Instructor Bio | Chief Anthony Avillo retired in March 2015 after a 30-year career in the fire service. Avillo was a deputy chief in North Hudson (NJ) Regional Fire & Rescue, assigned as 1st Platoon regional tour commander. He holds a Master’s Degree in National Security Studies and a BS degree in Fire Science from New Jersey City University. Avillo is currently the Director and Deputy Fire Marshal at the Monmouth County (NJ) Fire Academy. He is an Adjunct Professor at New Jersey City University. Avillo is an FDIC instructor and member of the FDIC advisory board and the editorial advisory board of Fire Engineering. He is the author of Fireground Strategies, 3rd edition (Fire Engineering, 2015) and Fireground Strategies Workbook Volumes I, II, and III (Fire Engineering, 2002, 2010, 2016). Avillo also co-authored with Chief Ed Flood Full Contact Leadership, (Fire Engineering, 2017). He was a contributing author to Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and Firefighter II (Fire Engineering, 2009, 2020) and is co-author of its Study Guide (Fire Engineering, 2010). Avillo has also contributed to both volumes of the Pass It On books by Billy Goldfeder (Pennwell, 2015, 2016) and several other Pennwell textbooks. Avillo was a collaborator in the Tactical Perspectives DVD series (Fire Engineering, 2011) and has had issued the DVD’s Control of Fireground Operations (Fire Engineering, 2016) and Forging a Culture of Safety (Fire Engineering, 2013). Avillo also co-hosts a radio show, Fireground Strategies and Other Stuff from the Street with Chief Jim Duffy on Fire Engineering Blog Talk Radio. Avillo was recipient of the 2012 Fire Engineering/ISFSI George D. Post Fire Instructor of the Year Award.

Curt “Ike” Isakson is a 30-plus-year veteran of the fire service, professional speaker, motivator, educator, and consultant with experience working in volunteer, career, and combination departments in urban, suburban, rural, and countywide settings.

He currently is a battalion chief for Escambia County, FL, Fire Rescue, where he has worked for the past 23 years. Isakson previously worked nine years for the Pensacola, FL, Fire Department, where he was assigned as a company officer on Heavy Rescue 31. His fire service experience started at a young age as a junior firefighter with the Midway, FL, Fire District; he rose through the ranks to captain. Isakson's identification of the need for a series of special-interest fire conferences spawned the development of County Fire Tactics, which covers officer development, command officers, water on fire, high-rise operations, and leadership and tactics.