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.