Paul Stein, Expert Fire Witness

Paul H. Stein

Chief Stein retired from the Santa Monica Fire Department after a 31 year career. After his retirement he served as interim Fire Chief for the Lakeside Fire Protection District.

Chief Stein has 25 years experience as a supervisor.  He has served as Line Officer, Battalion Commander, Fire Marshal, Training Officer and Fire Chief. Chief Stein has served as the Fire Technology Coordinator at Santa Monica College, an instructor for the California Fire Academy System and former Adjunct Faculty Member for the National Fire Academy.

He holds an AS Degree in Fire Technology and a BA Degree in Management. Chief Stein is a Master Instructor for the California Department of Education.

One of the highlights of his career was to be honored as the “California Fire Instructor of the Year.” Chief Stein has written many management articles for every major fire service magazine in the country.  He has authored a college fire technology textbook and produced two videos on fire department oral examinations.

For the past 25 years, Chief Stein has worked as a Trainer and Management Consultant. He has performed services for over 200 different organizations throughout the United States. Chief Stein’s areas of expertise are leadership and incident command. He has been involved in management and organizational reviews, strategic planning, team building, officer development with emphasis on ethical leadership, diversity, civility, and emergency incident mitigation.

Chief Stein served as an Executive Board Member for the California State Firefighters’ Association (CSFA) from 1999 to 2003. He has served as  Chairman of the CSFA Education Committee and Homeland Security Committee.

Chief Stein is considered to be one of the top emergency service keynote speakers in the United States. He has keynoted over fifty conferences and conventions and spoke at over 100 events.

John Mittendorf

John Mittendorf is a 30 year veteran of the Los Angeles City Fire Department and held the rank of Battalion Chief until his retirement in 1993 when he was the Commander of the In-Service Training Section that was responsible for the training of 3,700 members. He has been a member of the National Fire Protection Research Foundation on Engineered Lightweight Construction Technical Advisory Committee, provided training programs for the National Fire Academy in Maryland, the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and the British Fire Academy in England. He has acted in an advisory capacity for five college fire science advisory boards and is the author of numerous fireground articles (that focus on the many facets of structural firefighting and command) for magazines in the United States and Europe. In addition to his writing background,

he has conducted workshops for most fire service conferences in the United States and selected European fire service conferences. He is the author of three best selling books Ventilation Methods and Techniques, Truck Company Operations, and Facing the Promotional Interview that are published by PennWell and distributed globally. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Fire Engineering magazine, and received the Lifetime Achievement Award at Fire Department Instructors Conference in 2008 that is awarded for “extraordinary contributions to the fire service.”

Past consulting cases include Washington D.C., Seattle WA, New York NY, Pittsburgh PA, Anaheim CA, Everett WA, Brea CA, Oak Park IL, Airway Heights WA, Humboldt County CA, and Josephine County OR.

The fee schedule is comprised of $300 per hour plus expenses (expenses are defined as current fare for food, travel, and lodging). Time spent away from home will be charged $2,500 per day plus expenses (current fare for food, travel, and lodging).

Ettore Berardinnelli

Ettore “GOR” Berardinnelli (retired) served with the Santa Monica Fire Department for 31 years, 21 of which were as a chief officer.

During his career he held the positions of firefighter, paramedic, fire engineer, engine & truck captain, training officer, battalion chief, platoon commander, deputy chief and fire chief. During his 12 years as deputy chief, his responsibilities included emergency operations, budget preparation and implementation, running the emergency communications center, all specification and purchasing functions and the Capital Improvement Program for the Fire Department. He was promoted to fire chief in 1997.

As the holder of a lifetime teaching credential, he taught Tactics & Strategy, Building Construction, Fire Hydraulics and Fire Company Operations courses at Santa Monica College over a 27-year span. Retiring in 2003, he has recently co-authored articles for the California State Firefighters Association magazine with Paul Stein.

Steve Maiero

Steve Maiero has over thirty years experience in emergency services in public, private, and combination organizations.  Currently a Battalion Chief with the Contra Costa County Fire District, Chief Maiero has served 13 years as a Chief Officer.  His tenure includes time in Suppression, Administration, and he served eight years as the Chief, Fire Emergency Medical Services.  Chief Maiero has a B.A. in Management, an A.S. in Fire Technology, and is a graduate from the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program.

In the field of Emergency Medical Services, Chief Maiero served as a licensed paramedic for twenty years.  He served as a member of the California State Firefighters (CSFA) EMS Committee for 18 years, and was an active member of the California Fire Chiefs EMS Section for 10 years, leaving as a Deputy Branch Director.  Chief Maiero served nine years as a Governor’s appointment on the California Commission on Emergency Medical Services, spanning both the Pete Wilson and Gray Davis Administrations.  On this Commission, he represented the interests of both the CSFA and the California Professional Firefighters (CPF).  He has been an active lecturer on EMS legislation, regulation, and health care concerns.  He has expertise in all areas of pre-hospital emergency medical services in both the public and private sector.