An active contributor to public safety and incident management, Jim brings over 35 years of experience in fire service and interagency operations, including working extensively within the Incident Command System (ICS). A seasoned responder and instructor, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the EMSI cadre.

A career veteran of incident management, his last assignment with CAL Fire was as Chief of Intelligence at the Southern Operations Center in Riverside where he helped in the coordination of fire resources used throughout southern California. In this capacity, Jim continued to develop critical interagency alliances that enabled responding agencies to integrate and develop synergy. Bringing his experiences from over 10 years on California Incident Management Team #10, he is intimately familiar with the Multi-Agency Coordination System (MACS) and the use of interagency cooperative agreements. An assignment as a Fire Marshal for a municipal fire agency further enhances Jim’s expertise in local emergency response operations.

Indicative of his knowledge and expertise, Jim’s background is highly diverse, including time spent as a firefighter paramedic, wildland firefighter, hand crew supervisor, truck company captain, training officer, and fire marshal.  As a member of California Incident Command Team #10 for many years, he responded to a myriad of incidents as a Situation Unit Leader and Planning Section Chief, to include major fires, earthquakes, avian disease outbreaks, and Hurricane Katrina. Among Jim’s other duties, he represented CAL FIRE to FIRESCOPE, the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG), and to the Incident Management Working Group of NIMS.

Since leaving CAL Fire, Jim continued to work in the public safety and fire services sector. In addition to teaching, he deployed to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon response, serving as an ICS mentor and supervisor to responders. As the Public Safety Chief for the University of Hawaii, Jim supervised all aspects of law enforcement, safety engineering, and Fire/EMS response for the Kauai campus, as well as providing training and mentoring for the Kauai County Type 3 Incident Management Team. In his current role, Jim serves as a firefighter and training instructor for two local stations of the Corvallis Fire Dept in Montana.

Jim has instructed numerous incident command and related courses throughout his career, bringing crucial leadership and organizational experience to each class he teaches. Since joining EMSI, he has taught courses for government agencies, including local, county, state, and federal, as well as private companies and branches of the military.

Jim holds an Associate’s degree in Fire Technology from Palomar College in San Marcos, CA. Additionally, he has served on several Type 1 and 2 IMTs and holds a Type 1 Operations Section Chief, Type 1 Planning Section Chief, Type 1 Safety Officer, Type 1 Public Information Officer, Type 1 Division/Group Supervisor, Type 1 Resources Unit Leader, Type 1 Situation Unit Leader, Type 1 Documentation Unit Leader, and Type 1 Medical Unit Leader certifications. In addition, Jim is a certified Emergency Medical Technician, a certified instructor of California State Fire Marshal courses, and a FEMA All Hazards Incident Management Team (O-305) trainer.