Operations of an organization such as The Center for Campus Fire Safety Center are a team effort – and we are fortunate to have a leadership team made up of well known and nationally respected leaders in the area of campus fire safety. These dedicated professionals provide a wealth of experience, knowledge and expertise that is unmatched anywhere and they are responsible for the oversight and operations of The Center for Campus Fire Safety.
Learn more about the Officers, Board members and headquarters staff, their experience and their roles within The Center:
Justin Daniels is the Fire Marshal, at the University of Oklahoma – Norman Campus. Justin started working in the fire marshal’s office at the University of Oklahoma in February 2002. He worked as a fire safety technician, helping recharge fire extinguishers, conduct fire drills, and assist with fire safety training for faculty, staff and students. Justin graduated from the University of Oklahoma in December 2006. After graduation he worked one year for SimplexGrinnell doing fire alarm and fire sprinkler inspections. In February 2008, Justin returned to OU to become the fire inspector, promoted to Assistant Fire Marshal in January 2013, and then to Fire Marshal in August 2013. As Fire Marshal, his duties and responsibilities included but are not limited to: fire inspections for all 320 existing buildings on campus, fire and life safety training for faculty, staff and students, plan review for new buildings and existing facility remodels, fire drills, fireworks and open flame permits, assist with game day operations and other special events, fire investigation, supervision of 2 Fire Inspectors, and to ensure all fire and life safety systems on campus are inspected and maintained.
Alan Sactor is an Assistant Director with the University of Maryland Department of Environmental Safety and the University Fire Marshal. He is appointed as the Assistant State Fire Marshal for the University of Maryland with jurisdiction for fire prevention, fire investigations, and building construction. His responsibilities also include emergency management.
He has over 35 years of experience in fire protection and the fire service including working as a firefighter/paramedic in the Washington D.C. area. Alan is a member of the technical committees for NFPA 1037, Professional Qualifications for Fire Marshal and NFPA 3&4, Commissioning and Integrated Testing of Fire and Life Safety Systems. He also serves on the APPA Standards and Codes Council.
He was a participant and presenter at the first USFA/NFPA Forum on Campus Fire Safety and the first National Summit on Campus Fire Safety. Alan is a Certified Fire Protection Specialist and holds a Master of Science in Environmental Management. He has been with the University of Maryland since 1985.
Kevin has been serving since March 2006 as the University of Delaware Fire Protection Engineer/Fire Marshal where the primary fire protection program focus is with the Three E’s: Engineering, Education and Enforcement. He is an NFPA Certified Fire Protection Specialist and Certified Fire Inspector II and has been active with Center for Campus Fire Safety since 2007. Prior to joining UD, Kevin served nearly 10-years with Delaware Office of State Fire Marshal where he served as Senior Fire Protection Specialist and Fire Protection Contractor Licensing Manager. Additionally, Kevin had a twenty year career in fire protection with the US Air Force, where he held the positions of acting Fire Chief, Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief Operations, Assistant Chief Technical Services, and Assistant Chief Training and Hazmat/Safety Officer.
Michael Swain is the Campus Fire Prevention Marshal at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Michael has worked in campus fire safety at the University for 31 years. Michael also serves as President for The Center for Campus Fire Safety, a nonprofit advocacy group for Campus Fire Safety. Michael has been a member of the Greenfield, Massachusetts Fire Department for 35 years and currently holds the rank of District Chief. Michael is a Past President of the Fire Prevention Association of Massachusetts and is currently serving as secretary of the association. He was the 2008 Fire and Life Safety Educator of the Year for Massachusetts.
Robert Ferrara ... Director of Fire Safety, Montclair State University
Larry Labbe is the Chief Fire Marshal, Georgia Institute of Technology. He has served the fire service since 1996, and been responsible for higher education since 2010. Additional credentials include: Executive Fire Officer, BSBA – Southern Polytechnics State University, Fire Science Diploma – Lanier College.Larry is a member of: ICC, NFPA, Center for Campus Fire Safety, GA Fire Sprinkler Association, Board of Director for the Georgia Fire Sprinkler Association and serves on the Advisory Committee for the Insurance Commissioner of Georgia, The Code Committee for the Center for Campus Fire Safety. He is a State Deputized Fire Marshal and serves on Course development committees for the Georgia Fire Academy, Fire Plans Reviewer and Life Safety Code 2017 Code Official of The Year.
Larry is also Cubmaster for Pack 770, Center fielder for McGlovin Competative co-ed softball team He manages a comprehensive risk reduction program for the Institute Statewide and abroad.
The Fire Safety Office at Georgia tech is a fully functional Fire Marshal’s office providing education programs, plan review, inspections and fire investigation.
Janet is a Deputy Fire Marshal for the Champaign, IL Fire Department. She inspects university-owned buildings and delivers fire safety education to students and staff at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign campus.
She has been involved in making inspections for 30 years. Currently inspecting university occupancies (laboratories, dormitories, major assembly venues, and classroom buildings), but with vast experience in making off-campus housing inspections (apartments, fraternity, sorority houses and privately owned dormitories).
Jody Nolan is the Fire/Occupational Safety Specialist at Rochester Institute of Technology. She has 25 years of service in the RIT Environmental Health and Safety Department and has been involved in the fire service for 33 years and in the Code enforcement arena equally as long.
Jody holds a Bachelor of Science, Applied Arts and Sciences-Honors from RIT with Concentrations in Disaster and Emergency Management, Safety Technology, and Marketing and a general education concentration in Communication. She is currently pursing her Master of Science Degree in Professional Studies, with concentrations workplace learning and instruction and digital media and communications.
In 1993, Jody was the first woman to be elected to the Board of Directors of the NYS Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association. With that election, She was also the first woman to hold a Board of Director position of any of the fire service organizations in New York State. She has held every board seat in the organization and held the office of President twice.
As President, Jody was actively involved in the process when NYS was moving to a model code. This provided an opportunity to get involved in codes on a national level. She was elected to the Board of Directors of a legacy organization IFCI (International Fire Code Institute) and served as the editor of the newsletter until the organization was absorbed into the International Codes Council. She continues to be active with the ICC serving as Vice Chair of the Reference Standards Committee.
When Jody first joined RIT, there was very little fire safety information for college students. Most educational material was geared toward specific populations such as children and elderly. Unfortunately, it took several tragedies nationally to change that landscape. Organizations such as the Center for Campus Fire Safety and colleagues in the fire safety role on University campuses have made a significant impact to ensure students are fire safe. This was no easy undertaking. There have been many roadblocks along the way. Convincing University leadership that these measures are necessary was and still is probably the biggest challenge.
One of Jody's most significant accomplishments at RIT was convincing leadership that fire sprinklers were a necessary component of a proposed residence hall renovation project. The proposed renovations were large, but not large enough that the codes would require installation. As a result of her recommendations and those of her predecessors, every residence hall on campus now contains fire sprinklers. RIT has also retrofitted one of our older apartment complexes with fire sprinklers. All new construction also includes fire sprinklers, in some cases regardless of whether code requires it.
Jeff Pendley is a Fire Captain for the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He serves as a technical expert in fire safety matters and provides training and education to students and staff. Jeff serves as a liaison to the Fire Prevention and Operations Bureau of the Los Angeles Fire Department. He is responsible for the university’s compliance with the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know regulations, required by the U.S. Department of Education.
Since 2007, Jeff has concentrated on the university’s effort to be more self-sufficient following a large earthquake. The university anticipates that municipal resources and the mutual-aid system will be severely challenged—and in some cases overwhelmed. This effort included the acquisition of a fire truck, training a university fire brigade, and creating and supporting Community Emergency Response Teams (CERTs).
Prior to joining USC in April 2006, Jeff was a Firefighter with the Sarasota County Fire Department in Sarasota, Florida. In 1995, he received an M.B.A. from the University of South Florida. Jeff is a National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Certified Fire Protection Specialist.
James serves as an Assistant Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Texas A&M University, as the university Fire Marshal, and co-lead the University’s 20 plus member Haz-Mat Team. As assistant director his duties include overseeing the Environmental Compliance, Hazardous Waste, and Fire and Life Safety programs, having overseen the FLS program for over 20 years. He has been with EHS for over 24 years as a student worker, fire inspector, manager, and assistant director. He also served as a part-time faculty member in the Fire Science program at Blinn College for the last 18 years, developing and teaching courses such as Building Codes and Construction for the Fire Service, Fire Detection and Suppression Systems, and Fire Inspection Principles. Additionally, James served as a member of the University Police Department Training Advisory Board for the past several years.
As Fire Marshal, his duties include all aspects of fire safety in the 775 plus campus facilities, plan review for all new construction and facility remodels, permitting all pyrotechnics, flame effects, and prescribed burns, assisting in the coordination of athletic and other special events on campus as well as serving as the liaison between Texas A&M and our local fire departments and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.
James holds an AA degree in Education along with a BS in Construction Science and a MS in Construction Management, both from Texas A&M University. He is a Certified Building Inspector, Fire Inspector, and Plans Examiner along with holding licenses as a Flame Effects Operator, Pyrotechnics Operators, and Pyrotechnics Special Effects Operator.
Rodger has been employed with Johnson Controls for over 31 years. Rodger started his career as a Technical Representative and has held several positions within SimplexGrinnell. Positions include Sales, Field Sales Engineer and Sales Manager. Rodger’s current position is that of Director, Industry Relations. As Director of Industry Relations. Rodger represents Johnson Controls worldwide and is able to devote his time to representing Johnson Controls on various codes and standards committees as well as serving on various association and organization boards and committees. Rodger currently serves as Vice-President on the Board of Directors of the Automatic Fire Alarm Association, AFAA. Rodger serves as Vice-Chair of the NEMA Signaling Section, 3SB. Rodger serves on the A117.1 Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities.
Rodger also serves as chair of the Standards Committee for NEMA. Rodger also served as Chair for the creation of the NEMA document, “COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS FOR LIFE SAFETY IN SCHOOLS”.
Rodger has a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Evangelical Theological Seminary, holds certifications from Two Rivers Technologies as a Master in Telecommunications, and from Eastern Technical holds a certification in Electronics Technology and Microprocessor Design. Rodger holds NICET certification in both Fire Alarm and Special Hazard Layout. NICET level IV Fire Alarm Systems Certification and NICET level I Special Hazards Layout Certification.
Rodger serves on many NFPA committees including;
■ NFPA 72 - Correlating Committee, CC
■ NFPA 72 - Emergency Communications Systems – Chapter 24
■ NFPA 76 – Telecommunications
■ NFPA 75 – Standard for the Fire Protection of Information Technology Equipment
■ NFPA 3 – Commissioning for Fire Protective Systems
■ NFPA 4 – Integrated Testing of Fire Protective Systems
■ NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code Correlating Committee
■ NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code Fundamentals
■ NFPA 101 – Life Safety Code Building Service and Fire Protection Equipment
■ NFPA 5000 – Building Construction and Safety Code Correlating Committee
■ NFPA 5000 – Building Construction and Safety Code Fundamentals
■ NFPA 5000 – Building Construction and Safety Code Building Service and Fire Protection Equipment
■ NFPA 909 – Code for the Protection of Cultural Resource Properties – Museums, Libraries, and Places of Worship
■ NFPA 914 – Code for Fire Protection of Historic Structures
■ NFPA 720 – Standard for the Installation of Carbon Monoxide Detection and Warning Equipment
■ NFPA 99 – Fire Protection for Health Care occupancies
■ NFPA 550 – Guide to the Fire Safety Concepts Tree
■ NFPA 551 – Fire Risk Assessment Methods
■ NFPA 70 – NEC, National Electrical Code
■ NFPA 1600 – Standard on Disaster/Emergency Management and Business Continuity/Continuity of Operations Programs
Additionally Rodger serves as a member of ASME, (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and serves on the A17.1 Elevator and Escalator Safety Code, Emergency Operations Committee. Rodger is a member of the National Advisory Council for the Congressional Fire Services Institute in Washington, DC. He serves on UL, (Underwriters Laboratories) STP 2572 Control and Communication Units for Mass Notification Systems and serves
on ULC, (Underwriters Laboratories of Canada) S575 Commissioning Fire Protective Systems. Rodger also serves on NFPA’s Fire Protection Research Foundation’s technical advisory council.
Rodger also serves on ISO TC21 for Fire Alarm and IEC TC 79 Security.
Richard Roberts is Industry Affairs Manager at Honeywell Security and Fire with over 30 years in the fire alarm and carbon monoxide market. His experience spans the installation, sales, and product development of products and systems. Currently, Mr. Roberts is a member of ten NFPA Technical Committees, two Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Standards Technical Panel (STPs) and participates in numerous International Code Council (ICC) Fire Code Action Committee (FCAC) Working Groups. He serves on the Codes, Standards & Technical Research Committee for the Center for Campus Fire Safety (CCFS), the Board of Directors for the Automatic Fire Alarm Association (AFAA) and Chair of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) Building Codes Committee.
Richard has contributed numerous articles and conducted several webinar for Center members.
Cathy Tabor: Executive Director, Marketing/Administration ... email
Lori Guilfoyle: Bookkeeper/Contractor ... email