With a career spanning over 30 years in the California fire service, Jim is a leader in emergency management and brings an extensive operational knowledge of the emergency response community to the EMSI cadre.

Jim’s knowledge and experience in emergency and incident management is wide and varied. As a member of a CAL FIRE Incident Management Team, he has responded to fires, earthquakes, landslides, and floods throughout California. Serving as a State Training Officer for CAL FIRE, Jim participated in the implementation of the California Incident Command Certification System (CICCS), a cooperative effort between the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, Fire and Rescue Branch. As a CAL FIRE Emergency Dispatch Coordinator, he developed and implemented multiple fire and EMS dispatch contracts with local government agencies.

Indicative of his expertise, Jim has specialized training in Emergency Management, Homeland Security, Emergency Medical Services, Fire/Rescue, Hazardous Materials, Urban Search and Rescue, Aircraft Rescue Firefighting, and Advanced Incident Management. Qualified in EOC operations and with multiple major incident/mutual aid activations under his belt, Jim has extensive experience working with the Multiagency Coordination System (MACS) and responding at the EOC-level for multiple major incidents. During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, he spent three months advising and coaching government and industry responders on incident management at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Area Command.

Committed to progress, Jim has designed, developed, and executed emergency operations training classes and exercises throughout the United States. He has consistently produced training sessions that meet both federal and private industry needs, while motivating students to learn and engage. Conducting evaluations of policies, plans, and procedures, Jim has ensured that they were applicable to an all-hazards environment and remained practical and achievable. Additionally, he has been involved in the development of Hazard Mitigation Plans that meet the requirements for federal emergency reimbursement funding through FEMA.

Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry, with a Minor in Fire and Chaparral Management, from the California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, CA. He is currently certified as a Type 1 Logistics Section Chief (LSC) and an Area Commander Logistics Chief. Jim also serves as an Area Commander Logistics Chief on a Federal Area Command Team. He has leveraged his knowledge and experience to co-found the Urban Search and Rescue Team for the County of San Luis Obispo, California, and is also a fire service instructor at the local Allan Hancock Community College.