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Technical Rescue Member Bios
Doug Cooper – Doug has been with Mobile Fire-Rescue for 18 years,
and is currently serving as Captain in the Training Division. Captain Cooper
is a certified Fire Fighter I and II, Fire Officer I, Fire Instructor I,
Rescue Technician: Rope, Trench, Confined Space and Structural Collapse.
Travis Dates
– With sixteen years
in the fire service, Travis Dates is a Lieutenant with the City of Northport
Fire Department as well as a fire fighter with Concord Fire District. Travis
also served in the US Air Force for four years as a fire fighter. He holds
the following certifications from the Alabama Fire College: Fire Fighter I/
II; Fire Instructor I; Fire Inspector I and II; Fire Investigator; Fire
Officer I and II; Apparatus Operator: Pumper and Aerial; Hazardous Materials
Technician; Fire Department Safety Officer: Health and Safety Officer,
Incident Safety Officer; Rescue Technician: Rope, Confined Space, Trench,
and Vehicle and Machinery Extrication.
Brandon Etheredge
– Brandon Etheredge
joined the Warrior Fire Department in 1994 and is currently serving as a
battalion chief. He joined the Hoover Fire Department in 1996 and serves as
a lieutenant at Station 4 on the Technical Rescue Team. He is a licensed
paramedic and holds an Associate’s degree in Fire Science from Jefferson
State Community College. He holds the following certifications from the
Alabama Fire College: Fire Fighter I and II, Fire Officer I and II, Fire
Instructor I and II, Fire Inspector I and II, Fire Investigator, Apparatus
Operator: Pumper and Aerial, Rescue Technician: Rope, Trench, Confined
Space, Structural Collapse, Surface Water, and Vehicle/Machinery
Extrication. He is also certified as a Dive Rescue Specialist I and II
through Dive Rescue International and is a Rescue Diver instructor through
IDEA.
Ty Gober
– Ty Gober began his career
as a fire fighter in1977 at Forestdale Fire District. He continues to work
there as a Captain Paramedic. He is also employed by the City of Birmingham
Fire and Rescue Service as a Captain assigned to Fire Station #6.
Ty received
his Paramedic license from the University of Alabama Birmingham. He also
has an Associate’s degree in Fire Science from Jefferson State Community
College.
Mr. Gober’s
certifications from the Alabama Fire College include Hazardous Materials
Technician; Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operational; Rescue
Technician: Trench, Rope, Confined Space, and Structural Collapse; and Fire
Instructor I.
Richard A. Gregg
–
Rick
Gregg began his fire service career in 1977 with the Birmingham Fire and
Rescue Service Department. He has worked his way through the ranks and
currently serves as Captain at Station One and is over the heavy rescue
operations for the City of
Birmingham. Rick holds the
following certifications from the Alabama Fire College: Fire Fighter I and
II, Wildland Fire Fighter I, Fire Instructor I, II and III, Apparatus
Operator: Pumper, Hazardous Materials Technician, Rescue Technician:
Confined Space, Rescue Technician :Rope, Rescuer
Technician :Structural Collapse and Rescue Technician: Trench. In addition
to his numerous certifications with the Alabama Fire College, Rick has also
completed the Department of Justice COBRA (Chemical Ordinance Biological and
Radiological) Program, the Terrorist Bombing Technician Course at New Mexico
Tech, and has had various training opportunities with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation including the Post Blast incident – 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Rick is also a Rescue Technician in Swift Water Rescue through Rescue 3
International.
Garrett Henderson
–
Garrett Henderson started
his fire service career with the Montgomery Fire Department on December 9,
1994. He currently holds the rank of Fire Lieutenant on the fire line, but
will soon be transferring to the training division as a Lieutenant /Training
Officer over the Public Fire Educational Program. He has an Associates
Degree in Applied Technology in Emergency Medical Services and is certified
as a BCLS/ACLS, Heartsaver First Aid Instructor. Garrett holds the following
certifications from the Alabama Fire College: Fire Fighter I and II; Fire
Instructor I, II, and III; Fire Officer I, II, III, and IV; Fire Inspector I
and II; Fire Investigator I; Hazardous Material Technician; and Rescue
Technician: Rope, Trench and Confined Space.
John C. Lankford IV
- John started his
career with the Auburn Fire Division in 1994. He is currently a Lieutenant
at Station #2 and is the Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue
coordinator for Auburn. John has a Bachelor’s degree in Business and
Economics from Auburn University and an Associate’s degree in Fire Science
from Chattahoochee Valley Community College.
John holds the following
certifications from the Alabama Fire College: Firefighter I and II;
Apparatus Operator: Pumper and Aerial; EMT; Hazardous Materials Technician;
Instructor I and II; Inspector I and II; Officer I and II; Fire
Investigator; Rescue Technician: Rope, Confined Space, and Structural
Collapse; and Airport Fire Fighter. In addition to various other
certifications, he has also attended several classes at the National Fire
Academy
Tim Lawson
–
Tim has been a Firefighter since
1996 and has been at Hoover Fire Dept. for the past six years. He is a
member of technical rescue four that runs out of station four in downtown
Hoover, which is one of the eight heavy rescue teams for the state of
Alabama mutual aid response system. He developed the surface water rescue
program for the Alabama Fire College and also instructs that class. Tim
holds certifications as a paramedic, rope, confined space, trench, surface
water, rescue 3 advanced swift Water technician, structural collapse
technician, structural collapse shoring technician through Rescue Training
Associates, Fire Officer, Safety Officer, Incident Safety Officer, Fire
Instructor I and II, Firefighter I and II, SCBA Specialist, and Rapid
Intervention. He is also the instructor for Rapid Intervention, Survival
Techniques, and Firefighter Rescue certified through the Broward County Fire
academy in Florida.
Donna Mason-Smith
– Lt. Donna Mason-Smith has
served the Mountain Brook Fire Department since 1983 and has been a member
of the Alabama-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team since 1990. Donna
has an Associate degree in Fire Science from Jefferson State and a
Bachelor's degree in Public Safety Administration from Athens State College.
She believes that the fire service mission includes teaching, training, and
developing all members of the service to bring out their best for the
service of their communities. Being a part of the Rescue Tech CCAC
gives Donna the opportunity to contribute to that effort in a vital way.
Her certifications from Alabama Fire College include Fire Fighter I and II;
Fire Officer I and II, Fire Investigator I; Rescue Technician: Rope; Fire
Instructor I and II; Apparatus Operator: Pumper.
Mark Pearson
–
Mark Pearson is a 15-year
veteran of the Vestavia Hills Fire Department where he serves as a
lieutenant. Mark is assigned to Station 5, which is designated as the
Technical Rescue Team for the City of Vestavia. Mark holds the following
certifications from the Alabama Fire College: Fire Officer I, II, III and
IV; Fire Instructor I and II; Rescue Technician: Rope, Trench, Confined
Space, Structural Collapse, Surface Water, and Vehicle and Machinery
Extrication; Apparatus Operator: Pumper and Aerial.
Ryan Poe
- Captain Ryan Poe is
a 15-year veteran of the Alexander City Fire Department. Captain Poe
currently holds the position of Training Officer, developing and managing
all department training as well as overseeing all special operations such as
technical rescue and the Hazardous Materials Team.
Captain Poe received
certification as a paramedic in 1995 from Gadsden State Community College.
He also has a Bachelor’s degree in Fire Science. Ryan is involved in
numerous professional activities such as serving as chairperson of the East
Alabama Fire Training Association, serving on the Alabama Fire College
Technical Rescue Course Content Advisory Committee, and developing and
instructing a Fire Fighter Survival course.
Captain
Poe’s certifications from the Alabama Fire College include Fire Fighter I
and II, Fire Instructor I and II, Fire Officer I and II, Apparatus Operator:
Pumper and Aerial, Hazardous Materials Technician, Rescue Technician: Rope
and Confined Space. He is an SCBA Specialist and has received numerous
certifications from the National Fire Academy.
Mike Sparks – Mike has been with Albertville Fire Department since
1982, currently serving as a Lieutenant. He is a National Registered
Paramedic, and holds the following certification from the Alabama Fire
College: Fire Fighter I and II, Fire Officer I, II and III, Fire Instructor
I, II and III, Fire Investigator, Apparatus Operator: Pumper, Hazardous
Materials First Responder, and Hazardous Materials Technician. In addition,
he is also a Level II Rescue Technician, High Angle, Swift Water from Rescue
3.
Jim St.
John – Battalion
Chief James R. St. John, CFO, has been with the Vestavia Hills Fire
Department since 1988. He is Training Officer and Special Operations Chief
for the department with responsibility for the technical rescue and
hazardous materials programs. He retired from the U. S. Army Reserve as a
Master Sergeant, serving as a Senior Infantry Sergeant and Non-Commissioned
Officer-in-Charge of Operations for a brigade that conducted battle command
staff training in the southeastern United States and Puerto Rico.
A
credentialed paramedic, St. John completed the EMT-Paramedic certificate
program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and holds an AAS in Fire
Science from Jefferson State Community College, a BS in Public Safety
Administration from Athens State College, and has completed the Executive
Fire Officer Program of the National Fire Academy.
Chief St.
John's certifications from the Alabama Fire College include Fire Fighter I
and II; Apparatus Operator; Fire Instructor I and II; Fire Inspector; Fire
Officer I, II, III and IV; Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Specialist;
and Rescue Technician: Structural Collapse, Rope, Confined Space and
Trench. He is also a Hazardous Materials Technician and certified as a Swift
Water Rescue Technician, Advanced.
Jason Todd Stringer
– Jason has six years of experience with a career department and 11 years of
experience with a volunteer fire department, currently working with Ciba
Fire & Rescue and Mt. Vernon Volunteer Fire Department. He is a Certified
Fire Fighter I and II, Fire Officer I, Rescue Technician: Rope and Confined
Space, Apparatus Operator Pumper, Hazardous Materials Technician, Structural
Collapse Technician, FEMA Structural Collapse Instructor and SCBA
Specialist.
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