My name is Doug Aldridge. I am a Lieutenant with the Stoneville Volunteer Fire Dept. I am also the Pub-ed coordinator for the dept. I joined the fire service late in life at the age of 38 in 2012. A couple years later I was asked to take over the Fire safety program that my dept.

NC EMT State Certified - RCC, NC Firefighter Certified - RCC, Emergency Medical Responder training for ERT program at Procter and Gamble - GTCC, AHA BLS CPR Instructor - GCDPH, NC FLSE(Fire and Life Safety Educator-Level 1) - GTCC

49 years old, will be 50 in Sept. this year

Married with 21st anniversary on Fri March 1st, 2024

1 son who is 17 and a junior firefighter at my dept.

Worked for Procter and Gamble for 17 ½ years

Been an ERT (Emergency Response Team) at P&G for 16 years

This led me to the fire service after a CPR save at work in which I was first on the scene and initiated CPR

Been in the fire service for 12 years

Hobbies are cooking and fishing

Stephan Arnold is a career firefighter with the Pinecroft Sedgefield Fire District Inc, where he has been since 2014. Stephan has been involved with fire and life safety since 2015 and has a true passion for it. He has honed in his skill set on smoke alarm canvassing and striving to create and promote a safer and well educated community. In his free time you can find him spending time with his 2 year old son playing with dinosaurs or hotwheels. When he is not with his son he is teaching or training new recruits. Stephan takes great pride not only teaching others fire and life safety, but spreading the message about first responder mental health. His motto is “I want to make the person beside me better than me, and leave the fire service better than it was when I got on shift this morning.” Stephan is a friend to many and brother to all, his passion for serving others is what some will say makes him a great firefighter. 

Douglas Cline, Assistant Chief of the Professional Development with Horry County Fire Rescue. He is the Executive Editor for The Fire Officer .com, Contributing Editor to Carolina Fire Rescue Journal, Executive Director of the National Fire Academy Alumni Association, and Executive Director for the Command Institute in Washington D.C.

A 44-year student of fire and emergency services. Chief Cline is a highly published author of articles, blogs and textbooks for both Fire and EMS. As a Chief Officer, Cline is a distinguished authority on officer development and has traveled internationally delivering distinguished programs on leadership and officer development. He also has a diverse line of training videos on Leadership, Rapid Intervention Team Training, Vehicle Fires, Hose Line Management, Emergency Vehicle Operations and Fire Ground Safety and Survival.

Cline, a retired Fire Chief, is a Level III Fire Instructor, National Fire Academy Instructor and an EMS Instructor. Chief Cline is the 1 st Chair for the South Carolina Firefighters Association Officer Section, a Past President of the South Carolina State Association of Fire Chiefs, Past President of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) , Past President of the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs (SEAFC), a member of the South Carolina and North Carolina Society of Fire and Rescue Instructors. Cline serves as a National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) South Carolina State Lead Advocate for Everyone Goes Home , served on the FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Act Grant criteria development committee, past member of the Congressional FireService Institute (CFSI) National Advisory Committee, NFAAA National Fire Academy Alumni Association Executive Director, Member of the Board of Trustees for the National Fire Heritage Center, and a peer reviewer for the Fire Act Grants.

In 1999, Cline was honored by the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) by being awarded the prestigious George D. Post International Instructor of the Year. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Social Services with a Minor in Education from Concord University. He is also holds a CPSE Chief Fire Officer Designation (CFO).

Chief Cline has been actively involved with the fire dynamics research conducted by ISFSI and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) . As a Strategy and Tactics theorist he has worked to help translated the research data into cutting edge operational theories, methodologies instructional programs and fire ground tactical operations focused on the Modern Fire Environment. Chief Cline is the executive producer of Fire Engineering’s “ Fire and Training Blog Talk Radio show and “The Chief’s Trumpet”, the official Blog Talk Radio show for Thefireofficer.com.

Anita Davie has worked in the field of human services for more than 45 years, including years of

working with programs supporting vulnerable adults and supervising programs protecting older

adults. The three most recent positions include Adult Program Representative working with local

departments of social services providing training, consultation, and monitoring (1996 – 2000);

Director of The Area Agency on Aging in High Country Region (2004–2014); and Regional

Director in western NC with the North Carolina Baptist Aging Ministry (2014 – present).

E Brené Duggins is a Fire and Life Safety Educator/Digital Content Specialist for Pinecroft Sedgefield Fire District in Greensboro, NC. During her 22 years as a volunteer in the fire service, she has shared her passion for technology and education across not only the state of North Carolina but across the United 

States and into Canada teaching the public as well as Fire Service Personnel to enhance their own programs

through the integration of technology. During COVID, she started Ms. D's Virtual PD, which is a virtual

professional development training program that combines live training sessions and on-demand training 

opportunities for public school personnel and fire service personnel. Brene a Past Chair of the NC Eastern 

Region Fire and Life Safety Educators Association and also is the 1st Vice-Chair of the North Carolina Fire 

and Life Safety Educator Association State Council. Not only is she a recipient of the NCFLSE Award of 

Excellence, she was the 2022 NFPA Educator of the Year. Her day job is as the Media Coordinator at Oak 

Grove High School in Davidson County, NC, and she is also a Past President of the North Carolina School 

Library Association.

A native of South Carolina, Michael attended Western Carolina University, where he met his future wife Sarah.  

After graduating in 2002 from Western Carolina University, he began his career with the North Carolina Forest Service (NCFS). As his family grew, his focus changed from traveling the Country responding to incidents and fighting fires, to being home with his family. In 2012, he began working with Jackson County Emergency Management as the Deputy Fire Marshal. This transition allowed him to focus on his passions for fire prevention and education, and origin and cause investigation. 

Michael is currently the Fire Marshal for Jackson County, a certified Fire/Arson Investigator, and Fire & Life Safety Educator. He spends his free time with his family watching his boys at sporting events, hunting, fishing.

Rick Hall has worked in the field of human services for 40+ years, much of that time devoted to programs supporting vulnerable adults.  Since 2005, he has served in local and state government in North Carolina, first with Guilford County Department of Social Services  supervising such programs as Adult Protective Services and Adult Guardianship.  Beginning in 2014, as an Adult Program Representative with the NC Department of Health and Human Services (DAAS), Rick worked with local departments of social services across the state, providing training, consultation, and monitoring for adult services programs.  Currently, Rick serves as the Adult Services Division Director for the Forsyth County Department of Social Services.

Blaise is a LCMHC (licensed clinical mental health counselor) and LCASA (licensed clinical addiction specialist) serving the Raleigh area.  He was in the fire service for 14 years (11 in Raleigh and 3 in Rocky Mount) and a fixture in the Fire and Life Safety Education world.  Although he is no longer part of the fire service, his ties run deep.  Blaise became The Dope Black Therapist, initially, because he wanted to be a therapist for first responders.  He knows that they won’t talk to just anyone and we want to talk to someone that “gets it.”  Blaise later realized that he wanted to be a voice, an ear, and support for Black males and people of color dealing with their mental health.  After going through his own problems with depression, divorce, and grief, Blaise brings a different perspective to how he does therapy.  Blaise’s focus is trauma and uses several treatment modalities in sessions including EMDR, expressive arts and Muay Thai.  Blaise is a published author of Becoming The Dope Black Therapist (available on Amazon), runs a men's support group every other Thursday in his hometown of Bunn, and hosts a bi-weekly podcast called, The Dope Black Therapist (available on all podcast platforms).  You can visit his website, www.thedopeblacktherapist.com for more information.

Lt. Hubbard is the Fire Prevention Coordinator for the City of Raleigh Fire Department his primary purpose is to supply timely fire and life safety educational messages to all who live, work, or play in the City of Raleigh. Lt. Hubbard joined the Raleigh Department in 2006 and served the city as a firefighter until becoming the primary  Fire and Life Safety Educator in 2016. In addition to serving Fire Educator, he is also a Deputy Fire Marshal, which he serves as a Fire Code Official when needed.

Michael Huffman started his adventures in emergency services in 1995. This began with the junior program at his local volunteer fire department and later working on an ambulance as an EMT immediately after graduating High School in 1998. He has been an active part of the emergency services world since then. “Huffman” has held several titles in his time as a volunteer firefighter, worked as a 911 telecommunicator, EMT, Paramedic, and instructor for many disciplines.

He is currently a member of Qualla Fire & Rescue, serves on the Jackson County Fire & Life Safety board, and was the 2023 Volunteer Fire and Life Safety Educator of the year. In his free time he enjoys coaching softball and umpiring softball at the High School and Collegiate level. If he’s not on a ball field you can usually find him teaching a class or spending time with his family. 

Chief Fire Code Consultant

NC Department of Insurance

Office of State Fire Marshal

Engineering Division

Retired from Wake County Fire Services in 2018 after serving as Deputy Director/Fire Marshal. Employed with OSFM since 2018 and has been in the fire service for 40 years.

Karla Klas, BSN, RN, CCRP manages the University of Michigan Trauma Burn Center's nationally acclaimed community and family-centered injury prevention programs. Her 31-year distinguished career in burn/trauma critical care nursing, research, professional development training, mentoring, program management, public education, curriculum development, CRR, and injury/violence prevention has produced numerous journal publications, textbook chapters and grant awards. She has attained multiple specialty certifications and leadership appointments to committees devoted to injury control. She is a Michigan ACE Community Champion trainer and a Professional Instructor for the National Fire Academy. An award-winning educator, speaker, and author, Karla also mentors at-risk youth, volunteers in survivor support programs, and enjoys all kinds of outdoor adventures with her family. Learn more at: https://traumaburn.org/karla-s-klas-bsn-rn-ccrp 

RAYMOND O’BROCKI, CBO, is the Director of Fire Service Relations for the American Wood Council. Before that he was the Chief Building Official for the City of Rockville, MD. He retired as the Assistant Fire Chief of the Baltimore City Fire Department in 2013. He was appointed fire marshal for Baltimore City in 2008. O’Brocki is the administrator of the Construction Fire Safety Coalition. O’Brocki has served on several building and fire code technical committees. He is an adjunct instructor at the National Fire Academy and has presented at various venues around the U.S. O’Brocki is a graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law and a licensed attorney.

Kelly Ransdell works for the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as the Regional Director for the

South Central US covering NC, TX, AR, LA, OK, MS, AL and TN. Formerly she was the Regional Education

Specialist for the National Fire Protection Association covering the 17 states in the Southern and New

England regions for 5 years. She works to expand fire and burn education, expand code and standards

adoption and works with national organizations, state agencies, and local fire departments to enhance

their overall educational programs. Before joining NFPA staff in 2015, she worked as the Deputy

Director of the North Carolina Department of Insurance- Office of State Fire Marshal overseeing the

Prevention, Programs and Grants Division for nearly 15 years. In addition, she worked as the State

Director of Safe Kids North Carolina which included 42 coalitions covering 72 counties for 11 years. Kelly

and her husband live just south of Raleigh, NC and have two daughters- 17 years old and 12 years old.

Kris Siegert manages the Fire and Life Safety Education Program for the Mt. Lebanon Fire Department outside of Pittsburgh, PA. He presents over 400 lessons annually to children from pre-K through high school and reaches over 4000 students each year. After an incident that occurred in the community, he adapted parts of this program to target children with intellectual challenges and integrated these lessons into the program. Kris is also a PA state fire suppression instructor, local level fire service instructor, certified as a Fire Officer IV, Fire, and Life Safety Educator II, a credentialed Fire Officer through the Commission on Professional Credentialing, and a member of both the Ohio Fire Educator Group and the National Youth Fire Intervention Group. 

Victorian Simmons currently works for the Greensboro Fire Department as the Community Engagement Specialist. Including being featured in Firehouse Magazine multiple times, she has seen her work featured at the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo and will speak at the 2024 NFPA Conference & Expo. Though she is fairly new to the fire industry, she has an extensive background in marketing and communications.

Simmons has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Keuka College, a Master’s degree in Business Management from Elmira College, and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Strategic Communication from Liberty University. She has spent the last 8 years in manager and director roles focused on writing, photography, social media, communication, and design. She now uses those skills in her current role with the GFD.

My name is Dee Shelton. I am currently serving as an Assistant Fire Marshal with Rockingham County Fire Marshal’s Office. Prior to this position I served as the FLSE for Greensboro Fire Department for 5 years. I have been in the fire service for almost 36 years. Certifications I hold are Firefighter, Fire Officer, Driver/Operator, Haz-Mat Ops, Instructor II, FLSE III, and Fire Inspector Level II. 

I am married to my husband Tim of almost 21 years, I have a son, Spencer, who is a Hazardous Material Waste Carrier with Wallace Industries, and a soon-to-be daughter-in-love, Alyssa who just passed her final step in the process and is now a fully licensed, certified NC Architect with Dwell Design Studio in Charlotte. I have 2 dogs, Pearl and Bessie, who can both Stop, Drop, and Roll and I have about 50 chickens, who incidentally CANNOT Stop, Drop, and Roll! 

I’m an outdoorsy person, so hiking, camping, kayaking, hunting, fishing is all enjoyment. When I’m stuck inside, I love to sing karaoke!

Fire Prevention Officer & Safety Officer     

Williamsburg Volunteer Fire and Rescue

Reidsville, NC

Board member-NC Fire and Life Safety Educator-Eastern Region

Quality Consultant-Life and Annuity Claims

Lincoln Financial Group

Greensboro, NC

Angie has been a volunteer in the fire service for 8 years and has been working with fire prevention and community risk reduction for 7 years.  She is employed full time with Lincoln Financial Group where she has been in Quality Assurance and Customer Service for 18 years.   She has a 12 year old son who is on two baseball teams, so any spare time is spent at the ball field.