Southern Illinois Regional Fire Academy- Board

Board of Directors

Norman Duncan, President

Norman joined the Fire Service in 1995 with Rural Pope County Fire Protection District where he became the District Training Officer. Norman currently holds the following certifications, Fire Officer I, Instructor II, Fire Service Vehicle Operations. Norman also volunteers with Pope County EMA as Hazardous Weather Coordinator and Search and Rescue Planner. Norman has served as President of the Southern Illinois Regional Fire Academy, since its inception in 2007.

Don Swiatkowski, Vice President/Treasurer

Don has served one year as a basic Firefighter and three years as an Assistant Chief for the Energy Fire Department. Later Don came to advance to Chief of Energy serving for an additional three years. Don then transferred to Williamson Country Fire Protection District serving an additional 5 years as the Assistant Chief and currently holding the position of Fire Chief now for 8 years and still hanging strong.

Don currently holds certifications and memberships in the following: Firefighter Three, Instructor II, Certified Airport Firefighter, Certified Fire Apparatus Engineer, Certified Hazmat Technician with MABAS Division 45, Illinois Incident Management Assistance Team Member, Southern Illinois Regional Fire Academy Board Member, MABAS Division 45 Board Member, Illinois Fire Chief’s Association Funeral Committee Member, Traffic Incident Management Committee Member, Williamson County Emergency Telephone System Board Member, Williamson County Local Emergency Planning Committee Member.

Brian Burgess, Secretary

Bio Coming Soon!

Instruction Staff

Joe Hale, Director

Joe Hale is the Director of the Southern Illinois Regional Fire Academy (SIRFA). He is an eighteen year veteran of the fire service, all with the Williamson County Fire Protection District (WCFPD). Joe has served as training officer with the WCFPD for the past fifteen years.

Joe currently holds certifications as Firefighter III. Instructor II, Fire Apparatus Engineer, Airport Firefighter, Wildland Firefighter, Technical Rescue Awareness, Fire Service Vehicle Operator and has completed Train-the-Train courses in many disciplines. In addition, Joe is a certified Fire Officer I and is currently working on his last class to obtain Fire Officer II certification and an Associates Degree in Fire Science.

Besides Joe's strong desire to serve the public, and his dedication to the Williamson County Fire District as an active officer/firefighter, Joe has spent over 1/4 of his life providing firefighter training to aspiring students. Joe has had a significant effect in the development of our local fire service, having his hand in training many of the career firefighters in and around our region.

Joe Hale has supported SIRFA from its inception. He understands the training needs of our regions fire departments and is determined to provide his students superior fire service training, in the locations needing it the most, and at an affordable price.

Jeremy Parke, Deputy Director

Jeremy has been in the fire service for 16 years. He has served on the Buckner and Sesser Fire Departments and is currently a Captain and Training Officer with the Coello Fire Dept. and Training Specialist for the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency (FCEMA). Jeremy started First Responder programs in Buckner and Coello and is a Full-Time Paramedic for Pinckneyville Ambulance Service.

Jeremy currently holds certifications as an EMT Paramedic, FFII, HazMat Technician, FSVO, Incident Safety Officer, Advanced Weather Spotter, Tech Rescue Awareness, Wildland Firefighting, Instructor 1, CPR Instructor and IEMA Hazmat Instructor and has completed ongoing training in many other areas. He is completed the FFIII program and is awaiting the results of the OSFM exam.

Jeremy enjoys training new firefighters and working with other area departments and advancing his own skills in Fire and EMS. Jeremy is very excited about working for SIRFA and looks forward to where the organization can go in the future.

Don Florer, Secretary

Bio Coming Soon!