Bill Hicks began his career as a first responder in search and rescue more than 20 years ago and is a founding member of the Madison County Fire Investigation Task Force in Kentucky. Dr. Hicks’s holds a BS in Fire, Arson and Explosion Investigation, MS in Loss Prevention and Safety, and Ed.D. in Educational Leadership. He is a professor and program coordinator for the Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology program at Eastern Kentucky University.
Dr. Hicks is also a certified vehicle fire investigator and fire/explosions investigation instructor with the National Association of Fire Investigators. He is a certified fire investigator with the International Association of Arson Investigators and a certified fire protection specialist with the National Fire Protection Association, a certified fire prevention inspector with Kentucky’s Fire Marshal Office, and a state licensed private investigator. Dr. Hicks has developed college level courses as well as more than 20 multi-day seminars and provided extensive training in fire protection, investigation, emergency management and preparedness. He has performed incident analysis as well as provided expert witness case review, testimony and litigation support in criminal and civil cases regarding fire incident analysis, fire codes, emergency response, and other fire related topics. He serves on numerous academic and training committees, including as alternate on the National Fire Protection Association document 921, Guide for Fire and Explosion Investigation.
Dr. Hicks is one of the founding instructors for the federally approved Occupational Safety Health Training Institute at Eastern Kentucky University. Since 2006, he has developed numerous OTI and Industry related seminars and various lectures on Occupational Safety and Health standards. He has provided consultant services in the field of occupation safety with regards to safety plans, safety audits, program reviews and has provided expert witness services on litigation involving many OSHA topics including confined spaces, walking working surfaces, and cases involving personal protective equipment, just to name a few.
