Management/Leadership Team - Deputy Chief of Operation - Glenn P. Jirka

Deputy Chief Glenn Jirka assumed responsibility for the Operations Division of the Miami Township Division of Fire and EMS on 30 June 2003.

Chief Jirka began his fire service career with the Savoy, IL Fire Department in 1990. There, Jirka rapidly progressed through the ranks serving as a Fire Fighter, Engineer and Captain before being promoted to Assistant Chief. During this same period, Jirka served first as a Structural Burn Assistant and then as a Field Instructor for the Illinois Fire Service Institute where he taught in the industrial fire training, live fire training, breathing apparatus specialist and hazardous materials response programs.

In 1996, Jirka accepted a position with the University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute, Missouri’s state fire training system.  Jirka was initially stationed in the St. Louis metropolitan area where he served primarily in the industrial emergency response training program. He was later transferred to the Institute’s main office in Columbia, MO where he assumed responsibility for the hazardous materials and counter terrorism training programs as the program manager. Jirka later assumed responsibility for the Institute’s live fire training program. Chief Jirka also held an appointment as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering with the

                                                        University of Missouri-Columbia.

During his tenure in Missouri, Jirka also served the St. Charles Fire Protection District and then the Boone County (MO) Fire District as a Fire Fighter, Lieutenant, and then as a Division Chief. He also served Missouri Task Force One (MO TF-1) Urban Search and Rescue Team, a division of Boone County Fire Protection District, as the Hazardous Materials Lead for the team. Jirka served with MO TF-1 during the World Trade Center disaster from 11 September through 21 September 2001.

Jirka briefly served in the power generation sector, serving as the Senior Environmental and Safety Engineer for the University of Missouri Energy Management. At Energy Management, Jirka was responsible for safety programs and environmental compliance for the power generation facilities, potable water, power and steam distribution systems, and potable water production facilities.

Chief Jirka is active professionally at the local, state, and national level. He currently serves as Chairman of the National Fire Protection Association’s Hazardous Materials Protective Clothing and Equipment Technical Committee (http://www.nfpa.org) and as a member of the NFPA Fire and Emergency Services Protective Clothing Technical Correlating Committee. Jirka is a member of the InterAgency Board for Equipment Standardization and Interoperability where he serves as the State and Local Co-Chair for the Standards Coordination Committee. Jirka also serves as a member of the West Virginia High Technology Foundation’s Emergency Response Technology Program advisory board (http://www.htfwo.org/ertProgram) and on the Editorial Advisory Board for Advanced Rescue Technology Magazine.

Chief Jirka previously served on the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) (http://www.ifsta.org) Hazardous Materials Operations and Technician Committees; and the National Fire Service Incident Management Consortium Model Procedures Group (http://www.ims-consortium.com).

Jirka has been published in several professional journals including Advanced Rescue Technology and Fire Chief; and authored several chapters in compilation works including and a chapter in the NFPA/IAFC Fire Fighter Skills, the Science and Technology of Terrorism and Counter Terrorism, and the National Safety Council’s upcoming release of Training Public Sector Employees as well as numerous articles in peer reviewed chemical science journals. He has also presented as an invited speaker at many conferences and meetings.