Robert has been the Fire Investigator for the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), which is based in Quincy, Massachusetts, since 1997.  Robert is responsible for conducting investigations of technically significant incidents in order to gather, “Lessons Learned” from each incident to apply those lessons to improving NFPA codes and standards.  The investigation of these incidents includes documenting the emergency services response, the structure(s) involved as well as the events leading up to and following the incident.

Robert was named the New England Regional Manager for NFPA in 2003. His region recently expanded to include NY and NJ and is now referred to as the Northeast Region. 

As Regional Director, Robert is responsible for outreach within the northeast states regarding code adoptions, and training.  He also serves as a point of contact for stakeholders in the NFPA process; including the fire service, engineering and safety professionals.

Robert has conducted investigations into several significant incidents including; fire fighter fatalities in Albert City Iowa, Lake Worth Texas, Marks, Mississippi, New York City, Phoenix, Arizona, Keokuk, Iowa, Coos Bay, Oregon and Houston, TX, a cruise ship fire in Miami Florida, a grain elevator explosion in Kansas, a bulk retail warehouse in Phoenix, AZ, a large “green” office building in WI, as well as the total loss of a sprinklered warehouse in KY, among others.

Robert was a member of the FEMA Building Performance and Assessment Team (BPAT) that studied the World Trade Center disaster in 2001.

Robert was also involved in the 2003 investigations of the tragic Rhode Island nightclub fire that killed 100 and the Hartford, CT nursing home fire that claimed 16 lives.

Robert recently reviewed the fire service response to the Merrimack Valley, MA gas over pressurization incident of September 2018, a BESS explosion that seriously injured four fire fighters in Surprise, AZ in April 2019, as well as a fatal high-rise fire in Minneapolis, MN in November 2019 for NFPA Journal magazine.

Robert has presented on these incidents and many related NFPA codes, standards and public safety initiatives, around the world since 1997.

Robert has served as the Chief of the Atwood Hose Fire Company in his hometown of Wauregan, CT, where he has been a member since 1981, since 2012.  He has worked as an emergency services dispatcher in a regional fire department dispatch center in northeastern Connecticut since 1986. He also serves on the instructional staff of the Eastern CT Fire Training School.

Robert is a Past President of the CT Fire Chiefs Association and a member of the CT Fire Service Hall of Fame, Class of 2021.

Robert serves as a Communications Specialist for CT-TF1 – Connecticut State Urban Search and Rescue Task Force.  He is also a member of the CT Region 4 Incident Management Team (IMT – 4).

Robert holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Northeastern University in Boston, MA.