Emergency Vehicle Safe Operations

Don Cox has served as a firefighter/paramedic for over 40 years in Iowa, Wisconsin and Florida. He served as the Fire Chief for the City of West Des Moines, Iowa and the Town of Menasha, Wisconsin.  Don served with the City of Seminole Fire Rescue in Seminole, Florida for ten years as the training officer. He holds a Master’s degree in Adult Education from Iowa State University; is an Executive Fire Officer with the National Fire Academy and holds designations as Chief Fire Officer and Chief Training Officer with the Center for Public Safety Excellence. He currently is a full-time Education Specialist with VFIS and a member of the NVFC.

David Michaels currently is the Vice President of Education, Training and Consulting with VFIS. In this role, David is responsible for the training education and consulting services provided to VFIS clients.   His organization provides training to over 20,000 fire/ems personnel annually.  He has over 34 years of fire service experience including volunteer and career. Prior to joining VFIS, David spent 28 years with the York City Fire Department in York, PA retiring in 2019 as the Fire Chief.  David obtained a Bachelor’s degree from York College of Pennsylvania and his Master’s degree from Grand Canyon University.  David is also a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. 

David holds numerous nationally recognized certifications including Fire Inspector, Fire Instructor, and Fire Officer. He is also a certified EMT and Building Code Official

David is associated with professional organizations including the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association, IAFC, the NVFC, Pennsylvania Association of Fire Code Officials, and NFPA. 

David is a former Executive Board member of the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association and currently serves on the board of the Pennsylvania Fire and Emergency Services Institute He also is a member of the Congressional Fire Services Institute’s National Advisory Committee.