Steve Veneziano

Senior Consultant, Emergency Management Solutions (Connecticut Division)
Battalion Chief Veneziano is a 30-plus year veteran of the Waterbury Fire Department in Connecticut. During his career, Chief Veneziano served as a firefighter, Lieutenant, and Captain of a highly trained, unique, multi-unit company Rescue/HazMat/ Collapse 9, where he was responsible for responding to all Fire, Hazardous Materials, Vehicle Extrications, Rope, Trench, Confined Space, Cold Water and Structural Collapse rescue calls. He was also assigned as Captain in the Training Division for 5 years where he was assigned to develop and conduct a revolving 2-year training program for the entire department in Hazardous Materials/WMD, Awareness, Operational, and Technician level training, as well as all Technical Rescue training. While in the Training Division, he also served as the Fire Department Safety Officer and oversaw the department’s Respiratory Protection Program and annual Fit Testing program. He also served as the Liaison to the Northwest CT region 5 Haz Mat Team.
Steve was then promoted to a line Battalion Chief overseeing four Engine Companies, two Truck Companies, and one Rescue/Haz Mat company. Toward the latter part of his career in Waterbury, he was assigned as the Director of Communications. He was tasked with civilianizing the (WECC) Waterbury Emergency Communication Center, training the Northwest, Connecticut Public Safety company to dispatch within the city. He also set up the department’s mobile data terminal system (MDTS) for all apparatus and vehicles and established the city’s mapping and running cards for a new CAD system.
Steve also worked as an Adjunct Instructor for the Connecticut Fire Academy for over 20 years. He instructed in over 50 Recruit Fire Fighter programs and was a Chief Instructor in the Hazardous Materials Operational and Technician programs and Chemistry of Hazardous Materials. Steve was also a Chief Instructor and developer and or Co-Developer of many of the CFA’s Rope Rescue Level 1, 2, and 3 programs, Firefighter Safety and Survival, Rapid Intervention Team RIT programs. Steve is a NOAA/EPA certified CAMEO, Marplot, and Aloha instructor for over 30 years. He served as Director for the State of Connecticut Regional Fire Training School in Wolcott, Connecticut from 2009-2017. In this role he was instrumental in developing the annual training programs and overseeing the day-to-day operations and budget for the school.
Steve helped start and served as a Rescue Manager for the CTTF-1 USAR team and conducted all technical Rescue training for the team. Steve served as the Rescue Team Manager at the Department of Homeland Security’s TOPOFF-3 Full-scale Exercise in New London, Connecticut in 2005.
Additionally, Steve was the owner/CEO of VNZ Rescue Services, LLC a Fire, Rescue and Safety equipment and training company. This company performed high level Hazardous Materials and Technical Rescue Training courses around the country. He was also a Master Dealer of Rock-N-Rescue, PMI Rope, Gemtor Harnesses, and Sterling Rope products. Steve was an Adjunct Instructor for Spec Rescue International in Virginia Beach, Virginia instructing in Rope Rescue, Confined Space, Structural Collapse and Trench Rescue programs throughout the US. Since 2004, Steve has served as a Lead Instructor for the National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT) with Louisiana State University in their ICAMEO introduction to the Cameo suite, Public Safety Sampling Techniques for CBRNE Response, and Tactical operations for WMD courses.
He graduated from Connecticut School of Electronics and earned an AS Degree in Fire Science and Technology from Waterbury State Technical College in 1995. Steve’s certifications include NFPA Firefighter 1,2, and 3, Instructor 1, 2, Fire Department Safety Officer, Haz Mat Technician NFPA 472, Rope Rescue Tech, Confined Space Tech, NFPA 1670 Structural Collapse Technician, and NOAA/EPA Instructor for CAMEO/MARPLOT/ALOHA.