Principal
Onieal and Associates
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, United States
As the Deputy United States Fire Administrator, Dr. Denis Onieal was the
senior career federal fire official responsible leading the United States Fire
Administration (USFA) staff in the day-to-day operation of the
organization — the annual training of over 140,000 first responders at and
through the National Fire Academy; the National Fire Incident Reporting
System, which documents and analyzes 28 million fire department
emergency responses a year; the USFA’s fire prevention, public
information and public education programs; and the 26 campus buildings
and the grounds of the historic National Emergency Training Center in
Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Prior to his appointment as Deputy Fire Administrator, he served as
Superintendent of the United States National Fire Academy. During his
tenure, the NFA staff increased enrollments from 15,000 to over 100,000 students per year; completely
revised all curriculums so that each course received undergraduate or graduate credit recommendation
through the American Council on Education; established a nationwide fire training system in partnership
with each State Fire Training Academy; instituted an alliance with over 110 associate and bachelor
degree programs to standardize fire degree programs; and launched an on-line training program to
include self-paced and instructor led courses for those unable to attend on-campus classes.
An honorably discharged Army veteran, he joined the Jersey City Fire Department and rose through the
ranks from firefighter to deputy chief, and then to acting chief, leading a uniformed force of 650
firefighters and officers. He spent his entire time "in the street" as a line fire officer.
He completed a Bachelor of Science from New Jersey City University, a Master of Public
Administration from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a Doctorate in Education from New York
University (NYU). He taught in the master and doctorate programs in education at NYU for five years.
Beginning on Sept. 12, 2001, he led the USFA’s team at the World Trade Center, working behind the
scenes to help the New York City Fire Department re-establish their systems of command, control and
on-site communications. In 2005, he was sent to Atlanta, Georgia, to lead the in-processing, training and
dispatch of 4,000 firefighters to assist in the response to Hurricane Katrina. He served in leadership
roles in almost every national disaster.
He is a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
He serves on the Board of Directors for the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA), the
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Wellspan Health.
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM