Mike was born and raised in South Florida and has been involved in public safety since an early age. Mike began his interest in the fire rescue field at age 14 when he became a member of the newly formed Margate Fire Rescue Explorer Program. Mike continued his involvement in the explorer program with Margate Fire Rescue, as well as the Margate Police Department, until age 18. Mike’s career continued in public service as a police and fire dispatcher with the City of Fort Lauderdale, a Public Safety Aide for the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, a fire rescue dispatcher for the Broward Sheriff’s Office (formerly known as Broward County Fire Rescue), and then as a volunteer firefighter/EMT for the Coral Springs Fire Department in 2000.
Since being hired full-time in 2001, Mike has immersed himself in many different aspects of the fire department as well as other community and professional organizations. In 2005 he was promoted to Driver Engineer, Lieutenant in 2009, and Captain in 2010. Mike was promoted to Division Chief in 2014, and was assigned to Fire Administration where he was responsible for human resources, staff, legal affairs, the fire explorer program and served as a public information officer. In 2020, Mike was promoted to his current position of Deputy Fire Chief of Support Services with oversight of Community Risk Reduction, Support Services, and the Coral Springs Regional Institute of Public Safety.
Mike is a member of the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA Florida Task Force II Urban Search and Rescue Team. Mike was deployed to Gulfport, Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the area in 2005; Haiti in 2010 after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake destroyed that region; and Puerto Rico in 2017 after Hurricane Maria tore through the Caribbean. Mike was awarded the Firehouse Magazine Heroism and Community Service Award in 2002, Broward County EMT of the Year in 2003, State of Florida PIO of the Year in 2008, as well as multiple unit and team citations for specialty rescue calls within the City of Coral Springs and Parkland. Mike was also among the hundreds of first responders at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018.
Mike lives in Coral Springs with his wife and two children. He considers it a honor to Chair the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation so our community can have a place to honor and remember those who were taken from us that day.
