Jon
began his career in the fire service as a volunteer with the
Occoquan-Woodbridge-Lorton Volunteer Fire Department (OWL VFD) in 1988, rising
through the ranks holding every office up to Assistant Chief, which he has held
for the last several years. He served
as the OWL VFD Chief of Marine Operations for seven years and for the past ten
years has been the Chief of Maintenance.
For 14 years, Jon has chaired multiple apparatus specification
committees, including the 1999 committee that was looking for a new fireboat to
replace an aging fleet of small boats.
The committee had no idea that they had just helped design what would
become an entire series of fireboats, “FIRESTORM.” The “PHOENIX” followed thereafter.
For
several years Jon was a certified mechanic for a local fire truck dealer. In 1996, Jon was hired as a firefighter
in Washington, D.C., where he is currently a Marine Operator in the Special
Operations Division. He holds a
USCG Master 100 ton with towing and radar endorsements. Jon is certified at the Technician
level for the following: Swift Water Rescue, HAZMAT, Confined Space, Rope
Rescue, Trench Rescue, and Structural Collapse. He has been certified in Rescue/Tactical Operations using
RHIBs. Jon holds a Homeland
Security certification for WMD Incident Complexities and completed Incident
Response to Terrorist Bombing Awareness training from New Mexico Tech.
