Kelly began his fire career in 1995 as a volunteer firefighter with the Walls, MS fire department. In 2000, he became a full-time firefighter for the Horn Lake, MS fire department where he was promoted to Driver/Operator and then to Lieutenant/Field Training Officer. His duties as Lieutenant included curriculum development, job performance reviews (JPR) management, and SOP/SOG development, as well as leadership of the company’s swift water rescue team. In 2005, he joined Southaven, MS fire department as a firefighter/field training officer, assisting in curriculum development and in-field training. He also served on Mississippi’s regional response teams.
Kelly currently serves as an Adjunct Instructor for the Mississippi State Fire Academy, delivering onsite and field training. He worked as a hazmat contractor from 2002 – 2010, providing hazmat remediation and cleanup all over the country. Various incidents that he has worked on include Hurricane Ivan and the BP oil spill.
In 2013, Kelly joined Team SERTC as an Instructor for flammable liquids. In 2015, he was promoted to Lead Instructor over the flammable liquids program, which includes Crude Oil/Class 3 Flammable Liquid Emergencies Transported by Rail (FLE-RR) and Transportation Container Loading and Unloading Emergency Response (TCLUER) curricula. He also assists in instruction of numerous other SERTC resident and remote delivery courses.
Kelly holds several fire, rescue, and HazMat certifications and brings years of invaluable experience to the MxV Rail/SERTC organization.