The Center for Public Safety Excellence's Board of Directors has named Richard T. Haase to serve as the volunteer emergency- services department representative to the Commission on Professional Credentialing.

Haase is the fire chief for the Conoco Phillips Wood River Refinery in Roxana, Ill. He also has served as the volunteer chief for the Staunton (Ill.) Fire Protection District since 1996 and has been a member of the department since 1983.

Haase was awarded Chief Fire Officer designation in 2003. He holds numerous state/national fire service, EMS, and safety certifications. Haase is a field staff instructor with the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute and an instructor and member of the fire science advisory board of Lewis and Clark Community College.

Haase serves as the chairman of the IAFC Industrial Fire and Safety Section, as a member of the NFPA Industrial Fire Protection Section board of directors, and chairman of the MABAS 35 / Madison County Fire Chiefs Association. He also participates in numerous other local, regional, state and national emergency response organizations.

Haase was honored as the 2001 Illinois Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year and as the 2004 Fire Chief Magazine National Volunteer Fire Chief of Year.