DR. HARRY ROBERT CARTER, CFO, MIFireE – CURRICULUM VITAE
Post Office Box 100
Adelphia, New Jersey 07710-0100
Home (732) 431-1639
Cell (848) 207-1694
drharrycarter@optonline.net
EDUCATION
2005 Doctor of Philosophy – Business – Organization and Management
Capella University, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Achieved a 4.0 academic average. Dissertation is entitled: Member Retention in the Volunteer Fire Service: An Analysis of the Impact of Leadership. Findings centered on ways in which to improve retention in the volunteer fire service.
1984 Doctor of Philosophy – Fire Service Administration
Western States University for Professional Studies, Doniphan, MO; a licensed, non-traditional, non-regionally accredited , distance-learning doctoral program
1979 Master of Arts – Public Policy Analysis
Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey
1976 Bachelor of Science – Fire Safety Administration (Magna Cum Laude)
Jersey City State College, Jersey City, New Jersey
1975 Bachelor of Arts – Social Sciences
Edison State College, Trenton, New Jersey
1971 Associate of Arts – Business Administration
Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, New Jersey
EXPERIENCE
1980-Present Municipal Fire Protection Consultant
Municipal fire protection consultant, specializing in community fire risk analysis, fire department master planning, fire department operations, apparatus, and fire department deployment studies.
Have developed fire department operational programs for rural, suburban and urban clients. Member of the New Jersey State Fire Training and Education Subcommittee of the State Fire Commission. Wrote the final project report of the New Jersey Planning Council for Fire Education and Training during their federal grant program studying the training network in New Jersey.
Completed a study of the impact of the PEOSHA Respiratory Protection Standard for the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety. Participant – National Fire Police Summit. Conducted a shared service study in 2008. Have taught management, leadership, budgeting, fire fighting, staffing & funding, team building, and communications seminars in the United States and Canada. Serve as a frequent keynote speaker at conferences and seminars in the U.S. and Canada. Periodically serve as an expert witness in fire-related court matters. Perform apparatus, as well as management studies.
2008-2012 Adjunct Faculty
Capella University, Minneapolis, MN
Served as an adjunct faculty member in the Public Safety Program. Designed and implanted a doctoral fire concentration, and created the requisite courses. Served as a mentor for doctoral candidates.
2000-Present Editor
Respondersafety.com
Serve as the editor for a non-profit website dealing with issues involving highway safety for emergency responders.
2000-Present Fire Commissioner and Board Chairman
Chairman – Board of Fire Commissioners, District #2 Howell Township, New Jersey.
Serve as a Fire Commissioner and board chairman. Review and approve budgets, and expenditures. Provide fiscal oversight and professional guidance. Our district has lowered its annual budget to our 2007 level and have lowered the tax rate as well.
1999-2002 Associate Professor (Non-Tenure Track)
Mercer County Community College
Served as an adjunct faculty member in the Fire Science program.
1973-1999 Battalion Fire Chief / Division Commander (Retired)
Fire Department of the City of Newark, New Jersey
Served as Commander of the Training Division for a 735-member metropolitan fire department. Responsible for all aspects of instructional delivery and training in fire department. Also served as Hazardous Materials Response Division Commander. Served as Commanding Officer in the First Battalion District. Formerly commanded the Fifth Battalion District in the suppression division. Served as Executive Officer for the Community Relations Division. Assisted in the design of a new fire training academy and a new downtown fire station.
Periodically acted as Deputy Chief and City-Wide Incident Commander, supervising 110-120 Fire Personnel. Periodically served as an Administrative Assistant to Fire Director Stanley J. Kossup. Conducted municipal research projects for inter-municipal consolidation studies. Acted in the capacity of Chief Fire Inspector in the Fire Prevention Division, as well as Battalion Chief in the 1st and 3rd Battalion Districts. Served as recruit training instructor and curriculum development coordinator in the Training Division and as back-up officer to the Safety and Hazardous Materials Chiefs. Served as a Special Project Officer in the Office of the Fire Chief. Conducted special post-fire investigation program.
Developed the database for a computer-assisted station relocation program. Developed department-wide MBO programmatic-objectives, as well as the departmental capital budget projections for 1991-1995, while assigned to the Planning Division. Supervised 20 fire inspectors and developed a new violations processing program for the Fire Prevention Division. Also conducted plan reviews and field approval inspections for major industrial, mercantile and institutional occupancies. Supervised up to 35 firefighters while serving as Battalion Chief and up to 140 firefighters as an Acting Deputy Chief in the Firefighting Division. Operated at a diverse range of firefighting incidents in residential, commercial, industrial occupancies. Created high-rise firefighting training program for city.
1971-Present Chaplain, Past Fire Chief, Past Training Officer, Life Member
Adelphia Fire Company, Adelphia, New Jersey
Served as the Fire Chief in 1991. Served as the Training Officer for the company, an active suburban volunteer unit from 1977-1990. Designed and implemented a company training program. Updated company personnel and training record systems. Help to deliver public education to the local school system. Currently serve as an Active Life Member, responding to emergencies district-wide Received Medal of Valor from Monmouth County for lifesaving actions taken in 1987. Received unit citation bar from Monmouth County for a team rescue at a firefighting operation in 2004 and a team well rescue in 2005. Public Relations Officer 1977-1987.
1972-1973 Firefighter/Relief Driver
Rahway Fire Department, Rahway, New Jersey
1970-1972 School Bus Driver/Union President
Freehold Regional High School Board of Education, Freehold, New Jersey. First president of the bus driver’s union.
1964-Present First Aid Squad Member
Honorary Member of the Freehold First Aid Squad. Formerly a regular member. Operated at diverse emergency, rescue and extrication incidents from 1964-1976 as an active and associate member.
1977-1981 College Instructor and Program Coordinator
Ocean County College, Toms River, New Jersey
Planned, designed and implemented a community college fire science degree program from inception through state approval. Taught courses in management, building codes, firefighting, hazardous materials and fire prevention. Served as the first part-time Program Coordinator in college history.
1983-1993 Adjunct Faculty Member
Former member of the adjunct faculty of the National Fire Academy, Emmitsburg, Maryland. Taught courses in organizational design and executive development and communications. Taught courses in municipal fire risk analysis and community fire defense system development and hazardous materials response.
MILITARY SERVICE
1966-1970 United States Air Force Fire Department
Served as a Fire Protection Specialist in Alaska, the Philippines, Vietnam and Arkansas. Served in all operational positions up to Station Captain. Graduate of the U.S. Air Force Firefighting School at Chanute, Air Force Base in Illinois. Worked in Crash/Fire Rescue, as well as in structural fire fighting and fire prevention. Awarded USAF Commendation Medal for services in Vietnam as fire department communications supervisor.
1976-1991 New Jersey Army National Guard
Served as State Fire Marshal for the New Jersey Army National Guard. Planned, developed, and implemented a three-tiered fire safety inspection program for all state and federal facilities used by the National Guard. Acted as a consultant on matters of fire protection to the Adjutant General of New Jersey. Awarded the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal for programmatic achievement in the field of military fire prevention and life safety. Completed my military service in U.S. Army Reserve as Adjutant of the 1182nd Reinforcement Training Unit, at Kilmer Reserve Center in Edison. Received the Meritorious Service Medal for outstanding service in that position. Retired from active service in the reserve in 1996. Served in the Inactive Army Reserve (IRR) until 2007.
MILITARY EDUCATION
1979-1991 During service as an officer in the New Jersey Army National Guard, the following educational courses were completed or undertaken as part of my military professional education program.
Adjutant General Corps Officer Basic Course
Completed over 300 hours of management, administration, leadership, and military specialty courses to prepare an officer for duty as an administrative staff officer.
Corps of Engineers Officer Advanced Course
Completed over 350 hours of engineering courses in such topics as civil engineering, field project construction procedures, and building construction methods, which prepare an engineer officer to function in any possible military engineering role.
U.S. Army Command and General Staff Course
Enrolled in this upper-level military educational program that is designed to prepare an officer to function in high-level positions of great responsibility. Completed nearly half prior to retirement.
PUBLISHED WORKS
Authored more than 2,500 articles in such magazines as Firehouse, Fire Command, Fire Engineering, Fire Chief, Chief Fire Executive, Pennsylvania Fireman, Emergency Service News, First Responder News, The Voice, and American Fire Journal.
Published four texts for the International Society of Fire Service Instructors: Managing Fire Service Finances, Understanding Fire Behavior, and Strategic Planning for Fire Protection, and Tactics in Fire Service Management. Served as Co-author of the second edition of Management in the Fire Service, 2nd ed., an internationally recognized text, for the National Fire Protection Association. Published two books in 2007: Living My Dream and Leadership a View From the Trenches. A management text published by Lyons Publishing Company in 2002, entitled, It’s All About Me. Firefighting Strategy and Tactics was published by the International Fire Service Training Association in December 1998.
Management in the Fire Service, 3rd edition, was published by the NFPA in July of 1999. Management in the Fire Service, 4th edition was published in December 2007. Wrote three chapters and performed technical editing on the new Jones and Bartlett text entitled Chief Fire Officer which was published in August of 2011. Serve as Contributing Editor for Firehouse and Pennsylvania Fireman magazines. A former National Correspondent for the First Responder News. Serve as the senior featured front-page columnist for Firehouse.com. Former Contributing Editor for The International Fire Buyer -Great Britain. Published two e-books in 2012 which are entitled Running a Volunteer Fire Department and The Fireman’s Prayer Book.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
1976-Present International Society of Fire Service Instructors, Stafford, Virginia
Life Member and former President of ISFSI. Past President of the New Jersey Chapter of the Society. Former Treasurer and Board of Directors Member for the New Jersey Chapter.
Delivered the Keynote Address at the 1999 ISFSI Fall Conference. Served as a main program speaker at the 1979 Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Memphis, Tennessee. Conducted seminars and workshops at the 1980-1983 Memphis conferences. Served as a Main Program Speaker at the 1987, 1988, 1992, and 1993 conferences in Cincinnati.
Served as a workshop speaker at the FDIC on a wide range of topics from 1980 to 1997. Served as a Featured Program Speaker for 1997. Workshop presenter for the FDIC 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, and 2008 in Indianapolis. Received the ISFSI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.
1969-Present The National Fire Protection Association, Quincy Massachusetts
Life Member of association. Member of the Instructor Professional Qualifications technical committee. Former member technical committees on Fire Service Training, Hazardous Chemicals, and Protection of Cultural Resources. Charter Member of the Member Advisory Council, serving from 1975-1990. Charter Member of the Fire Service Section.
Selected by Former President Robert Grant to serve on the Paul Lamb Award Committee, which chooses the recipient of the association’s top award for lifetime service in 1980 and 1981.Guest Speaker at the NFPA Headquarters dedication in 1981. Spoke at 1981 Dallas Annual Meeting.
1997-Present International Association of Fire Chiefs
Active Member of this professional association for Chief Fire Officers
1998-Present Institution of Fire Engineers, Great Britain (MIFireE)
President of the American Branch. Elected to active status as a Fellow in this international fire protection engineering association. Delivered papers on the practical application of municipal fire risk analysis methodology at the International Deployment Conferences in 1999 and 2000.
2000-Present New Jersey Association of Fire Districts
Served as President of this association from 2009-2011 which represents fire districts in the State of New Jersey.
OTHER INTERESTS
2003-Present Colts Neck Reformed Church, Colts Neck , New Jersey
Member of this active suburban religious congregation. Called to accept a Deacon’s position on the church consistory. Formerly played tuba in the church musical ensemble. Also serve as an usher.
1997-Present Ocean Lodge #89 Free and Accepted Masons
Member and former lodge officer for this ancient and honorable fraternal organization. Past Master of the Lodge in 2004.
1973-Present Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 4374, Freehold, New Jersey
Life Member of our local VFW unit.
1994-Present Amateur Musician
Tuba player for the Greater Shore Concert Band, the Atlantic Wind Ensemble, and the Colorful Winds ensemble.
HONORS
2012 Elected as a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers of Great Britain.
2012 Selected as Graduate of the Decade of the 1970’s by the Thomas A. Edison College Foundation.
2011 Received a Service Award from the New Jersey Association of Fire Districts for my term as President of the organization.
2010 Elected to Life Member status by the International Society of Fire Service Instructors.
2006 Named to the 2007-2008 edition of Who’s Who in America.
2006 Named to the 2007-2008 edition of Who’s Who in the World, published by the Marquis Publishing Company.
2006 Named to the 2007-2008 edition of Who’s Who in the East, published by the Marquis Publishing Company. Recognized as such since 1993.
2005 Received the 2005 President’s Award from the New Jersey Deputy Fire Chief’s Association for my work in the American Fire Service.
2004 Received Life Member status from the National Fire Protection Association, Quincy, Massachusetts.
2003 Received Chief Fire Officer Designation from the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Re-qualified in 2006, 2009 and 2012.
2003 Received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Fire Service Instructors
2000 Named an Honorary Life Member of the Delaware State Fire Chief’s Association.
1999
Named an Honorary Citizen of the Province of Nova Scotia for outstanding service to the Nova Scotia Firefighter’s School in Waverly, Nova Scotia, Canada.
1976 International Association of Fire Chiefs
Scholarship for professional and academic excellence
1975
International Association of Fire Chiefs
Scholarship for professional and academic excellence
PERSONAL DATA
Married with three grown children. References available upon request.