Dr. Robert C. Andrews, Jr., P.E.
M.Sc., DBA, FIFireE, PMSFPE, EFO

Founder
President and CEO
Principal Fire Protection Engineer
Principal Rail Engineer

Biography

Robert C. Andrews, Jr. founded Protection Development, Incorporated, (PDI) in 1985 and currently serves as its President and CEO. Mr. Andrews is a Texas Registered Professional Engineer (fire protection branch specialty), a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers (UK), and a Professional Member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (USA). He has been practicing fire protection engineering for over thirty-five years and has specialized in the fire safe design of very complicated and unusual projects. He has been a member of the National Fire Protection Association for 37 years and is currently a member of the Fire Service Section. He is a lifetime (30 year) member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Mr. Andrews is a 2008 graduate of the Railway Management Program at Michigan State University. In 2009, he expanded his commitment to the rail / transit consulting industry by launching a new, dedicated PDI division, PDI Rail Solutions aimed specifically at that market.

Highly unusual amongst fire protection engineers, Chief Andrews was an active member of the fire service for 40 years, having joined his local volunteer fire company in suburban Philadelphia on his sixteenth birthday. His fire service experience includes serving with the East Whiteland Volunteer Association (PA), the College Park Volunteer Fire Department (MD), the Phoenix Fire Department (AZ), Marathon Oil Company (OH), Celanese Chemical Company (TX), the Refinery Terminal Fire Company (TX) and Industrial Emergency Services. He was one of the first Emergency Medical Technicians in the United States having received his Pennsylvania and National Registry EMT licenses in 1975. In addition to his fire service credentials, Mr. Andrews has been a Licensed Texas Peace Officer for over twenty-six years and currently holds Master Peace Officer and Instructor certifications. He is an internationally recognized police dog trainer.

Mr. Andrews earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fire Protection Engineering from the University of Maryland in 1980 and a Master of Science Degree in Executive Fire Service Leadership from Grand Canyon University in 2002. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program and received the 1990 Outstanding Research Award for his paper that discussed the feasibility of applying the Incident Command System to incidents in the refining and petrochemical industry. He was one of the first industrial fire chiefs to earn the prestigious Chief Fire Officer Designation in 2003 and is an internationally recognized author and speaker having delivered emergency response, industrial firefighting, and railroad fire-safety presentations in the United States, Jamaica, France, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, and Germany.