On May 28th, 2015 in Baltimore, at the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) – International Hazardous Materials Response Teams Conference, HazMatIQ founders, Cris Aguirre and Joe Gorman were the recipients of the prestigious Level A Award. This award bestows the highest level of professional recognition to individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the hazardous-materials emergency-response profession. Awarded by the IAFC since 2000, this award has recognized individuals who have provided an exceptional level of leadership, service and commitment to the mission and goals of the hazardous-materials response community. Most awards recipients have also made significant contributions to support the mission of the IAFC Hazardous Materials Committee, the Hazardous Materials Response Team Conference or the IAFC’s efforts in the hazardous-materials area. Nominees should be held in high esteem by their colleagues and peers and recognized for their example in upholding professional standards, mentoring other professionals or contributing to day-to-day excellence within their chosen discipline within the hazardous-materials emergency-response community.
"Our single most vital goal in all our training is identical to our goal when we're on duty. We all go home to our family after our tour be it around the clock, around the block, or around the world” stated Cris Aguirre of HazMatIQ.
“Cris and Joe have had an incredible journey, and made significant impact on the HazMat response community during the creation and growth of HazMatIQ. What started out as a couple of firefighters flying around the country teaching about hazmat from an entirely new perspective has transformed into a defining response methodology that has spanned 50 States, 3 territories and 13 countries delivering 700 classes annually. Two out-of-the-box thinkers with an idea and unbridled passion have transformed they way a generation of responders think during HazMat response.” stated Chris Waier, Director of Training for Federal Resources.