2023 Duluth Fire Officer & Training Officer School
March 17-19, 2023 | DECC | 350 Harbor Drive, Duluth, MN 55802

Speaker Information

Nate Basinger, Battalion Chief, Excelsior Fire District
Nate Basinger is a Battalion Chief with the Excelsior Fire District. He has a passion for training, both as a participant and as an instructor. As a battalion chief of a paid-on-call department, Nate has a particular interest and focus on the operational challenges of an unpredictable response. Applying the principles of servant leadership, Nate loves to dig deep into helping the department get the most out of its members, and helping members to get the most out of their service. He regularly instructs for various training organizations, fire departments, and fire academies.

Trevor Hamdorf, Deputy Director - Public Safety, New Brighton
In his current role as a Deputy Director of Public Safety Trevor oversees administration of the police and fire department in the metro area and has 19 years of experience.  He is a certified police officer, fire fighter, emergency medical technician, hazardous materials technician, and has a Master’s Degree in Emergency and Disaster Management. He is President of the North Suburban Hazardous Materials Response Team and is a member of the Minnesota All Hazards Incident Management Team with deployments to Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Rita, as well multiple Minnesota deployments to tornados, flooding, civil disturbances, and wild fires.

Greg Hayes, F.I.R.E., Inc. & TaskForce Strategies
Greg Hayes has served within Public Safety for 30 years. His service has included all levels of leadership within Public Safety as well as tactical response teams. Throughout his career, he has been known for a passion to serve others. This passion is demonstrated in his entertaining and informative presentations.

Gary Hendrickson, Fire Chief, Dayton
Chief Hendrickson started his career with the Plymouth Fire Department in 1995 and holds a bachelor's degree in Fire Science. While working as a paid-on-call firefighter for the Plymouth Fire Department, simultaneously in 2003, he worked for Homeland Security and Emergency Management for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, where he managed the state emergency response assets. After working 18 years as a paid-on-call firefighter, in 2013, Chief Hendrickson became the second full-time Chief of the Willmar Fire Department. In 2015 he became the Deputy Chief of the Brooklyn Center Fire Department until June of 2022 when he became the first full-time Chief of the Dayton Fire Department. 

BJ Jungmann, Fire Chief, Burnsville Fire Dept.
BJ is currently the Fire Chief for the City of Burnsville which is a suburban career fire and EMS agency just outside of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota. Chief Jungmann has had the fortune to work throughout his career in many different roles, starting as a volunteer firefighter, EMT, dispatcher, paramedic, fire captain, training officer, assistant chief, and now fire chief. He is fortunate to be the Fire Chief of one of only a few career fire departments in Minnesota and has a great staff that is striving to increase its professionalism. Chief Jungmann has worked in both hospital-based EMS and local government fire-based EMS. He has a passion for learning, he currently holds a Master's Degree from Hamline University in Public Administration, has completed the Executive Fire Officer Program through the National Fire Academy, and is a Credentialed Chief Fire Officer through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Chief Jungmann is a student of the profession who strived to learn and grow from each experience, he is engaged at the local and state level with organizations to advance both the fire and EMS professions. 

Curt Mackey, Fire Chief, Excelsior Fire District
Curt Mackey, is the current Fire Chief of the Excelsior Fire District. Curt has held many positions of increasing responsibility in the fire service including Management and Logistics. Curt also has significant work experiences in Haz Mat, EMS, Emergency Management and Fire Administration. Combining his extensive experience in fire training and organizational development, with his specialized training in fire ground tactics and strategies; Curt helps people integrate the practice of an All Hazards approach into their work life and personal life. He has a broad work history with multiple fire departments, EMS institutions, law enforcement, civic organizations, small businesses and colleges. He has taught multiple leadership and management classes, led team building and strategic planning exercises. His day to day experience as a manager in his current organization, combined with his extensive background as a group facilitator enables him to create a dynamic learning experience.

Curt received his bachelor's degree in Fire Administration from Columbia Southern University and has an Emergency Management Certification. 

Scott Spinks, Captain, Long Lake Fire Dept. & Critical Care Paramedic, North Memorial Ambulance
Scott serves as a Critical Care Paramedic with North Memorial Ambulance, an EMS Instructor for Hennepin Healthcare and as a Fire Captain with the Long Lake Fire Department.