Bill Hand

Bill Hand, MBA is a forty-three-year veteran of the Fire Service and is currently a contract Training Officer with the Harris County Texas Hazardous Materials Response Team in Houston Texas. Prior to his employment with Harris County, he spent 31 years with the Houston Fire Department, retiring in September 2005. He was a charter member of the Houston Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team with over twenty-six years of service.

During his service with the Houston Fire Department and Harris County HMRT he has responded to over 7500 hazardous materials incidents involving hundreds of different types of chemicals and containers. He has delivered thousands of hours of emergency response training to private, public and government sector emergency responders and executive personnel and is a frequent speaker at conferences around the country.

Bill has received numerous awards in his field to include: the “Level A Award” and “John Eversole Lifetime Achievement Award” from the International Association of Fire Chief’s International Hazmat Teams Conference, the “In the Zone Award” from the Hot Zone Conference, the “Red Adair Lifetime Achievement Award” from Industrial Fire World Conference, the “2006 Life Time Service Award” from the International Association of Hazardous Materials Technicians and was honored by a Proclamation from Mayor Bill White of the City of Houston, declaring March 16, 2006 “Bill Hand Day” in the City of Houston for lifetime achievement and service to the city as a founding member of the Houston Fire Department Hazardous Materials Response Team.

Captain Hand has authored several articles and books on Hazmat Containers and Case Studies in fire service journals. As a Master Instructor he has also worked with the International Association of Fire Fighters for over twenty-seven years in the development, writing and review of Hazardous Materials and Weapons of Mass Destruction training programs. He has served as a subject matter expert for several Department of Homeland Security training programs. Captain Hand was a principal in his own company for many years. His clients include Shell Oil Company, Phillips Petroleum, TEPPCO Pipeline Company, United Space Alliance, NASA Johnson Space Center, Albemarle Corporation, Kirby Inland Marine, Exxon Mobil Corporation, Dow Chemical, Lubrizol Corporation, Clean Channel Association, Emergency Film Group, Lyondell Petrochemical Corporation, Valero Petroleum Company, and Houston Marine Services.

Numerous institutions of higher learning such as Lamar University, Texas A&M University, Houston Community College and the University of Houston have also been among his clients. During his spare time, Bill enjoys boating and saltwater fishing. He holds a U.S. Coast Guard 100 Ton Masters License for Coastal Offshore Waters.