The National Park Service Division of Fire and Aviation is pleased to announce the selection of Harold (Hal) L. Spencer as the new Branch Chief of Structural Fire for the National Park Service.
Hal’s new position as Structural Fire Branch Chief will not be a big move for him. His office will be located at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, the same location he has been working since 2001 as a Structural Fire Training and Education Specialist and more recently as the National Structure Fire and Facilities Liaison.
Mike Wallace, the Division Chief for NPS Fire and Aviation stated, “Hal is extremely qualified and well suited for this position with over two decades of experience working as a wildland and structural firefighter for the Department of the Interior. We’re pleased to have him on board as the Branch Chief.”
Hal began his firefighting career as a seasonal wildland and structural firefighter in Yosemite National Park in 1980. Since then, he has also held firefighting positions with the Bureau of Land Management and at Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
In 1992, Hal started working at Golden Gate National Recreation Area and soon after achieved the rank of Captain in Structural Fire. After three years working as a Structural Fire Captain, Hal began work as a Fire Protection Inspector for the National Park Service. This position required an in depth knowledge of and the ability to interpret and enforce fire and life safety codes and standards. In addition to his inspector duties, Hal simultaneously detailed as the Emergency Services Coordinator for Golden Gate NRA.
Hal spoke of his time as Fire Protection Inspector saying, “My experience as a fire protection inspector was particularly rewarding because I believed I was assisting the park move from a reaction and response mode to a more proactive way of doing business. It was very rewarding working with so many different organizations and people that were all committed to reaching the same end goal.”
In March 2000, Hal became the first National Structure Fire Training & Education Officer at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. In this position, he developed and delivered training and educational programs to assist parks meet their structure fire responsibilities. In 2004, Hal detailed into the position of National Structure Fire and Facilities Liaison with the primary responsibility of integrating key elements of the structure fire program with Facilities Management Software Systems (FMSS). As a result, of this detail, the National Park Service has a Service wide and standardized fire and life safety building inspection program fully integrated with FMSS. Hal oversaw the completion of this project in September 2006.
As the new Branch Chief of Structural Fire for the National Park Service Hal states, “I look forward to sustaining the momentum and continuing the work that we have accomplished in this program for the past 10 years. Working with my colleagues in the regions and the field, we will forge ahead to ‘institutionalize’ a structure fire prevention program for the NPS to protect the nation’s heritage."
The Structural Fire Branch works with various interdisciplinary and interagency partners to fulfill the National Park Service mission of protecting and preserving America’s heritage. For additional information about the National Park Service's Structural Fire Program, please visit www.nps.gov/fire/fire/fir_structural.cfm.
Contact: Roberta D'Amico, NPS Fire Communications and Education, National Program Lead
Phone: (208) 387-5239 |
