Rick Lasky: Rick Lasky is the fire
chief for the City of Lewisville, Texas. A 25-year veteran of the fire
service, he has been a line firefighter, firefighter-paramedic, company grade
officer, training officer and command-level officer in the Bedford Park,
Illinois; Darien-Woodridge, Illinois; Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; and Lewisville,
Texas fire departments.
While in Illinois, he taught for the University of Illinois- Illinois Fire
Service Institute and the Illinois Fire Chiefs' Association and received the
1996 International Society of Fire Service Instructors "Innovator
Of The Year" award for his development of the "Saving Our
Own"
program, a program designed to teach firefighters how to save firefighters
that have become trapped or lost in a burning building. He lectures at the
local, state, national and international levels and is a sought-after speaker
by both the public and private sectors. A very popular speaker on a variety
of leadership topics, he has been requested by several businesses and
corporations to deliver his inspiring and meaningful leadership development
programs.
As an author, Rick has written over 150 technical articles that have been
published in national fire-rescue journals. These magazine articles relate to
fire department operations, administration, training and safety. Rick is a
long-standing editorial advisor to Fire Engineering magazine and has written
a book on 21st century leadership entitled Pride
and Ownership: A Firefighter's Love of the Job, published through PennWell Books.
Rick has also served as a police officer and was wounded on several
occasions, once while defending a victim of family violence; he has received
numerous fire and police awards and commendations. He is married to his best
friend Jami and they have two children, Rick and Emily.
