Rick Best is a nationally recognized leader in firefighter health and safety. He has more than 20 years of experience in fire service training, program development, and public speaking, and currently serves as Everyone Goes Home® Advocate Program Manager for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. In that role, Rick oversees a system of more than 100 advocates, who serve as volunteer trainers delivering programs throughout the United States to develop instructors for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s Courage to Be Safe® and Leadership, Accountability, Culture, and Knowledge (LACK) courses.
Rick began his career as a volunteer firefighter and worked his way into a full-time position for the City of Westerville (Ohio) Division of Fire. A certified Fire Training Officer II, he is on staff as an instructor at Bowling Green State University, and previously spent 15 years on staff at the Ohio Fire Academy, a division of the State Fire Marshal’s Office. Rick has been an invited presenter at Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, and FRI, and multiple state, local, and regional fire service events, and is a member of the NFPA 1001-1002-1003-1005 and NFPA 1041 Technical Committees.
Rick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from Neumann University, and is currently working on a master’s degree in Strategic & Organizational Leadership.
