Chris Kearns has operated in the public safety communications and emergency management realm for a handful of decades. Chris started his career as a 9-1-1, police, fire, and ems dispatcher in Fredericton New Brunswick. Since then, Chris has advanced his career and moved across Canada. He currently serves as Deputy Chief, in charge of 9-1-1 and Fire Dispatch, with Red Deer Emergency Services.

Chris has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Brunswick, and both a Masters degree and Doctoral degree in Emergency Management from Jacksonville State University. Dr. Kearns has served on various 9-1-1 related committees over the years, and was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) Canada in 2017.

Chris enjoys dabbling in Emergency Management on the side. He volunteers with Canada Task Force 2 (CANTF2), a heavy urban search and rescue team based out of Calgary. Chris’ role is usually part of the incident management team. He has deployed with CANTF2 to the Fort McMurray wildfire (2016), the North West Territories wildfires (2023), the Jasper National Park wildfire (2024) and Swan Hills fire this past summer. Chris is a Certified Emergency Manager, through the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).