Fire and Emergency Services Administration: Management and Leadership Practices

L. Charles Smeby Jr.

Mr. Smeby is a Lecturer at the University of Florida.  His primary responsibility is to develop, create and present courses and provide administrative support for the Fire and Emergency Service Bachelor’s distance learning program. In 1998, he joined the faculty of the Florida State Fire College as an academic instructor for this same Bachelor's degree program serving for six years.

Previously, for six years, he was a Senior Fire Service Specialist at National Fire Protection Association in the Public Fire Protection Division. In that capacity, he coordinated several NFPA fire service technical committees and provided guidance to the implementation, understanding and the intent of NFPA fire service standards.

Before joining NFPA, Mr. Smeby completed a twenty-year career with the Prince George’s County, Maryland, Fire Department retiring as a Battalion Chief. In this capacity, he administered, advised and/or participated in management, emergency operations, and planning for this fire and emergency service department serving over 750,000 residents.

His education includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Protection Engineering and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. He also was a part time faculty member in the Fire Science programs at Prince George’s Community College, Largo, Maryland and the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Finally, he served as a US Navy medic assigned to the Marine Corps with service in Vietnam.