Cooling the Flames

Ellis Amdur received his BA in psychology from Yale University in 1974 and his MA in psychology from Seattle University in 1990. He is both a National Certified Counselor and a State Certified Child Mental Health Specialist. Since the late 1960s, Amdur trained in various martial arts systems, spending thirteen years studying in Japan. He is a recognized expert in classical and modern Japanese martial traditions and has authored three iconoclastic books as well as one instructional DVD on this subject. Since his return to America in 1988, Ellis Amdur has worked in the field of crisis intervention. He has developed a range of training and consultation services, as well as a unique style of assessment and psychotherapy. These are based on a combination of phenomenological psychology and the underlying philosophical premises of classical Japanese martial traditions. Amdur's professional philosophy can best be summed up in this idea: the development of an individual's integrity and dignity is the paramount virtue. This can only occur when people live courageously, regardless of the circumstances, and take responsibility for their roles in making the changes they desire. Ellis Amdur is a dynamic public speaker and trainer who presents his work throughout the United States and internationally. He is noted for his sometimes outrageous humor as well as his profound breadth of knowledge. His vivid descriptions of aggressive and mentally ill people and his true-to-life role playing of the behaviors in question give participants an almost firsthand experience of facing the real individuals in question. His books are considered unique in that he uses his own experiences, often hair-raising or outrageous, as illustrations of the principles about which he writes, but it is also backed by solid research, and boots-on-the-ground experience.

JOHN K. MURPHY, JD, PA-C, MS, EFO, retired as a deputy fire chief after 32 years of career fire department service, managing all areas of fire department operations and management positions. His past fire and emergency medical experience has been as a paramedic/firefighter for more than 20 years; paramedic program director, chief fire officer, chief of training, emergency operations chief and health and safety officer. Mr. Murphy lectures and writes on issues related to fire law and management. Mr. Murphy was a US Navy Corpsman serving with the US Marines. Mr. Murphy is an attorney with the Murphy Law Group, focusing on employment practices liability, training safety, employment policy and practices, forensic evaluation on fire and EMS operations, internal investigations, and as a subject matter expert in pre-hospital EMS and fire operations, consulting on risk management for private and public entities. He also has experience in family law, contracts, non- profit incorporations, mediation and internal investigations. He is the Vice President of M2 Resource Group, Inc., a consulting company specializing in Fire and EMS legal and operational issues and a Physician's Assistant with a focus in urgent, emergency, occupational and pre-hospital medicine medical care. Mr. Murphy is the author of Legal, Political & Regulatory Environment in EMS, a Prentice Hall educational publication. Mr. Murphy has a Juris Doctor (JD) from Seattle University School of Law; Masters of Science (MS) degree in education and Bachelors of Science (BS) in Paramedicine from Central Washington University and graduated from the University of Utah School Of Medicine, Physicians Assistant Program (MEDEX) and is an Executive Fire Officer Graduate. He is a licensed attorney in Washington and New York, a member of the bar associations in Washington, King County and New York. He is a member of the Association of Fire Service Attorneys; National Society of Executive Fire Officers; International Association of Fire Chief's; U.S. District Court Western District of Washington and legal counsel for the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (ISFSI), and an adjunct instructor for the University of Florida Fire and Emergency Services program.