Blue Card International Lead Trainers

77bed7e43baa32a24220c7caaf5025a7

MICHAEL (TODD) NIXON

Platoon Chief, Strathcona County Emergency Services (Alberta, Canada) has been a career member and full-time “student” of the fire service for 28 years with a total of more than 32 years of fire service training and response experience. He has degrees in fire science, fire service administration and adult education. He has been a career officer for the past 19 years working on Engine (squad), Aerial and Rescue Company assignments prior to promoting to the rank of Platoon Chief.

Todd holds several IFSAC/NBFSPQ Certifications including NFPA 1001, NFPA 1002, NFPA 1021, NFPA 1031, NFPA 1033, NFPA 1041, NFPA 1521, and is a Lead Instructor for Blue Card Command in Canada. He is currently the International Director for ISFSI and a member of the FIRE-FKTP International project for fire dynamics. He has developed curriculum for NFPA 1001 and NFPA 1021 fire programs as well as authored numerous training programs and research documents related to incident command, rapid intervention, fire behavior and tactical ventilation operations and presented lectures and hands on training related to those subjects across the United States, Canada and Mexico. His training philosophy is founded on learning from the past and incorporating the present science and technology to prepare firefighters for the future.

fb3c22ebafec15803860b499fd853382

PAUL ACTON

For the past 32 years, Paul Acton has worked in Police and Fire Emergency Services for the industrial border city of Windsor, Ontario, the last 25 years of which have been with Windsor Fire and Rescue Services. Paul has served in the Operations and Training Divisions as an Assistant Chief of Operations and currently serves as the Chief Training Officer. Throughout his tenure, he has held various positions including Safety Officer, Sector Officer and Incident Commander.

He has responded to hundreds of fires and other emergencies for the past 11 years as part of a Command Team, and has delivered company officer and chief officer promotional classes since 2004.

Paul has also conducted incident command, emergency management and communications related training in Canada, USA, and internationally. He shares his common-sense approach to strategic and tactical level decision-making, which is based on the principles of safety, risk management, and capability based planning in high stress, emergency situations.

In October 2009, at the first Canadian Blue Card Train-the-Trainer, Paul was certified as a Blue Card Instructor. He is one of the lead Canadian Blue Card instructors, and passionately shares his knowledge and experience with the others, in an effort to ensure that all firefighters go home at the end of each shift.

53b5c30af07243cb3e68455a270b59e3

STEVEN KRAFT

Steven Kraft is in his 27th year as member of Richmond Hill Fire & Emergency Services, Ontario, Canada, and currently holds the position of Fire Chief. He has completed the Certificate in Fire Service Leadership though Dalhousie University. He is a graduate of the Fire Protection Technologist course through the Ontario Fire College, he holds his Certificate in Municipal Management and he has completed his Masters Certificate in Municipal Leadership through Schulich School of Business.

Steve has been published in Fire Engineering and Fire Fighting in Canada. Steve was the keynote speaker at FDIC 2012 where he took the big stage in front of 5000 firefighters. He continues to lecture across Canada, teaching Blue Card Command and Officer Development courses.