Fire Chief Gary Seidel

Fire Chief Gary Seidel comes to Hillsboro with twenty-six years of fire service experience as an Assistant Chief with the Los Angeles Fire Department. He has earned a Masters of Arts Degree in Business Administration and Organizational Development, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Biology, and an Associates Degree in Fire Science. He is also a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program.

In the emergency response arena he was an Operations Section Chief for FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Incident Support Team at the World Trade Center, a Planning Section Chief at the Utah 2002 Winter Olympics for Park City Fire District, served as a Planning Section Chief for the Southern California Interagency Incident Management Team 1, and was the lead fire service Investigator assigned by the United States Fire Administration at the Columbine High School Shooting.

He has been an Adjunct Instructor for the National Fire Academy in numerous fields, a Master Instructor in Swift Water and Technical Rope Rescue Programs, and a published fire service author. He is nationally recognized as a content expert and course developer in the fields of fire service emergency operations, command and control, weapons of mass destruction, fire investigation, swift water rescue, and urban search and rescue. He has been a keynote speaker at numerous conferences throughout the World.

Deputy Chief Sam Phillips - Administration

Deputy Chief Sam Phillips joined Hillsboro Fire & Rescue in October of 2005 and has more than 30 years of fire service experience. Chief Phillips has held the positions of Firefighter, Investigator, Lieutenant, Captain, Battalion Chief, and Assistant Chief. As Deputy Chief of Administration, he is responsible for formulating and maintaining the Fire Department's budget and managing the Administrative functions of the Department.

Prior to his promotion to Deputy Chief, Sam was the Department's Training Chief. He has extensive background in training and was elected to the position of Oregon Fire Instructor’s Association Secretary in 2003, Vice-President in 2005 and President in 2007. In 2008, he was chosen as the Oregon Fire Instructor of the Year. In addition, he is a charter member of the Umpqua Fire Instructor's Association, an active member of the Western Washington County Training Association, as well as Northwest Association of Fire Trainers. Chief Phillips represents the Oregon Fire Service on the Pacific Northwest Wildfire Coordinating Group Training Working Team.

Chief Phillips holds an Instructor certificate from Phi Theta Kappa Leadership Development Studies, an Associate Degree in Fire Science, a Bachelors Degree in Management, and has completed the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officer Program. He is an active responder with the Oregon State Fire Marshal's Office Incident Management Teams as a Type II Deputy Operations Section Chief and is a member of the Pacific Northwest National Incident Management Team #2. Currently Chief Phillips serves Hillsboro Fire as an Incident Safety Officer and participates in the Metro Fire Safety Officer’s Association.

Deputy Chief Greg Nelson - Operations

Deputy Chief Greg Nelson is a veteran Hillsboro firefighter.  He joined the organization in 1980 as a firefighter and rose through the ranks to his current position.  During that time, he developed firefighting protocols for high rise and large capacity building firefighting, managed the conflagration program that sends Hillsboro firefighters to assist with major wild land fires across the state, and trained recruit firefighters.  Chief Nelson now supervises all daily operations of the 78 response personnel. 

Deputy Chief John Rinier began his career in the fire service in 1988 as a volunteer and in 1991 joined the Hillsboro Fire Department as a Firefighter.  John then expanded his career into the Fire Prevention in 1996.  During this time, he performed fire and life safety inspections of commercial and residential buildings, reviewed fire protection system plans, conducted fire and cause investigations, and was instrumental in the development of the currently used inspection database.  For his experience and efforts, John was promoted to Deputy Fire Marshal position in 2004 and then Fire Marshal in 2005.

Fire Marshal Rinier, who holds an Associates Degree in Fire Science, is a member of the National Fire Protection Association, International Code Council, Oregon Fire Marshal Association, International Association of Arson Investigators, National Fire Sprinkler Association, and is involved in code development through the Oregon Fire Code Committee. As the Fire Marshal, he manages the Fire Prevention Division. The Fire Prevention Division consists of seven Fire Inspectors who provide coordinated delivery of fire and life safety services that include Code Enforcement and Fire Investigation.