Steve Austin is a 55-year veteran of the volunteer fire service. A life member of the Aetna Hose, Hook & Ladder Company of Newark, Delaware, serving as a Fire Police Officer. He is also the Vice President of the Allison Hook & Ladder No. 2 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After 37 years, Steve retired from the State Farm Insurance Company where he was a Senior Public Policy Analyst. He is part of a small group of fire service representatives who monitor federal issues that impact the fire service and is the Director of Governmental Relations for the International Association of Arson Investigators, Inc. (IAAI).
Steve is the Project Manager of the Cumberland Valley Volunteer Firemen's Association's Emergency Responder Safety Institute and is a Past President. The Institute is recognized as a leading source of information and advocacy concerning highway incident scene safety. He is a member of several boards and foundations, including liaison to the Board of Directors of the Safety, Health and Survival Section of the IAFC - International Association of Fire Chiefs. Steve is Chairman of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Technical Committee of Traffic Control Incident Management Professional Qualifications and Chairman of the First Responder Center for Excellence, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. He is a member of the Congressional Fire Services Institute Board of Directors.
In 2015, Steve received the Garry Briese IAFC Safety Performance Award, and in 2018, he received the CFSI Mason Lankford Fire Service Leadership Award. In 2020, he was inducted into the Firehouse Magazine Hall of Fame. In addition, he holds the distinction of being the only Chair of the CFSI National Advisory Committee to have served four terms.