Administration
William L. Bingham, Fire Chief
Director of Fire and Emergency Medical Services
Chief Bingham has been involved with Fire and Emergency Medical Services for over 33 years - beginning his career in the Galena Illinois Fire Department (1975), and is a second-generation firefighter. He has served as a Chief Fire Officer since 1988 and has been Chief of the City of Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Department since June of 1997. He holds Associate Degrees in Fire Science Technology and Emergency Medical Services, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from Florida Atlantic University, and a Master's Degree in Management with Graduate Certificates in Public Management and Human Resource Management from St Thomas University in Miami, FL. He is a 1995 graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officers Program (EFOP), in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
The International Association of Fire Chiefs awarded him the Chief Fire Officer Designation (CFOD) in August 2002 (renewed in August 2005). He was presented the Florida’s Fire Chief of the Year Award for 2002 by Governor Jeb Bush. Chief Bingham is an adjunct faculty member at Nova Southeastern University and Palm Beach Community College. He is a current member of the State of Florida Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council. Chief Bingham serves as a member of the Board of Directors with the West Palm Beach Division of the American Heart Association.
Chief Bingham is a member of the International Association of Fire Chief's (IAFC); the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (IFSFI); the National Fire Protection Association (NPFA); the Florida Fire Chief's Association; and the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). He is Vice President of the National Society of Executive Fire Officers (NSEFO), and is the President of the Palm Beach County Fire Chief’s Association. He is a state certified Fire Instructor and has been a Paramedic since 1978.
Chief Bingham represents the International Fire Marshal’s Association on NFPA 1710, Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Career Fire Departments. He has authored several articles and has had the following articles published in Fire Engineering Magazine; Labor Management Cooperation in the Fire Service, Sexual Harassment: Understanding and Managing the Issue, and Participation in the Pursuit of Excellence. He has been a guest speaker at the Fire Department Instructor’s Conference (FDIC), Indianapolis, Indiana, the Florida Fire Rescue East Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, and the 2004 annual meeting of NSEFO in St. Simon’s Island Georgia. Chief Bingham developed the program curriculum for the Emergency Services Leadership Institute, an organizational management program sponsored by the Florida Fire and Emergency Services Foundation in partnership with the Florida Fire Chief’s Association and the University of Florida. This program was introduced in April of 2003 and is currently being offered to Chief Fire Officers throughout Florida. He has consulted in the areas of Human Resource Management, Promotional Assessment Programs, Interest-based Bargaining and Developing and Effective Labor Management Relationship.
Chief Bingham lives in Boynton Beach. He is married to Aishah Abdul-Aziz and is the proud father of three daughters - Carissa, an employee of the Boynton Beach Police Department, Elizabeth, a 4th grade schoolteacher in Broward County, and Alexandra, a High School student.
Kingman Schuldt, Division Chief of Finance & Administration
Kingman is a 30 year veteran of the fire service and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Barry University and an Associate of Science degree in Fire Science Technology from Broward Community College. He is a certified Florida Fire Service Instructor III, and Emergency Medical Technician. He is recognized as a Chief Fire Officer by the Commission on Fire Accreditation International.
Kingman has been deployed on several hurricane related missions as part of the State’s Emergency Response Team. In 2004 he responded to Charlotte and Monroe Counties, and in 2005 he responded to Mississippi and served as the Deputy Branch Director for emergency services.
Prior to joining Boynton Beach Fire Rescue Kingman served as the Deputy Chief with Tamarac Fire Rescue in Broward County. He currently serves as the Secretary/Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Florida Fire Chiefs’ Association as well as Vice-Chair for the Florida Statewide Emergency Response Committee. Kingman additionally serves as a Technical Expert for the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ Intrastate Mutual Aid System (IMAS) project. Kingman is an adjunct faculty member at Broward College in the Fire Science Program and is the owner and managing member of Emergency Services Management Group, LLC.
Ray Carter, Deputy Chief of Operations
Chief Carter arrived to lead the operational arm of Boynton Beach Fire Rescue on July 31, 2004 bringing with him 32 years of service and expertise both as firefighter and Fire Chief . Wi th his Associates degree in Business Administration already in hand, Chief Carter was originally hired as a firefighter in November of 1972, and worked his way through the ranks, while earning his Bachelors in Public Administration, to become Fire Chief for the City of West Palm Beach Fire Department on April 1, 2001.
Though not an “April Fools” joke, becoming Chief on such a day, Chief Carter does, in fact, proudly represent Boynton Beach Fire Rescue as our ranking member of “F.O.O.L.S.” or the “Fraternal Order of Leatherheads Society”—an internationally respected brotherhood of firefighters (historically referred to as “leatherheads” for the old-style fire helmets they wore which happened to be fashioned out of heavy, durable and WATER-RESISTANT leather) who formed a network of communication and support for one another and their families. In time of need, any firefighter (or his/her fellow firefighters on his behalf) can call on the “F.O.O.L.S.” and know that other firefighters, Chief Ray Carter among them, will organize and mobilize to come to the aid of one of their own.
After 32 years in service, and with a wealth of knowledge and leadership experience, Chief Carter retired from the City of West Palm Beach Fire Department in July of 2004 and brought to Boynton Beach those skills that will now even further elevate the level of skill and training that Chief Bingham has put forth throughout this department. Deputy Chief Carter holds a Bachelors Degree in Organizational Leadership from St. Thomas University. He is a 2004 graduate of the National Fire Academy's Executive Fire Officers Program (EFOP), in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He is a member of the International Association of Fire Chief's (IAFC); the International Society of Fire Service Instructors (IFSFI); the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA); and the Florida Fire Chief's Association. He is the Fire Service representative to the Florida State Fire Safety Board and is the Chairperson of the Palm Beach County Hazardous Materials Oversight Committee. He has been a Paramedic since 1977.
Rodger Kemmer, Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal
Rodger Kemmer began his fire service career in 1967 as a volunteer Firefighter/EMT with the “Rescue Squad” in Washington Township, near Dayton Ohio. Rodger also spent 10 years as a Shift Captain on a Fire Department that protected a federal nuclear weapons site. After earning his AS in Fire Science in 1976, he became a Relief Captain and was given the responsibility for the site’s emergency planning function.
Rodger’s obsession with boating brought him to Florida in 1981. He quickly became the Fire Protection Administrator for the Nuclear Energy Department at FP&L. While at FP&L, Rodger earned a BS in Fire Science & Safety from FIU in 1985. In 1988 he began working for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to become the Fire Protection Manager at the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Station near Chattanooga. In 1990, Rodger went to the Savannah River Site, a completely self-contained nuclear weapons facility with four fire stations and several nuclear reactors, to become a Fire Protection Engineer in the Fire Protection Oversight Group.
In 1992, Rodger began specializing in Fire Hazard Analysis for several Department of Energy nuclear weapons facilities, including Rocky Flats (Denver), Oak Ridge (Knoxville), plus additional facilities in Kansas City and Pinellas County, Florida. In 1996, Rodger accepted a position with Industrial Risk Insurers as a Field Engineer. He has also worked with Martin County Fire Rescue as a Plans Examiner before coming to Boynton Beach to eventually become our Fire Protection Engineer. Rodger, of course, is now Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal for Boynton Beach Fire Rescue.
Ray Altman, Division Chief of Training & Department Safety Officer 
Division Chief of Training, Ray Altman, is a happily married father of four. Born in Ohio,
he moved to Florida in 1982. He became an Emergency Medical Technician in 1993 with
the intention of becoming a Firefighter- Paramedic.
In 2005, then lieutenant Altman was awarded the “hat trick” from the City of Boynton Beach earning BBFRD’s Employee of the Year, Paramedic of the Year, and he was also voted The City of Boynton Beach Employee of the Year. He was the first city employee ever to receive all three awards. He was chosen for these awards for his consistent commitments to, and accomplishments in education, service to the community, leadership, and his dedication to the fire department.
As Division Chief of Training and Safety for BBFRD, Ray has been an innovative leader. Receiving his certification in 2006, Ray became one of the first people trained as a Certified Live Fire Training Instructor in Florida. His Africanized bee emergency response training exercise was featured internationally via an Associated Press video news segment. He is a published author of emergency medical translation charts in Spanish and Haitian Creole. Ray is also an accomplished artist with permanent works on display at the Florida State Fire College Atrium.
Ray holds Associate Degrees in both Fire Science and Emergency Medical Services and is currently in pursuit of a Bachelor Degree in Organizational Leadership through St. Thomas University. He is also enrolled in the four-year Executive Fire Officer program at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Dr. Scheppke, M.D., F.A.A.E.M., Medical Director
Dr. Scheppke serves as Medical Director for Boynton Beach Fire Rescue, leading and instructing all State Certified EMS personnel who work under his license to practice emergency medicine in the field.
Dr. Scheppke’s extraordinary career began upon his distinguished graduation (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) from the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society in his junior year! He headed south to the Medical Center of Delaware’s Department of Emergency Medicine to complete his residency and served as Chief Resident until June of 1995. He is a board certified physician with the American Board of Emergency Medicine and is currently the Medical Director of Emergency at J.F.K. Medical Center. In addition to serving as our Medical Director, Dr. Scheppke also serves as Medical Director for Palm Beach Community College’s Paramedic and Fire/EMS programs, as well as, MD for ATEC EMS programs.
As an administrator, Dr. Scheppke sits on the Disaster Code Committee and Quality Leadership Council at J.F.K. while in the past, he has been a member of the medical center’s Continuing Education Committee and been Co-Chairman of Operation Heartbeat with the American Heart Association. He is an American Academy of Emergency Medicine Fellow, has served as Vice-President of the Florida Academy of Emergency Medicine, is a member of both the National Association of EMS Medical Directors and Palm Beach County Medical Directors Association.
Dr. Scheppke’s teaching career is equally as impressive being that he currently serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor giving clinical instruction to Residents, medical students, and Physician Assistant students at Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine. In recent years, following 9-11, he has delivered lectures on “Weapons of Mass Distruction,” “Smallpox” and “Anthrax.” Dr. Scheppke is also a member of the Regional Faculty and Course Director for Advanced Cardiac Life Support at J.F.K. and previously held the same position at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. He has also been published numerous times throughout his illustrious career.
Mike Landress, Emergency Medical Services Coordinator
Mike Landress has served with Boynton Beach Fire Rescue since October of 1998 and is currently the department’s Emergency Medical Services Coordinator, in charge of our Paramedic program in all its many facets. Mike not only leads our EMS personnel through their licensing and re-certification processes, but is also responsible for compiling and publishing the department’s EMS Protocols—it should be noted that these protocols are recognized for their excellence and have set the benchmark that many other fire rescue departments in South Florida will now aspire to.
In addition to Protocols and personnel, Mike is also in charge of Medication Purchasing and Inventory, equipment procurement that will keep Boynton Fire Rescue on the cutting edge of today’s modern EMS technology and above all, Quality Assurance, making sure that protocols are executed to the satisfaction of Medical Director, Dr. Ken Scheppke as well as Chief Bingham.
Mike earned a Bachelors Degree from St. Thomas University and he also holds degrees in Fire Science Technology and Emergency Medical Services. He is also a Florida Certified Firefighter and Paramedic with additional certifications as a Florida Fire Safety Inspector and Fire Officer One. He holds memberships in the Florida Fire Chiefs Association, Palm Beach County EMS Providers, the Palm Beach County Partnership with PBCC and the Palm Beach County Nurses Forum.
Before you leave our website, please make sure to check out the latest addition of “The Encode,” the official newsletter of Boynton Beach Fire Rescue which Mike has been creating and publishing since August of 2002 with the tremendous thanks and admiration of us all for his exceptional creative skills and his faithful dedication.
Stephen Lewis, Community Relations Specialist/Public Information Officer
Steve joined Fire Rescue in August of 2004 just days before the onslaught of Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne. After a considerable effort by Chief Bingham to build an office with a sole purpose and dedication toward solidifying the relationship between the community and the department, he decided to reach outside of the fire service to find someone with a professional expertise in public and media relations. Steve answered with 18 years of professional broadcasting and public relations experience—plus, the added benefit of being third generation in his family to now join the fire service.
Today, Steve serves as Vice-Chair of the Florida Association of Public Information Officers (FAPIO) and is a member of the Florida Fire Chiefs Association/FAPIO State Emergency Response Deployment Team. As a Type 1 Advanced Public Information Officer under the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA, he will be called on to travel statewide in the event of a catastrophe to keep the public informed as part of the execution of the State Emergency Response Plan. Steve also holds an M.B.A. in Crisis and Emergency Management from Florida Atlantic University and is a member of both national academic honor societies, Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma. He also holds memberships in the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) and the Florida Emergency Preparedness Association (FEPA). In 2008. Steve earned the professional designation of Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) from the IAEM Commission.
Prior to joining the administrative team at Boynton Beach Fire Rescue, Steve spent the better part of 15 years in Los Angeles and San Diego as a radio personality on KGB-FM and finally as host of an international show on the Westwood One Radio Network heard live via satellite across the U.S. and on the Armed Forces Radio Network in countries around the world. He also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications Management from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
When the chance emerged to combine his media/public relations experience with his long-standing family history in the fire service, Steve joined BBFRD and is now responsible for the department’s on-going public education campaign, media relations/department spokesperson, bbfrd.org website design and maintenance, promotional coordination and branding. Call Steve if you’d like to book a Station Tour or have our firefighters visit your child’s school or any other community group/event.
Barkley Garnsey, Information/Communication Coordinator
Barkley joined Boynton Beach Fire Rescue in 1997 and is the mastermind behind the communications and information technology curtains of the department. He is responsible for firefighters’ ability to share information, not only while in-quarters, but also out on the street. Barkley operates and maintains the fleet of on board computers that our battalions use for reporting as well as incident control—two vital aspects of any modern, comprehensive fire rescue department.
Barkley holds a BA in Philosophy from FAU and has been working with computers since the early 80’s (before they became the common household and convenient portable items of today!) He also served as a Teaching/Research Assistant in the Computer Aided Design lab at FAU and as Computer Coordinator for Andrew Young’s campaign when he ran for governor of Georgia. While Barkley now works more “behind the scenes” since coming off of his battalion assignment as a firefighter/EMT, his “life-saving” efforts are still greatly appreciated (especially when we accidentally hit “Delete” instead of “Save”)!
Administrative Associates
Ouida Hall
Jeanne Paquette
Amy McDeavitt, Assistant to the Director
Merri Anne Cromartie
Sharon Reilly