Chief Underwood has been with the Long Beach Fire Department for 25 years prior to that he was a federal firefighter for 5 years with and Paid-Call Firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority. Chief Underwood has held the ranks of Firefighter, Paramedic, Captain and has been a Battalion Chief for almost 10 years. Chief Underwood attended University High School, Santa Ana College and Chapman University and is currently working on his bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership. Chief Underwood has been involved in curriculum development for Unified Response to Violent Incidents, Cal OES Regional US&R Task Force Leader Course, Cal OES Regional Technical Search Specialist Course and SEMS Enhanced Unified Command Course and in the conceptual development of the Long Beach Tactical Paramedic Program. Chief Underwood was assigned to special duty to Los Angeles Fire Department as a Regional Training Officer, helping develop the Los Angeles Area Fire Chief’s Regional Training Group. He has been assigned as the Director or Training, US&R Program Manager, Haz-Mat Program Manager, Fire Boat Program Manager, CICCS Coordinator and as the LBFD Incident Management Team Incident Commander. He is also a Type 3 Operations Section Chief, Division Supervisor, Strike Team Leader, and a US&R Task Force Leader. Chief Underwood is a state certified instructor, he has served as an instructor at Oxnard College and Santa Ana College. He served as the Chair of the FIRESCOPE Technical Search & Rescue Committee and serves as a member of the International Association of Fire Chief’s US&R Committee. And he is a military veteran, serving in the United States Marine Corps during Operation Desert Storm.