Instructors
ARS Instructors are all career fire rescue professionals with multiple years in technical rescue and rescue instruction. Our current cadre of 35 instructors come from across the nation from the following agencies: Phoenix Fire, Boston Fire, FDNY, Knoxville County, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis Fire, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and 12 other metro fire departments. When you hire you can count on professionals who have performed these rescues in real life, multiple times.
As of 2024 our instructor cadre tallied a combined:
450+ years of Firefighting Experience * 350+ years of Instruction * Over 300 years in Technical Rescue * and Over 100 years of experience with FEMA Indiana Task Force One
Our Instructors have lead and managed actual incidents, effecting the rescue or recovery of individuals. Our input and instruction isn’t theoretical, its actual. Our instructors have participated in 16 trench rescues or recoveries, 10 confined space rescue or recoveries, 3 grain bin entrapments, 6 swiftwater rescues events, 4 major flooding events, and well over 100 heavy truck extrications. Many of our instructors actively serve in the FEMA USAR system in roles from rescuer to Task Force Leader and a member of the FEMA Incident Support Team. Collectively ARS instructors have responded to 21 hurricanes, 4 tornadoes, 3 floods, the destructive wildfires in Maui, the Champlain Tower Collapse in Miami, and New York City on 9/11. In short, our cadre didn’t just learn these skills in a class and then start teaching. We require our instructors to come to us with experience, experience that they will share in every class.
Management Team
Todd Taylor, Owner - Todd has been in the fire service for over 36 years. He is currently assigned as the Ladder 82 Captain on B-Shift with the Wayne Township Fire Department. Todd is also a Rescue Team Manager with FEMA INTF-1, the lead instructor of the FDIC Heavy Truck Extrication cadre, and the Director of Advanced Rescue Solutions LLC. Todd was instrumental in the founding and startup of the Fishers Fire Department Technical Rescue Team in 1995 and has been involved in all types of technical rescue for over 32 years. In addition to being the FDIC HOT lead for over 10 years, Todd is also a seasoned FDIC classroom instructor.
Clinton Crafton, Operations - Clinton is a retired firefighter with over 30 years of service. Clinton retired in 2024 as the Deputy Chief of Operations with the Town of Whitestown Fire Department, having previously served with the Fishers Fire Department for 22 years. While at Fishers, Clinton served in every position up to Battalion Chief, where he led the dive rescue team and filled the role of Special Operations Coordinator for the department. Clinton has been heavily involved in all types of technical rescue since 1995. In addition to teaching technical rescue, Clinton served the INTF-1 for 14 years as a rescue squad leader and a rescue team manager. He is also a former Public Safety Dive Instructor for Dive Rescue International and a 10+ year FDIC HOT instructor. Clinton is also a contributor to Fire Engineering magazine and is the author of the ARS Technical Rescue Crib Notes.
Courtney Smith, Administration - Courtney joined the ARS team in 2024 to help manage the incredible growth and expansion of our operations. Courtney comes from a firefighting family and is married to an IFD firefighter as well. Courtney’s background includes human resources, event planning, and office management. At ARS, she manages virtually all administrative functions.
Advisory Board Instructors
Todd Muth, Battalion Chief - Todd Muth is a 27 year member of the Fishers Fire Department where he serves as the A shift Battalion Chief. Todd served for 7 years as the Dive Team Leader and Special Operations Coordinator. Todd has been a member of the Hamilton County Rescue Task Force since 2001 and is a former member of INTF1. Todd also serves as a shift training officer for Fishers Fire Department. Todd is also a member of the FDIC HOT team.
Joey Beikes, Battalion Chief - Joey has been with the Plainfield Fire Territory for 25 years, where he currently serves as a Battalion Chief. He is also a 17 year member of Indiana Task Force One, serving as a Rescue Specialist, Rescue Squad Leader, and a Heavy Rigger.
Josh Westrich, Chief of the Department - Josh Westrich is the Fire Chief at the Whitestown Fire Department. He's been in the fire service for 26 years, much of that in Hendricks County and with Pittsboro Fire Department, where he retired as a Captain before accepting the helm at the WFD. Josh has been in technical rescue for over 22 years and has served on the Indiana Task Force One as a Rescue Team Manager and Heavy Rigger for 17 years. Josh serves the INTF1 as a Task Force Leader and has been the TFL on multiple deployments. Josh is also a multi-year member of the FDIC HOT team.
David Owens, Deputy Chief - David is currently the Deputy Chief of Operations at the Whitestown Fire Department. Dave joined WFD after retiring from the Indianapolis Fire Department with 33 years of service in 2018. Dave has been involved in technical rescue teams for most of his career and holds technician level certifications in rope, structural collapse, trench, confined space, swift water, vehicle & machinery and hazmat. He currently sits on the Fire Engineering Magazine/FDIC Advisory Board. David is also a Dive Rescue International instructor and a director for the International Association of Dive Rescue Specialists.
Greg Smith, Lieutenant - Greg is a 36-year veteran of the fire service. He has spent the past 30 years with the Fishers, Indiana Fire Department. Greg is currently a Lieutenant assigned to a Ladder Company on the A shift. Greg is a former rescue diver and current member of the department’s technical rescue team. He has been an active instructor for recruit academies and area fire departments for over 20 years. Greg also works on a large Central Indiana Grain farm and is a seasoned heavy vehicle extrication specialist and FDIC HOT instructor.
Instructors
Gerald George, Assistant Chief (retired)- Gerald is a long standing icon in the technical rescue community in the Midwest, beginning his fire service career in 1977. Gerald retired as the Assistant Chief with Washington Township / Avon Fire Department in Hendricks County, Indiana in 2021, where he served seven years as the Assistant Chief of Operations. Prior to this Gerald served on the Pike Township, Indianapolis fire department until he retired in 2013, including his last six years as the Fire Chief. Gerald is currently a Task Force Leader with FEMA INTF-1 and has been with the team since it was founded in 1988. He also serves as a FEMA IST member and has been deployed to more than 15 federal disasters, including Hurricane Katrina and the World Trade Center collapse.
Steve White, Battalion Chief - Steve is a 31 year veteran of with the City of Fishers Fire Department, serving as the B shift Battalion Chief. He is a member of the FDIC Heavy Truck Extrication HOT class instructor cadre, classroom presenter, and contributor to Fire Engineering’s “Training Minutes” training videos. Steve was instrumental in the development of the Fishers Fire Technical Rescue Team and has been instructing technical rescue since the teams inception.
Patrick Moore, Special Operations Chief- Patrick Moore is a 43-year student of the fire service and third-generation public safety professional. He is currently the Special Operations Command, Assistant to the Chief of Training for Rural Metro/Knox County, Tennessee, and Acting-Task Force Leader for TN-TF3. Patrick recently located to Tennessee after 25 years with the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy as a Fire and Rescue Instructor, the last 4 years on loan to the Pennsylvania All-Hazards Incident Management Team, along with 42 years term as a Firefighter/Medic/Officer and Instructor with several Fire Departments, centered around the combination department in his home city of Beaver Falls, PA.
Ben Lasater- Ben is the B shift Captain on LD121 for the Plainfield Fire Territory. He has been serving Plainfield since 2006 and also serves on the training committee. Ben’s company specializes on Extrication, Ropes, Confined Space and Swift Water. Ben is also a part of the Hendricks County Rescue Taskforce assisting additionally in Trench, Collapse, Hazmat Decontamination and Project Life Saver. He also is a member of INTF-1 rescue team and has served on several deployments including the double hurricane Milton and Helene.
Abby Bryte- Abby Bryte is a firefighter paramedic, instructor for Advanced Rescue Solutions and FEMA rescue task force member. She specializes in high-angle rope rescue, structural collapse, and confined space operations, combining hands-on experience with a passion for education. Abby is with the Indianapolis Fire Department and is currently assigned at Station 7 downtown.
Chris Collins-
John O’Neal-
Marshall McFadden-
Jerry Harder- Jerry has been in the fire service for 30 years, 25 of those with Brownsburg Fire, where he currently serves as the Division Chief of Training. Jerry has been with INTF1 for over 20 years as a Rescue Team Manager and has made numerous deployments, including the Champlain Towers collapse in Miami, FL. As a technical rescue instructor, Jerry has many years of experience, both with FEMA and with various fire departments.
