Over the next several weeks, we’re going to cover various hazardous materials training system for emergency responders as a follow-up to my last post .  My personal belief is that the best training systems are designed by those with field experience, and Phil Ambrose is one of those people.  He has the experience, the commitment to our field, and the creative insight to bring forth innovative training methodologies.  His company is HazSim, LLC., and before we go into his first rate training system, here’s a little about him.  He’s our kind of inventor.


“Mr. Ambrose was inspired to invent the HazSim through his passion for effective training and by identifying a critical gap in HazMat training that needed to be filled. Phil is a Firefighter/Hazardous Materials Specialist for a metropolitan fire department in Southern California. Prior to joining the fire service, Phil had eight years combined hazardous materials experience with the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and biotech leader, Amgen. As the Hazardous Waste Manager/Hazardous Materials Specialist for UCLA, Phil served as training officer for the UCLA Hazardous Materials Response Team (HMRT), was UCLA ‘s representative for a system-wide hazardous waste training committee, and managed the removal of chemical, radioactive and biological waste from the campus and the UCLA Medical Center.

Phil received the Exceptional Public Service Award from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for serving as a training liaison to their Hazardous Materials Response Team, and is a past Secretary of the LA-based Consortium of Technical Responders (CTR). Phil has held positions in several areas of hazardous materials including waste management, radiation safety, training, and regulatory management within university, hospital, industry, and municipal jurisdictions. Phil has trained members of fire, law enforcement, and industry and is a certified outreach instructor. Phil holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Loyola Marymount University, is a certified Paramedic, and holds several Hazardous Materials certifications. Phil’s day routinely starts at 4am and includes training for Ultra Marathons and spending time in the Pacific Ocean on his Paddleboard preparing for race season.”