Chris has been
with the agency for 24 years and has become
one of the top firefighters in the State. Chris is
qualified as an Operations Section Chief, and has served in that
role on the Red IMT for many years. His experience in Operations is
extensive, and he has worked on fires all over the country.
He has also served as Deputy Incident Commander, on the
Red Team, and worked last year with
the Red Team on the Bugaboo Fire. His
knowledge, skills and abilities in the field of wildland
firefighting is unparalleled.
Chris has also become carded as an Air Tactical Group
Supervisor (ATGS), one of only a
handful of firefighters who are qualified in
this position in the South, and the only one in the
Division. This position is critical when working multiple aircraft
on fires. In 2007 he worked as
ATGS on the Lee House fire in Lake County, the Sopchoppy fire in
Wakulla County, the Clear Lake Fire and the Otter Creek Fire in Leon
County, the North Branch fire in Franklin County. Chris also worked
as an ATGS with the Florida Green IMT in Whftefish, MT on the Brush
Creek fire. As the only ATGS in the Division of Forestry,
Chris is uniquely qualified to assist
firefighters throughout the state as their
"eye in the sky". He is now working to mentor other
firefighters in this position.
Chris started his career as a Forest Ranger, and worked
his way up through the ranks to become
the Fire Training Officer for the Division.
He has always been very active in training throughout his career. He
has helped legions of firefighters, both structural and wildland, to
improve their skills throughout his career. Chris also trained and
provided oversight to several units of the Florida National Guard
last year to fight the Dairy Road Fire in Bradford County.
