Frank Kelly, CSFA Life member; longtime fire instructor passes

Frank Herbert Kelly, 78, passed away peacefully on April 27, 2012, in Scottsdale, Arizona, after a brief illness. Kelly, a CSFA Life Member, began his fire service career in Costa Mesa and later moved to Huntington Beach FD where he advanced through the ranks quickly from Engineer to Captain, Battalion Chief, Training Officer, Division Chief of Operations, and Fire Marshal. After earning a Bachelor's Degree in Management, an MBA and a Fire Science degree, Kelly became an adjunct faculty member at the California Fire Academy-Asilomar teaching fire ground management, and at the National Fire Academy, Emmitsburg, Maryland, introducing the Incident Command System (ICS) there in the 1970's. ICS is now a nationally-recognized construct in use by the private and public sectors. Kelly taught thousands of students, and after 27 years of service, retired to the desert near the Colorado River with his beloved Anita. As an adjunct faculty member at Palo Verde College, he continued to develop fire science curriculum in partnership with the Industrial Emergency Council. He was a CSTI Certified Hazardous Materials Technician.

He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Anita; daughter Susan; grandsons and granddaughter; sister Kitty, nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Frank's life will be on June 9, 11 a.m., at Zion Lutheran Church, 721 E. Chanslorway, Blythe, CA., with a reception at the County Fairgrounds, Noon to 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Frank's memory may be made to Desert Air Ambulance, POB 796, Blythe, CA. 92226-0796, for much-needed critical care equipment.