Estero Fire Rescue Administration

Fire Chief

On September 10, 2008, the Board of Fire Commissioners unanimously appointed Scott Vanderbrook to the position of Fire Chief.  Chief Vanderbrook has served as Interim Fire Chief since May 2, 2008.

Chief Vanderbrook was born and raised in Newark, a small town in upstate New York. He started his fire career as a volunteer firefighter at the age of 18 and belonged to the Deluge Hose Company as part of the Newark Volunteer Fire Department.

In 1989, Chief Vanderbrook moved to Florida to continue his firefighting career and was hired as a firefighter/EMT with the City of Oviedo Fire Department. He worked his way up the ranks to Division Chief responsible for Training, Emergency Medical Services, public information and public education.

In November of 1998, Chief Vanderbrook was hired by Estero Fire Rescue to assist in the development and growth of a young organization and has served in many positions at Estero Fire Rescue over the past several years. Chief Vanderbrook is a member of the Lee County Fire Chief’s Association and the Florida Fire Chiefs Association, in which he has served on many committees within both organizations. He also serves as a task force leader for Florida Task Force #6 of the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR).

Chief Vanderbrook is a dedicated and driven individual who demands excellence not only from himself but from his staff, all who respond to 911 calls. “It’s a rewarding career. Every day is different. You never know what will happen so you always have to be on top of your game, because you never know what will come up. Most importantly, it feels good to provide a high level of service to the public, our customers.”

Assistant Fire Chief

Assistant Fire Chief Mark Wahlig was born in Brunswick, ME and moved to Central Florida as a child. In 1992 he started his career in the fire service as a volunteer for the Apopka Fire Department just outside of Orlando and was later hired by the City of Altamonte Springs.

In 1998, he was hired by the Estero Fire Protection and Rescue Services District, later becoming Estero Fire Rescue, as a firefighter / EMT. As the demand for advanced life support services increased in the community he obtained certification as a State of Florida Paramedic.  He was subsequently promoted to Lieutenant followed by Battalion Chief.

In October 2008, he was promoted to his current position. As the assistant fire chief, he reports directly to the Fire Chief and is responsible for the supervision of three Battalion Chiefs, two Division Chiefs, the Information Technology Administrator and an Administrative Specialist.  He also assumes the duties and responsibilities of the Fire Chief in his absence.

According to Assistant Fire Chief Wahlig it is essential that Estero Fire Rescue continues to provide an excellent level of service that is competitive and cost effective through continued training and upgrading of our current services. “The demand for public safety continues to evolve requiring agencies such as Estero Fire Rescue to continually reevaluate goals, identify potential threats and trends and then plan accordingly.”

He is married with two children and is a member of the Lee County Fire Chiefs Association, the Florida Fire Chiefs Association, the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the Southwest Florida USAR Task Force (FL TF-6).

Fire Marshal

Phillip Green has been employed with Estero Fire Rescue for four years. He previously served as Fire Marshal and Fire Chief for the City of Fort Walton Beach. Florida.

He holds a Bachelor Degree in Fire Science Management from Troy State University. He is Certified Firefighter, Fire Inspector, Arson Investigator, Fire Service Instructor and Fire and Life Safety Educator. He has been married to his wife Paula for 22 years. They reside in Cape Coral and have three dogs Alvin, Britany, and Simon as well as a bird Peepers.

Operations

The area of operations is what most people imagine when they think of Fire Rescue. The men and women of operations are the ones who answer the call in the event of an emergency. In order to keep up to date in providing the best service to the community and in the mitigation of all health and safety emergencies, continued training is a necessity.

Human Resources

Linda Conway has been employed with Estero Fire Rescue since April of 1998. Beginning her tenure with EFR as the Administrative Assistant to the Fire Chief and currently specializing in the human resource area as the Human Resource Coordinator.

The Human Resource department is responsible for managing all phases of human resources activity.  Essential to all components of EFR, HR responsibilities include orientation, pre-employment checks, maintaining personnel transactions, personal medical files, employee statistics, insurance services, benefit program management, training in human resource related issues, and addressing inquiries to all EFR policies, procedures and programs.  The HR department is the repository for all EFR Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines.