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President
Emery & ssociates, Inc.
Vernon Hills, Illinois, United States
Rick is President of Emery & Associates, Inc., a firm specializing in consulting and emergency response training since 1993. He began his fire service career in 1970 in the Chicago-metro area and has over 48 years of experience in emergency response. Rick attained certification as a Firefighter III, Fire Instructor II, Fire Officer II, Haz Mat Technician and Haz Mat Specialist. Rick was appointed as the first team Coordinator to create the Lake County Hazardous Materials Response Team in 1983. He was a lead hazardous materials instructor at the Illinois fire academy, and an ad junct instructor for the National Fire Academy. He retired from the fire service in 1993 as a career Captain, including 10 years as Coordinator of the Lake County Hazardous Materials Response Team. Rick validated as a Subject Matter Expert for the Department of Defense Domestic Preparedness training program in 1997. He has presented over 2,000 hazardous materials and terrorism training courses to municipal, government and industrial concerns, including the FBI’s haz mat program and at the Department of Justice Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama. Rick provided training as an ICS team leader at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games and was a member of the team that assessed emergency services at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in 2003. He provided advanced support for the Department of State and corporate security overseas. Rick is a principle member of the National Fire Protection Association Technical Committee on Hazardous Materials Response and a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Hazardous Materials Committee. He is a member of the Department of Homeland Security’s committee to develop performance criteria for methods for the detection and identification of biological threat agents. Rick is a frequent speaker at hazardous materials training conferences and classes throughout the United States, and he has conducted training in Canada, Europe, Cuba, Sweden and Asia. The International Association of Fire Chiefs’ honored Rick with the “Level A” award at the International Hazardous Materials Response Conference in Baltimore in 2012. The “Level A” Award bestows the highest level of professional recognition to individuals who have provided an exceptional level of leadership, service and commitment to the mission and goals of the hazardous materials response community. Rick received the “In The Zone” award at the 2013 haz mat conference in Houston, Texas. The International Fire Chiefs Association bestowed the “John Eversole Lifetime Achievement Award” on Rick at the International Hazardous Materials Teams Conference on June 16, 2017, in Baltimore.