HAZMAT Staff

HazMat Technician Christopher Brooks began his fire service career as a Fire Dispatcher/EMT for the Village Fire Department in July 1991.  He began working as Firefighter/EMT for the Conroe Fire Department in November 1992.  He promoted to the rank of Lieutenant/EMT in December 2001 and retired in November 2017 after 25 years of service.  He has also worked for Needham Fire/Rescue, Fulshear Fire Department, and Willowfork Fire Department.  He began his second career as a Hazardous Materials Technician with the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office in February 2020. 

Hazardous Materials Technician Brooks holds an associate degree in Fire Science and Safety Technology from Houston Community College.  He holds certification with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection as a Hazardous Materials Technician, Hazardous Materials Incident Commander, Master Firefighter, Master Airport Firefighter, Master Fire Inspector, Plans Examiner I, Master Fire Investigator, Instructor III Master, Fire Officer IV, Incident Safety Officer, Driver Operator-Pumper, and Intermediate Wildland Firefighter.  He holds certification with the Texas Department of State Health Services as an Emergency Medical Technician.  He is also licensed through the Federal Aviation Administration as a Small Unmanned Aircraft System Remote Pilot. 

HazMat Technician Jim Hollister joined the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal team as a HazMat Technician on November 18^th, 2019. He began his firefighting career in 2017 as a volunteer with the Somerville Fire Department. Shortly after that, he started working as a firefighter with Waller/Harris ESD 200 before joining the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s Office.

He currently holds several certifications through TCFP including Firefighter 1 & 2, Hazmat Technician, and Driver/Operator-pumper. He also holds ProBoard hazmat certifications in cargo tank, tank car, and intermodal specialties. Lastly he holds a FAA Part 107 drone operator’s license.

HazMat Technician David Helms joined the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal team as a HazMat Technician on December 14, 2020. He began his firefighting career with Katy Volunteer Fire Department in 1982. He made his transition from volunteer to professional by accepting a part time position with Katy Fire Department in October 2017. In 2008 he accepted a fulltime position with City of Richmond Fire Department. A few years into his career with Richmond Fire Department he became a member of the Richmond HazMat team and the Technical Rescue Team. He later accepted a Lieutenant position.  In October 2018 he accepted a Captain position with the Fulshear Simonton Fire Department.

Mr. Helms was also an instructor at the Katy Area Rescue School for over 20 years. He was an instructor at the Fort Bend County Field Day for 5 years. He holds several other certifications with PROBOARD and TCFP including: Advanced Firefighter; Wildland firefighter; HazMat with Cargo Tank, Tank Car, and Intermodal Specialties; Trench Rescue; Confined Space Rescue; and Rope Rescue Technician. He is also an EMT-Intermediate through Texas Department of State Health Services.

HazMat Technician Kip Hilgers joined the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal team as a HazMat Technician on January 21, 2020. He began his firefighting career with Community Volunteer Fire Department in 1990.  He made the transition from volunteer to professional by accepting a position with Gonzales Fire Department in October 1994.  In July 1997, he went to Sugar Land Fire Department where he held various positions.  He retired from SLFD in September 2017 as a Captain in the Training Division.

 Mr. Hilgers also held a Fire Academy Instructor position at Wharton County Junior College for over 10 years.  He also has multiple certifications with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, is a member of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection Hazmat Committee and is a graduate of Columbia Southern University.

HazMat Technician Greg Najvar  has been employed with the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal’s office since December of 2020.  He began his career with the Victoria Fire Department serving for 25 years.  He is Rescue Specialist with the State's Urban Search & Rescue team Texas Task Force1 since 2002.  Greg is also an adjunct faculty member at Victoria College in the EMS program and a guest instructor at Texas A&M Municipal fire school. Greg earned an Associate’s Degree in Paramedic Technology and one in Fire Science from Victoria College.   He also holds a Bachelor’s of Arts and Science from the University of Houston-Victoria.

His certifications include Hazardous Materials Technician, Hazardous Materials Incident Commander, Fire Officer II, Fire Instructor II, Intermediate Fire Inspector, Plans Examiner, Incident Safety Officer, Aircraft Rescue Firefighter, Driver Operator-Pumper, and Wildland Firefighter with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP).   Greg also holds several other certifications with ProBoard including Confined Space Rescue, Trench Rescue, and Rope Rescue Technician. He is also a Nationally Registered Paramedic and a Paramedic Instructor with the Dept. of State Health Services (DSHS).

HazMat Technician Danny Hemphill was born in Tucson, Arizona, however he lived in Las Vegas, Nevada until he was 19 when he relocated to Livingston, Texas. Once in Texas he worked  in the construction industry to building several of the State Prisons. In his late 20’s he decided he wanted to change his career path and opted for Emergency Services. He became an EMT in 2000 and continued his training to become a Paramedic in 2002 graduating from Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas. During his career he has served in multiple positions in the pre-hospital setting for various organizations ranging from Paramedic to District 911 Supervisor over multiple counties in South Texas. He began is Fire Service Career with Comal County ESD No. 3 - Canyon Lake Fire/EMS. During his tenure there he held the positions of Firefighter/Paramedic, Lieutenant, Captain and Battalion Chief and has served on several committees with the Board of Emergency Services Commissioners. He was also an active member of the Southwest Texas RAC – Rescue Team participating in several deployments through TXTF1 and TX EMTF Region 8. He relocated to the Katy area as a Battalion Chief for Fort Bend County ESD 4 and on March 30, 2020 joined Fort Bend County Fire Marshal Office as a Hazardous Materials Technician.

HazMat Technician CJ Soto joined the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal team as a HazMat Technician in February of 2020.  He began his firefighting career after graduating from the Wharton County Junior College Fire Academy.  He then joined the Community Volunteer Fire Department in 2007 and the Stafford Fire Department in 2008. He made the transition from volunteer to professional by accepting a position with Texas City Fire Department in May of 2009, where he held the position of Engineer Paramedic-FTO and Crew Lead HazMat Technician on the Galveston County Regional Hazmat Response team, housed at Texas City Fire Department.  Mr. Soto has his Advanced Firefighter, HazMat Technician, HazMat Incident Commander and multiple other certifications with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. He is currently working towards the Managing Officer certification at the National Fire Academy and a bachelor’s degree in Safety and Health at Columbia Southern University.

HazMat Technician JR Whatley joined the Fort Bend County Fire Marshal team as a HazMat Technician in February 2021. He began his career as a firefighter in 1987 for a New Mexico Fire Department. In 2001, he became a starting member of the New Mexico Region 8 Haz-Mat Response Team as a Technician.

In 2008 he became a member of the New Mexico Firefighters Training Academy as an IFSAC Instructor for Hazardous Material Awareness, Operations, Technician, and Incident Commander. In 2012, became a Fire Chief for Torrance County District Five. In 2014, he became a firefighter/Paramedic for Pearland Fire Department and served as a ride-up driver operator and ride-up EMS Captain. Mr. Whatley has multiple certifications with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and IFSAC.