Emergency Response Team

Chris Ferrara founded US Fire Pump in 2014, with the vision of advancing firefighting technology and emergency response equipment. His 40 plus years of service in the firefighting industry led to a strong dedication to finding new and innovative ways to protect the lives of the community and our dedicated firefighters, and to minimize property damage. By combining his decades of experience, his vision for a safer future, and the use of dependable technology and materials, Chris and the team at US Fire Pump have developed a new line of firefighting equipment that has exceeded anything the industry has ever seen, earning him the honor of the “Red Adair Award” in 2019 in recognition of his re-invention of the industrial fire apparatus and designing resources for industrial emergency response effectiveness.

Chris Ferrara has been in the firefighting industry for over 40 years. Fireman and innovator, Mr. Ferrara began his career as a pipefitter in the petrochemical industry, and as a volunteer firefighter for Central VFD. At that time, Central was in desperate need of a water tender, but there was no room in the budget for one. Using his pipe fitting background, Chris built his first fire truck that proudly served Central for many years. This led Mr. Ferrara to establish Ferrara Fire Apparatus in 1982, selling fire equipment and doing major service work on fire apparatus. The company launched its own line of new, custom fire apparatus in 1988 and has been building fire trucks that are in service all over the world for the last 30 years.

Firefighting is Chris’ biggest passion. He has performed in many emergencies throughout his career, including manning the line that shut down the last open valve in the Exxon refinery explosion that rocked Baton Rouge in December of 1989. More recently, he managed to extinguish a 50 acre, 118-foot landfill fire that had been burning for over ten years. Where many others had tried and failed to put out this fire, Chris utilized his skills to extinguish it in a short amount of time.

Among his many accomplishments, Chis has the distinctive honor of using a High Velocity Pump to attain the Guinness World Record for highest pumping capacity fire truck. Chris Ferrara’s vision and innovation will ensure that US Fire Pump will continue to change the firefighting industry forever.

Chris is a graduate of Redemptorist High School, as well as a graduate of the Local Union 198 Plumber and Pipefitters Apprentice Program. He has received numerous awards throughout his career. Some of which include, “Entrepreneur of the Year” from Ernst and Young; “Presidents Distinguished Service Award” from the Professional Fire Fighters Association of Louisiana and he was the first ever recipient of the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Fire and Life Safety Council of the Louisiana Fire Service.

Chris and his wife Angela have three children; Kate, Christopher, Connor.

In 1966, Dwight Williams enlisted into active duty in the United States Army and graduated basic training as an expert marksman. His military service included Infantry Officer Candidate School, Airborne School, Jumpmaster School, and commanding a Special Forces A-Team. In 1980, Dwight started his own company, and revolutionized the industrial firefighting industry, earning him worldwide recognition as the leader in the field of Flammable Liquid Fire Fighting. In September of 2011, Dwight sold his company and chose to pursue another passion, building specialty sights for pistols and rifles.

With over 250 major successful operations of extinguishment and control of hazardous situations, Dwight’s team pioneered the development of specialized equipment and methodology so unique they were patented. Dwight re-defined extinguishment by making it faster and safer, with less exposure to the firefighter. Dwight’s success in the extinguishment of storage tanks, pipelines, ships, and barges at sea and inland waterways, to include flammable liquid vapor control emergencies, preventing fires in such areas.

Many of us can attest to the notion that those in the Firefighting Industry are like family. Dwight now devotes his innovative ideas and forward thinking to the development of new products and training with U.S. Fire Pumps. He has worked diligently with all parties to develop a Signature Series Foam Concentrate that outperforms any on the market today. Dwight has always been and outside of the box thinker and continues to develop new products that reduce risk, minimize exposure, and save life and property. The best fire protection is distance!

Dwight has been married for more 50 years to the love of his life, and they reside at their ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

Ryan is a veteran firefighter who went on to specialize in engineering and product development, with a focus on fire equipment and apparatus, and specialty vehicles. With more than 20 years of combined experience, many regard him as the industry expert in pump operations, flammable liquid firefighting, hazardous material response, confined space rescue, high angle rescue, advanced level command, and national incident management. His experience as a hazmat technician helped him earn the designation of Specialist in hydrocarbon fuel spills and fuel in-depth fires.

Ryan is a certified IFSTA and ProBoard instructor who has successfully participated in and commanded countless large-scale municipal and industrial fire events and rescues throughout his career. Since joining the US Fire Pump team, Ryan has taken the lead as Chief Emergency Response Technician on all of US Fire Pump’s Emergency responses, expertly guiding the efforts and maximizing effective techniques to ensure the safety of the crew and the least amount of property damage.

Connor Grew up in the firefighting industry, surrounded by every manner of fire equipment and immersed in the culture and brotherhood of seasoned firefighters. He always knew he wanted to carry on the proud legacy of his father, Chris Ferrara, and has done so by furthering his education and earning a series of NFPA certifications, completing FEMA’s National Fire Academy, and earning his pilot’s license and FAA waivers for night operations.

In addition to assuming a lead role in the technological advancement of US Fire Pump, Connor plays an important role in emergency response efforts, with more than 50 disaster relief deployments under his belt. Over the past several years, Connor has earned a reputation of his own and continues to grow in knowledge and experience in his field. He is poised to become

Doug brings 40 years of experience in the development and production of firefighting equipment to the US Fire Pump team. Throughout his distinquished career, he has worked with industry leaders,including working closely with his Father-in-law, Dwight Williams to help engineer some of the most innovative products in the industry. Doug has played a key role in supporting hundreds of emergency responses worldwide. His vast knowledge and decades of distinquished industry experience make him a respected and invaluable assest to the US Fire Pump Emergency Response Team.

Dicky started his career in the firefighting industry more than 35 years ago, when he joined the Baton Rouge Fire Department. Shortly after, he joined the Industrial Firefighting team for Exxon Mobile. In 2012, his dedication to his department and public service landed him the well-deserved role as Chief of the hazardous materials division, where he responded to hundreds of events.

Dicky earned a place on the Baton Rouge Area Mutual Aid System (BRAMAS), where he coordinated training for industry and municipal firefighting efforts. His passion and commitment have earned him national recognition for his unparalleled knowledge of hazardous materials and mitigation strategies, and his influence has helped to shape local policies aimed at enhancing the safety and effectiveness of emergency response teams. Upon his retirement, Dicky joined the US Fire Pump team and has played a critical roll as Senior Lead Emergency Response Technician on all US Fire Pump Responses.

Obie spent more than 30 years devoted to emergency response services, starting big with the infamous Christmas Eve Exxon Baton Rouge fire in 1989. Obie went on to serve as the Emergency Response Director for a major petrochemical company, Where he oversaw hundreds of events, worldwide. He has founded, served on, and chaired a variety of industry organizations, including: The Baton Rouge Area Mutual Aid System, the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Commission, the Louisiana Emergency response Association, and the North Baton Rouge Chemical Industry Task Force. Obie retired as a legend in the industry, and now serves as an advisor to US Fire Pump and plays an active role in all Emergency Responses, worldwide.

John is a retired Louisiana State Trooper with 26 years of law enforcement service, including 24 years in the Emergency Services Unit, specializing in hazardous materials and explosives control. He has extensive training and experience in emergency response involving all modes of transportation and fixed site industrial facilities and has served as incident commander on a wide range of incidents requiring emergency response.

John is well known for his in-depth regulatory knowledge and has earned his certification as a hazardous materials training instructor. A lifetime of dedication and experience sets John apart and has earned him the respect of an industry.

Bette was born into a legendary firefighting family. Being the daughter of Dwight Williams and the granddaughter of Les Williams meant that she had a lot to live up to. Bette started out humbly in the family business, helping to assemble catalogs in the warehouse and collecting foam samples for quality testing. Eventually, she progressed to testing oscillating monitors for her father’s company.

Willing to work her way up, she assisted with shipping & receiving, accounting, and sales, all while taking Fire Technology courses at Lamar University. Soon, she was charged with administering contracts and handling logistics for over 140 emergency response events worldwide, including the charter of two Antonoffs to Costal Aruba in 2001 and the extinguishing of the largest flammable liquid tank fire on record, at the Orion Refinery in Norco Louisiana, also in 2001.

In January of 2007, after more than 20 years with the company, Bette became the CEO, until the business was sold in 2010. Bette has been married to Douglas Daspit for 27 years and the two have three beautiful children and two amazing grandsons.

Anthony began his career as a Damage Controlman in the US Navy and quickly became a qualified shipboard and aircraft firefighter crash and salvage team leader. After leaving military service, he became a Municipal Firefighter/EMT. Soon, Anthony’s passion for firefighting led him to industrial firefighting, which he has devoted 22 years of his career to, working with major petrochemical companies as Ops Chief IC and Hazmat Instructor for all hazard response.

Anthony has played an important and active roll in hundreds of response efforts throughout his distinguished career and continues to do so as part of the US Fire Pump Emergency Response Team. When he isn't fighting fires, Anthony works to provide equipment training to our valued clients.

Dwayne began his career in firefighting in 1992, when he joined the Baton Rouge fire department. He earned his EMT certification and went on to become Chief of Training for the department. He was also an instructor for the LSU Fireman’s Training program for 17 years, helping to train the next generation of emergency responders.

After 32 years of service, Dwayne decided to retire, but retirement meant something a little different to him. He continues to work for the Livonia Fire Department as their part-time Captain, and joined the US Fire Pump team in 2018, lending his knowledge and experience to help fight industrial fires nationwide and participating in every response our team has participated in.

Billy has been a Hazmat Emergency Response Specialist, focused on industrial and municipal firefighting, for 27 years. There is no substitue for real world, hands on experience, and Billy encompases that ideal. With more than 20 certifications to his credit, and a resume that boasts a variety of impressive titles, including Vice President, COO, and Project Manager, as well as the honest ability to say that he has hundreds of emergency responses under his belt, many as part of the US Fire Pump Emergency Response Team.

Joshua brings 16 years of dedicated Hazmat emergency response and industrial firefighting experience to the US Fire Pump team. He spent 14 years as a municipal firefighter, quickly rising in the ranks, first to Captain then to Assistant Chief. Joshua has been certified in Incident Command, Coast Guard Oil Spill Control, Advanced Marine Firefighting, National Incident Management Systems, Industrial Fire Instruction, and has extensive training in the operation of firefighting equipment. He has become a highly valued member of US Fire Pump's Emergency Response Team.

Kearney has over 30 years of experience in municipal fire service. In 2019 Kearney retired from the City of Baton Rouge Fire Department as a District Fire Chief. Throughout his career, he has been formally recognized for going above and beyond in the line of duty. Kearney was awarded the 2015 Public Service Award in recognition of his dedicated service to the Baton Rouge community as a public servant.

Kearney holds the following certificates; Fire Fighter 1 from Louisiana State University, Emergency Response to Terrorism from FEMA, HazMat Awareness from Louisiana State University and Crisis Awareness Training from FEMA. Kearney has been a highly valued member of the US Fire Pump Emergency Response Team for six years.