James A Kirsch served 36 years with the Bergenfield (NJ) Fire Department, where he retired as a captain.  He is also a former volunteer chief and department training officer and served as a logistics manager for New Jersey Task Force 1 Urban Search & Rescue.  Kirsch is a New Jersey state-certified drill ground instructor, incident manager, and fire prevention official.  He has authored multiple articles for Fire Engineering, co-authored Fire Engineering’s Study Guide for Firefighter I and II, and created the DVD Live Fire Training in Acquired Structures.  Additionally,  he consults for the NJ Motion Picture and Television Commission on production fire safety.  Kirsch has a master’s degree in public administration and is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer program.