Steve Davis

48, Male

Baltimore

United States

Profile Information:

Type of Organization

Fire/Rescue Department - Paid

Job Function

Fire / Arson Investigator

Years in Fire/EMS:

13

Primary Fire/EMS Department:

United States Government, National Institutes of Health Fire Marshal's Office

Years With Department/Agency

5

Dept. Web Site:

http://ser.ors.od.nih.gov/fire_marshal.htm

Web Site:

http://www.Elkridgevfd.org

Other Past or Current Departments and Organizations

Started with Ellicott City VFD in Ellicott City, Maryland. After a few years at station 2, I transfered to the special ops station 10, Columbia, Maryland.

My Training:

Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2, EMT-Basic, Firefighter Rescue and Survival, Hazmat Ops, Emergency Vehicle Operations, Focused approach to the impact of building structures and systems on fire development, Investigating fatal fires, Managing complex fire scene investigations, Physical evidence at the fire scene, Post flashover fires, Understanding fire through the candle experiments, Vacant and abandoned buildings: Hazards and solutions, Introduction to Evidence, Determining Responsibility in an arson case, Ethics of a fire investigator, Wildland Fire Investigations, Medical Effects of primary blast injuries, Management concerns in Terrorism and Disasters, Investigating Motor Vehicle Fires, Arc Mapping, Fire Inspector 1, Fire Inspector 2, and Fire Inspector 3, Fire Officer 1, WMD crime scene processing, WMD hazmat crime scene processing, Emergency Response to Terrorist Bombings, Homeland Security Training, The NIMS compliance IS 100,200,700,800, Public Information Liaison training, Public Safety Life Educators course, Disaster Mitigation, Community Response to Hazardous Materials, NFPA 101 Crowd Managers Course (Emergency Managment Course), Fire Investigations, NAFI Certified Fire, Arson, and Explosions Investigator, NAFI Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator, Leadership 1, Leadership 2, Health and Safety Officer, Incident Safety Officer, Arson Awareness for the first responder, Fire Pumps for Fire Protection, NFPA 25 Fire Protection Systems, and Fire Protection Systems-Putting it all together, Emergency Response to Biological Incidents. More to come, once I figure out what else I can take.....NEVER STOP TRAINING.....

About Me:

I started working at New York-New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada in the Security Department. At the time, I was just into security until I started to go on to medical calls with the staff EMT's. After a few calls, I started to get hooked.... the knowledge and abilities that these guys had was awesome and it helped inspire me to go in to the field. My wife and I enrolled in EMT-B through CPR Plus, Inc, in Vegas. Afterwards, I started to work as an EMT with New York-New York hotel and casino. In 2001, my wife and I started to miss home (baltimore, maryland) so we packed up everything and moved back.
In 2002 after getting settled and after the 9/11 attacks, I started to get that feeling that I needed to be back involved with it again. After a years hiatis I was ready. I joined up with Ellicott City Volunteer Fire Department in February that year. Got certified and then moved on to Howard County Fire Department station 10 (Special Ops) in Kings Contrivance. What a great experience it was to work with the special ops guys. I got a great chance to pick their brains about the job and about tactics. After about a year at S/O, I needed something a little faster paced so I moved on to Elkridge Volunteer Fire Department on the boulevard in Howard Co. Great place to work with an excellent relation between the career and volunteer staffs.
In 2005, I was hired by the Federal Government at the National Institutes of Health Fire Marshal's Office. It is a fantastic place to work and practice my skills.

Day Job:

Assistant Fire Marshal/ Fire Investigator

Relationship Status:

Married

Why I Joined Fire/EMS

Started working in security and decided after seeing the EMS personnel do thier thing, I just had to be a part of that. It felt like it fit. That was 1998....almost 10 years later here I am on the EMS and Fire side of the greatest job in the world!

Why I Love Fire/EMS

The challenge that this job presents and the friendships that we are able to develope.

Top Issues Facing Responders:

Mismanagement and to much input from government officials that have absolutely no idea what it is to do this job or put their lives on the line to save someone or something. Meeting quotas with hiring instead of hiring people that are actually qualified for this job. No, not everyone can do this job, but as long as there is a politician involved in the hiring process, there will continue to be people getting in academies that have no business being in them. That and an extreme lack of training. As you can see by my training stats, I don't like to sit around stagnant, relying on skills that haven't been updated. Unfortunately, there are many members that do....They are called liabilities. If you are not continuing training to hone your skills and better yourself, what good are you to anyone.

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