Trench Rescue

Cecil V. "Buddy" Martinette Jr. is a career fire and rescue professional whose work experiences range from firefighter to Chief to Assistant County Administrator. He is currently the fire chief in Wilmington North Carolina. Chief Martinette started his career as a volunteer firefighter in the Virginia Beach Fire Department where he spent twenty-five years leaving as a Battalion Chief and Chief Fire Marshall. He has also been the Chief of the Lynchburg Fire and EMS Department in Lynchburg Virginia and Assistant County Administrator in Hanover County Virginia. Mr. Martinette holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fire Administration from Hampton University and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Troy State University. He is also a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program where he received the 2003 Executive Leadership Outstanding Research Award. Chief Martinette has received the designation of "Chief Fire Officer" by the Commission on Chief Fire Officer Designation. Previously Buddy was an Instructor III with the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Fire Programs. He also served as a FEMA Incident Support Team Operations Officer and Task Force Leader for Virginia Task Force II, of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Urban Search and Rescue Program. His Urban Search and Rescue experience includes the Colonial Heights Wal-Mart Collapse, deployments for hurricanes Floyd, Fran, Francis, Charlie, Ivan, Katrina, and Rita and also the Murrah Federal Building Bombing and 9-11 Pentagon collapse. Ron Zawlocki began his fire service career in 1974 with the Detroit Fire Department. In 1977 he joined the City of Pontiac Fire Department and retired as a Battalion Chief in 2007. Chief Zawlocki holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in secondary education. He has served on local, state and national committees on firefighter safety and technical rescue. Ron Zawlocki is a lead instructor and Rescue Course Manager with Michigan State University and is the Trench Rescue Program Manager with the MUSAR Training Foundation. He serves as a Rescue Team Manager with MI-TF1 which is a state (SUSAR) urban search and rescue task force. Chief "Z" has taught fire and rescue courses throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Middle East for more than two decades. He has developed several technical rescue training programs, authored course text books and has been published in national fire/ rescue service magazines.