Andy MacDonald served with the City of Brampton Fire and Emergency Services for over 37 years, starting as a Volunteer Fire Fighter in 1977. After graduating from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Science degree, he began his career as a professional Fire Fighter in 1979.  Andy rose through the ranks in Brampton.  He was appointed Assistant Deputy in 1999, Deputy in 2003 and Fire Chief in January 2008.  

Chief MacDonald continued his personal/professional development throughout his career.  Andy holds Queen’s IRC Certificates in Labour Relations, Advanced Labour Relations, and Organization Development Fundamentals, and he participated in the program on negotiations at the Harvard Law School. Andy also studied at York University and the Ontario Fire College.  Since 2001, Andy has spent a large portion of his vacation time as a facilitator at the Queen’s University Industrial Relations Centre, teaching in the Labour Relations field.

Chief MacDonald retired from Brampton Fire in June of 2014.  On August 1st of that same year he was appointed the Director of Fire Management Studies at the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning.  Andy oversaw the development of two major initiatives, the Executive Certificate in Fire Services Management and a 2-year Fire Service Foundations Diploma.  Under Andy’s guidance, the University of Guelph/Humber accepted the first four Fire Service students into a pilot Applied Arts Degree in Public Safety Management in September 2015. 

With the Humber Programs “in the can”, Andy moved on to the City of Guelph where he worked under contract for 2-years as the General Manager of Emergency Services.  In that role, Andy was responsible for the Guelph Fire Department and the Guelph/Wellington Paramedic Services.

Andy spends his time these days working as a consultant as the Principal Partner of the Anderin Group.  One of his clients is Homewood Health where Andy is a consultant to the 1st Responder Community.  His work sees Andy speaking about Operational Stress Injuries and 1st Responder Mental Health on the national stage.

Throughout his life, Andy took on a number of projects outside of his professional responsibilities.  In 1997, he conceived of the idea of constructing a stand-alone center for fire and life safety education.  Dedicating 7-years of his life to the project; he saw Brampton’s award-winning Fire/Life Education Centre open in 2003.  In 1985 he rappelled off the CN Tower to raise money for a Toronto burn unit, earning him a spot in the Guinness Book of Records.  He is currently on the National Advisory Board for Camp F.A.C.E.S and is on the Conference Board of the Canadian Critical Incident Stress Foundation.

No stranger to goals, setbacks, missteps or success, Amber has fostered, nurtured and honoured the voice within her that says, you need to do this, and found a way.

An accomplished hockey player, an established instructor, and coach, the most decorated female in the sport of Firefit and the Combat Challenge and recently named Top Trainer on the Dr. Oz Show, she is a prime example of not letting yourself or anyone else give you no for an answer.

http://www.fitbyfire.com/

@fitbyfire

Mike is a Captain assigned to a Special Operations Team in one of the largest cities in Canada. Mike brings 20 years of operational rescue and command experience through his heavy involvement in technical rope, confined space, vehicle and trench rescue teams.

He has also has been a clinically active paramedic for over two decades and has worked part time as a Critical Care Flight Paramedic on the helicopters in Toronto for the past 15 years. Being a flight medic has exposed him to many complex and prolonged rescue incidents including heavy vehicle, trench, collapse, and machine entrapment. Being involved in these incidents has taught him the importance of tact, discretion, and diplomacy while dealing with allied agencies in a super high-stress environment.

His passion for learning Auto Extrication has had him compete at a world level on his city’s extrication team. These competitions have taught him skills for Rescue but more so about being a member of a high functioning group and sharing and learning from others around the globe. While being a member and a coach he has won multiple individual and team awards including two world championships.

As a fire service instructor Mike has taught for many agencies and colleges in North America and truly believes that ongoing education is vital to being a competent rescue worker.

Work-life balance is equal parts corporate adopted catchphrase and prophetic tenet and we are awash in a confusing eddy of snake-oil peddlers and genuine healers as we seek the relief of a promised land we can't see.

Getting to this place of peace and contentment is a journey of trial and error, success and setback and requires self-awareness, reflection, faith, and perseverance, all as our lives speed along.

Rob has been a survivor and a warrior within his own life to reach his place of peace and contentment. He walks the road and holds to a moral compass that continues to hold his course true.

With 21 years in the service and experience in firefighting, union, and administration he is perfectly positioned to speak to how we can each work to achieve our own definition of health and balance.

Acknowledged by his peers at Seattle FD as Firefighter of the Year in 2011, awarded the Fire Engineering/International Society of Fire Service Instructors George D. Post Instructor of the Year award in 2017, and creator of the Nozzle Forward Program, Aaron has been described as articulate, dynamic and magnetic. He identifies most as a 'Sharer of ideas'. He and his Cadre have taught over 20, 000 members of the fire service across North America since the program's inception and many have professed that their experience was career changing, myself among them. Multiple listens with a pen and pad of paper are strongly recommended. A true privilege.

https://www.justinide.com/index/G0000a5srGZV9To8

There are a lot of great words being used in the fire service again; fundamentals, basics, work, drilling, passion, dedication, focus, them, and brotherhood. More and more we are coming upon those within our own departments and others that are taking these concepts and putting them to practical use, doing their part to keep our traditions and our mission alive and ever-present. Johnny makes every human effort to embody this choice. He knows he loves this job and he knows what he wants out of it. We talk about learning and teaching, building and beating props, the importance of like-minded and supportive people in our lives and how sharp things are cool.

Adopted and raised in the beaches area of Toronto, with 5 older sisters, in a loving but regimented and religious family, my dad grew up with a desire to prove himself in the world, have a family of his own, and to discover his roots. Having worked as a tradesman, and run his own cartage business he discovered the fire service by chance and never looked back. We talk about respect, work ethic, friends and foes, the pumper accident that almost took the lives of him and his crew and changed the course of his career, the fire he will never forget, inquests, and eating groundhog.

Quiet professionals work diligently to help their communities and for the betterment of their departments and members, in firehouses around the world; you just have to seek them out. With 18 ½ years in the fire service, a Captain, and a father of 3, Rob strives to serve and help individuals and teams thrive on and off the job. From coaching hockey and baseball after playing at a high-level in each sport, to instructing in live fire, driving, and mental health education, he continues to learn and pay it forward. He has worked on the Benevolent Committee for 12 years and counting, spent 3 years as a WSIB Rep, a decade on the honour guard and 11 years on the Peer Support Team. His father’s 47 year legacy in the Fire Service is well represented and carried on by both him and his brother.

Firefighting runs in the family and so does a strong work ethic and seeing yourself as a part of your community. Joanne has been paying it forward and giving back throughout her life and the years so far in her Firefighting career are no exception. From helping get her Department's Peer Support Team up and running to working with the support group for all First Responders, Wings of Change, to sitting on the board of directors and climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro for the non-profit organization Mom2Mom Africa in support of the children of Arusha Tanzania. She most recently has ventured back to school to become a Life Coach to help fill the gap to support First Responders moving forward after experiencing work-related traumatic events.

http://wingsofchange.wixsite.com/wingsofchange

http://www.mom2momafrica.ca/

At 15 years of age, Chris crashed rapidly and painfully into a new reality of addiction and alcoholism. Hired into the Fire Service deep into his struggle, he lived a double life. After years of fighting to get clean and sober he found himself at the crossroads of either his fourth and final attempt at suicide, or asking for help at his lowest point. Everything from that moment on was different. He had to learn how to deal with life on life’s terms how to become a member of the Fire Family that would be instrumental on his road back.

He quickly became outspoken about his darkness and recovery. Today he continues to sponsor many people in and out of the Fire Service and do work in jails and detox centres, locally and abroad.

Chris recently took part in an educational video series put together by the Mental Health Commission of Canada,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfGR2-RjtsU

and the short Documentary ‘Unmasked’ released by Instillment and Captivate Photo+Cinema,

https://vimeo.com/243559744

You can follow him on Instagram @_chris_howe_

and find him on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/chris.howe.3572