2023 Annual Conference: Opening Symposium

Thursday, October 19th, 8:15 - 11:15 am

Fireground Survival Program
Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder

Session Description
Chief Billy Goldfeder will present through video, audio and "WAKE UP" lecture, an in-depth program featuring specific and very recent fireground events with a strong focus on DWELLING & SMALL COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE FIRES-that ended with tragic results. The program focuses specifically on the LESSONS LEARNED so that these incidents (and those involved) don't ever become forgotten. Firefighters are given an excellent opportunity to apply the LESSONS LEARNED to their own departments…and themselves, when returning home...potentially avoiding "history tragically repeating itself.”

The goal of the program-from your most SENIOR member to your NEWEST Probies, is to have your Firefighters and Officers leave more knowledgeable, educated, and informed. Most importantly it will leave them THINKING HARD about their role, their SIZE UP responsibilities before, on arrival and while operating at fire incidents…and how it applies to themselves, each other and their families. These factual "LESSONS LEARNED" and related CASE STUDIES will help ensure that history is not repeated...by them, the members of your department.

NOT EVERYONE GOES HOME. Some Firefighters do and some don’t…this seminar will help you learn and understand HOW AND WHY.

Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder

Chief Billy Goldfeder, EFO, a firefighter since 1973, serves as a Deputy Fire Chief of the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department in S.W. Ohio. LSFD is an ISO Class 1, fire & EMS accredited full service advanced life support department providing a full range of traditional and non-traditional emergency & community services. A Chief Officer since 1982, he has served as a Fire Chief in Ohio, Virginia and Florida. Chief Goldfeder also served as a Public Fire Protection Engineering representative covering southern New York, for I.S.O. as well as a Company Officer, starting with the Manhasset-Lakeville F.D., on Long Island, N.Y. (continued)

A 1993 graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program, he is the former Chair of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Volunteer & Combination Fire Officers Comm. In 2001, Chief Goldfeder was honored with an appointment of Hon. Battalion Chief of F.D.N.Y. and is a current member of the Board of Directors of: The International Association of Fire Chiefs, the September 11th Families Association, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and is a subject matter expert for the Center for Disease Control (CDC), National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program.

Goldfeder is the recipient of numerous operational and administrative awards and recognitions including the Loveland-Symmes FD Departmental Award of Excellence in 2003 and 2010, the Int’l Assoc. of Fire Service Instructors Fire Instructor of The Year Award for 2004, the Dana Hannon Fire Service Training Award for 2004, the Int’l Assoc. of Fire Chiefs Presidential Exemplary Service Award for 2005 & 2013, the 2007 (IFSTA) Int’l Fire Service Training Associations Everett E. Hudiburg Memorial Award for Firefighter Training Excellence, the 2007 Nassau County (N.Y.) Frances X. Pendl Fire Service Humanitarian Award, the 2008 Firefighter Cancer Support Network Dallas Jones Memorial Award and in 2008, the annual “Chief Billy Goldfeder Fire Service Organizational Safety Award” was named and created through the IAFC and is co-sponsored by VFIS. In 2015, Goldfeder was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Loveland City Council and the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department. In 2018, Goldfeder was the recipient of the FDIC International/Fire Engineering Chief Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2019 he received The Pennington School Alumni Achievement Award and in 2021, Chief Goldfeder was the recipient of the Congressional Fire Services Institute (CFSI) Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award.
Chief Goldfeder completed a 6 year term limit as a Commissioner on the Commission of Fire Accreditation International (CPSE) and he serves as an Associate/Contributing Editor for FIRE ENGINEERING, FIRE RESCUE, FIREHOUSE Magazines (including several regional fire publications) as well as a news editorial columnist for Fire Engineering.com, FireRescue1.com and Firehouse.Com. He has spoken on, as well as published, numerous articles on subjects such as fire service risk management, leading combination FD's, fire command and tactics, firefighter/fireground safety, apparatus design/deployment and fireground staffing. His monthly columns "Close Calls" appears in FIREHOUSE Magazine and “Fired Up!” along with the “What’s Your Problem?” video series appears in FireRescue1.

Chief Goldfeder has served on several NFPA and IAFC Committees, was Chair of the Int’l Assoc. of Fire Chiefs Safety, Health and Survival Section and also serves on the National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting Task Force Board (IAFC). He is and has been an Instructor at all national and North American fire service training conferences including Fire-Rescue International, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, FD Safety Officers Association, the FDNY Fire Officers Management Institute (F.O.M.I.) and at the Fire Department Instructors Conference (F.D.I.C.), where he has instructed for the past 36 years as well as serving as a member of the FDIC Advisory Board. Chief Goldfeder has and does provide consulting services for municipal and private corporations with a single focus on firefighter safety and survival. His work includes leading and/or participating in numerous critical firefighter injury or related close call investigations.

His best-selling book series “PASS IT ON…What We Know-What We Want You To Know” is a compilation of stories from 100 fire service contributors sharing their life experiences. 100% of Goldfeder’s royalties are being donated to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Chief Ray Downey Scholarship Fund. In the Spring of 2016, his second book, “Pass it On…The 2nd Alarm” was published by Pennwell/Fire Engineering, adding the Firefighter Cancer Support Network to the above two charities to benefit from the sales. And in the Spring of 2020, the final book in the series, “Pass It On-Making Good Progress” was published, again with over 100 more contributors, with all proceeds going to the above three fire service charities. All three books are consistent best sellers within the fire service professional publishing field.

Chief Goldfeder, along with Gordon Graham, police/fire service risk management expert, and attorney, hosts and sponsors the website: www.FireFighterCloseCalls.com , a 100% non-commercial, independent and free site with only 1 focus: Firefighter Safety, Survival and Getting Everyone Home.

Married to his wife Teri, while all the above is cool, by far his greatest source of love and pride are his 5 kids and especially his 6 grandkids, a/k/a “The 6 Pack”