Meet The Instructor

Pat Turner is a retired chief fire officer. He proudly served for thirty years with the Santa Clara Fire Department in California. He advanced through the ranks to achieve the rank of Training Chief. He spent a considerable amount of time supervising the daily activities of Bravo Battalion, and he successfully commanded a significant number of greater alarm fires during his career.

Chief Turner has achieved certification as an instructor through the State Fire Marshal’s Office of Education. He has trained prospective fire officers in areas involving instruction, command, investigation and others. He has successfully completed an intensive upper level course of study and practical application of skills to earn his certification as a Master Instructor.


He has taught many officer groups from throughout the state. He graduated with honors from the Fire Technology program at Mission College in Santa Clara, CA. Immediately upon graduation he was approached to join the faculty at the college. He has been a lead instructor in courses such as Fundamentals of Fire Suppression and Fire Behavior and Combustion.


Throughout his twenty-one years at the college he has taught hundreds of students. He often fills the role of tutor, trainer and personal reference for individual students that excel in the fire technology curriculum. Chief Turner has used his experience and expertise to develop six courses on the subject of understanding and successfully participating in the entry-level firefighter examination process. He is still active in the development of training aids to assist in this area of fire training.