Michael McNally
Chief of Training
Chief Training Officer Michael McNally has been in the fire service for 18 years and holds numerous certifications associated with the Fire Service. Michael was a Battalion Chief with Coral Springs, assigned to operations prior to being promoted to Chief Training Officer in February 2011. He is a Fire Instructor III and has taught at the Coral Springs Fire Academy for the past 9 years. He has his bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership and has taught in the following courses through the Coral Springs Fire Academy: Minimum standards, driver engineer, flashover, FLUSAR vehicle machinery rescue, FLUSAR rope rescue operations and technician level and other State approved courses. He is a member of the Professional Development Committee and is the supervisor in charge of the Department’s Officer Development Program. He is also a member of FEMA’s Urban Search and Rescue team assigned to Florida Task Force 2.
csfd*coralsprings.org
954-346-1774
Mike Caldaro
Assistant Chief of Training
Battalion Chief Mike Caldaro has been in the Fire Rescue service since 1982. He has been affiliated with the Coral Springs Fire Department since 1993 and is currently assigned to the Coral Springs Fire Academy as the Assistant Chief of Training. He has been a Fire Service instructor since 1998 and currently serves as the EMS Program Director. Chief Caldaro also is an instructor for Minimum Standards as well as being the Lead Instructor for Driver Engineer and Aerial Apparatus Operations training. Chief Caldaro has an AS degree in Fire Science from BCC and a BS degree in Organizational Leadership from St.Thomas University. His other achievements include: Fire Inspector, Paramedic, Urban Search and Rescue Specialist assigned to USAR Florida Task Force Two. Chief Caldaro has been deployed 4 times with USAR Task Force 2; those missions include Hurricane Katrina (twice), Hurricane Ike and to Haiti in January, 2010 where they were able to save 7 lives following the devastating earthquake.
mcaldaro*coralsprings.org
954-346-1774
Frank Babinec
Deputy Chief
Deputy Chief Frank Babinec has been with the Coral Springs Fire Department for 15 years, holds numerous certifications associated with the Fire Service, and is a member of the departments’ Dive Rescue Team. He has held various positions within the department and was promoted to Deputy Fire Chief in 2007. Chief Babinec has over 11 years of Instructor experience and has served as a Lead Instructor with the Academy since 2001.
fbabinec*coralsprings.org
954-346-1774
Thomas J. Cole
Battalion Chief
Battalion Chief Thomas Cole is a Battalion Chief for the Thirteenth Battalion of Miami Dade Fire Rescue. Chief Cole has over 30 years of experience in the field and 20 years of teaching experience and is a Lead Instructor for the Coral Springs Fire Academy. Chief Cole currently holds a Florida Fire Instructor III and has a Bachelors Degree in Organizational Leadership and an A.S. Degree in Fire Science. Chief Cole has been on FL-TF-1 Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) for 22 years and is currently a Task Force Leader for the team. He has responded nationally and internationally for many disasters including the World Trade Center in 2001. Chief Cole holds many certifications including Technical Rescue Technician, Fire Department Safety Officer, and Florida State Paramedic. It should also be noted that Chief Cole has had 11 Minimum Standards classes achieve a perfect 100% pass rate from the State of Florida.
tcole*coralsprings.org
954-346-1774
Joe Russoniello
Captain
Joe Russoniello is a Captain with the City of Coral Springs Fire Department with over 17 years experience. He holds an Associates Degree, a Live Fire Instructor II Certification and has been a fire service instructor since 2001. Captain Russoniello is currently a Lead Instructor with the Academy as well as the Burn Master for the Coral Springs Fire Academy. He has instructed the Driver Engineer Program, Minimum Standards Class and the Aerial Apparatus Operator class.
Captain Russoniello is also a member of the Florida Task Force (Urban Search and Rescue) assigned in Miami where he subsequently instructed Tech Search Operations for new members. He was deployed to Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. For four weeks he and fellow Task Force members searched flooded and demolished homes for survivors. Captain Russoniello was deployed to Haiti in January, 2010 with the USAR team where they were able to save 7 lives following the devastating earthquake.
Other accomplishments have included receiving the Administrative Commendation for new recruit training, and developing the “Wall Breaching Program” which was honored by the State of Florida and put into practice as part of their Continuing Education Unit Program. Additionally, he has instructed four Minimum Standards classes that have achieved a 100% score.
jrussoniello*coralsprings.org
954-346-1774
Kevin Sullivan
Captain
Kevin Sullivan has been employed by the Coral Springs fire department since the year 2000. He has held every position up to and including the position of Captain. Captain Sullivan Graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale. He attended the University of Florida majoring in Animal Science. At this time he enrolled at the University of Florida for a degree in Fire and Emergency Services. Captain Sullivan has been teaching EMS since2003. He was a lead EMT instructor at FMTI prior to working for the Coral Springs Fire Academy. Instructor Sullivan has been a Lead Instructor for the Coral Springs Fire Academy EMT program since 2008. He is very passionate about teaching and sharing his knowledge with his students.
ksullivan@coralsprings.org
954-346-1774