Chris Gould
Chris currently resides on the west central coast of Florida and is a Battalion
Chief with Southern Manatee Fire Rescue where he spent over nine years as
Manatee County's Hazardous Materials Response Team Leader. He started his
career in 1990 as a firefighter with Southern Manatee Fire Rescue and moved
into Special Operations in 1996 specializing in hazardous materials response.
Chief Gould is a member of the Tampabay Emergency Planning Committee
(LEPC) and is an active member of the Training Sub Committee. He is a Florida
Certified: Hazardous Materials Technician, Arson Investigator, Instructor, Fire
Inspector II, Paramedic, Firefighter and regularly instructs various hazardous
materials, CNG and drone related classes throughout the country. He holds
degrees in Business Management and Fire Science and is and regularly
instructors at Florida’s Annual Hazardous Material Symposium and has
presented Haz Mat programs at the CBRNe World Convergence, Washington
Council of Governments, and TRANSCAER among many others. He is well
known as a pioneer in regards to utilizing drones for sampling and plume
tracking during large scale industrial hazardous materials incidents but his expertise lies mainly with CNG response where he is often called upon to assist various jurisdictions with CNG related incidents. In 2014 drawing experience with large commercial vehicle fires he identified life threatening hazards that CNG powered vehicles pose to responders where incorrect tactics can cause these vehicles to explode with a bomb like detonation that can send shrapnel up to three quarters of a mile away. Since then he has been traveling and teaching a responder orientated CNG program that allows responders to safely mitigate these incidents and then safely dis-arm the damaged and potentially explosive CNG cylinders that remain afterward.
Presentations:
Bomb in your Back Yard? Risk Based CNG Response
Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) cylinders contain over 20 times the pressure of propane cylinders and have critically different construction features. Firefighters using Propane tactics for CNG truck fires are causing the CNG cylinders to fail and torpedo over a quarter mile away from the incident sending fire and shrapnel into nearby homes and businesses. These vehicles are very common and present multiple hazards that can also rapidly and unexpectedly engulf fighters and civilians in a cloud of highly pressured flame. The student will learn what to do when standing back is not an option and how to safely depressurize cylinders damaged by fire and collisions rendering them safe during overhaul, extrication or for post incident towing on public streets and roadways. In addition the class will cover how to overcome broken or malfunctioning valves during the depressurization process for both vehicles and abandoned CNG Cylinders. This is an advanced class and is geared toward those who have experience and an understanding of compressed and liquefied gas container incidents and presents lessons learned by responders and Haz Mat teams during real world incidents.