Our Instructors
HazMatIQ is the brainchild of Cris Aguirre and Joe Gorman, who have over 60 years combined experience as fire and hazmat first responders.
Cris Aguirre: Cris Aguirre is co-owner and co-developer of HazMatIQ LLC. Professional accomplishments include: 35 years to emergency response as Lieutenant of the Miami Dade Fire and Rescue Department; an all-hazards response fire and rescue department. Cris served on Florida Task Force 1, a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team, as a Hazardous Materials Specialist. His ability to speak fluent Spanish has assisted in communications with non-English speaking victims of these disasters. He has trained personnel in many Spanish-speaking Central and South American nations. Cris is a member of theUnited Nations World Health Organization Chemical Safety Program to Developing Nations and is also a member of the Latin American Hazardous Materials Instructors. He worked with the National Technology Transfer Committee, a committee set up to assess and bring new technologies to emergency responders. His work with this committee led to the development of Smart-Strip Chemical ID badge. Cris's ability to speak both Spanish and English, and his passion for HazMat makes him a highly sought after invited speaker, keynote speaker, and seminar leader at nationally recognized Hazardous Material Conferences and professional development seminars.
Joe Gorman: Joe Gorman is co-owner and co-developer of HazMatIQ LLC. Professional accomplishments include: 25 years of experience with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue as a Hazardous Materials Technician/Specialist (retired July 2008). Joe has served as a Hazardous Materials Specialist on Virginia Task Force 1, a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue team. As a Master Instructor for the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), Joe has trained responders throughout the nation in the field of Hazardous Materials and WMD. He has also worked with the IAFF on developing numerous courses. In addition, Joe served the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 472- Standard for Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Incidents). He is a featured speaker at many national and international HazMat conferences. Joe's the unique ability to communicate with other responders and is highly sought after as an invited speaker, keynote speaker, and seminar leader at nationally recognized Hazardous Material Conferences and professional development seminars.
Katie Roberts: Professional accomplishments include: Over 13 years of experience in fire/EMS fields. She is currently a firefighter/engineer/paramedic with Santa Clara County Fire Department. Katie has taught for the county fire academy, a liaison for new recruits, and a field training paramedic. She currently is assigned to Special Operations as a Hazardous Materials/ Rescue Specialist where she has served since 2005. Katie is a member of the FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Team assigned to California Task Force 3 where she is certified as a Hazardous Materials and Medical Specialist. She is also certified in Confined Space Operations, Rescue Systems I & II, CSTI Hazardous Materials Specialist and is a CSTI Hazardous Materials Instructor. Katie has taught all aspects of the CSTI Hazardous Materials Technician, Specialist and First Responder Operational Curriculum, as well as various Hazmat Refreshers and WMD classes for Bay Area departments.
Tom O'Connell: Professional Accomplishments include: Over 32 years of experience as a firefighter paramedic. Currently Chief of Operations/Special Operations for the City of Sunrise, Florida, Fire Rescue Department after holding the ranks of Lieutenant, Captain, and Battalion Chief. Tom has a Bachelor's degree in Public Administration and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Office program. He is a State of Florida certified fire officer, master instructor, live fire training instructor, hazardous materials technician, confined space technician, trench rescue technician, and structural collapse technician. Tom served on USAR FL-TF-2 for several years as a hazardous materials specialist. He has been an adjunct instructor for Broward College and the City of Coral Springs Fire Academy. Tom has worked part time for several hazardous materials emergency response contractors and has responded to many serious hazmat incidents and train derailments throughout the country.
Todd Smith: Professional Accomplishments include: Over 22 years of experience with Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, 19 of those years working in HazMat. Todd proudly worked on the Nation’s first Municipal Service HazMat Team, founded by Captain Ron Gore. He is currently a Lieutenant/HazMat Tech, member of the Health and Safety Committee, and serves as the HazMat Manager for Florida Task Force 5- State USAR Team. Todd is a certified Fire Service Instructor, Live Fire Instructor, Hazardous Materials Technician, and Paramedic. Todd is an experienced instructor; having worked for the past 17 years as a fire instructor for Jacksonville Fire Rescue Training Academy, the past 5 years as a Master Instructor for the IAFF HazMat/WMD Programs, 13 years as a Hazardous Materials Instructor for Safety America Inc, and an instructor with HazMatIQ for the past 2 years. He has been a sought after speaker, presenting Fire Safety courses to South Georgia Fire Chiefs Association, Florida Fire Chiefs Association – Health and Safety Symposium. His passion is to demystify HazMat and to make the countless hours of training become useful when an emergency occur.
Steve Hergenreter: Professional Accomplishments Include: Captain Steve Hergenreter entered emergency response in 1989 when he joined the Fort Dodge, IA Fire Department as a Fire Fighter/EMT. At the time of his appointment he was attending college majoring in secondary science education. Steve has a B.S. in Fire Science. In 1992 Steve attended Hazardous Materials Technician training and became a member of his departments Regional Haz Mat response Team. In 1998 Steve was promoted as the Haz Mat Technical Services Coordinator for his Department. In 2000 Steve currently serves as Captain and shift haz mat team leader. In 1992 Steve began his career as an Instructor for Iowa State University Fire Service Training. Beyond his training as a Haz MatIQ Instructor Steve has been a Master Instructor for the IAFF Haz Mat/WMD Training program since 1999. He serves as a curriculum development and subject matter expert for the IAFF Haz Mat/WMD training Department. Steve is the developer of the IAFC Response to Ethanol Emergencies training program. Steve also conducts hazardous materials training at numerous ethanol and chemical manufacturing facilities in the Midwest. Steve has been a presenter at numerous national hazardous materials conferences over the past decade. Steve serves on numerous national Hazardous Materials Response committees. He is a principal member of the NFPA 472 Technical Committee on Hazardous Materials Response Personnel representing the IAFF. He is a member of the IFSTA Hazardous Materials Technician 1st Edition validation committee. He is an Executive Work group member of the IAFC Hazardous Materials Fusion Center. Steve has a passion for the subject of hazardous materials response, curriculum development and training America’s responders in the latest trends and technologies of this field.
Carlos Rodriguez: Professional Accomplishes Include: Over 21 years of experience with the Wichita,Kansas Fire Department. Carlos is a member of the Hazards Materials Response Team and also serves as a Captain. He has been recognized as a Master Instructor for the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) since 2005 , Carlos has trained responders throughout the nation and internationally in the field of Hazardous Materials and WMD/Tactical Operations. He has also worked with the IAFF on the development of the Illicit Drug Labs program. In addition, he is also an instructor for the US Drug Enforcement Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hazardous Materials Response Unit. Carlos has served as a instructor for the National Fire Academy and for the Kansas Fire Rescue Training Institute in the arena of hazardous materials. He is a member of the IFSTA Hazardous Materials Technician 1st Edition validation committee, serving as Vice Chair. Carlos has been a presenter at numerous national hazardous materials conferences over the past decade.
Carlos Tamayo: Professional Accomplishments Include: 16 years experience with Miami Dad Fire Rescue. His current position is Lieutenant on L-17 HazMat Suppression Unit. Besides his years experience as an instructor for HazMatIQ, Carlos is also a HazMat instructor for Miami Dade Fire Rescue Team. He is a certified 160-Hour HazMat Tech Instructor, and well as certified HazMat Technician, and certified in Confined Space Rescue, Trench Rescue, Vehicle Extrication, Rope Rescue I and II, Structural Collapse Rescue Technician and a member of Urban Search and Rescue; Florida Task Force 1 for 10 years.
Chris Waier: Chris is a 15 year veteran of the fire service and is currently a member of the Lansing Fire Department where he is assigned as the Regional HazMat team leader. Chris is a HazMat/WMD specialists, firefighter and paramedic; he also serves on the the State USAR TF-1 as a HazMat manager. He holds a bachelors degree in Hazardous Materials management and graduate degree in Hazardous Materials response technology. Chris also is the HazMat program manager and training coordinator for the Michigan State Police Emergency Management Homeland Security Training Center. He is credentialed as a certified instructor and SME in HazMat, WMD and Incident Management at the local, State and Federal levels and serves on many committees in that capacity. Chris is a highly requested instructor and speaker at training seminars and conferences throughout the country and in the fire service/Hazmat response community..
Gary L. Sprifke Jr.: Professional accomplishments include; over 20 years experience in emergency response as a volunteer, military, and professional firefighter/emergency medical technician. Gary is currently the Commander of the U.S. Capital Police Hazardous Materials Response Team where he has been employed for the past eight years. He is a certified Hazardous Materials Specialist, Hazardous Materials Tactical Command & Safety Officer, HazMat/WMD & Terrorism Instructor, Fire Service Instructor 3, and a graduate of the Law Enforcement Instructor Training Program. Additionally, Gary has provided instruction on portable chemical identifiers comprised of Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman Spectrometers to emergency responders for the past seven years. He also serves as the principal member of the NFPA Hazardous Materials/Weapons of Mass Destruction Technical Committee for the U.S. Capitol Police.
Gary Sharp: Bio coming soon...
