Fire Service
Twenty-five years, federal and state, the bulk of it in fire prevention. I closed that career as a Fire Battalion Chief.
Agencies and rank
- USDA Forest Service — Fire Battalion Chief, Prevention; advanced from Fire Prevention Captain
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Utah Division of Forestry
- CAL FIRE
The assignments ran across the United States, weighted toward the Western states. That is the practical reason I take work outside California today: I have already worked under other states’ rules, on their ground, alongside their agencies.
Command qualifications
National Wildfire Coordinating Group:
- Incident Commander Type 3
- Division/Group Supervisor
- Task Force Leader
- Strike Team Leader
- Crew Boss
- Engine Boss
- Forest Protection Officer
FEMA National Incident Management System and National Response Plan training sits behind those. Earlier federal incident qualification also carried Incident Commander Type 4, Prevention Technician, Hazardous Materials Specialist, Security Specialist 2, Swiftwater Rescue Technician 1 and EMT-Intermediate.
Hazardous materials
- Hazardous Materials Manager
- Hazardous Materials Specialist
- Hazardous Materials Incident Commander — Hazardous Materials Scene Management, Incident Commander, 24 hours
- HAZWOPER, 40 hours — the general site worker training length at 8 CCR §5192(e)(3)(A)
- First Responder Operations, certificate number 37320, 0.8 IACET CEUs — satisfies 29 CFR §1910.120(q)(6)(ii)
- Introduction to Clandestine Laboratory Investigations, 16 hours, with recurring recertification — the training basis for work under Health and Safety Code §§25400.10–25400.47 and §25400.16
Federal training
- Federal Law Enforcement Training Center — officer safety, risk management and mitigation, and hate and bias crimes
- Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training — clandestine laboratory investigation and recertification, fentanyl safety and naloxone, tactical medicine
- Member, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association
Emergency medical
- EMT-II, California
- Certified Tactical Medic, with continuing education in tactical medicine and airway management
- BLS and ACLS provider certification, issued August 2026, current to August 2028
- Fentanyl safety and naloxone first aid
- Advanced Topics on Medical Defense Against Biological and Chemical Agents — six modules, 12 contact hours, VA Learning University, with course directors from USAMRIID and USAMRICD
Recognition from this period
- Two USDA Forest Service Certificates of Merit
- Certificate of Appreciation, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps — 16 June 2008
- Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition, U.S. House of Representatives — 18 May 2001
Full citations appear on the recognition page.
Incident photographs
Vehicle fire, August 2002 — foam application on a fully involved armored transport on a rural highway, then overhaul of the cab and engine compartment once the fire was knocked down.
Michael Karl McNeil 