Michael Armistead, Hazmat Specialist, Nashville Fire Department

Michael Armistead currently lives in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, and is a HazMat Specialist with the Nashville Fire Department in Special Operations Bureau.

He started his career in 1992 with the Goodlettsville Fire Department, working there until 2000 joining the Nashville Fire Department. He was a member of HazMat 12 for 9 years until moving into his current role in Special Operations involved with planning of VIP visits, large Special Events, and credentialing of all personnel with both HazMat teams for Nashville.

Michael is an active member of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency HazMat Committee Board, NFL AFC South Fire Security Representative, Tennessee Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team Manager, Special Events Planner for Nashville, CBRNe Representative, and member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, an Instructor for both the State of Tennessee and the Nashville Fire Department regularly instructing HazMat Technician, Operations and Awareness.  He works closely with Homeland, FBI, Secret Service, 45th CST, Department of Energy, Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations, Governors Executive Protection Team, Office of Emergency Management, Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators, Nashville Soccer Club, Metro Nashville Police Department Special Operations and Custom Services

A native of Tennessee and a resident of the rolling pastoral hills of Goodlettsville, Chief Armistead has spent more than three decades answering the call when things don't go according to plan. He began his career with the Goodlettsville Fire Department in 1992 before joining the Nashville Fire Department in 2000. After nearly a decade assigned to HazMat 12, he moved into Special Operations, where the problems tend to be bigger, the stakes a little higher, and the margin for error about as thin as a sheet of paper.

Today, Chief Armistead serves as a CBRNE/HazMat Specialist with the Nashville Fire Department's Special Operations Division. His work ranges from planning security and emergency operations for VIP visits and major public events to overseeing the Tennessee Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team and directing the day-to-day operations of the department's two HazMat teams. It's the kind of work most people never notice, which is exactly the way he prefers it.

Along the way, he's become a trusted partner to agencies at every level of government. He serves on the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency HazMat Committee Board, is the NFL AFC South Fire Security Representative, and also serves as an NFL All Hazards Security Representative. His work regularly brings him alongside the FBI, Secret Service, Tennessee Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, the 45th Civil Support Team, Tennessee Highway Patrol Special Operations, the Governor's Executive Protection Team, Metro Nashville Office of Emergency Management, and Metro Nashville Police Department Special Operations and Custom Services. Closer to home, he works hand in hand with organizations like the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators, and Nashville Soccer Club to help ensure that the biggest events in Music City are remembered for the right reasons.

Chief Armistead also serves as Nashville's Special Events Planner and CBRNE Representative and participates in the Joint Terrorism Task Force. As a certified instructor for both the State of Tennessee and the Nashville Fire Department, he has spent years teaching the next generation of responders in Hazardous Materials Awareness, Operations, and Technician-level response.

In a profession where success is usually measured by the disasters that never happen, Chief Armistead has built a career on preparation, partnerships, and quiet professionalism. The headlines belong to someone else. His job is to make sure they never have to be written.

Before he took command of the Bundeswehr CBRN Defence Command on 21 September 2021, Colonel Saalow served as Defence Advisor of the German Representative to the Political and Security Committee of the European Union in Brussels.He was also the Deputy Head of the Military Policy Section, which supports the Representative in the field of Foreign and Security Policy in all military-political issues including crisis management and capability development. Colonel Saalow has a wide experience in the area of EU Common Security and Defence Policy in Brussels, in the Ministry of Defence in Berlin but also in the field, where he served as Chief of Staff of an EU Mission in Africa and as Staff Officer Operations of the Eurocorps in Strasbourg.During his time in NATO he was special advisor of the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation in Norfolk. Beside this he served in operations in Asia, Africa and Europe and commanded the CBRN Defence Regiment of the Bundeswehr. Colonel Saalow studied at the University of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg and at the National University of Singapore and holds a Master Degree of Business Administration. He was also awarded with the German Cross of Honor and with the French Medal of Defence.

Fire Chief/Hazmat Technician Jon Davine

Jon Davine has been a firefighter for over 23 years and currently serves as the Chief for the Northampton Fire Rescue Department.  He is also a member of the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Hazmat Response Team and is the Training Coordinator for the District 4 Team.  He has been a Hazardous Materials Technician since 2003 and is an original member of the Joint Hazard Incident Response Team (JHIRT) team attached to the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad.  He is also a member of the Clandestine Lab Enforcement Team (CLET).  Chief Davine is a Hazmat Subject Matter Expert and instructs nationally on various Hazmat topics.  He is a native of Adams, MA and currently lives in Easthampton, MA with his wife and twin sons.