SHSS Board Openings
Three at-large directors will be elected in the 2023 SHS Section Election. All positions will begin at Fire-Rescue International and are three-year terms.
At-large Director Eligibility
Candidates must be current SHS Section and IAFC members. If elected, they must maintain IAFC and Section memberships for the duration of their term.
At least six of the nine at–large directors of the section’s board of directors must be non-retired. No more than three of the at-large directors may be retired chief officers.
Any at-large director of the section’s board who retires while in office shall be permitted to remain in office for the duration of his/her term as long as the number of retired directors on the board does not exceed three. If a retirement causes this number to rise to four, the director shall remain in office until the next regular annual meeting of the section, when a new director shall be elected by the membership.
Section members who are IAFC members may not serve on the section’s board of directors.
Meet the Candidates
Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Anderson - Travis County ESD#2-Pflugerville (TX) Fire Dept
My Name is Michael Anderson and I want to serve you as an At-Large Director for the IAFC SHS Section. I have served at Travis County ESD#2-Pflugerville Fire Dept. since 2000. Most of my experience is within the Safety and Training Division, where until my recent promotion, I served as the Battalion Chief responsible for management of the training and safety programs for the 200+ member department.
I have a passion for firefighter health and safety. I am involved with the NFFF Everyone Goes Home Program, serving the last 10 years as an Advocate. During this tenure I served as the Western Advocate Manager, working with firefighters and organizations across the United States working to improve the health and safety of firefighters. Three of my biggest contributions during this time is working with VAP program, the development of the Everyone Goes Home in the Wildland program and working with the NFFF Future Leaders Fellowship Program.
As a member of the SHS section, I have worked with section directors on initiatives since 2016 including local and national symposiums. If elected, I will bring my passion and energy to the section’s initiatives and work to continue to strengthen the relationships with fire service organizations to pursue improving the health and safety of our firefighters.
I earned a master’s degree in Public Affairs from UT- Rio Grande Valley. I hold Fire Officer IV, Instructor Ill, Incident Safety Officer and Health & Safety Officer Certifications. In 2019, I Graduated the NFA Managing Officer program.
Division Chief – Safety and Health Christopher Bator - Coral Springs-Parkland (FL) Fire Department
A 27-year proud member of the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Dept in Florida. I serve as the Division Chief overseeing Safety, Health, and Wellness for all city employees. I also serve on the Fire Chiefs Association of Broward County Safety Committee, Florida Fire Chief Association Safety Health Section, and the State of Florida Joint Council subcommittee on Mental Wellness Response through the Statewide Emergency Response Plan (SERP)
In 2016, I co-founded and serve as the President, of the Florida Firefighters Safety and Health Collaborative (FFSHC), a non-profit organization with a mission to bring Florida’s Fire Service together to focus on Firefighter Safety & Health. The efforts by the FFSHC were recognized with the Florida Firefighter Safety and Health Collaborative being the recipient of the Congressional Fire Service Paul S. Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award for 2019. Our team approach focuses on Firefighter Safety, Mental Wellness, Cancer Prevention, and Health & Fitness and I encourage each of you to take a few minutes to visit www.floridafirefightersafety.org to learn more about this valuable FREE resource.
This profession has provided much fulfillment and I recognize the privilege I have been given to be in service of others. It also has shown me time and again, that we are not promised tomorrow. It is from my experience that more needs to be done throughout the fire service to focus on prevention and collaboration to make sure “Everyone Goes Home”. I ask for your consideration and vote to serve on the IAFC SHS section.
Fire Chief Robert Fite - Grand Prairie (TX) Fire Department
I have been a Fire Chief for 14 years with a total of 35 years within the fire service profession. I do serve on the State of Texas firefighter safety committee, and I am a member of the State LODD task force. For the past five years, I immersed my education in the cancer epidemic and now educate firefighters on the cancer risks related to our behavior, and make recommendations to mitigate these risks related to fire operations and post-fire exposure reduction. In addition to the education, I help firefighters from all around the state of Texas file their presumptive cancer claims and help them navigate through the arduous claims process as well as testify at their hearings when requested. I do feel the fire service is making positive strides in our cancer battle and while this fight will continue, we now have a new enemy of mental health. Currently, we see a record number of suicides in our profession, and we must address the “macho” attitudes and begin helping our valued members. My entire platform or motivation is to improve the survival of our fire service brothers and sisters. From the roadway to the hi-rise apartment to cancer and mental health battles, we can never pretend that our risks are just “part of the job” because that is an excuse and we can do better.
Chief (ret.) Dan Kerrigan - Upper Providence Township (PA) Department of Fire and Emergency Services
Dan Kerrigan, MS, EFO, CFO, Fire Chief (Ret) is a 36-year veteran of emergency services. A staunch firefighter health and wellness advocate, he is the co-author of the best-selling firefighter health and wellness book “Firefighter Functional Fitness” and an international speaker and panelist on a wide range of responder health and wellness topics. He has served as an at-large director for the SHS section for over 7 years and has led efforts to promote section membership, organizational safety and health initiatives, the revitalization of the Safety Stand Down, and acts as PIO for the section. He is a certified Fit to Thrive Instructor and also serves on the First Responder Center for Excellence (FRCE) Health and Wellness Advisory Committee.
His career includes serving in volunteer, career, and combination fire departments, and he has an extensive track record of implementing much-needed health and wellness programs in many organizations. Kerrigan’s mission and passion is to reduce preventable line of duty injuries and deaths in the fire service by working diligently to develop and implement comprehensive health and wellness programs that include NFPA medical evaluations, physical fitness, behavioral health, cancer prevention & education, and initiatives targeted at eliminating bullying and harassment in our profession. He believes that all emergency services organizations, regardless of their size, makeup and complexity should have equal access to such programs and will continue to work on behalf of all firefighters to help create a clearinghouse of resources that are available to both individuals and agencies alike.
Chief (ret.) Todd LeDuc - Broward (FL) Sheriff Fire Rescue
Chief LeDuc has faithfully served the SHS membership for the past nearly 15 years as both Section Secretary and At Large Director. He retired from Broward County Fire Service as executive assistant fire chief after 30 years and then joining the Country’s largest provider of firefighter physicals as Chief Strategy Officer. He holds a masters degree in fire service executive leadership and is a credentialed fire officer and Fellow in the Institute of Fire Engineers. Chief LeDuc spearheaded the creation of the IAAFC SHS Providers Guide to Firefighter physicals, represents the Section as the Chair of the First Responder Center of Excellence advisory board on firefighter physicals and serves on the technical committee of NFPA First Responder Standard on Occupational Health including NFPA 1582. Chief LeDuc also co-chairs the SHS efforts to address repetitive head trauma and concussion injuries in firefighters. He is a peer reviewer both professionally credentialing and agency accreditation with CPSE, is the editor of Fire Engineering’s book Surviving the Fire Service and serves as a fire service advisor to numerous FEMA funded firefighter health studies. Chief LeDuc pledges to continue to work on behalf of the membership of the SHS to address firefighter health, wellness and safety and advance efforts to address preventable health risk. I humbly ask for your consideration and vote to continue work!
Chief Kenneth Morgan - City of Meriden (CT) Fire and Emergency Services
I have 45 years in Emergency Services, 43 of which are in the fire service, first as a volunteer, then as a career firefighter. I ascended the ranks to Deputy Chief of Operations in Clark County, NV moving to Meriden, Connecticut to lead a 115-member combination department. I have a Ph. D. in Business (Public Administration Concentration), a graduate of the EFO program, and a CFO Designate since 2008. I am on the Board of the Connecticut Career Chiefs (treasurer) and (Safety and Health Sub-Committee), member of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, the FDSOA, and the NFPA. I am an adjunct Professor at the University of New Haven (CT) teaching research methodology. I have been a NREMT-P for 39 Years.
I’ve had the pleasure of serving on the SHS Board. This section has a direct impact on the health and safety of the members of the fire service. I am committed to continue the fight for firefighter mental health issues, cancer prevention, and physicals for all firefighters.
As fire service leaders, we must stay ahead of the any potential occupational threat. I want to advocate for you as your board member. I am asking for your vote to continue to fight for our brothers and sisters in the fire service who risk their health to carry on our critical mission. Safety, Health, and Prevention does not discriminate between career and volunteer, it affects us all. With the right voice we can make a difference.
Deputy Fire Chief Peter Skeris - Charlotte (NC) Fire Department
I was raised in the fire service family and am the proud son of a retired FDNY firefighter. I have been in career public safety for the past 32 years, the past 26 with the Charlotte Fire Department. I have had the pleasure of serving in various roles within Operations, Special Operations and Training before my current assignment as the Deputy Chief of Personnel Administration. In this role I oversee our Health and Safety Office, as well as Training, recruitment, and HR. The CFD is an active participant in the IAFF/IAFC WFI program since its inception. I am blessed to have been part of H&S mission expansion. In the past 3 years we have opened a dedicated PS Occupational Health Clinic; hired our first Behavioral Health Specialist; and expanded our K-9 program to include two Comfort K-9’s. We have continued to work with cancer prevention initiatives through post-incident PPE cleaning, on-scene decon, two sets of PPE, and placement of PPE washers/extractors throughout the city. As part of cooperation between my office and Operations we are dedicated to ensure our training stays current with new construction, building systems, progressive tactic that keep us as a risk-smart aggressive department..
As a member of the SHS I would continue to push for expansion of the WFI principals of total wellness, advanced medical care, cancer prevention, behavioral health and injury prevention and rehabilitation. The goal should be to develop programs than enhance our members ability to have a long, healthy retirement.