Professional History
Chief Cardinale is a Fire Service Specialist with more than 36 years in the fire service. Chief Cardinale’s last assignment was with the San Francisco Fire Department as an Assistant Deputy Chief in charge of the Division of Training. Chief Cardinale is a nationally recognized course developer and instructor in high rise fire fighting, command and control, and fire management. Chief Cardinale was the Safety Officer for his Department.  For large incidents, where a type 3 incident management team was needed, he was the Operations Section Chief.  Chief Cardinale is a certified Chief Officer by the California State Board of Fire Services.  

In 1975, he received an appointment with the San Francisco Fire Department. He served as a firefighter for 13 years before receiving an appointment to lieutenant.  In 1992 he was appointed Captain and in 1994 he was appointed battalion chief, a rank he held for 9 years.  In 2003 he was appointed division chief, managing ½ the firefighting forces in the city, approximately 160 members in 21 stations divided into 5 battalions. In 2009 Chief Cardinale was appointed Assistant Deputy Chief Director of Training. 

Chief Cardinale has served as a division/group supervisor, safety officer, incident commander, and operations section chief at many large and small-scale incidents in the city of San Francisco. 

He has written several incident event plans for the many activities that occur in San Francisco.
Until its deactivation, Chief Cardinale was a member of the Chemical Biological Incident Response Force (CBIRF) Technology Board, located in Indianhead, MD.  A unit of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, it was tasked with evaluating new technologies and establishing priorities for procurement that would enhance the mission of both CBIRF and Fire Service Agencies.

Chief Cardinale has received several commendations from the City and County of San Francisco, the State of California, and other agencies for his work at various incidents/disasters during his career.

Chief Cardinale is a highly qualified and valued Instructor to the Fire Service with over 36 years of experience in a high volume major metropolitan fire agency. His experience with the San Francisco Fire Department as a Division Chief Officer within Operations and his experience as an Assistant Deputy Chief with Administrative responsibilities provides him great insight to the many complex and unique challenges facing fire service organizations today. Frank has always maintained an awareness via networking with fire service professionals across the country, allowing him to develop a global view of the Fire Service and the many problems it faces as it evolves for the next generation of firefighters with an expanded mission and a dwindling level of political clout and financial support."

Education

• Chief Cardinale has an Associate of Science degree from City College of San Francisco in Fire Technology, and a Bachelor of Science degree from California State University Long Beach in Occupational Studies-Vocational Arts.  He has completed numerous community college credits in fire protection, suppression, and rescue systems.
• Chief Cardinale is a Certified Chief Officer by the California State Board of Fire Services, a certified Fire Instructor1, a WMD General Instructor and successfully completed the Instructor Training Certification Course with the Center for Domestic Preparedness, Homeland Security.
• He has been involved in developing training materials for firefighters and fire officers at the local, state, and national levels, including the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, FIRESCOPE, and the International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA).

Personal

• Married to the former Marielle McGowan, have three children, one is a fire fighter, and four grandchildren.
• Other interests include travel, history, kayaking.

Achievements and Certificates

• Certified Chief Officer # 250-1373, California State Board of Fire Services
• Adjunct Instructor and subject matter expert for course revisions at the National Fire Academy, Emmitsburg, Maryland
• Instructor, California State Fire Marshal’s Curriculum, California Fire Service Training and Education System, Level 1 and 2 courses, and Fire Service Training and Education Program, Incident Management System courses, Sacramento, California

Memberships

• International Association of Fire Chiefs
• California Fire Chiefs Association
• International Association of Firefighters, Local 798
• National Fire Academy Alumni Association
• Fire and Emergency Services Higher Education
• California Federation of Teachers

Recent Professional Experience

• With a colleague, has revised for the National Fire Academy Incident Command for High Rise Operations course.
• As a member of a work group, he completed a revision of the FIRESCOPE Field Operation Guide High Rise Operations.
• As a member of a work group, he worked for the International Fire Service Training Association on their High Rise Operations Manual
• Through the California State Fire Marshal’s Office and as a member of a small work group committee tasked to look at fire departments high-rise ordinances and to review, update and/or rewrite the high-rise regulations for the next code cycle
• Through a non-profit organization, helped develop a customized ICS 300-400 course for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PGE), training all of their management staff to operate under ICS for all incidents.  This course is specific to PGE.

Instructor and Lecturer

• Chief Cardinale is an instructor on Fire Service Management and Training for the California Office of State Fire Marshal and other sponsor organizations.  During the last ten years, Chief Cardinale has presented training courses throughout California to fire officers and emergency workers, including:
  • Command 1A
  • Command 1B
  • Command 2A
  • Command 2B
  • Command 2C
  • Command 2D
  • Command 2E
  • ICS 200
  • ICS 300
  • ICS 400
  • Confine Space Rescue Awareness
  • S-130 Firefighter Training
  • S-131 Advanced Firefighter Training
  • S-190 Introduction to Wildland Fire Behavior
• Chief Cardinale is an instructor for the National Fire Academy, presenting courses throughout the United States, including:
  • Incident Command for High Rise Operations
  • Preparation for Initial Company Operations
  • Strategy and Tactics for Initial Company Operations
  • Command and Control of Fire Department Operations at Target Hazards
  • Command and General Staff Functions in the Incident Command Systems
  • Command and General Staff Functions for Local Incident Management Teams
  • Command and Control of Fire Department Operations at Natural and Man Made Disasters
  • Executive Analysis of Fire Service Operations in Emergency Management
  • Command and Control Decision Making at Multiple Alarm Incidents
  • Fire Protection Systems for Emergency Operations
• Chief Cardinale is an instructor at several community colleges where he teaches many of the classes listed above and other fire service related courses.