Professional Experience
Sean is a firefighter and paramedic with 29 years of professional experience. He began his fire service career in Southern California but has spent the past 23 years serving the residents of Georgia. Sean currently holds the rank of Captain with Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services in Georgia. He is a past member of the State of Georgia’s Incident Management Team, where he served as an Operations Section Chief. He has also served as a flight paramedic.
Throughout his career Sean has engaged in fire science research and work to promote the incorporation of current research findings on fire behavior and firefighting tactics into training programs. His areas of research focus include fire control within a structure and the cardiovascular and chemical exposure risks of modern firefighting. He is a classroom and hands-on instructor for Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Fire Safety Research Institute’s Fire Dynamics Boot Camps and has served as an instructor on fire dynamics, fire attack, and search and coordinated attack for multiple fire service conferences.
During his tenure as a Training Officer for Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services, Sean was instrumental in establishing the Xplorlabs Program within the County. This program is a partnership between Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services, Cobb County Schools, Cobb County Safety Village and UL to provide middle school students with in-depth learning opportunities to understand the science of fire and the skills necessary for a career in the fire service.
Education and Training
Sean earned a Bachelor of Science in Fire Safety and Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and has completed coursework towards earning a Master of Arts in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security. Sean has obtained numerous certifications from the National Board on Fire Services Professional Qualifications. He is also certified by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians as a paramedic.
Committees and Professional Organizations
Sean is entering his 10th year of service on the Advisory Board for the UL Firefighter Safety Research Institute. He has also served as a Technical Panel Member for multiple UL studies and UL’s Fire Hose Standard. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the International Society of Fire Service Instructors and member of the International Fire Service Training Association’s Structural Firefighting Initial Response Strategy and Tactics Validation Committee. Sean is an active member of multiple National Fire Protection Association committees.
Published Works
Sean is the author of the Fire Behavior chapter in the Fire Engineering Firefighter 1 and 2 Textbook (2019 ed) and co-authored the book The Evolving Fireground: Research Based Tactics (2017). He has published multiple articles in Fire Engineering Magazine and Fire Rescue Magazine, with notable works including Close the Door- Concerns with Controlling the Vent Point (2018) and Hitting Targets and Cooling Surfaces- It’s How to Apply the Stream (2018).
Awards and Accomplishments
Sean is a past recipient of the Clayton County Fire Department Firefighter of the Year award, a two-time recipient of the Randy Lewis Rescue Award, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Gold Medal Award -State of Georgia Paramedic of the Year. He has also received multiple unit citations awards.