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Leslie Pederson Female Bellingham, Wa. United States: Share on Facebook MySpace Tweet

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Lives in:: Bellingham, Washington

Department:: Whatcom County Fire District 4

Title/rank:: Assistant Chief

Years of public service:: 25

Agency structure:: Combination fire department

Top issues in your department:: The usual, retention. We have come up with a successful way to keep people (part-time paid) until they are hired, which is to offer a AA degree in Fire Science through our department, with tuition assistance. We also have a strong training program, we train everyday and every night. With a special subject drill on Mondays, such as physician lectures and specialized subjects.

Professional Qualifications:: Firefighter 1 & 2, Officer 1, Hazardous Materials Technician, High Angle and Confined space Rope rescue tech., Instructor 2, ISO, worked as a firefighter in a oil refinery so I have NFPA 1081, 1 and 2 (Incident Command) Propane and flammable liquid fire certifications.

Topics you provide training for:: Instructor 1, HazMat Awareness and Operations, Propane Emergencies, Advanced fire behavior, EMS (BLS & PHTLS) instructor. Firefighter1, 2 and Officer 1.

Areas of expertise:: Hazardous Materials I would say is my area of expertise, I am also the training coordinator and on- call Incident response for the regional Hazardous Materials team. Due to the variety of experiences and training. I have completed the Dodd/Beals Fire Academy up to IC (When it was in Reno), and LSU Firefighter Academy.

Bio:: Started as a Public Safety Dispatcher, joined the department as a volunteer in 1985, worked in the oil industry on the emergency response team until 2002, when I became the director of an interagency training department that comprised of 13 fire districts, so I was in charge of volunteer and career firefighter training. I then went paid in 2003, in 2006 I was hired as a Division Chief of training in my current department, and as of 1/1/08 I was promoted to Assistant Chief.

Web site:: http://www.wcfd4.org

Comment Wall (12 comments)

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At 5:56pm on September 14, 2009, Danielle Dennis said…: Thanks for the add...hopefully we will get to have some discussions! Take care and stay safe.

Danielle

At 5:37pm on January 14, 2009, Rob Cannon said…: Chief,
Thanks for adding me. I look forward to future discussions.

Respectfully,
Rob

At 11:05pm on September 28, 2008, Todd McKee said…: Do you have pictures regarding the HazMat incident we spoke about? Todd

At 4:58pm on September 16, 2008, Dave Dodson said…: Thanks Leslie! I apprecaite you passsing onthe reading smoke info - it can make a difference. Glad to see and hear that things are going well for you. My life is busy with travel and all - thinking about doing some more writing. Help make it more safe out there! Hugs - Dave

At 9:07am on August 26, 2008, Kaleb Bruch said…: Thanks chief, we will be in touch. See you at the FOOLS meeting on the 5th.

At 3:16pm on August 25, 2008, Melissa Reeves said…: Leslie,
Thanks for sending the e-mail. I have been very busy with work and family. It does look as if we do have a lot in common with petroleum experience and Hazmat. I am currently looking at going back to school for a Master's in Science in Fire Protection Engineering at WPI. Working with my company for education refund. Send me a line and let me know what you are up to.

At 10:31pm on August 21, 2008, Robert E. Shelton said…: Chief, please come join our Haz-Mat group. Your experience would be greatly appreciated. Stay safe

At 6:11pm on August 21, 2008, Kaleb Bruch said…: Chief,
I would love to be involved in any type of regional technical rescue team. I will talk with my chief and see if it possible to come down and train with your crews.

At 1:49pm on August 20, 2008, Leslie Pederson said…: Working on it, it is really busy right now.

At 2:13pm on August 19, 2008, PJ Burt said…: Any word on the house?

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