Florida Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association Presents
Fire and Home Safety Education Focused on Older Adults - 2 hrs.
Instructor: Kevin Sehlmeyer - Sonic Alert
(2 Contact hours approved for Fire Code Administrator, Fire Safety Inspector,
and Fire Service Instructor)
This continuing education program is designed to engage communities directly through community risk-reduction efforts focused on older adults, with the primary objective of reducing fatal residential fires among this population. Additional program goals include reducing injuries and deaths related to carbon monoxide poisoning, reinforcing the importance of sheltering during severe weather, and preventing falls in the home, which remain a leading cause of injury among older adults.
By working together, communities can improve the safety, independence, and quality of life for older adults aging in place, while meaningfully reducing preventable injuries and deaths across the United States.
This two-hour continuing education program incorporates recent fire-based research and applied fire science to introduce new, evidence-informed approaches to fire safety messaging for older adults, including foundational fire behavior education. Older adults must understand that today’s residential fires grow significantly faster due to modern home furnishings and synthetic materials. Research from Underwriters Laboratories Fire Safety Research Institute demonstrates that occupants may have less than three minutes to escape a home fire once it begins.
Date: March 25th, 2026
Time: 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Location:
West Manatee Fire Rescue
701 63rd St W
Bradenton, FL 34209
Cost: Free for members of the FFMIA
Not an FFMIA member? Complete the New Member application and pay the membership fee of $95.00 to be able to use the member rate.
Point of Contact:
Rodney Kwiatkowski, MS, CFPS, CFO, FM, MIFireE
Fire Marshal
West Manatee Fire Rescue District
701 63rd St W
Bradenton FL, 34209
Cell 941-201-7904
Office 941-761-1555
or
Philip Oakes, Training Coordinator 307-631-0016
INSTRUCTOR:
Kevin J. Sehlmeyer
850 Stephenson Hwy., Suite 323
Troy, MI 48083
sehlmeyer@sonicalert.com
616-540-2023
www.sonicalert.com
Kevin Sehlmeyer joined the Sonic Alert team in March of 2025. Before working for Sonic Alert, Kevin served as the Michigan State Fire Marshal from 2017 to 2025. Kevin has been involved in the fire service for over 40 years. He retired from the Grand Rapids, MI, Fire Department in 2016. He held many ranks within the Grand Rapids Fire Department, including Firefighter, Fire Lieutenant, Fire Captain, Battalion Chief, Training Chief, and Deputy Chief from 1985 to 2016.
Kevin Sehlmeyer was appointed Michigan State Fire Marshal by Rick Snyder in April 2017 and reappointed by Gretchen Whitmer in 2019. During his tenure, Sehlmeyer led the Bureau of Fire Services, where he established a statewide community risk reduction initiative known as MI Prevention. This program was created to strengthen local prevention efforts, improve data-driven decision-making, and reduce fire-related injuries and fatalities across Michigan.
Since retiring as Michigan State Fire Marshal in 2025, Kevin Sehlmeyer has continued to advocate at both the state and national levels, educating fire service professionals, disability advocacy groups, in-home care providers, and organizations serving the aging population. His outreach is data-driven and science-based, emphasizing modern fire and home safety messaging, the value of home fire safety visits, and the use of assistive and protective technologies—in addition to traditional smoke and carbon monoxide alarms—to reduce risks associated with fire, carbon monoxide, severe weather, and falls among older adults.
RN: 21280
Class: 238061