Webinar - When the Smoke Clears: A Primer of Fire Service Retirement

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.