Biography:
FDNY CAREER
Deputy Assistant Chief (Ret.) John Norman is a veteran of more
than 37 years in the fire service, including over 27 years with
the FDNY, the majority of that time in Special Operations units.
Chief Norman served as a firefighter with Engine Company 290, and
Ladder Company 103 in Brooklyn, Rescue Company 3 which covered the
Bronx and Harlem, and helped organize Hazardous Materials Company
1 at its inception in 1984. As a Lieutenant, he served with Rescue
Company 2, which covered all of Brooklyn, and as a Captain, he was
the Company Commander of Rescue Company 1 which is located in Manhattan's
high rise district, just off Times Square. While still assigned
to Rescue Company 1, John worked with the Safety Command and the
Fire Commissioner's High Rise Fire Safety Task Force, investigating
and then developing high-rise fire safety legislation in the wake
of the fatal Vandalia Avenue and Macauley Culkin fires, which killed
three firefighters and six civilians. Promotion to Battalion Chief
in 1999 brought assignment to Battalion 10 and the Y2K Preparation
Task Force before assignment to Battalion 16. In the days after
September 11th, 2001, and the collapse of the Twin Towers, John
was designated as the Search and Rescue Manager for the World Trade
Center site. He operated in that position for two months before
assuming the job of Chief of Special Operations on a full-time basis.
He was subsequently promoted to Deputy Chief in June of 2003, remaining
in Special Operations. In August 2004, Chief Norman was promoted
to Deputy Assistant Chief, and once again designated as Chief of
Special Operations as well as a Citywide Tour Commander
EDUCATIONAL CAREER
Chief Norman attended Oklahoma State University, majoring in Fire
Protection Technology. After college he worked as a Fire Protection
Engineer for a major N.Y.C. fire protection contractor, designing
sprinkler, standpipe, and other fire protection systems for many
buildings in the Metro New York area, including such famous addresses
as 666 Fifth Avenue, and portions of the ill-fated World Trade Center.
He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Fire Service Administration
from Empire State College of the State University of New York. He
attended the first FDNY/USMA West Point Combating Terrorism Leadership
Program in 2003, and is a graduate of the FDNY/Columbia University
Fire Officers Management Institute. He has testified as an expert
witness concerning fire operations in both State and Federal court
cases. He served as a consultant to the City of Chicago in the wake
of the tragic Cook County Office Building fire, which resulted in
major operational changes for the Chicago Fire Department.
Chief Norman has been an adjunct instructor at the Fire Academy
on Randall's Island, teaching in the Chief Officers Development
Course, the Confined Space Rescue, Building Collapse Rescue, and
the Foam Coordinator's/Flammable Liquid Training courses. A
Task Force Leader with the New York City Urban Search and Rescue
Task Force, John has taught in the Rescue Specialist Training Course
given by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to the nation's
28 U.S.A.R. teams. He has been decorated for valor nine times. He
is also the author of the best selling Fire Officer's Handbook
of Tactics and its accompanying study guide, and is the author
of a chapter on Pre-Incident Planning in the 20th Edition of the
Handbook of Fire Protection, published by the NFPA in 2007. He has
written extensively for such fire service magazines as WNYF, Fire
Engineering, and Firehouse, and served on validation committees
for the International Fire Service Training Association dealing
with the following training manuals; Ventilation, Fire Service Rescue,
Building Construction Related to the Fire Service, and Terrorism.
He lectures nationally on a wide variety of fire and rescue topics.
