Derek has been involved with the flame-resistant clothing (FRC) industry in a variety of roles from the service, manufacturing and garment sides of the business for over 20 years.

The first 10 years of his career Derek worked directly with end-users developing and implementing Flame-Resistant Clothing programs specific to the customer’s hazards. Over the past 15 years, Derek has worked closely with fortune 1000 companies as they look to develop FR clothing programs, educating them on various fabrics and FR technologies as well as the dynamics of arc flash and flash fire hazards.

Over the course of his careers, Derek has developed and conducted over 250 educational and informational seminars on the hazards of arc flash and flash fire for a variety of companies, associations and organizations including NSC, VPPPA, NJATC, NECA and ASSP.

In his current position as a Technical Training Manager, Derek has developed over 40 hours of training curriculum for The Bulwark Institute. These training efforts cover all aspects of FR clothing and are delivered utilizing live class courses, online training, webinars and in-person seminars. The Bulwark Institute focuses on non-commercial training for individuals and companies on the thermal hazards and how to properly design and implement an FR clothing program.

Along with being a recognized Subject Matter Expert (SME), Derek is also a Qualified Safety Sales Professional (QSSP) and a Certified Environmental, Health, Safety Professional (IASHEP) and Certified Safety Health and Environmental Technician (IASHEP).

Denise has spent 34 years in the flame-resistant clothing industry in a variety of roles. Denise’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Textile Chemistry degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology as well as a Master of Business Administration – Marketing from Georgia State University.

Denise spent more than 20 years with a leading flame-resistant fabric manufacturer, initially charged with technical responsibilities as their Corporate Lab Manager. This led to an opportunity in the Research and Development group, where Denise ultimately achieved the position of Senior Product Engineer. As such, she had the opportunity to gain extensive knowledge of textile manufacturing processes, testing protocol, properties of FR fibers and related chemistries.

Denise has been active in performance standards writing groups and has held voting rights on committees within both the NFPA® and ASTM organizations. She also boasts inventor credits on multiple U.S. patents for innovations on flame resistant fabrics and garments.

In her current position as Bulwark Protection’s Technical Director, Denise is responsible for the evaluation of new fabrics and related technologies, representing Bulwark Protection on pertinent NFPA® and ASTM technical committees, initiating/maintaining performance certifications on all Bulwark Protection products, and providing technical support to those inside and outside the organization on the performance and use of flame-resistant fabrics and apparel.

Rick Fisher has been in the Protective Apparel Manufacturing and Industrial Textile Laundry Business for over 25 years.

On the manufacturing side for the past 23 years, Rick has developed and presented numerous FR training and marketing programs to many fortune 500 companies and trade associations on a variety of subjects from 70E , 2112 Flash Fire to Basic FR 101 workshops and webinars. Rick has also consulted to the rental laundries and industry re-sellers in the area of strategic marketing, selling and advanced FR training.

Rick is currently a Business Development Manager for VF's Bulwark Protective Apparel and is responsible for many aspects of training and educating the end users and distribution channels regarding the FR industry, fabrics and changing regulations.