Executive Committee
Chairperson - Rick Brown
Rick Brown has over 32 years experience in the fire service, including 30 years of Hazmat response with Toronto Fire Services. He is also experienced with spill response contractors, working part time with numerous companies, starting over 23 years ago. Rick has been sharing his knowledge, through facilitation of instructional programs to all disciplines of emergency services, industry and commercial organizations.
He can be reached at:
Vice Chair - Steve Clark
Steve is an Acting Captain, and member of his departments Hazardous Materials team. Previous to that, he worked in the private sector as a responder for a national spill response contractor. Steve has been in the fire service for over 10 years, and has taught, written, and spoken on Hazardous materials topics internationally.
He can be reached at:
Paramedic Branch Director - Daniel Stein
Dan is currently an Advanced Care Paramedic on York Region’s Special Response Unit. He has been on this specialized team for over 2 years and has taken on the role as the teams Hazardous Materials and CBRNE specialist. Prior to this, he has worked as a Paramedic for both York Region and the County of Simcoe over the past 8 years. He continues to expand on his knowledge base with advanced training in Hazmat and CBRNE life support.
He can be reached at:
Fire Branch Director - Phil Fujimoto
Phil has served with the Hamilton Fire Department for over 10 years. He is an Acting Captain and serves as the department's HazMat Response Team Coordinator and chairs the Hazmat Committee. He has been a recruit and shift instructor in HazMat for several years.
Phil has served on the Ontario Fire Marshall's NFPA 1072 Provincial Advisory Committee and is a lead evaluator for the Ontario Fire College.
Police Branch Director - Andy Olesen
With 30 years in law enforcement, Andy has developed a wide range of practical and operational experience.
Serving as team / program leader for units such as, CBRNE, Ground Search and Rescue, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (drone) among others. Andy has been responsible for maintaining operational readiness and capabilities for a large urban area.
Andy has also served for many years as the chairperson for an emergency services committee of police, fire, paramedic, and regional emergency service planners, responsible for planning and preparing coordinated event response to a large urban centre.
I look forward to working with OHMRA and the emergency responder community
He can be reached at:
Designated Officer Branch Director - Alexis Silverman
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Alexis Silverman began her career in infection control while working with Toronto Paramedic Services during SARS.
After witnessing the physical and emotional toll of those events on local Paramedics, she focused her career on infection prevention and control for Emergency Service workers. After a brief sojourn working as an infection control professional with Toronto General Hospital, she moved to the Region of Peel Public Health Department and held a position as an Infection Control Specialist. Due to her background working with Toronto EMS, she was asked to develop the Designated Officer program for the Emergency Services in the Region of Peel, which caused her to work so frequently with Peel Police that they hired her directly in 2012.
After six years as the first Occupational Health Nurse for Peel Police, Alexis took on the position of Advisor, Culture and Engagement for Peel Paramedic Services. In this pioneering role, she supports the implementation of the CSA Psychological Health and Safety Standards for Paramedic Services and is active in helping to improve employee engagement and corporate culture.
Alexis is the chair of the Designated Officers’ Branch of the OHMRA whose mandate is to help mitigate and prevent exposures of Ontario’s Emergency Service Workers to communicable diseases. Her work on infection prevention and control in Emergency Services has been presented at conferences and workshops throughout Canada. Outside of work, Alexis is married to a Critical Care Paramedic and has three beautiful children.
She can be reached at:
Secretary - Bob Burland
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Robert is 12 year veteran with Toronto Fire Services focusing his career for the past 5 years as a Hazmat Tech. Prior to joining TFS, he spent many years in the chemical manufacturing, teaching and wilderness survival industries. Robert is passionate about the safety aspect surrounding emergency services.
He can be reached at:
Membership Director - Jake Herring
Jake has 20 years of both volunteer and career firefighting experience coupled with a desire to learn as much as possible about all aspects of emergency service work. He is currently a Fire Department Training Officer, in which he deals with many aspects of the Hazmat team.
He can be reached at:
Media Relations - Larry Thorne
Larry is a Fire Buff and member of the Greater Toronto Multiple Alarm Association, which operates Toronto Fire's Canteen (Support 7) in 2009.
Larry is well known and respected by the Fire Family around the world, as well as by local Police and EMS services.
Media Relations - Adam McFadden
Adam McFadden has been a career firefighter for the past 8 years, and has been a hazmat technician for over 13 years. He is currently part of the City of Toronto Joint Task Force for Hazmat and CBRNE Response, and also participates on the Toronto Fire Services Hazardous Materials Operations Deployment Committee. He serves as a shift training instructor for Hazmat. Adam has experience in the industrial sector teaching industrial safety, emergency spill preparedness, fire and medical response and has spoken at various industrial safety events across the province. Adam has completed courses in Hazardous Materials Cargo Tank Car Specialist Training, with the Michigan State Police Academy and is also the Owner and Director of Firehouse Training, based out of Fergus, Ontario