The Team
Frank Dodich & Associates Ltd. is an independent British Columbia company offering Fire, Security, Training and Public Safety consulting services.
Frank Dodich & Associates Ltd. is an independent British Columbia company offering Fire, Security, Training and Public Safety consulting services.
Engaged in Public Safety with the City of Vancouver (CoV) for over 40 years, Frank has vast experience in Fire Operations, Emergency Management, Public Safety, Public Order and Crowd Management. He served Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services (VFRS) for 37 years culminating his career as Chief of Operations and Public Order Commander, responsible for day-to-day VFRS Operations including Suppression staff, the Marine Emergency Response Team (MERT), Public Safety Team, Device Extraction Team, Emergency Vehicle Operator, Heavy Rescue and Rapid Intervention programs.
In 2017 Frank moved to the Vancouver Emergency Management Agency (VEMA) as an Emergency Planning Coordinator. In 2018 Frank was contracted by the CoV as Manager, Special Event Public Safety and is currently the Principal Consultant at Frank Dodich & Associates Ltd.
Frank is a Bronze, Silver & Gold Public Order Commander, Tactical Advisor and Major Event Operational Planner through the College of Policing in London and the Vancouver Police Department. He is a certified CPTED Consultant, Obstruction Removal Team Specialist, past Board member and Advisory Council of the Event Safety Alliance Canada and past Board member and Chair of ASIS International, Pacific Chapter 190.
Brian began his fire service with Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services, moving to the District of North Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services in 2015 as Assistant Fire Chief – Operations, promoting to Fire Chief in 2018. As Fire Chief he leads 140 members and oversees an operating budget of more than $21 million dollars.
Brian holds a Masters’ Degree in Disaster & Emergency Management, a Bachelor Degree in Fire & Life Safety Studies, a Fire Service Leadership Diploma, Fire Executive Management Certificate, a Certificate in Advanced Strategy, and a Certificate in International Development from the University of British Columbia. He holds designations as a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) and as an Executive Chief Fire Officer (ECFO).
Internationally, Brian has spent 12 years leading teams of Canadian fire service professionals delivering training throughout Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. For several years he served as the primary coordinator through the Justice Institute of BC for a 23-week Fire Officer Practicum program with Saudi Aramco. Brian also provided oversight and guidance for the development of a 3-week High-rise Firefighting Operations course delivered for members of the UAE Civil Defence. Brian has an interest in, and experience delivering, training in a wide variety of disciplines. These include, but are not limited to: Incident Command, Hazardous Materials, Technical Rescue, Wildfire Response, and Disaster Management, among others.
Chris is the Deputy Chief of Special Operations, Training & Professional Development for a major metropolitan Fire Department. He began his career in the fire service in 1992 and throughout his career, Chris has held the positions of Firefighter, Emergency Medical Services Instructor, Heavy Rescue Technician, Heavy Rescue & EMS Instructor, Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus Repair Technician, Training Officer and Assistant Chief. In 2018, Chris was promoted to his current role as Deputy Chief.
In 1993 he began working part time Sessional Employee for the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) and has held the position of Program Technician, Instructor and Curriculum Developer. Chris has extensive experience with JIBC Marine Firefighting, Recruit Firefighting Programs, Industrial Firefighting Programs and the Technical Rescue Programs. He has developed accredited curriculum for all of the aforementioned programs.
Ken is an Inspector for a major metropolitan Police Department. His diverse policing background encompassed several portfolios including Strike Force, Identity Theft Task Force, Community & Public Affairs, Human Resources, Beat Enforcement in the Downtown Eastside and the Emergency & Operational Planning Section.
Ken has been actively involved with the development of the Public Order Group and Search and Canvas Team training since 2005. During the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Ken was seconded to the Integrated Security Unit as a Police Search Advisor where he oversaw Counter Terrorism Search, Planning and Operations. He also oversaw the Emergency & Operational Planning Section (EOPS) where he planned and operationalized public safety for mass gathering events such as the Celebration of Lights, New Years Eve, 4/20 and Canada Day celebrations.
His tenure with the Public Order Group, combined with his experience in EOPS, and the 2010 Olympic Winter Games well positions Ken with respect to mass gathering public order and crowd management.
Among numerous professional qualifications, Ken has successfully completed the Critical Incident Managers Course at the Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC) and the Public Order Commander Course at the Midland Regional Public Order Training Centre in Wolverhampton, England.
Ken is the recipient of six commendations as well as the Community Service Award for his work in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
Gheorghe is a licensed Transport Canada Marine Engineer currently an independent consultant and a marine engineering instructor at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He is also a certified Fire Services Instructor working as a part time contractor for the Justice Institute of British Columbia, Fire Safety Division.
Gheorghe started his career in the shipping industry with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) in 2003 and worked in the shipping and ship repair industry. Until 2008, Gheorghe worked as a Fire Safety officer with NCL, then he worked for the same group of companies (PCH) in the engineering department, actively involved in designing, executing and evaluating shipboard emergency response procedures. His primary work was focused in shaping the shipboard training and emergency response to stay ahead of the challenges posed by unprecedented guest capacity and increased complexity of shipboard systems. Gheorghe worked in close contact with stake holders such as US Coast Guard, Transport Canada, Bahamian Maritime Authority and Det Norske Veritas to develop and implement new standards in passenger vessel safety, with primary focus on fire-safety.
Between 2014 and 2015, Gheorghe has volunteered, with his wife and kids, for one year on the world’s largest civilian hospital ship at the time, the MV Africa Mercy. After that, Gheorghe worked for one year with BC Ferries, for another year within a fast ferry local startup, then, for three and a half years, as the Mechanical Superintendent at Seaspan Vancouver Drydock Company.
Since 2011, Gheorghe has been a part time Instructional Contractor with the justice Institute of British Columbia – Fire and Safety Division, delivering and participating in the development of Transport Canada and STCW compliant marine firefighting courses such as the Basic and Advanced Shipboard Firefighting, IGF Ships LNG Basic and Advanced training, and Shipboard Firefighting for Land Based Firefighters(SBFF). Gheorghe is currently one of the lead instructors delivering the custom SBFF course at Seaspan ULC, Vancouver Shipyards.
Brian has worked in risk management and security for over 20 years, introduced to the industry when he was responsible for community policing in Southwest Vancouver in cooperation with the Vancouver Police Department. His career led him to work with the credit unions in British Columbia and Ontario, conducting vulnerability assessments of credit union branches and offices and quantifying risk from an insurance perspective. In addition to conducting physical assessments, he has written security, business continuity, and risk management manuals for the Canadian credit union system. He has also managed contract security teams for a large, multi-national security company. As a security consultant, he has conducted over 200 risk assessments for a variety of clients ranging in size from small storefronts to shopping malls to sports stadiums.
Brian has a degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia, is a Certified Protection Professional (CPP), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), a certified CPTED practitioner (Levels I and II), and is certified as a Port Facility Security Officer (PFSO). He is a former board member of the Vancouver chapter of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and is the former Associate Regional Vice President for ASIS in Western Canada, providing and promoting continuing education opportunities for risk and security professionals in Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC, and the Yukon. He is currently the Chapter Chair for the Canadian Pacific Chapter of ASIS.