Deputy Chief of Training Joseph R. Nedder Jr. of the Mendon (MA) Fire Department received the 2022 Fire Engineering/International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI) George D. Post Instructor of the Year Award at the Opening Ceremony Day 2 at FDIC International on Thursday, April 28, in Indianapolis.
- FDIC 2022 Interview: Joe Nedder
- Managing Risk in the Volunteer Fire Department, Part 1
- Are You ‘Only’ a Volunteer Firefighter?
Nedder is a passionate and inspirational instructor who joined the fire service in 1977 on a small rural volunteer department. In the early 1990s, he became an instructor for the Massachusetts Fire Academy, where he developed and implemented a Firefighter I/II program for volunteers and on-call firefighters. In 2008, he formed his training organization Cross St Associates. For more than 20 years, his focus has been primarily on delivering firefighter training to volunteer and other smaller organizations that meets the required standards. He has focused primarily on Firefighter I/II skills, the basics, and has produced numerous complete Firefighter I/II class in compliance with NFPA 1001 for volunteer departments, most recently a 171-hour program for the Oak Bluffs (MA) Fire Department.
In 2019, Nedder became deputy chief of training for the Mendon (MA) Fire Department. He has attended FDIC for 25 years and taught there since 2010. He has written numerous articles for Fire Engineering and the books Rapid Intervention Crews (Jones and Bartlett) and Managing Risk in the Volunteer Fire Department: Concepts, Methods and Practices (Fire Engineering). A self-described disciple of risk management, Nedder is on a mission to spread the word that continuous, meaningful training is necessary to be safe and work effectively as a firefighter. The latter book has helped him to begin to achieve that goal.
When you ask those who have taken one of his classes to describe his teaching style, you will repeatedly hear the words “knowledgeable,” “passionate,” “inspirational,” and fun.
In nominating him, Chief William Kessler of the Mendon (MA) Fire Department, wrote: “This nomination is not for a single achievement but rather for cumulative achievements over the past 20 years. Throughout the entire period, Nedder has persevered in bringing quality training to those who need it, delivered with passion and meaning. As many chiefs have said, he provides us the training that we need that is unavailable from other sources because of scheduling, content, or cost. We believe that Nedder has made a significant contribution regionally and to some degree nationally with his unique classes and programs, teaching, writing, FDIC classes, and his books. Joe’s knowledge, foresight, enthusiasm, dedication, and perseverance to deliver training that is needed, and otherwise unavailable, makes him an ideal candidate for this award.”
Peter Van Dorpe, president of the ISFSI, said about the selection: “Joe Nedder stood out in an exceptionally strong field of candidates for this year’s award. Joe was nominated by a large cadre of his peers who chronicled the extraordinary impact he has had on every segment of the fire service he has come in contact with. Volunteers and paid on call firefighters make up the backbone of the fire service around the world but too often go unrecognized. The breadth, depth, and career spanning dedication of Joe Nedder’s service to his calling should be an inspiration to all fire service instructors and is truly worthy of our recognition.”
The award, which incorporates the Training Achievement Award previously given by Fire Engineering at the FDIC, is named for George D. Post, who was a long-time member of the ISFSI. Post was a member of the Fire Department of New York, an illustrator of fire service publications, and a developer of instructional materials and is considered by many to be the father of visual training material used to train fire service personnel around the world.
