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Post 9/11 Part 2: Leadership in Multidisciplinary Events

About This Webinar

OVERVIEW
The purpose of this webinar is to discuss how fire chiefs can be involved in major incidents, where they are not the primary incident commanders. For example, in an active shooter incident, law enforcement may take the lead in apprehending the shooter, but fire and EMS play an essential role in providing lifesaving aid to the wounded civilians. This webinar will help fire chiefs to plan ahead for these types of situations, cooperate in a joint response, and keep the incident scene safe for their fire and EMS personnel.

Agenda
  • How can fire chiefs ensure that the needs of their departments are met during major events like active shooter incidents or mass vaccination campaigns?
  • How can planning and exercises integrate fire and EMS response into the larger response to a major event like an active shooter incident?
  • Are there differences between planned events (mass vaccination campaigns) and unplanned events (active shooter situations)?
  • How can a fire chief best “play their role” and look after their personnel’s safety during one of these types of events?
Who can view: Everyone
Webinar Price: Free
Featured Presenters
Webinar hosting presenter
Commissioner (Ret.), Fire Department of the City of New York
SALVATORE J. CASSANO is the former Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department. Mr. Cassano, a Staten Island resident, became an FDNY member in 1969 and served in every uniformed rank, including the highest-Chief of Department. In the aftermath of 9/11, Cassano was immediately promoted Chief of Operations to rebuild the department. Mr. Cassano serves as Senior Advisor, advising the firm on proof of presence at Ground Zero and community outreach.

Mr. Cassano led the United States’ largest fire department with more than 16,000 fire, EMS and civilian members, and an annual budget of $1.6 billion. He spent more than 44 years in the FDNY and held every uniformed rank prior to his appointment by Mayor Bloomberg in January of 2010.

Mr. Cassano served as the FDNY’s Chief of Department – the highest-ranking uniformed officer – from 2006 through 2010, overseeing many of the agency’s most important bureaus including Fire and EMS Operations, Training, Safety, Fire Prevention and Communications. From 2001 to 2006, he served as Chief of Operations – a position to which he was appointed immediately after Sept. 11, 2001.

Both as Chief of Operations and Chief of Department, Mr. Cassano played a crucial role in rebuilding the Department in the wake of Sept. 11 and the loss of 343 members of the Department. In the years that followed, more than 6,800 new firefighters were hired and more than 6,000 others were promoted to various officer ranks as the Department went through a difficult but remarkable resurgence. Under his leadership, the FDNY became better equipped, trained and prepared with the result being the lowest number of annual fatalities from fires in the history of the Department.

Prior to joining the FDNY, Mr. Cassano served in the U.S. Army from October 1965 through July 1967 and was deployed to Vietnam in September 1966.

While a firefighter, he attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Science. Mr. Cassano also received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from St. John’s University in May 2013. In September 2009, Commissioner Cassano was awarded France’s highest decoration, the Légion d’honneur, by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Webinar hosting presenter
Fire Chief (Ret.) Arlington County Fire Department
James Schwartz is a Deputy County Manager overseeing public safety and technology in Arlington, Virginia. Until September, 2015 he was Chief of the Arlington County Fire Department. Chief Schwartz joined Arlington Fire in February 1984 and was appointed Chief in June 2004. Prior to his appointment as chief he served in a variety of fire department positions including Assistant Chief for Operations, responsible for all response-related activities, including fire, EMS, hazardous materials and technical rescue response, incident management and operational training. In April 2003, he was assigned to the Office of the County Manager where he served as the Director of Emergency Management until his appointment to Chief.

The Arlington County Fire Department was the lead agency for the response to the September 11, 2001 attack at the Pentagon. Chief Schwartz led the Unified Command effort for the Pentagon incident.

Schwartz serves on the Advisory Council for the Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team at the National Counter Terrorism Center and is a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Advisory Committee. He is a member of International Association of Fire Chiefs Committee on Terrorism and Homeland Security which he chaired from 2008 until August, 2014. He is also a member of the Interagency Board on Equipment Standardization a national board that works to strengthen preparedness in the first responder community.

Schwartz has lectured worldwide on crisis response, leadership and preparedness. He is a faculty member at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where he lectures in the Leadership in Crises Program.

Chief Schwartz is a life-member of Leadership Arlington, an organization that develops and connects leaders in the public, private and non-profit sectors of Arlington County. He received the organization’s Leadership Legacy Award for 2012.

Chief Schwartz graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor’s degree in Fire Administration and is a graduate of the Executive Leaders Program at the Center for Homeland Defense and Security at the Naval Postgraduate School.
Webinar hosting presenter
Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, San Antonio Division
Christopher Combs is the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's San Antonio Division. Prior to this appointment, he was the Section Chief (SC) of Strategic Information and Operations Center (SIOC), the FBI's 24 hour worldwide command and operations center. Before joining the SIOC, Combs was the Assistant Special Agent in Charge (ASAC) of Counter Terrorism at the FBI Washington Field Office (WFO). As ASAC, Combs oversaw the Threats, Domestic Terrorism, Special Events, and Special Operations programs. WFO Special Operations was composed of the WFO Bomb Squad, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Team, Evidence Response Team (ERT), Operational Medics (OpMed), Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team (USERT), Hazardous Material Response Team (HMRT), SWAT, Crisis Negotiator Team (CNT), and the Rapid Deployment Team (RDT). Combs received the FBI Director's Award for Distinguished Service to the Law Enforcement Community for President Obama's Inauguration.

Combs was the initial FBI On-Scene Commander at the Pentagon on 9/11 and then served as the FBI representative to Unified Command (UC) for the duration of on-scene operations. Combs was also the FBI representative to UC at the U.S. Capitol during the anthrax mail attacks of 2001. Combs served as the FBI Operations SC for numerous terrorist incidents to include: Holocaust Museum Shooting, Pentagon Shooting, and the Luna Restaurant Bombing in Pakistan.

Combs was a member of the inter-agency writing team that composed the Initial National Response Plan (Initial NRP), the NRP, and the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Combs was also a FBI representative to the White House Homeland Security Council (HSC). During that time, Combs was a member of the Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned Task Force where he co-authored the White House "Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina Lessons Learned" after action report.

Combs previously served as the Operations Unit Chief of the Terrorist Screening Center (TSC), an SSA in the WMD Operations Unit, and as the SSA of the National Capitol Response Squad (NCRS). Prior to joining the FBI, Combs was a volunteer firefighter for eight years with the Freeport, New York and New Berlin, Wisconsin Fire Departments.

Combs is currently a Senior Fellow with Harvard Kennedy School's Program on Crisis Leadership.
Webinar hosting presenter
Fire Chief, Clay Fire Territory (Ind.)
Timm Schabbel has been in the fire service since 1985, including serving over 20 years as Fire Chief of the Clay Fire Territory. Clay Fire is an internationally accredited fire department located adjacent to the University of Notre Dame in St. Joseph County, Indiana.
Chief Schabbel holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership and a bachelor’s degree in fire service management. In addition, Chief Schabbel completed the Executive Management Program at the University of Notre Dame, earned an Executive Certificate in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and completed the Executive Leaders Program at the United States Naval Postgraduate School.

Chief Schabbel is an Executive Fire Officer (EFO) graduate and has received Chief Fire Officer (CFO) designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence.

Chief Schabbel continues to serve on numerous state and national fire service boards and committees. In 2007 Chief Schabbel received Indiana’s first “Fire Chief of the Year” award by the Indiana Fire Chiefs Association and received the 2008 Gary Briese Safety Performance Award from the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) Safety and Survival Section. Additionally, Chief Schabbel received the IAFC Great Lakes Division President’s Award in 2021.
Hosted By
International Association of Fire Chiefs webinar platform hosts Post 9/11 Part 2:  Leadership in Multidisciplinary Events
The International Association of Fire Chiefs represents the leadership of over 1.2 million firefighters and emergency responders. IAFC members are the world's leading experts in firefighting, emergency medical services, terrorism response, hazardous materials spills, natural disasters, search and rescue, and public safety legislation. Since 1873, the IAFC has provided a forum for its members to exchange ideas and uncover the latest products and services available to first responders.
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