About FLSS

Section Governance

The FLSS board of directors is made up of:

Five officers
Six at-large members
Three specialty representative members
Three ex-officio members

At-large members have three-year terms with two at-large members elected each year. No more than two at-large members may be elected from any single division of the IAFC.

Specialty representatives consist of one member from the education community, one member from the engineering community and one member from the public safety community. They are appointed for one-year terms by a majority vote of the FLSS board after the election at the annual business meeting. These members, who may be affiliate members, have a vote on matters before the FLSS board of directors.

The chair, vice chair, international director, secretary/treasurer and immediate past chair serve as the board's executive committee.

The FLSS board of directors may appoint three ex-officio advisors, who offer specific expertise helpful to assist the board with their work. Ex-officio advisors have a voice but no vote on matters before the board and are appointed for one-year terms by a majority vote of the board after the annual business meeting. Section funding is not provided for ex-officio advisors unless extenuating circumstances permit it at the discretion of the executive committee.

Section Bylaws Strategic Action Plan

IAFC Fire & Life Safety Section Announces 2026-2027 Board Leadership

Leading the Section as Chair is Elizabeth Bednarcik, Fire Marshal with Brighton Fire Rescue District. Bednarcik is joined by Shawn Hanson, Assistant Chief with Greater Naples Fire Rescue District, serving as Vice Chair; Greg Rogers, Retired Deputy Chief, serving as Immediate Past Chair; Larry Cocco, Retired Deputy Chief, serving as Treasurer; and Michael O'Brian, Fire Chief of the Brighton Area Fire Authority, serving as the IAFC International Director representative.

The Section's Board Members-at-Large include:

Matthew Henss, Deputy Chief, Administration, Indianapolis Fire Department

Mike Carsten, Assistant Chief, Tucson Fire Department

Ray Reynolds, Fire Chief, Nevada Fire Department

Jeff Counts, Assistant Chief/Fire Marshal, Clayton Fire Department (Missouri)

Shane Brandhorst, Deputy Fire Chief, Prevention/Fire Marshal, City of Bozeman Fire Prevention Bureau

Gage Schlice, Fire Marshal, Menlo Park Fire District

Specialty Representatives include:

Jeremy Eekhoff, Fire Protection Engineer, Des Moines Fire Department

Scott Moore, Chief (Retired), Community Risk Reduction Representative

Karen Berard-Reed, Community Risk Reduction Lead, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

Cory Beals, Assistant Chief, International Representative

Ex Officio Board Members include:

Karl Fippinger, ICCl

Richard Roberts, Honeywell

Peg Paul, HFSC

Vickie Pritchett, NFSA

Richard Miller, Staff Liaison.

Section History

During Fire-Rescue International in 2002, members of the Fire Code Task Force undertook an effort to create a new IAFC section to focus on fire and life safety issues. The effort was successful, and the section was formalized in early 2003 under the name Fire & Life Safety Section. The first section chair was Chief Jackie Gibbs of the Marietta (GA) Fire Department; Chief Wayne Senter of Kitsap County (WA) Fire Department was the first vice chair.

In 2004 the section board petitioned the IAFC board to gain a seat on the IAFC board of directors. The first international director was Chief Jackie Gibbs.

The Fire and Life Safety Section of the IAFC aims to reduce injury, life loss and property loss by advancing the field of fire prevention and life safety with leadership and vision for fire safety professionals. The Fire and Life Safety Section vision is to promote innovation, education, and code development to create safe communities through the following priorities:

To LEAD by being the preeminent global advocate for fire and life safety service, code development, and legislative advocacy and advancement.
To EDUCATE current and future fire and life safety leaders by providing training, education, and professional development opportunities to meet the diverse needs of our membership and communities.
To SERVE through active participation in providing relevant and timely services, products, and resources to our diverse membership, affiliates, and partners.
Advocate for the installation of cost-effective building systems, processes and maintenance strategies in new and existing buildings that will reduce firefighter risk exposure during emergency operations.
Create an environment where the public is aware of the fire problem and its role in fire prevention.

The Fire and Life Section comprises 17 board members representing Canada and the US Fire Service. We have members representing all areas of the country and all areas of the fire service, from public education, community risk reduction, code development, code enforcement, private industry, non-profit, and ranks from fire marshals to fire chiefs.

The FLSS launched a Community Risk Reduction Leadership conference in 2019. The Community Risk Reduction (CRR) Leadership Conference is geared specifically to the education and training needs of chief officers and fire service managers seeking to create, execute and evaluate measurably successful CRR platforms and programs. Participants benefit from the real-world wisdom of CRR trailblazers and innovative rising stars, all working together to pioneer the future of CRR in North America.