent requests to speak at conferences and retreats and is known for presenting unique and motivating programs that give practical solutions to today's hectic and demanding world. Holman also has written numerous articles for national journals and has published three books, The Ten Commandments of Highly Successful Leaders, The Building Blocks of a Winning Team, and Leadership Rules of Engagement.
Holman has a bachelor's degree in management from Ottawa University, where he graduated with honors.
F. Patrick Marlatt, CFO, Commissioner
Representative: Academia
Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742
(301) 226-9965/FAX (301) 314-1497
fpmarlatt@mfri.org
F. Patrick Marlatt is the associate director of the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute at the University of Maryland, which annually provides training to more than 32,000 students worldwide. He remains active in emergency services as the chief of the Fifth District Volunteer Fire Department, Clarksville, Md., a combination department in a rapidly growing suburb of Washington/Baltimore.
Marlatt serves on the NFPA Fire Fighter Professional Qualifications Committee. He is a Nationally Certified Fire Officer IV and a Certified Fire Protection Specialist, and was one of the first to become designated as a Chief Fire Officer in 2001.
After completing his postgraduate studies, Marlatt was appointed full time to the faculty of the University of Maryland in 1977. Previously, he was a career fire officer and worked in the insurance industry.
Kurt Bressner, Commissioner
Representative: City/County Managers
City Manager
City of Boynton Beach
100 E. Boynton Beach Blvd.
Boynton Beach, FL 33425
(561) 742-6000
bressnerk@bbfl.us
Kurt Bressner is the city manager of Boynton Beach, Fla., a coastal community of 67,071 in Palm Beach County. He has been involved in fiscal planning, strategic planning, staff recruitment, labor relations, school boundary issues, and implementation of a stormwater capital improvement funding package. With his assistance, the city has established a fire service improvement program.
Bressner serves as immediate past president of the Palm Beach County City Managers Association, vice-chair of the Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Level of Service Committee, and a member of the American Heart Walk Executive Committee. He is a member of the 2007-2008 class of Leadership Palm Beach and, while in Illinois, served as vice-chair of a Countywide E911 Consortium.
Bressner was appointed city manager in April 2000 after serving as village manager of Bensenville, Ill.; village manager of the Village of Downers Grove, Ill.; city manager of Wood Dale, Ill.; and assistant to the village manager of Naperville, Ill., where he started his career. He has team-taught graduate-level public administration courses at Northern Illinois University and teaches public administration courses at Barry University.
Bressner has a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Illinois and a master's degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University.
Gary Curmode, CFO, CMO, Commissioner
Representative: Career Department
Fire Chief
Sedgwick County Fire District #1
7750 N. Wild West Drive
Park City, KS 67147
(316) 660-3490/FAX (316) 660-3474
gcurmode@sedgwick.gov
Gary Curmode has served as fire chief of Sedgwick County Fire District #1 for the past 16 years, directing 145 paid personnel and a $15 million budget. He supervises fire prevention, the emergency medical service delivery system, fleet maintenance, fire suppression, and public education/fire investigation.
Curmode is a member of the National Fire Service Incident Management System Consortium; Firefighter Safety Study Act Committee, USFA; and the Web-Based Internet Hazmat Operations, USFA; as well as the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the Missouri Valley Division of Fire Chiefs, and the Kansas Association of Fire Chiefs. He also serves as president of the Kansas Professional Fire Chiefs.
Curmode completed his Chief Fire Officer designation in April 2001, served as a peer reviewer for the program in June 2001, and enrolled his department in CFAI to achieve departmental accreditation in the fall of 2000. The department received accredited status in August 2003 and was re-accredited in August 2008.
As a CFAI peer assessor, Curmode has assessed 20 departments for Accreditation—serving as team leader for 15 of them. In 2003, he was appointed to the CPC. He was awarded the prestigious Ray Picard Award in 2006 and received the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) designation in December 2009.
Curmode was part of the original committee that formed the Wichita-Sedgwick County Hazardous Materials Task Force in December 1981. He was a haz mat technician until his promotion to a senior position in the fire service. He also has provided training to private industry and fire departments in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas in HAZWOPER, 29 CFR 1910.120.
Curmode's professional background includes more than 37 years of emergency response to incidents in hazardous materials and fire suppression. Recently, he taught Basic Concepts of Terrorism Response/Concepts to the Ft. Worth, Tex., Fire Department. He is also an adjunct professor at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Md.
Curmode has an associate's degree in fire science, a bachelor's degree in secondary education, and a dual master's degree in administration of justice and public administration. He completed the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer program in 1991, and in 2006 attended the Senior Executives in Local and State Government program at the Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.
Richard Carrizzo, CFO, Commissioner
Representative: Combination Department
Fire Chief
Southern Platte Fire Protection District
8795 NW N Highway
Kansas City, MO 64153
(816) 741-2900/FAX (816) 741-7292
rcarrizzo@spfpd.com
Richard Carrizzo is the Fire Chief of Southern Platte Fire Protection District, a growing department serving nearly 40,000 people over 77 square miles adjoining Kansas City, Mo. while contracting for full service to two other cities. During his ten-year tenure as chief, he has successfully managed the transition from an all-volunteer to a combination department with 39 paid personnel and 25 active volunteers. He received his CFO designation in 2001.
Active in local, state and national fire service professional organizations, Carrizzo serves as an executive board member to the Heart of America Metro Fire Chief's Council, an advisory board member for the community college's fire science program, an advisory board member for Fire-Rescue GPO, and second vice president of the Missouri Valley Division of IAFC. He is a member of the Southern Platte Rotary Club, coaches for a little league program, and is very active with his children's school.
Carrizzo has a bachelor's degree and master's degree in business administration from Central Missouri State University, as well as an associate's degree in fire science from Penn Valley Community College. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program.
Stephan D. Cox, CFO, CMO, Commissioner
Representative: Department of Defense
District Chief
Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Fire and Emergency Services
Sewells Point District
Naval Station Norfolk
1776 Gilbert Street, Building B-30
Norfolk, VA 23511-2944
(757) 322-2392/FAX (757) 445-9973
Stephan.cox@navy.mil
Steve Cox serves as the fire chief for Navy Region Mid Atlantic, responsible for 27 stations and approximately 700 personnel from Maine to North Carolina. He led the organization through the accreditation process and received accredited status in March 2009.
Cox received his Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation in 2003 and in August 2009 became the first in the Department of Defense to achieve the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) designation. He holds numerous professional certifications in all areas of emergency services.
A 41-year veteran of the fire and emergency services, Cox joined Navy Region Mid Atlantic Fire and Emergency Services in 2005 as district chief and later operations chief. Previously he was manager of field operations at the Maryland Fire & Rescue Institute. He also served as the state fire representative at the Maryland Emergency Operations Center.
Cox has served on numerous task forces and committees and has been a Commissioner for the Maryland Fire and Rescue Education Training Commission.
Cox has an associate's degree in law enforcement, a bachelor's degree in behavioral science from National Louis University, and a master's degree in management from National Louis University.
Skip Kirkwood, M.S., J.D., NREMT-P, CMO, EFO, Commissioner
Representative: Diversity
Wake County Dept of Public Safety
331 S. McDowell Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 856-6026
skip.kirkwood@co.wake.nc.us
Skip Kirkwood serves as the chief of the Wake County, N.C. Emergency Medical Services Division. He was recently recognized by CPSE as one of the first five credentialed Chief Medical Officers in the United States. He is president-elect of the National EMS Management Association and will take office on January 1, 2011.
Kirkwood has been involved in EMS since 1973 as an EMT, paramedic, supervisor, educator, manager, consultant, state EMS director, and chief EMS officer. He has a master's degree in health services administration from Central Michigan University and a J.D. from the Rutgers University School of Law. He is a graduate of the U.S. Fire Administration's Executive Fire Officer program.
James M. Broman, CFO, MIFireE, Commissioner
Representative: At Large
Fire Chief
Lacey Fire District
1231 Franz Street SE
Lacey, WA 98503-2412
(360) 528-2301
jbroman@laceyfire.com
Jim Broman serves as the fire chief of Lacey Fire District # 3, which serves 75,000 citizens over 70 square miles in northeastern Thurston County, Wash., and employs 95 career members along with 58 volunteers.
In addition to his membership on the Governor's Fire Protection Policy Board for the State of Washington, Broman is a member of the Institution of Fire Engineers, the immediate past president of the Washington State Association of Fire Chiefs, and chair of the Professional Development Committee for the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
Broman's fire service career spans more than 40 years, including 29 years as a Chief Fire Officer. Prior to joining the Lacey Fire District in 1989, he served as the fire chief for the City of Englewood, Colo., and the City of Wheaton, Ill. He began his career as a firefighter with Meridian Township Fire Department in Haslett, Mich.
Broman has a master's degree in public administration.