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Don Stewart
Instructor
Don Stewart is a kitchen fire suppression systems expert with over 30 years experience. His area of expertise is in the design and installation of Class II kitchen suppression systems. Over the last 10 years he has consulted to authorities having jurisdiction, insurance companies and fire protection companies on the design, installation, maintenance and compliance to manufacturers’ guidelines on both wet and dry chemical kitchen fire suppression systems.
He conducts fire investigations and provides litigation support testimony to fire incidents in commercial kitchen fire suppression systems. He is factory trained and certified by many fire suppression manufacturers including Ansul, Chemetron, FSI, General, Kidde, Range Guard and System Master. Don Stewart is a licensed sprinkler contractor in the state of Michigan; and holds engineered, pre-engineered and fire extinguisher licenses in the state of Illinois.
Lemuel L. (Speedy) Laster
Owner and President of Speedy Clean LLC.
Instructor
Founded Speedy Clean LLC.; Speedy Clean is full service power washing company with the primary focus on Commercial Kitchen Exhaust cleaning. Mr. Laster is a member of the National Fire Protection Association (N.F.P.A.). Mr. Laster joined Phil Ackland Inc. in 2007 as an Instructor training individuals for Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning. In November 2008, Mr. Laster received his credentials from Mr. Ackland to teach the Fire Inspectors Course and has taught the Inspectors course at numerous United States Air Force Bases.
Prior to the founding of Speedy Clean, Mr. Lasters’ back ground was in welding and fabricating. Mr. Laster also served as Plant Manager and Safety Coordinator for chemical manufacturing company in
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Michael A. Schlatman, IAAI-CFI
Instructor
Mr. Schlatman is the President of Fire Consulting and Case Review International Inc. in Shawnee Mission, Kansas. He is also the former President of Consolidated Forensic Investigations Inc. and of Independent Insurance Investigations, Inc. He has numerous years of experience in insurance investigations including fire, fraud and related claims.
Having earned his Masters degree in Criminal Justice from St. Louis University, he has taught extensively in the investigation field. As a former Police Homicide/Arson Detective, he has served in the municipalities of St. Louis County.
He became a Director of the International Association of Arson Investigators in April of 1996. The IAAI is a worldwide association of approximately 8,600 members in 37 countries. He was elected as 2nd Vice President of the IAAI in May 2002 and 1st Vice President in April 2003, going on to serve as President of that association in 2004-2005.
A former President of the Kansas Chapter of the IAAI, he was also a member of the Board of Directors there for over 20 years and Director of the Missouri Chapter of the IAAI.
Mr. Schlatman is a Director of the Kansas City Metro Insurance Fraud Task Force. Also, he served on the Executive Committee of the Kansas City Arson Task Force and was the first Private Industry Chairman for that organization.
He served as a Consultant for the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office and the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office in fire related cases. He has also consulted for the Kansas Attorney’s General Office and the Linn County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in Missouri.
Mark Buchanan
Instructor
Mark Buchanan’s experience with the City of Boston’s Fire Department is comprised of many positions held, including Firefighter, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Captain and, lastly, District Fire Chief. He was responsible for the Officer Development Program, where he administrated its development with the objective to certify all officers to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard (1021).
His education includes the Executive Leadership Program from the Harvard School of Government, an A.S. Candidate in Fire Science from
He is affiliated with such associations as International Association of Fire Fighters, International Association of Fire Chiefs, International Association of Arson Investigators and the International Fire Marshals Associations. He’s also affiliated with the National Association of Fire investigators and the National Fire Protection Association, in addition to being a member of the NFPA 96 Technical Committee. Mark has been a proud member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Worker dating back to 1979 in the
To read Mark Buchanan's bio, please download PDF version here.
Kerry Barnett
Instructor
Kerry began his career with Zephyrhills Fire rescue shortly after high school once moving to Florida from Illinois. Kerry started as a volunteer in 1987 and within 6 months was attending fire academy at Pasco Hernando Community College.
Once graduating from the academy he was hired several months later by Zephyrhills Fire Rescue in 1988 where he has now spent his entire career. Kerry has risen through the ranks of Zephyrhills; firefighter, driver, captain and finally fire marshal in 2002. In 2006 when the department was going through a transition at the top he was appointed to Assistant Fire Chief and then the Fire Chief and still maintained the duties of Fire Marshal throughout. After a brief tenure in those positions, Kerry transitioned back to the full time duties of the Fire Marshal where he currently remains. As Fire Marshal for the City, he oversees the fire prevention division which handles code enforcement, commercial fire inspections, plan review, new construction and origin and cause.
During his time as Fire Marshal he has held many positions in different organizations and currently is the 1st Vice President of the Florida Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators, Training Chair of the Pasco Hernando Fire Inspectors & Investigators section, Co-chair of Pasco Hernando Juvenile Fire Setters Program and Pasco County representative for the Florida Fire Marshals & Inspectors Association. He has logged over 2500 hours of training in the field of inspections and currently is certified through the State of Florida as Fire Inspector I and Fire Inspector II.
He is known in the commercial kitchen hood industry in Florida, both public and private, for developing a permit and inspection process in his jurisdiction for required cleaning of hood and ducts along with semi-annual inspections on hood suppression systems. In 2009 his hard work and dedication to the profession paid off when he received one of Florida’s highest honors, Fire Marshal of the Year, from the Florida Fire Marshals & Inspectors Association.
Scott D. Melville
IAAI-CFI©, CFEI, CFII, CCFI-C
Instructors
Scott presently works as a Fire Investigator with Fire Pro Investigations Ltd. He has over 20 year’s service with the Saanich Fire Department where he has worked in fire suppression and fire prevention. He has investigated hundreds of fires and has given expert witness testimony in BC Provincial and Supreme Courts.
Scott's professional qualifications and certifications are many and they include Certified Fire Investigator with IAAI, NAFI and CAFI. He has attained NFPA Fire Fighter 1 & 2, Fire Officer 1, 2 & 3 and Fire Inspector 1 & 2. He is also a licensed mechanic with provincial vehicle inspector certification, a pressurized fuel gas fitter, a ticketed welder and an accredited personal property appraiser. He has developed and presented numerous educational programs to a wide variety of audiences.
Scott attended the first Phil Ackland ‘Train the Trainer’ program and has been actively involved in all aspects of approval and inspection of commercial cooking systems for over 15 years.