Staff/Biographies

Russ Decker, CEM

Russell J. Decker, CEM is director of the Allen County (Ohio) Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management. Russ started with the agency in 1990 as a volunteer and began serving as director in 1998. Russ is past president (2008-09) of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), the nation’s largest emergency management professional association. In June of 2007, Russ was appointed to the 34-member FEMA National Advisory Council. He also serves on several national working groups within the U. S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA.

Russ earned his designation as a Certified Emergency Manager® (CEM®) from IAEM in 2003. He completed FEMA’s Professional Development Series in 2001. He holds a Master of Science degree from Tiffin University with undergraduate studies from The Ohio State University and the University of Northwestern Ohio.

Co-author of the book Homeland Security Handbook for Citizens and Public Officials (McFarland & Co., 2006), and author of numerous articles in professional and trade magazines, Russ will have his first full book published soon, Breaking News: An Emergency Responder’s Guide to the Media.

He was presented the prestigious “Clayton R. Christopher Award” in 2006 as the nation’s leading local emergency manager. He received the “Excellence in Public Service” award from the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council in 2005 and was the named Citizen of the Year in 2004 by the Allen County Visionaries. He served as president of the Emergency Management Association of Ohio in 2002-03.

Scott Fessler, OFE, Deputy Director / 911 Coordinator

Scott is a twenty-five year veteran of the fire service, starting as a volunteer firefighter with the Bluffton Fire Department in 1983. He joined the Elida Fire Department as a volunteer in 1984 and as a fulltime paid firefighter in 1988. He was promoted several times eventually leaving Elida FD with the rank of Assistant Chief. In May of 2004, Scott graduated from the Ohio Fire Executive program.

Scott currently serves as Chief Deputy Director for Allen County EMA and as the county’s 9-1-1 Coordinator. He also administrates the county’s HAZMAT Team and is a volunteer firefighter / inspector/ investigator with the Bath Township Fire Department.

David Webb, Deputy Director

David Webb joined the Allen County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management as Deputy Director in February of 2003.

Prior to joining the county staff, David worked for 27 years with the Lima Fire Department where he retired in 2001 after reaching the rank of Assistant Chief.

A lifelong Lima resident and graduate of Lima Senior High School, David and his wife Jenny have two children, Michael and Rachel.

Gene Davis, Deputy Director

Gene is a 50-year veteran of the fire service and former Perry Township Fire Chief. In addition to his duties with the Allen County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Gene continues to serve as Fire Investigator for Perry Township and as a volunteer firefighter with the Westminster Rural Fire Department.

Doug Litsey, Deputy Director

Doug is the former Fire Chief at Shawnee Township, and currently serves as Emergency Response Coordinator for the Husky Lima Refinery. With more than thirty years in the fire service, Doug is our senior Deputy Director having served in that role with the Allen County EMA since 1988.

Anne Decker, Public Information Officer

Anne has more than 25-years of experience in journalism and public relations. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Broadcasting from the University of Cincinnati. A former broadcast news director and anchor in the Cincinnati and Lima markets, Anne currently manages an advertising agency serving more than 2,000 clients nationwide.

George Dunster, Public Information Officer

George is a journalism veteran with more than 40-years of experience. Former news director at WLIO-NBC Lima, George currently teaches journalism at the Wright State University Lake Campus in Celina.

Fred Vobbe, Communications Officer

Fred is a 30+ year veteran in broadcasting, and has won numerous awards in broadcast engineering and electronics. He is Vice President and Chief Operator for WLIO Television, the NBC affiliate station in Lima. Fred also serves as co-chair of the Lima-Allen County Emergency Alert System (EAS) District.

Steve Harvey, Communications Officer

Steve is a telecommunications specialist in the biomedical department of St. Rita's Medical Center. With nearly 20 years experience in electronics, wired and wireless communications and radio transmission systems, Steve also volunteers as a firefighter with the Cridersville Fire Department.