Training Captain - Kevin Southerland

Captain Southerland is the staff captain assigned as training officer.  His duties include the coordination and delivery of in-service company training; recruit firefighter training; promotional testing; research and development; and the Department Safety Officer.

In 1989, Captain Southerland was hired as a firefighter for the City of Orange.  He promoted to fire captain in 1999.  Captain Southerland has been involved in fire service training for over 20 years, with an emphasis in urban search & rescue (US&R).  He has been selected by the State Fire Marshal’s Office Training Division to develop and maintain the State’s US&R curriculum.  He was appointed to the California Seismic Safety Commission as a subject matter expert for the purpose of identifying potential emergency response needs in the event of a major earthquake along the San Andreas Fault.  He was requested to assist the nations of India and Ukraine in the development of their disaster response programs.  Captain Southerland also manages the contract training agreement between the Orange City Fire Department and  Santa Ana College, which provides thousands of dollars in reimbursement to the City of Orange each year. 

As a member of the Orange Fire Department’s US&R and Swiftwater/Flood Rescue Teams, Captain Southerland has been deployed to national disasters, including Hurricane Katrina.  He and other Orange Fire Department personnel worked for nearly three weeks rescuing and evacuating those affected by the storm.

Captain Southerland is clearly a “leader in the industry.” He contributes outstanding service to the community through his training of the firefighters that save lives, the environment and property.