The men and women of Daisy Mountain Fire Department
Marc Buckhout ~ Managing Editor ~ 01/20/2010

David Maxwell , Fire Department Division Chief, Planning

David Maxwell has been in the Fire Service since 2001. He joined Daisy Mountain Fire Department in January 2003 from Rural Metro Fire Department as a firefighter. Maxwell was promoted to Captain in 2007 and was assigned on Battalion 141 as the FIT (Field Incident Technician) a Captain position that works with the Battalion Chief and assists with major incidents such as structure fires, major medical incidents, large scale brush fires and other calls, helping the Battalion Chief with the overall safety of an incident. Maxwell has been a Division Chief about 9 months and now works out of the Battalion office at Station 146 (31st Ave and New River Road). He serves our community as a Fire Department Division Chief, Planning. Maxwell has extensive training including EMT, Wildland Red Carded, DMFD bike team member, AZ State/FEMA Incident Safety Officer class, 48 hour Incident Commander Certification class, Advanced Incident Command Systems training through the National Incident Management System, Command and General Staff training, Department of Homeland Defense All-Hazards course as a Finance/Administration Section Chief, he is certified as a Hazardous Materials Technician, completed the FEMA All Hazards Incident Management Team training, and completed the International Association of Fire Chiefs Executive Edge Leadership symposium.
Prior to joining the fire service Maxwell was a competitive cyclist winning five Arizona cycling state championships and medaling an additional five times.
What are your responsibilities as Division Chief, Planning?
“I coordinate and oversee the program managers for a lot of the support functions of the Department. Some of these programs are: Public Education which has a Schools program, Water Safety, CPR/First Aid and a Bike Rodeo program. I also have our Special Operations Division which has our Hazmat program, a Bike Team for event deployment, a Wildland Deployment program that can deploy members nationally in a variety of specialized positions, our Citizen Corp program which is comprised of Fire Corp and CERT team volunteers and is nationally recognized and referenced as one of the best programs in the country.
Are you involved with the grant process?
“Yes, as part of my responsibilities I also write Grants for the department. Last year we received $50,000 to send 17 members to Hazardous Materials Technician training. We worked very hard this year as well and were awarded $250,000 to buy a Hazmat vehicle and equipment. This will provide a significant capability to our Department, ultimately making our citizens and community safer. Grants are a great tool and Daisy Mountain has utilized grants to buy equipment, increase safety and implement new programs and enhance current ones. Our Community Emergency Response Team ( CERT) is a great example of a program that has received grant funding and has exceptional equipment for an exceptional group of dedicated volunteers.
What do you like best about your job?
“I get to work in a great, diverse community with excellent people. I enjoy that I get to think outside of the box to try and solve or prevent problems before they start. It is very rewarding to see hard work such as the grants result in increased capabilities that we can provide to our customers as well as increasing safety for our firefighters.”
Daisy Mountain Fire Department’s Citizen Corps (DMFD-CC) is comprised of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Fire Corps. The CERT Program educates people about disaster preparedness and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, and disaster medical operations. Using their training, CERT members can assist their families and others in preparing to be self sufficient for at least 72-hours. Fire Corps volunteers, assist the Department with nonemergency duties in service to the community. For more information about CERT or Fire Corps, please visit dmfdcc.org e-mail CitizenCorps@DaisyMountainFire.org or call Paul Schickel at (623) 695-1424.