NFPA would like to thank the volunteer committee that helped develop the Certified Fire Alarm ITM Specialist (CFAITMS) for Facility Managers Certification. In the course of their work, committee members performed a job task analysis, determined the exam weighted criteria, and created the exam content. The hard work and dedication of the following individuals, along with the rest of the volunteer committee, made the development of this credential possible.
Mark W. Clark, CPMM, CFAITMS
Principal Consultant
Clark Consulting Services
Following twelve years of active duty military service in the US Navy’s submarine fleet, Mark has held full-time and consultant positions within the facilities management field - the majority of which has been in the life science industry. Since 1996, Mark’s employment has included management positions at Altus Pharmaceuticals, Amgen, CombinatoRx, Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Millipore Corporation and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. During the last fifteen years, Mark’s experience has been focused in the design, construction, relocation, start-up and operation of R&D laboratories. Founding Clark Consulting Services in 2007, he delivers a variety of owner’s rep services to biotechnology, pharmaceutical and nanotechnology clients.
Mark holds a profession designation as a Certified Professional Maintenance Manager (CPMM) from the Association of Facilities Engineering (AFE) as well as Massachusetts licenses for Construction Supervisor, Industrial Wastewater Treatment and Underground Storage Tank Systems Operation. Mark’s education includes Northeastern University’s Building Design and Management Program and the University of New Hampshire’s Construction Project Management Program. Mark is a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the United States Submarine Veterans (USSVI) and currently serves the AFE as the Regional Vice President for New England.
Bill Dillon- SMA, RPA, FMA, LEED Green Associate, CFAITMS
Sr. Director, Operations & Engineering
Liberty Property Trust: Comcast Center & Comcast Technology Center
Bill Dillon is currently the senior director of operations for Liberty Property Trust based in Philadelphia. Bill currently has oversite of the operations for Comcast Center which is a 60 story high-rise in downtown Philadelphia. He is also a member of the Liberty Property Trust project team currently constructing Comcast Technology Center, which is a second 60 story high-rise scheduled for completion in 2018, both of which are LEED Gold and LEED Platinum properties.
Bill has over 25 years of facilities maintenance, management, and operations experience primarily in the Philadelphia market. He is active in BOMA holding three designations (RPA, FMA, SMA) and active in community support programs. He is LEED Green Associate accredited, a licensed Philadelphia Class A Engineer, he holds an EPA 608 universal license, and is Pennsylvania real estate licensed.
Michael S. Gorham, CHFM, CET, BOC, CFAITMS
Manager, Facilities Management
OSF Healthcare System, Peoria Illinois
Michael Gorham has worked in facilities his entire professional career. It began with electronics training in the U.S. Army and continued on during college following his service. Transferring those electronic skills over to civilian commercial systems, he worked his way up to electronics journeyman maintaining electronic fire alarm systems for Jefferson County Public Schools in Lakewood, Colorado.
After returning to his hometown, Michael found his way to OSF Healthcare in Peoria, Illinois as the fire alarm system technician for the flagship hospital, St. Francis Medical Center. He quickly worked his way up to unit manager. After a couple years Michael was transferred to one of OSF’s critical access hospitals as the director of facilities. He is now a manager for the OSF Facilities Engineering Division and divides his time between his base at OSF Holy Family Medical Center and other projects within the OSF Healthcare System. In his free time he enjoys long distance bicycling and travel.
Richard L Meester, CFAITMS
Environmental, Safety & Health
Fire Safety Coordinator Lead
RPP/WTP Hanford Project: Richland, Washington
Bechtel National Inc.
Richard (Dick) Meester has worked in the fire protection industry for 24 + years. Dick has experience in all aspects of fire alarm systems from field installation and troubleshooting, to acceptance testing, and system design.
He is a professional member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, and currently holds certifications for Senior Engineering Technician, NICET Level IV in Fire Alarm Systems, NICET Level II Inspection Testing and Maintenance of Water Based Systems, and NICET Level I in Special Hazards Systems.
Dick currently works in southeastern Washington state, on the RPP/WTP Hanford project where Bechtel National, Inc. is designing, constructing, and commissioning the world’s largest radioactive waste treatment plant for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). When complete, the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant will process and stabilize millions of gallons of radioactive and chemical waste currently stored at the Hanford site. His duties include the oversight of the inspection, testing, and maintenance programs to ensure compliance with applicable NFPA code and standards, DOE orders, and state and local regulations, as they apply to the fire protection systems and implementation the WTP fire protection program.
Richard W. Roland CHFM, CHSP-FSM, CPI, CFI-I, CHC, CFAITMS
Facility Manager/Life Safety Officer
Chickasaw Nation Department of Health
Richard Roland got started in MEP construction over 23 years ago, mostly in plumbing, heating and air conditioning. Sixteen years ago he began using these trades in healthcare at a 50 bed, or so, hospital. After a few years he was managing small projects inside the hospital. Eventually he was given the opportunity to work on the construction management team in overseeing a new 370,000 square foot hospital/MOB facility. About six months prior to completion, two things happened, he passed his first certification (CHFM), and he was promoted to facility manager. Since then he has increased his span of interest with more than six certifications and licenses. Each time what he finds is how much he didn’t know, that he didn’t know.
Rodney Schauf, CFAITMS
Director of Engineering
The Sheraton Seattle Hotel
Rodney Schauf has over 29 years in the hospitality field, managing properties of various sizes, ages, and with vastly different technologies. One of his many job roles has included primary responsibility for managing the inspection, testing and maintenance of fire protection systems. As part of that responsibility, Rodney managed replacement and upgrades to various smoke detection systems in the properties he managed. He also scheduled and managed the fire testing to insure code compliance. This allowed him to become familiar with the various NFPA codes and standards.
He was a member of the Washington State Building Code Council - Technical Advisory Group that developed the CO monitoring and detection building codes, as well as a member of the working group on the new ISO testing standards for building operators.
Jerry Schwind, CHFM, CHC, CPE, CFAITMS
Vanguard Resources Inc.
Jerry Schwind has 35 years of experience in facilities operation and consulting services. He performed consulting services for MIT, GE Capital, and Starwood Hotel Group. Jerry has also directed engineering services for the Georgia Dome, the home of the Atlanta Falcons. He was also senior design engineer for construction of the 1.4 million square foot New Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of ASHE and NFPA.
Christopher J Shirar, CFAITMS
Chief Engineer
UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay
Chris Shirar has been involved in facilities management operations for more than 20 years. He has held several positions in his 20 years of service including both fire protection and construction roles. He has been involved in the opening of three different hospitals during his career. Most recently, he worked on the opening of an approximately one million sq. ft. medical center in San Francisco. Chris’ responsibilities include inventory and testing of the fire and life safety inspection, testing, and maintenance program, and other regulatory testing for the medical center (emergency power and medical gases). He also supervises 31 stationary engineers that support the maintenance program for UCSF Medical Center Mission Bay.
Russell T. Yamada, PE, CFAITMS, CHRS
Deputy, Production Facilities & Equipment Management Division
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
Russell Yamada has been an engineer with the shipyard for 36 years, of which 26 have been in the area of facilities and plant equipment management. In his current position, he is responsible for planning, programming, budgeting, and maintenance of fire protection systems for 175 buildings and structures under shipyard jurisdiction, some of which support nuclear work. He is also responsible for providing direction to engineers and building managers in the area of fire protection systems compliance/training, and tracking of required maintenance and deficiencies. Additionally, he is involved with studies for new fire protection systems being designed, and evaluations for continued reliability of aging systems.
Russell is a registered professional engineer with a MS in civil engineering. Besides membership in the NFPA Industrial Fire Protection Section, he is also a member of American Society of Civil Engineers, National Society of Professional Engineers, U.S. Naval Institute, and American Society of Naval Engineers. He is also a member of the Musicians Association of Hawaii.