Membership Inquiries- membership@suncoastfools.com
President
Ryan Kaliher
NDF343@Verizon.net
Ryan Kaliher joined the fire service in 1999. Ryan is currently a Lieutenant with Southern Manatee Fire & Rescue in Manatee County Florida. He is a Florida certified firefighter, EMT, fire inspector II, fire officer, and fire Instructor.
Vice President
Billy Pratt
firefight479@yahoo.com
Bill began his career in the fire service as a 911 dispatcher in 1998 and quickly realized his calling was on the other end of the radio as a volunteer with Parrish Fire Dept. He was hired full time with Southern Manatee FD in 2001 & remained a Parrish volunteer until 2005.
Secretary Treasurer
Rich Losek
rich.losek@wmfr.org
Rich is a Battalion Chief with West Manatee Fire Rescue. He started his carrier as a volunteer with Anna Maria Fire District in Nov. 1987 and was hired as a paid firefighter in April 1989 and was promoted to captain in 1992. Anna Maria Fire District and West Side Fire Dept. started an inner-local agreement to work together in 1998 and in 2000 merged together and was renamed West Manatee Fire Rescue. Rich was promoted to B/C in September 1998.
.
.
Trustee #1
Tony Fitzgerald
fitzability@gmail.com
Tony started his career as a volunteer in 1991 at Nokomis FD, graduated from Venice Fire Academy in 1992 and was hired by the City of Venice FD in 1993. Tony promoted to Lt in 2001 and retired in 2013.
Trustee #2
Leigh Hollins
SunCoastFOOLS@aol.com
Leigh is a Founding Member of the Sun Coast FOOLS. He began his career in 1976 at Nottingham Fire Company in Hamilton Square, NJ before relocating to Manatee County, FL in 1977. He retired in 2013 from Cedar Hammock (FL) Fire Rescue as a Battalion Chief. Hollins is the author of numerous fire-related articles and teaches firefighters nationally. He serves on FDIC’s educational executive committee, as well as being a member of Fire Engineering’s magazine's editorial advisory board and has been an FDIC H.O.T. lead extrication Instructor since 1997.
