About Mick Mayers

Michael "Mick" Mayers is a Battalion Chief with Hilton Head Island (SC) Fire and Rescue and a Senior Advisor for the South Carolina Emergency Response Task Force’s Urban Search and Rescue Program (SC-TF1), having served as Deputy Director and Acting Director since its formation in 2003. Chief Mayers began his emergency services career in Bridgeport, PA in 1980.

Chief Mayers is a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program and holds a degree in Fire Science Technology from Savannah Technical Institute.  He also maintains professional certifications as a fire officer, instructor, hazardous materials technician, SCUBA instructor, and was a National Registry Paramedic for 25 years before realizing he wasn't likely to get back on the bus anymore and let it lapse.

Mick serves as a committee member and Chairman of NFPA 1006, Professional Qualifications for Technical Rescuers and is a member of the NFPA Professional Qualifications TCC, and is also on the Editorial Board of the IAFC's On Scene magazine. Chief Mayers is one of the founders and past Board Vice-Chairman of the State Urban Search and Rescue Alliance, a consortium of US&R teams from over 40 states, which has been an advocate for the rescue industry since 2005. During his career he also served as an adjunct instructor for the South Carolina Fire Academy and an adjunct faculty member of The Technical College of the Lowcountry.

Among many commendations, Mick received his department's Meritorious Service Medal once in 1984 and again in 2009. In 2005, Chief Mayers was recognized by the South Carolina State Senate for his work in development of the South Carolina US&R program and then honored later that year by the South Carolina Department of Fire and Life Safety for leading SC-TF1 into service in St. Tammany and St. Bernard Parishes (Louisiana) after Hurricane Katrina, where he was the task force’s Incident Support Team Commander.

Chief Mayers began serving as the coordinator of Hilton Head Island’s Special Operations Group in 1990 and was the Fire and EMS Operations Commander during visits to Hilton Head Island by several Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the United States.  In that capacity, he was also the detail commander of many major sports and special events held on the Island during that time. Under his supervision, the Hilton Head Island team was brought in as one of four assets authorized under the South Carolina US&R program as a Regional US&R Response Team.

Mick is currently an author and blogger on technical rescue and emergency service leadership. He has his own blog site at FirehouseZen.com and continues to educate and motivate response professionals. His articles and blogs have been featured at FireEMSBlogs.com,  FirefighterNation.com, FireRescue1.com, Firehouse.com, WithTheCommand.com, and SConFire.com. He has spoken at several different venues, including the annual State Urban Search and Rescue Alliance conferences, as well as the 2008 National Hurricane Conference.

Mayers has also serves several local non-profit organizations as a board member and is the co-founder and Vice-President of Caroline & Friends, a non-profit established with his wife that serves as an advocate for persons with Down syndrome and their families. Together, he and his wife also own KPM Flooring, a retailer specializing in sophisticated and transformative floor coverings.  Chief Mayers is a native of Montgomery County, PA and lives on Hilton Head Island with his wife, Kathleen, and daughters Emma, Caroline, and Honora.  He is a fourth generation firefighter; his father is a retired Fire Chief and Fire Marshal, his brother is a career fire officer in Anne Arundel County, MD and one of his sisters is an EMT and dive team member in Brown County, SD.

Chief Mayers is available for speaking engagements or other consultation as his schedule permits; for more information, e-mail him at firehousezen@gmail.com