I’d like to use this edition of Community Fire Protection News to introduce myself. I started my career with the City of Sunrise, Florida, Fire Department in 1977. I was inspired by my dad, a career firefighter in Linden, New Jersey, who died too young from a cardiac condition he developed fighting a house fire.
From Sunrise I went to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, where I worked up to the rank of battalion chief. During that period, I participated in the Master of Public Administration Program at Florida Atlantic University and the Executive Fire Officer Program at the National Fire Academy.
In 1997, I became fire chief in Manchester, Connecticut. I was also elected president of the Connecticut Fire Chief’s Association and became an accredited chief fire officer in 2000. I returned to Florida as fire chief for Port Orange. I went with the National Fire Academy to the Santiago Fire in Orange County, California, for incident management team training. In 2008, I was doubly honored by my peers; they chose me as Florida Fire Chief of the Year and Rotarian of the Year by the Rotary Club of Port Orange. In 2010, I was elected president of the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association.
In 2013, I thought I had retired, but then Bob Andrews of ISO offered me the opportunity to continue in a career that I have greatly enjoyed. He asked me to become national director of ISO Community Hazard Mitigation and accept the challenge to help emergency services providers make communities as safe as possible.
I’ve had many great experiences and worked with many exceptional individuals throughout my career. I include more detail here.
ISO has numerous tools to offer fire departments, and we’re creating new ones all the time. I look forward to bringing those tools to every department in the country, making you better prepared and your communities safer. I’m excited for the future.
Tom Weber is the Former National Director, Community Hazard Mitigation, Verisk insurance solutions. Tom is now retired.