About Us

Emery & Associates, Inc., is a professional firm specializing in international emergency response consulting and training. We have been customizing training to meet the demanding requirements of both our clients and OSHA standards since 1983. Our dynamic instructors have real-world experience, skill, knowledge, and dedication. Their qualifications allow them to provide the clear action alternatives essential in critical situations.

Richard B. Emery (below) is founder and president of Emery & Associates, Inc. With wide-ranging experience and career service in emergency response and training, he leads a team of industry professionals in serving the emergency response community.

Emery & Associates, Inc. conducts training seminars on a variety of emergency response topics. The company also produces the Midwest Hazardous Materials Response Conference each spring. This conference is the longest running haz mat conference in the country and has been attended by thousands of responders from all over the United States and Canada.

Emery & Associates, Inc. provides a variety of technical services to corporations and government agencies. This includes CAMEO consulting and instruction, computer consulting, haz-mat training, team assessment audits, emergency response plans, and facility site evaluations. We have worked with the FBI, Secret Service, ATF, DHS, Department of Justice, Department of State, Department of Defense, United States Marine Corp, United States Navy, United States Air Force and the United States Army.

Our goal is to provide you with the finest training available. Our personal attention to your unique needs guarantees your complete satisfaction. Our greatest asset is our team of professional associates. These dedicated individuals are experts who regularly handle haz mat incidents. They are each carefully selected for their unique expertise.

Please contact me at rick@emerysafety.com to learn more about how we can assist you in emergency response preparedness.

RICHARD B. EMERY

During a distinguished fire service career, Richard B. Emery served as a Firefighter/Paramedic, Lieutenant and Captain. His staff assignments include EMS Coordinator, Training Officer, Bomb & Arson Team Coordinator, Hazardous Materials Officer, Shift Commander and Acting Fire Chief.

Emery began his fire service career in 1970 in the northern Chicago-metro area. He attained state certification as a Firefighter III, Fire Instructor II, Fire Officer II,  Haz Mat Team Technician and Haz Mat Specialist. He is a certified scuba diver, holds a degree in Fire Science Technology and completed SWAT Emergency Services Unit training.

In 1983, Emery was appointed as the first Team Coordinator of the Lake County Hazardous Materials Response Team. He served as Team Coordinator for over 10 years while building a nationally recognized organization. He was a lead hazardous materials instructor at the Illinois fire academy, and an ad junct instructor for the National Fire Academy. He has delivered specialized training courses, including decon, monitoring, Personal Protective Equipment, confined space rescue and advanced trench rescue, to municipal, industrial and military clients throughout the country and overseas.

Rick founded Emery & Associates, Inc. in 1983 while continuing active full-time duty. In 1993, with over 23 years of service, he retired from the fire department to provide training full time.

Emery validated as a Subject Matter Expert for the Department of Defense Domestic Preparedness training program. He presented 44 Haz Mat Technician courses during the 120 city training program and has delivered over 300 Haz Mat Technician courses. He has instructed in the FBI’s haz mat training program and was contracted to provide WMD instruction overseas for the International Security Preparedness Training Program. Emery was a member of a team that trained Embassy staff overseas for the United States Department of State. He has also provided force protection services at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Emery was an original instructor at the Department of Justice’s Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama. He is a principle member of the NFPA 472 Hazardous Materials Response Committee, a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Hazardous Materials Committee and the DHS Stakeholder Panel on Agent Detection Assays (SPADA) to develop performance criteria for methods for the detection and identification of biological threat agents. Emery served as the primary contractor for the DHS bio detection validation testing at Dugway Proving Grounds.

Emery received the 2012 “Level A” award at the International Association of Fire Chiefs conference in Baltimore and the “In The Zone” award in 2013. In 2017, he received the International Association of Fire Chiefs “John Eversole Lifetime Achievement Award.” And he received the Dieter Heinz Haz Mat Instructor of the year in 2023.