Owner Pat Shreffler has been a first responder since 1969, starting as a Firefighter with the US Forest Service. He has had several career paths that has given him a truly all hazard and training back ground. This background also included being a responder to many disastrous events where lives and or large property losses took place. 

Because of being involved with close calls and a fatality fires during the beginning of Pat's career he realized our fire behavior training was inadequate. Pat began researching entrapments and fire behavior, discovering localized fire behavior phenomenon that caused entrapments not included in the standard training. He became aware of how important it is to use the lessons of the past from actual events to help the students apply the information to real life. Pat has been obsessed to pass this information along and began teaching at USFS regional training sessions in 1974 and has continued  researching and improving his instruction every since.

Pat's USFS career took him to many positions and forests in CA. Including an assignment at USFS North Zone Training in Redding CA. Pat's last assignment with the USFS was at Kernville, Ca as AFMO and BC for the suppression resources. 

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Pat retired from the USFS and began his next career of 20 years with the Kern Co Fire and Forestry Department (KRN). A truly all hazard department. KRN protects many cities and urban areas, oil fields, refineries, petrochemical facilities, agricultural and food processing facilities. KRN also contracts the protection of State Forestry's Responsibility Wildland areas within Kern Co.  KRN operates Type 3 & 6 Engines, Wildland Hand Crews, Dozers and Helitack Crews and a prescribed fire burn program. KRN also staffs a Hazmat Team, Urban S&R, Swift water rescue, ARRF, Ladder Trucks, Engine Companies and oil fire resources. After close calls involving these responses Pat became just a driven to improve all hazard response training.  Pat became a KRN Training Officers responsible for ICS, Wildland Fire, Hazmat, Oil Fire and Aircraft Fire Rescue Training. Pat became one of the early Hazmat Tech Spec Instructors and worked to develop the 3rd CSTI hazmat training facility in the State of Ca. at Bakersfield City and Kern Counties Olive Drive Fire Training Facility.  Pat is certified to teach many CA.SFT courses and by CSTI for FRO, IC and Hazmat Technician. While serving as a Training officer with KRN in 1993 Pat lead the development of the KRN Wildland Fire Qualification System in cooperation with the USFS and BLM which led to the first adoption of the Red Card System by local Government. Pat then worked with Cal TO's and OES in the development of the State Qualification system for wildland fire.

 

During both careers Pat worked on Incident Management Teams and spent 22 years on IMTs, 9 years on National Type 1 Teams. Pat was Red Carded as an OPS, SOFR, STL Engine, Crew & Dozer, SITL. Pat also served as a Burn Boss on RX burns for KRN and as a Fire Behavior Specialist on KRN and CDF teams.

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After retiring from KRN in 2004 Pat became Posey Volunteer Fire Chief for a few years before the development of Tulare Co FD. Pat continues to serve as a Extra Help Engineer (volunteer) with the Tulare Co FD. Pat, with several associates, formed EMC in 2004.  EMC clients have been government agencies, oil and agricultural companies . Pat has developed training programs for DHS, EMI, EPA, Ca SFT , many other government agencies, oil Industry and agricultural industries. Pat has been a presenter at Fire Rescue West, Firehouse World, Ca. Training Officers Symposium.

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All of EMC's associates have All Hazard Response careers that have taken them on responses involving all types of emergencies and disasters. All have served on IMT's and have been involved in development of training programs and incident response planning.  become involved in t that have cost lives. All share the passion to make responders more effective and safe. Many of our associates have also become Wildland Fire Behavior Specialists, Fire Behavior Analysts and Prescribed Fire Burn Bosses.