Longtime West Grove volunteer fireman Tom Glass has been named as Deputy Director of the Chester County Department of Emergency Services. This career appointment caps a lifelong career of emergency services for Tom, who is a Life Member of the WGFC and has served in a variety of roles, including line and administrative officer positions. Tom currently serves as Assistant Engineer at the WGFC.

"We are understandably proud that Tom Glass has been selected for this critical role in helping to manage Chester County's emergency services system," said John Chambers, President and Eric Felker, Fire Chief, of the West Grove Fire Company. "Tom has a long and accomplished career in emergency services, and has also served our community since 1972 as a volunteer in the WGFC. Tom is truly representative of the kind of commitment seen of our members in service to the greater Avon Grove community."

Tom has been named as the Deputy Director of Emergency Services for Emergency Management. Chester County Emergency Management Division is located with the County 9-1-1 Communications Center. The Division staffs full time employees to manage operations, including: Preparedness Info, Chester County ARES/RACES, DHS Documents, Disaster Relief Organizations, and Citizen Corps - CERT Training. Originally Civil Defense, Emergency Management is responsible for maintaining emergency plans for a variety of natural and man-made disasters. These plans include the periodic review of: Municipal Emergency Operation Plans, Over100 SARA (Superfund Amendment Reauthorization Act) Sites Community Emergency Response Plans, 2 Nuclear Power Plants Emergency Response Plans, 26 Dam Emergency Action Plans, and as well as plans for other organizations and facilities within the County.

Since 2000, Tom has served as the Hazardous Materials Coordinator for the Chester County Department of Emergency Services (DES). He has been Chief of the Hazardous Material Response Team for the past 15 years. Tom’s responsibilities included planning in the emergency management division for the SARA/Hazmat related facilities as well as managing the Hazmat Response Team and the 30 part-time Hazmat Responders.

Tom started his career with DES 1974 as a Fire/EMS dispatcher rising to the rank of Shift Supervisor for the communication center.
In 1990 he then went on to serve as the SARA Coordinator where his primary role was the development of the required, by SARA Title III, off-site response plans for the 70 to 120 facilities. During this time Tom was instrumental with the startup of the Hazardous Materials Response Team in Chester County. Chosen by his peers, he served as the Deputy Chief of the team, before taking over as Chief in 2000.

During his time at DES, Tom has served as Chairman of the Hazmat Subcommittee for the Southeast PA Regional Task Force and various positions in the Pennsylvania Association of Hazardous Materials Technicians including President. Tom is also a part-time fire instructor with the Chester County Public Safety Training Campus where he teaches responders about hazardous materials. Outside of DES, Tom is a top responding volunteer firefighter with over 40 years’ experience. Tom holds certifications in firefighting, EMT and hazardous materials. Tom holds an Associate Degree in Emergency Management and Planning from Delaware County Community College.

Tom lives in West Grove along with his wife Lisa, who is the WGFC Ambulance Chief, and his son Matthew, who is an active firefighter with the WGFC.

Everyone in the WGFC joins with the greater emergency services community across Chester County in congratulating Tom on this outstanding career accomplishment.

For more information, see: http://www.chesco.org/index.aspx?NID=348 and http://www.chesco.org/index.aspx?NID=2906