Commission on Fire Accreditation International (CFAI) Commissioners
The Center for Public Service Excellence (CPSE) Board of Trustees comprises 11 individuals representing a cross-section of the fire service industry -- from fire departments and city and county management, to code councils, the Department of Defense, and the Firefighters’ union. The board meets bi-annually – once in the spring, and during the International Association of Fire Chief’s Fire Rescue International conference in the fall. During these in-person meetings, the board reviews all agencies applying for accredited status. Additional teleconferences take place throughout the year.
Additionally, the Board of Trustees oversees the development of materials and training to support the mission of the commission, and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors for policy and financial decisions.
Robert L. Ridgeway, Chairman
Represents fire agencies serving populations of 25,000 - 99,999
Fire Chief
West Palm Beach Fire-Rescue
500 North Dixie Highway
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
rridgeway@wpb.org
Robert L. Ridgeway, a 44-year veteran of the fire service, currently serves as fire chief for West Palm Beach, Fla. He began his career as a 16-year-old volunteer with the fire service in Prince George’s County, Md. Following completion of military service with the Marine Corps in Vietnam, he joined Prince George’s County as a career firefighter where he advanced through the ranks, ultimately retiring as a division commander.
Since that time, Mr. Ridgeway has served as the program head of Fire Science at Northern Virginia Community College, and chief for departments in Mashpee, Mass., Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Gastonia, N.C.
His involvement with fire service accreditation began in 1994, when he was selected as an original ‘Beta Test Site’ peer assessor, and served on six site visit teams. Mr. Ridgeway has served as a CPSE Commissioner since 2001, and as the Commission’s Chairman since February 2003.
He is active in both state and national fire service organizations, representing the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) on the NFPA 1021 Committee, and serving as a member of the IAFC Professional Development Committee.
Mr. Ridgeway has authored over 40 articles in professional trade journals and texts, and currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of Fire Chief Magazine. He has also served as both an instructor and course developer for the National Fire Academy since 1983. Most recently, he served as a member of the Material Review Committee for the 2nd Edition of the “IFSTA Chief Officer” manual in 2004.
Mr. Ridgeway has a bachelor’s degree in fire service management and an associate in arts degree in fire science technology. He has done graduate work at the Universities of Maryland and New Haven and is also a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. In 2001, he was selected as a U.S. Fire Administration ‘Harvard Fellow,’ where he completed the program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.
Paul D. Brooks, Vice-Chairman
Represents fire agencies serving populations of 100,000 - 249,999
Assistant Fire Chief
Greensboro Fire Department
1514 N. Church Street
Greensboro, NC 27405
paul.brooks@greensboro-nc.gov
Paul Brooks currently serves as an assistant fire chief with the Greensboro, N.C. Fire Department - the thirteenth fire department in the nation to receive a Class 1 ISO rating, and the first in the world to be both accredited and ISO Class 1. Greensboro was reaccredited in 2002. Paul manages the Office of Strategic Planning and Information systems, and has held positions in every division and section of the organization. He has been a member of CPSE technical working groups for Categories & Criteria, Hazard Risk and Value Analysis & Standards of Response Cover, and Technical Advisement, as well as being a member of the faculty for CPSE training courses. He currently serves as the Commission’s Vice-Chair.
He has written several published articles, and has contributed to several fire service manuals, including the Fire & Emergency Service Self Assessment Manual.
Mr. Brooks has a bachelor’s degree in management and ethics and an associate in arts degree in fire protection technology. He is active in fire service organizations and advocates aggressively for fire service issues. He is the only member in the more than 115-year history of the North Carolina State Firemen’s Association to have held every elected office available, and currently serves as treasurer.
William F. Jenaway
Represents fire agencies serving populations of less than 25,000
Fire Chief
King of Prussia Volunteer Fire Company
170 Allendale Road
King of Prussia, PA 19406
bjenaway@comcast.net
Dr. William Jenaway is the executive vice president of VFIS, responsible for their education, training and consulting services to insured and clients through the VFIS Education and Training staff and Emergency Services Consulting Group.
Currently the chief of the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania volunteer fire company, Dr. Jenaway was one of the first chiefs to receive the “CFO” designation from the Commission on Chief Fire Officer Designation (CFOD) and King of Prussia was the country's first all-volunteer department to achieve CPSE accreditation.
Dr. Jenaway has written several fire service texts, writes extensively for various emergency service tabloids, and is a regular speaker at emergency services conferences.
Among his numerous activities, Dr. Jenaway currently chairs the NFPA Risk Management Committee, the NFPA Committee on Providing Emergency Services to the Public and is the President of the Congressional Fire Services Institute. He was also named 2001 "Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year" by Fire Chief magazine.
Jenaway has a Ph.D. in management, a master’s degree in education, a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and an associate in arts degree in fire science.
Robin Paulsgrove
Represents fire agencies serving populations of more than 250,000
Fire Chief
Arlington Fire Department
P.O. Box 231
Arlington, TX 76004-0131
paulsgrover@ci.arlington.tx.us
No Bio Available
Max H. Baker
County Administrator
County of Los Alamos
5095 Quemazon
Los Alamos, NM 87544
bakerm@lac.losalamos.nm.us
Rising through the ranks from finance director and deputy county administrator, Max Baker currently serves as the county administrator of Los Alamos County, New Mexico. The county government is established under a Home Rule Charter, which combines both county and city functions under one legislative body and a single administrator. The citizenry of 18,500 is highly educated and is demanding of high quality services. Additionally, because of the large federal presence, the county maintains strong relationships at both the federal and state levels to ensure long-term economic health for the community.
Baker is the primary negotiator for the county in a multi-million dollar contract to provide fire department services, including EMS, to the national laboratory, and largely because of the requirements of that contract, the County’s Fire Department was one of the first five to receive “Accredited” status from the Center for Public Service Excellence (CPSE).
He serves on the local advisory council for the American Red Cross Chapter, is a member of the board of directors for the Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation, and is a past member of the board for the Los Alamos Medical Center.
Max was appointed as a Commissioner to the CPSE in May of 2006 and serves as the county representative from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). He received the William H. Hansell, Sr. & Alice Hansell Award from ICMA in 2004 for the County’s Defensible Space Program and has served on the Acting Manager Task Force for ICMA in 2005.
Max holds a master’s degree in public administration in addition to having over 30 years of local government experience, including local government service in New Mexico, Missouri and California.
Jeffrey A. Pomeranz
City representative from the International City-County Management Association
City Manager
City of West Des Moines
P.O. Box 65320
West Des Moines, IA 50265-0320
Jeff.Pomeranz@wdm-ia.com
No Bio or Photo available
Frank E. Florence
Represents Consensus Standards
Senior Fire Service Specialist
National Fire Protection Association
One Batterymarch Park
Quincy, MA 02269
fflorence@nfpa.org
Frank Florence currently serves a senior fire service specialist with the National Fire Protection Association in Quincy, Mass. He has seven years experience in codes and standards development with an emphasis on fire service professional qualifications standard, fire investigations, technical rescue, and EMS standards. He is assigned as staff liaison to all of the fire service professional qualifications standards, NFPA 1670 Standard on Operations and Training for Technical Rescue Incidents, NFPA 921 Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigations, and the NFPA Emergency Medical Service Project.
Florence is also responsible for the supervision and coordination of the standards development for these projects and serves as the executive secretary to the fire science and technology educators section. He is assigned to act as liaison from the NFPA to the International Association of Arson Investigators, the National Association of Fire Investigators, and the International Fire Service Training Association.
Florence has 41 years experience of a progressively diverse and responsible nature in the field of fire administration and fire protection/prevention, serving in executive, administrative, managerial, developmental, operational, and practical functions, and began his career with the Salt Lake City, Utah Fire Department, advancing through the ranks, ultimately retiring as chief of the department.
Florence attended the University of Utah and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. He was selected by the FEMA Fellowship Program to attend the program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at the Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Ralph Dorio
Represents Insurance Industry
Insurance Services Office
545 Washington Blvd.
LOC 18-11
Jersey City, NJ 07310-1686
rdorio@iso.com
Ralph Dorio, a licensed building, fire, mechanical, and construction administration official in New Jersey, joined Insurance Services Office (ISO) in April of 1999 as a technical coordinator for the Building Codes Effectiveness Grading Schedule (BCEGS).
He is a certified code enforcement instructor, holds an ICC CBO certification, and has 15 years experience in construction and over 10 years experience in plan reviews and construction inspection. Mr. Dorio has also served as a volunteer fire fighter since 1984 including three years as chief officer.
Mr. Dorio has recently been re-elected as chairman of the board of Fire Commissioners for Washington Township Fire District Number 1. He serves on the technical committee for the ICC performance code, the committee for hurricane resistant construction, several NFPA technical committees, the certification committee, and participated on the 9/11 Commission as an active member of the group reviewing emergency preparedness for the private sector.
Mr. Dorio has an MBA and a bachelor’s degree.
Barry McKinnon
International Representative
Fire Protection Services Team
Office of the Fire Marshall
2284 Nursery Road
Midhurst, ON LOL 1X0
barry.mckinnon@jus.gov.on.ca
Currently serving as the acting assistant deputy fire marshall for the province of Ontario, Mr. McKinnon has been a member of the fire service since 1974. He served as a volunteer in his hometown of Hillsburgh and as a full-time firefighter with the City of Mississauga. He joined the Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) for the Province of Ontario in 1985. The OFM has a staff of over 200 people that provide such services as: standards research; code development; investigation of major fires and emergencies; education and development through its fire college; and advice and assistance to fire department and municipal officials.
During his tenure, he has been extensively involved in the development of processes, models, guidelines and benchmarks that could be used by all fire departments in the Province of Ontario to assist them in providing services that meeting their minimum obligations under governing legislation.
Mr. McKinnon is responsible for the leadership of the OFM fire protection services team that interacts daily and provides a broad range of services to over 500 fire departments in the province - ranging from the smallest volunteer departments to the largest full-time departments. Other major duties include responsibility for co-ordination of the mutual aid system for the province and business continuity planning for the OFM.
He has participated as a peer assessor and team leader for CPSE since 1999, and continues to strongly advocate for fire departments in Ontario to participate in the CPSE process.
Mr. McKinnon is active in both local and provincial initiatives. He serves on various technical committees as well as on the selection panel for fire and police bravery awards for the province of Ontario.
Ernst Piercy
Federal Representative
Fire Chief
USAF Academy
10 CES/CEF
6202 Pine Drive, Ste. 100
USAF Academy, CO 80840
Ernst.piercy@usafa.af.mil
Since May 2003, Ernst Piercy has served as the fire chief at the United States Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs, Colo.
Born at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, Piercy enlisted in the Air Force in 1978. Upon completion of basic military training at Lackland AFB, Texas, he attended the USAF Fire School at Chanute AFB, Ill. From 1978 until 1982, he served in numerous fire protection positions while assigned to Tyndall AFB, Fla. and Misawa AFB, Japan. He was promoted to the grade of staff sergeant in 1982, prior to separating from the Air Force in December 1982.
In March 1983, Piercy resumed his fire protection career when he accepted a position as a fire fighter at Homestead AFB, Fla. In April 1985, he transferred to the USAF Academy, Colorado as a fire prevention inspector, later serving as station captain, assistant chief for training, assistant chief for operations, and deputy fire chief, until his selection as the fire chief at the Air Force Academy.
Piercy served as the accreditation manager in the Air Force Academy fire department’s successful bid for international fire department accreditation in March 2001, and again in 2006.
He holds several prominent national certifications, including Fire Officer IV, Fire Instructor II, Fire Inspector II, Fire Investigator II, Hazardous Materials Technician, and Hazardous Materials Incident Commander. He is a Chief Fire Officer Designate (CFOD), and has completed the Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program through the National Fire Academy.
Piercy also serves on a variety of professional committees, including the Air Force Fire Panel, DoD Commissioner for The Center for Public Service Excellence, and the Pikes Peak Community College Fire Science Advisory Committee.
Lori L. Moore-Merrell
Labor Representative
DrPH, MPH, EMT-P
Assistant to the General President
International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF)
1750 New York Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20006-5395
lmoore@iaff.org
Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell currently serves as an assistant to the general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) in charge of technical assistance for labor issues and collective bargaining, fire and EMS operations, and IAFF Field Services sectors.
Ms. Moore’s expertise is in emergency response system design, staffing and deployment of mobile resources, system performance measurement and evaluation. She led the effort to develop the IAFF/IAFC fire-based EMS system performance measures and is now staffing the committee working to develop fire and rescue operational indicators and performance measures.
Ms. Moore is a member of the National Association of EMS Physicians, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and the American Public Health Association. She serves as an organizational liaison to the American College of Emergency Physicians, the National Association of State EMS Directors, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Association of EMS Educators.
Dr. Moore-Merrell also serves as a gubernatorial appointee to the Commonwealth of Virginia Emergency Medical Services Advisory Board and has been appointed to the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) Executive Board.
She has seven years of service as a fire/paramedic with the City of Memphis Fire Department and as a member of IAFF Local 1784. Receiving her EMT-Paramedic license in 1984, she became an Instructor-Coordinator for the State of Tennessee in 1991, and joined IAFF Headquarters Operations in 1993 as an EMS specialist and was then promoted to EMS Director in 1995.
Dr. Moore-Merrell has written numerous publications including a chapter entitled “Performance Measurement in EMS” for an NAEMSP publication Improving Quality in EMS (2005),“Measuring Quality and Effectiveness of Prehospital EMS”; Prehospital Emergency Care Journal (October/December, 1999), Emergency Medical Services: A Guidebook for Fire-Based Systems (May, 1999), Prehospital Emergency Medicine: A Series of Monographs (May, 1997), and Emergency Medical Service: A Public Relations and Marketing Guide (May, 1997). Dr. Moore-Merrell also co-authored the Effectiveness of Fire-Based EMS Manual (June, 1995) and Responding to Privatization: A User’s Guide (August, 1998).
Dr. Moore-Merrell has a doctor of public health degree in health policy and quality performance measurement, master’s degree in public health in Epidemiology, and a bachelor’s in education. She has also was awarded the James O. Page Achievement award by the IAFC.