NVFC Roundtable Talk - Mentorship in the Fire Service: Building Stronger Members and Departments

Joe Maruca was appointed chief of the West Barnstable (MA) Fire Department in 2005.  Prior to 2005 he served as a volunteer firefighter/EMT, lieutenant and captain for the West Barnstable Fire Department for 10 years, and had 18 years of prior service as a volunteer firefighter with the Sandwich Fire Department and Longmeadow Fire Department.  Chief Maruca is an attorney.  He has his BA in Business Administration from Boston University’s Questrom School of Management and a BS in Fire Department Administration from SUNY Empire State College.  He is a member of the NVFC Board of Directors, serves as chair of the FCAM Call/Volunteer Chief Committee, and is chair of the NFPA 1917 Technical Committee on Ambulances.

Dr. Candice McDonald is the Chief of Protective Services at the NASA John Glenn Research Center. She is also an adjunct professor with the University of Arkansas. She is a member of the Fire Engineering/FDIC Advisory Board, volunteer with the Winona Fire Department, and past president of the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firefighters Association. She holds an associate degree in health and human services, a bachelor’s degree in organizational management, a master’s degree in organizational leadership, and a doctorate in business administration with a specialty in homeland security. She is a certified firefighter, EMT, inspector, fire life and safety educator, and fire & emergency services instructor. 

Dr. Denis Onieal was the senior career federal fire official in the Federal government. Prior to that he served as Superintendent of the National Fire Academy. He began his career in the Jersey City Fire Department, rising through the ranks from firefighter to chief, leading a uniformed force of 650 firefighters and officers. He spent his entire time "in the street" as a line firefighter and officer, including 15 years on the city’s two busiest ladder companies as a firefighter, lieutenant and captain.

He earned a Doctorate in Education from New York University and taught in the doctorate program there for 5 years.  Beginning on Sept. 12, 2001, he led the USFA’s team at the World Trade Center, working behind the scenes to help the New York City Fire Department re-establish their systems of command, control and on-site communications. In 2005, he was sent to Atlanta, Georgia, to lead the in-processing, training and dispatch of 4,000 firefighters to assist in the response to Hurricane Katrina.  He served in leadership roles in almost every national disaster.

He serves on the Board of the National Fire Protection Association and the International Fire Service Training Association.  He is a life member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

TIGER SCHMITTENDORF served as Deputy Fire Coordinator for the County of Erie Department Homeland Security & Emergency Services (Buffalo NY) for more than 20 years before retiring in 2018. There he was responsible for the recruitment, training, and mutual aid operations of 97 fire departments and 6,000+ firefighters. He is a Nationally Certified Fire Instructor and has actively served as a firefighter with the Evans Center Volunteer Fire Company in Angola NY since 1980, having served as Chief of Training, Public Information Officer (PIO), Recruiter and as his department's first-ever junior firefighter. He brings 15 years of experience in engineering, sales, marketing and management to now marketing the product he loves: fire and emergency services. Connect with him at: tiger.schmittendorf@gmail.com, via FireRECRUITER.com, RuntotheCurb.com, SoldierFirefighter.com, or on social media.