Nicholas Papa
Nicholas Papa is, first and foremost, a husband and father of two. He is a second-generation firefighter with more than 20 years of experience in the fire service. Nick is a captain with the New Britain (CT) Fire Department, where he has served since 2007, and is presently assigned as the drillmaster of the Training Division. He was the co-founder of the department’s fire academy and the lead instructor for the inaugural recruit firefighter program. His prior assignment, where he spent seven years, was as the senior lieutenant of Engine Company 1.
As a private, he worked on Engine Company 2 before sliding the floor to Ladder Company 2. Nick entered the fire service in 2003, volunteering in the neighboring suburb of Newington until his appointment to the New Britain (CT) Fire Department.
Nick was a member of the Fire Safety Research Institute technical panel for the Study on Coordinated Fire Attack in Acquired Structures. He is a frequent contributor to the magazine Fire Engineering, having authored and produced numerous articles and videos. Nick is a member of the Fire Department Instructors Conference International Educational Advisory Board and has been a classroom instructor since 2017.
He is also the founder of the fire service training and consulting organization Fireside Training, LLC, and has worked with fire departments and taught at fire conferences across the country. Nick holds a master of public administration degree in emergency management from Anna Maria College, a bachelor of science degree in public safety administration from Charter Oak State College and has attained nationally accredited certification to the Fire Officer III and Fire Service Instructor III levels.
Nick can be reached at firesidetraining@yahoo.com. His other publications and resources are available through his website, www.firesidetraining.org, as well as on Fire Engineering (www.fireengineering.com).
