Shawn at Work

Born and raised in Toronto, Shawn was the youngest of four children. After completing high school at the age of 17, Shawn moved to Ottawa to start Algonquin College in Management, and later changed his designation to become an Electrician. In the late 90's, Shawn started working at La Cité Colligiale as an Electronics Professor and was later promoted to Manager of the Electronics and Robotics Department. While working at the college, Shawn became a volunteer with the Cumberland Fire Department. This exposure led Shawn to apply for, and become a full-time firefighter with the City of Ottawa in 2001.

Shawn's love of teaching led him into many facets with the Fire Department; Training Instructor, Para Trainer, Apparatus, Ladders, Ground Ladders, Fire Behavior, Safety & PPE. In 2015 Shawn applied for a new venture through the Ottawa Fire Department; Fire Dynamics was created as a global effort to re-write the way in which firefighting needed to change to meet the new challenges in current construction compared to decades ago. This endeavor was the highlight of Shawn's career. Shawn took on the role of Curriculum Lead in the “From Knowledge To Practice” Fire Dynamics Project. His past experiences with curriculum development, coupled with his enthusiasm for the firefighting trade, made him integral to the initial curriculum development. He worked closely with Canadian and International Project partners to address the gaps and differences within International firefighting documents. Shawn had an impeccable eye for written materials and helped create the environment that fit the vision of bringing Firefighting, Instruction, Research and Engineering together, to benefit the Canadian Fire Service. Once the curriculum was drafted, Shawn joined the ranks of fire service instructors, with the goal of validating a new firefighter training model.