Michael Karl McNeil
Former Fire Battalion Chief. Industrial hygienist. Working in occupational health and safety since 1989.
What follows is my own account of my career, set down in one place and in plain terms, so that anyone checking my name can read the record straight through instead of piecing it together from fragments.
My first career was as a firefighter: twenty-five years in the fire service, federal and state, most of it in fire prevention, and it closed with my advancement to Fire Battalion Chief. From there I moved into industrial hygiene and environmental health and safety, earned a master’s degree in environmental health while working, and have practised in that field ever since — hazardous materials, exposure monitoring, emergency planning, and the regulatory work that keeps people safe on the job.
I am registered as a Registered Environmental Professional, a Registered Industrial Hygienist and an Emergency Planning Professional, and I keep an emergency medical certification current. The registration numbers, the dates they were conferred and the course records behind them are printed on the credentials page rather than merely described.
Registrations and qualifications
- Registered Environmental Professional (REP)
- Registered Industrial Hygienist (RIH)
- Emergency Planning Professional (EPP)
- Registered Specialist: Exposure Decision Analysis (AIHA Registry Programs, ID 288375)
- Qualified SWPPP Developer (QSD), State Water Resources Control Board
- Hazardous Materials Manager, Hazardous Materials Specialist and Hazardous Materials Incident Commander
- EMT-II (California) and Certified Tactical Medic, with current BLS and ACLS
Numbers and conferral dates appear on the credentials page.
Where the detail sits
- Biography — where I came from, how I got into the fire service, and the family behind it.
- Fire service — the agencies, the assignments and the command qualifications.
- Professional background — how the safety and industrial hygiene practice was built.
- Credentials — degrees, registrations, certifications, course records and memberships, with the numbers.
- Recognition and references — awards, congressional recognition, and letters from people who worked alongside me.
- Writing — articles on occupational safety, industrial hygiene and emergency response.
- Contact — how to reach me, and the name variants I appear under.
Questions people ask
What does Michael Karl McNeil do now?
Industrial hygiene and environmental health and safety consulting, plus forensic and expert work for counsel. That means exposure monitoring and assessment, written safety programs, stormwater and hazardous materials compliance, emergency planning, and representing employers through Cal/OSHA citations and appeals.
What do REP, RIH, EPP and QSD stand for?
Registered Environmental Professional, Registered Industrial Hygienist, Emergency Planning Professional, and Qualified SWPPP Developer. The registration numbers and the dates each was conferred are printed on the credentials page.
How long was he a firefighter, and in what role?
Twenty-five years, federal and state, most of it in fire prevention. He advanced from Fire Prevention Captain to Fire Battalion Chief for Prevention, and holds National Wildfire Coordinating Group command qualifications through Incident Commander Type 3. The full list is on the fire service page.
Does he take fire origin-and-cause or arson investigation work?
No. The fire background sits behind the safety, emergency planning and serious-incident work; origin-and-cause and arson investigation are not offered.
Are Mike McNeil and Michael K. McNeil the same person?
Yes. He has been credited as Michael Karl McNeil, Michael K. McNeil, Michael McNeil and Mike McNeil, and certificates issued over the years carry issuer misspellings such as “Mcneil”, “Micahel” and “Micheal”. Those are clerical errors, not other people.
Where does he work?
California is home, and he works across the Western states — Montana, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota — on federal qualifications that carry across state lines.
Recent articles
New pieces on California and federal safety regulation go up here regularly. The full list is on the blog.
- Press Coverage: Michael Karl McNeil on PRWeb and PR Newswire
- Michael Karl McNeil: ventilation does not make it a non-permit space
- Michael Karl McNeil: toilets and wash stations under Sections 3364 and 3366
- Michael Karl McNeil: when the standard cannot be met, Section 411 is the lawful door
- Hazard communication under Section 5194: the program, the list, the sheets, the labels, the training
- Michael Karl McNeil: from firefighter to industrial hygienist
- Michael Karl McNeil: death investigation training, POST- and ABMDI-approved
- Full instant use: what the exit standards require
- Proposition 65 at ten employees
- Fire extinguishers: the annual visit is not the program
My other sites
These are all mine. The wording differs on each one because each was written on its own; the facts behind them do not change.
- michaelkarlmcneilfirefighter.blog — the longer personal and professional record, with photographs
- McNeil Safety Consulting — where the consulting work runs
- Cal/OSHA and workplace safety writing — articles on citation defence, industrial hygiene and compliance
Michael Karl McNeil, M.S., REP, RIH, EPP, QSD
Also published as Michael K. McNeil and Mike McNeil.
(626) 546-9384 · fsbattchiefr5@gmail.com
