Gordon M. Sachs

Gordon M. Sachs has over twenty-five years of fire service and EMS experience, including more than ten years as a chief officer in both career and volunteer departments. Currently, he is chief of Fairfield Fire and EMS in Pennsylvania and is the director of the IOCAD Emergency Services Group, a consulting firm providing management and technical support for FEMA, the U.S. Fire Administration, the National Fire Academy, and emergency services across the country. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree and a Bachelor of Science in education, and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer program. Chief Sachs is the author of Officer's Guide to Fire Service EMS (Fire Engineering Books, 1999) and Fire & EMS Department Safety Officer (Brady, 2000). He has coauthored several books and publications, including Fire Department Occupational Health and Safety Handbook (NFPA, 1998) and The Fire Chief's Handbook, Fifth Edition and Sixth Edition (Fire Engineering Books, 1995 and 2002), as well as several U.S. Fire Administration publications. He has also written numerous trade journal articles and made several major presentations in the areas of fire service/EMS leadership and management, emergency responder health and safety, incident command, and emergency response to terrorism. Chief Sachs is a course developer and adjunct instructor at the National Fire Academy and is a guest lecturer at several colleges and universities. He is a former U.S. Fire Administration Program manager and has been a member of several national committees, including NFPA technical committees and various federal and state committees on emergency service issues.