Gregory Hunter

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue is a metro fire department located outside of Washington, D.C. Serving a population of over 1,185,000 people and covering 395 square miles, the department responds to approximately 125,000 calls for service per year with 1,360 career staff, 362 volunteers and 183 civilians through 2 operational field divisions on each shift to manage 39 fire stations consisting of 8 battalions.

• As the senior A shift Operations Deputy Chief, exercise general supervision for all fire and emergency medical service operations of an assigned division for the fire and rescue department (FRD). Each deputy chief is responsible for the direct oversight of career and volunteer daily operations of 4 battalions consisting of approximately 18 station and 250 personnel.
• Supervise, mentor and develop a command staff team, consisting of one command aide, four battalion chiefs, two EMS Officers and two Safety Officers.
• Develop, evaluate and contribute to strategic direction for emergency response operations through collaboration meetings with peer deputy chiefs.
• Respond to and assume command, as necessary, major alarm fires (2nd alarm or greater), EMS events, technical rescue, hazardous materials and all other potential risk hazards.
• Participate in development of and administer the organizations strategic plan. Have served in the strategic planning processes for over 10 years with the organization.

King and Queen County is a rural county in Eastern Virginia with limited tax base and a population of approximately 7,000 residents and answering approximately 1,200 calls per year. Led the establishment and creation of the first county EMS and Emergency Services department to support the volunteer fire companies in the county. Established the first office of the Fire Marshal, and led integrated regional initiatives to support coordinated operations in the middle peninsula region of Virginia.

• Exercise general supervision and direction of the Department of Emergency Services including oversight and direction of 22 full time and 15 part time career staff and approximately 100 volunteers. This agency was created in 2013 under my leadership and vision.
• Coordinate activities including operations, training development, and resources of four volunteer fire departments and two volunteer EMS support agencies.
• Managed county E911 and public safety communications system.
• Manage EMS delivery services, directing the Operations Deputy Chief for 911 emergency operations.
• Lead fire inspections and risk reduction initiatives as Fire Marshal and Chief Fire Official. Acquired over $200,000 in funds and water supply improvements as a result of fire plan review actions for a large solar farm project.
• Serve as locality Emergency Manager during major incidents, including incident commander for numerous Hurricane and Tropical Storms impacting the county. Led preparation, planning, response and recovery activities related to these events in the county EOC.
• Department was awarded 2 Virginia Association of Counties awards for the regional radio communication systems and rural EMS system development.
• Secured over $1 million dollars in cumulative grant funding leveraging FEMA SHSP and LEMPG grants, Virginia Office of EMS RSAF grants, and private funded grant programs in a 14 year period.
• Implemented the first regional Emergency Medical Dispatch integration with a Sheriff controlled dispatch staff center.
• Currently designing and in bid for the first county owned fire and EMS station. Led design phase and engaged in bid/negotiation phase
• Responsible for development and maintenance of the Emergency Operations Plan and Emergency Operations Center which operates in an ESF format.

The Middle Peninsula/Northern Neck Regional Radio System evolved as a vision to consolidate several standalone, disparate radio systems to improve operability and interoperability and save rural localities money in design, operations, and maintenance. It has developed into one of the largest regional radio systems in the Commonwealth of Virginia and offers state of the art communications capabilities that exceed the services available in many more urban localities due to its cooperative nature and cost sharing.

• As the visionary and leader, envision, designed and led 6 counties and their public safety stakeholders to create the largest central core regional radio system in Virginia as a cost effective operability and interoperability communications platform, standardizing emergency communications methods with modern P25 technology for law enforcement, fire, EMS, schools and local government operations
• Implemented robust security measures to reduce vulnerability risks significantly that lacked in prior systems.
• Achieved a significant cost savings for 6 localities through diligent vendor management and contract negotiations for hardware and software acquisitions. The current estimated total system cost to localities is $18 million, with an estimated savings achieved through regionalization effort of an estimated $17 million.
• Managed successful migration of 6 individual county legacy radio systems to a new platform, ensuring seamless integration and minimal disruption for roughly 2,500 users.
• Collaborated with elected officials and governing boards from 6 localities to negotiate memorandums of understanding and intergovernmental agreements
• Collaborated with cross-functional stakeholder teams to design cohesive communications systems, optimizing workflow and productivity.
• Evaluated competing technology solutions by conducting thorough research and analysis, ensuring informed decision-making in line with organizational goals.
• Provided technical support and guidance to users, fostering a strong customer-centric culture within the organization.
• Led training sessions on new applications, empowering an estimated 1,300 first responders to utilize technology effectively
• Developed new comprehensive documentation outlining standard operating procedures for system maintenance activities and operational standardization. In essence, created a region based communication plan standardizing nomenclature, channel use, and behaviors to maximize operational effectiveness.
• Negotiated several commercial contracts to achieve system goals on behalf of or with represented localities.

The Fairfax Fire and Rescue Academy is the largest training center in Virginia. It operates under delegated authority of the Commonwealth of Virginia for the ProBoard, conducts its own internal accredited EMT and Paramedic training certification program through the Commonwealth of Virginia, and routinely hosts training for regional partners at the local, state and federal level.

• Exercise general supervision of the Fire and Rescue Training Division as the Chief Training Officer for the fire and rescue department (FRD) responsible for the career and volunteer training, education and professional development of nearly 1,800 personnel
• Supervised the Basic Training Section (recruits), Field Training Section, EMS Training Section, Professional Development Training Section, and Volunteer Training Section consisting of 4 Battalion Chiefs
• Provide strategic direction to manage FRD facility resources including training props, burn buildings, facilities, and resources. Managed 4 live fire training facilities, completing over $500,000 in renovations. Acquired AFG grants to fund the addition of 3 Class B burn props the gas fired burn building.
• Participate, develop, and administer the organization’s strategic plan training goals and liaison with the Virginia Department of Fire Programs on instructional program development and content as a delegated certification authority manager.
• Innovated and restructured the recruit training program into a scenario based program designed to optimize Human Performance and psychology analysis. This training model is innovative and cutting edge, and enables recruits to experience and develop physical, mental and emotional skills to effectively perform fire ground tasks through shared leadership and avoid negative stress induced behaviors on emergency incidents
• Developed relationships with state and other local agencies and associations, leading to implementing a hands on live fire scenarios based training at the annual VFCA state conference. This innovation with Virginia Beach Fire and Henrico Fire resulted in a very successful engine, truck, EMS, and command level hands on scenario based conference training track.

• Manage the Fire Investigations Section supervising 14 fire investigation personnel in law enforcement and fire cause and origin determination. Acquired funding to implement needed tools and equipment to support safe fire scene investigations and collaborated with county police to facilitate firearms training and law enforcement continuing education programs.
• Supported the Office of Fire Marshal’s general operations as needed in inspections and prevention actions.
• Implemented, coordinated and developed a Fire Investigator training program with the ATF and FBI Washington Field Office to improve training opportunities with our fire investigators
• Engaged investigation results to support Community Risk Reduction initiatives for the community
• Led the department Field Command Staff analysis and recommendation restructure workgroup. The work of this group redesigned the departments operations command structure implementing an 8th battalion and second shift deputy chief to improve command and control for fire ground and firefighter safety. Serving as chair, collaborated and achieved success as a change agent.

• Manage, develop programs, and instruct field Operational Training Unit, Driver Training Unit, and Officer Development Training Unit.
• Implemented the fire department’s officer development and leadership training unit.
• Revamped and restructured the departments driver training program to require certification in NFPA 1002 DPO and ADO for all backup and subsequently full time assigned drivers.
• Re-designed the departments live fire program, to be NFPA 1402 and 1403 compliant and innovative in fuel load packages. Used lessons learned to serve on NFPA 1402 and 1403 (new 1400) as a NFPA committee member (current member)
• Created and led implementation of a command officer simulation center overhaul to be realistic to the operational response environment in the field, including vehicle seating and command post tools that replicate a battalion chiefs vehicle in the classroom setting
• Implemented a post IDLH field gross decontamination practice leveraging live fire training scenarios to reinforce application and use with field operations in an effort to reduce exposure to carcinogens from any form of firefighting.
• Worked with research entities such as NIST and UL on projects to innovate and better understand fire dynamics and the future of firefighting

• Station commander responsible for managing the fire station facility and an assigned crew of 10 personnel operating in the rapidly developing urban high-rise section of Fairfax County.
• Fire station facilities management responsibilities include equipment, maintenance and planning roles
• Special project responsibilities included implementing the first modern operational Tractor Drawn Aerial device in Fairfax County and developing and coordinating training for the entire fire and rescue department on the apparatus. Additionally designed a smaller engine company apparatus concept for urban applications, redesigned the cross-lay and hose concepts, engaged in implementing fire dynamic and fire behavior training. These resulted in multiple changes to the organizations operations.

• Shift leader responsible for managing an assigned crew of 10 personnel on an engine, truck and EMS transport.
• Collaborate with other shift leaders and station commander on assigned facility duties.
• Functioned as acting station commander (Captain II) October 2012-March 2013
• Evolved in leadership principles to enhancing and expanding application skills.
• Improved team performance through implementing measured drill and training competency evaluations for basic dressing and firefighter skills by 44%

• Collaborated with Battalion Chiefs, EMS captains, shift Safety officer, Field training officer, and assistant chief of operations to align shift operations with department standards.
• Acted as command aide during operational incidents, fulfilling roles such as planning officer, resource status officer, and safety officer as required.
• Experiences include multiple significant emergency Incidents with command post responsibilities, including multiple alarm fires, 3 firefighter mayday events, and several large loss extended operations events encompassing residential, commercial and high rise operations.
• Coordinate and notify senior command staff of injuries, significant events, etc. representing the Operations Deputy Chief
• Managed department resource deployment, training schedules and balanced and aligned resources to available time

• Developed strong leadership skills early in my career while serving as a mentor to new firefighters, fostering a culture of teamwork and professionalism within the department.
• Maintained optimal readiness for emergency situations by regularly participating in drills and training exercises.
• Improved and understood operational efficiency by helping maintain apparatuses, equipment, and facilities..
• Initiated EMS measures to alleviate further injury and prepared victims for transport to medical facilities.
• Participated in physical fitness and training programs to maintain preparedness and stamina for fire rescues.
• Educated the local community on fire safety practices through presentations at schools, businesses, and other public venues learning the importance and value of community outreach