Roundtable Talk - Serve Strong: The Importance of Firefighter Physicals

Chief Kline began his fire service career with the Goshen Fire Company (West Chester, PA) in 1977.  Kline completed his graduate studies at St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA) in 1992.  His Master’s thesis, “Developing an Incident Management System for the Volunteer Fire Service” would begin his journey in applied research.  His thesis would become the first of many studies Kline would undertake in his career.  A lifelong learner, he is a strong believer of applying research and metrics to solve complex, and challenging organizational challenges.

In 1992, Kline became the Fire Chief of the Plymouth (MN) Fire Department. His tenure is marked with a philosophy of continuous improvement and innovation resulting in a track record of progressive organizational growth and change. While with Plymouth, he completed the Executive Fire Officer program and is a credentialed Chief Fire Officer.  Chief Kline is passionate about risk reduction in the community as well as in the operational and occupational aspects of the fire service and his firefighters. 
During his tenure as fire chief, Kline chaired the Minnesota State Fire Chief Association’s Safety & Health Committee for nine years. A strong advocate of firefighter safety, health and wellness, he frequently researches, writes and presents on the subject.

Kline has developed several leading-edge programs focused upon improving firefighter safety on the fireground. Programs of note include, Commanding the 21st Century Firegound, The First 5-Minutes Determines the Next Five Hours, Everyone Goes Home; From Training Too! and Creating a Top Down Safety Culture have received critical acclaim from attendees. These, as well as other topics have been presented regionally and nationally to varied audiences.
Chief Kline retired from the Plymouth Fire Department in 2015, following 23-years of service. 

Dr. Hollerbach is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Development and Research Institutes-USA, Inc., (NDRI-USA). She recently received her Ph.D. in Kinesiology from Kansas State University. She works on studies being conducted by the Center for Fire, Rescue, and EMS Health Research and the Center for Military and Veteran’s Health Research. Her current work focuses on firefighter health and a military PTSD clinical trial. Brittany has been working on both military and firefighter projects with NDRI throughout graduate school. She has an interest in firefighter health in general and female firefighter health specifically, given her background as a former firefighter. She also has experience teaching at the fire academy and is well-connected to the fire service community in Kansas City. Dr. Hollerbach also has extensive experience working with the fire service on a number of federally funded firefighter studies.  

Dan Kerrigan is a 36-year veteran of the fire and emergency services profession, serving in positions from firefighter through fire chief, emergency management director and fire marshal. He is a results-focused leader with diversified experience and progressive responsibility within the fire service, EMS, and emergency management industry operating in all-hazards public safety agencies of varying complexity coupled with expertise in creating, implementing, and delivering Emergency Planning and Crisis Management training curriculums. He is highly skilled at utilizing proven methodologies to significantly enhance understanding and generate confident and motivated teams. He possess a keen eye for analyzing current systems and targeting areas of improvement to update existing programs in order to create more efficient operations. He is recognized for customizing learning curriculum for leaders and professionals to better develop skillsets and able to support individuals and teams to think more creatively, communicate more effectively, and deliver more innovative results.

An accomplished writer and public speaker, he is co-author of the bestselling book Firefighter Functional Fitness, a member of the IAFC-SHS Board of Directors, & international speaker on firefighter health and wellness, strategic planning, and public safety leadership.

Kerrigan earned his graduate degree in Executive Fire Service Leadership from Grand Canyon University. He holds an undergraduate degree in Community and Human Services from Empire State College and is a credentialed Executive Fire Officer (EFO) through the United States Fire Administration (USFA), a credentialed Chief Fire Officer (CFO), a Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and holds the Pennsylvania Professional Emergency Manager certification. He is also a certified WFI Peer Fitness Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor through ACE. He works closely with national and International organizations in advocacy and leadership roles to improve fire, EMS and emergency management delivery and has extensive experience in collaborating with local, state, and federal officials to improve all facets of emergency services delivery in the U.S, with specific expertise in responder health and wellness.