Response - Bureau Chief
David Halstead, CEM
Bureau Chief of Response
Florida Division of Emergency Management
Began serving in the Fire Service starting in 1970, working for the City of Altamonte Springs Fire Department rising through the ranks and retiring as an Assistant Chief in 1998. Member of the Florida Fire Chiefs Association Statewide Disaster Response Committee and was the chair of that committee from January 1995 until February 1998.
March 1999: Government Analyst with the State Division of Emergency Management. David served as the Emergency Services Branch Chief during 10 presidential disaster declarations overseeing law enforcement, fire, EMS and hazardous materials response. He was also responsible for the implementation of the Governors Task Force recommendations after the 1998 wildfires. Served as a member of the National Wildland Urban Interface Working Team that developed a national wildfire mitigation concept, Firewise, and was a leader in wildland firefighter safety, serving as its chair from 2002 until 2004.
Beginning in 2003, David coordinated the Office of Domestic Preparedness grants that were directed to the State and to the Urban Areas, totaling over $200 million in two years. He coordinated the statewide terrorism assessment ordered by the Office of Domestic Preparedness. Finally, David served as co-chair on the State Domestic Security State Working Team (Operations/Planning Sub-committee) 2003 until 2005.In August of 2004, David was appointed by the Commissioner of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and approved by the Governor to serve as the first Chief of Domestic Preparedness for the state. Within this office are the responsibilities for working with all state and local partners on preparedness, response, equipment, training, exercises, port security for domestic preparedness. Serve as the chief coordinating officer for the State Working Group on Domestic Preparedness overseeing the activities of 5 statewide committees.
April 2006 to Present: Appointed by the Director of the Division of Emergency Management to become the Bureau Chief for the Bureau of Response, overseeing the State Emergency Operations Center during disasters. Contained within the bureau is the Domestic Preparedness, Operations, State Watch Office, Logistics, Critical Infrastructure, and Communications units.
