Ryan Pfeiffer, MA

I am a full-time Fire Lieutenant for a rural fire department near Denver, an instructor for firefighting and EMS classes part-time at the local community college, and serve as a volunteer firefighter in my hometown.

I began my career early, at age 15, while still in high school. In my junior and senior year I took 9 AP classes, ran track & cross country, was active in JROTC, was executive director of the school's weekly video news broadcast, was an explorer at a local fire department, an explorer at the county sheriff's office, and volunteered on the county dive rescue team.

After high school I moved from Colorado to Florida and completed a Bachelor's degree in Homeland Security at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. I was also active in Air Force ROTC, and served as an EMT supervisor with the university's student run EMS service.

After graduating college, I was appointed to serve 4-years as a US Air Force Intelligence Officer, including one 7-month deployment to the Middle East. While serving, I volunteered with a local volunteer fire department, and completed a basic firefighter academy.

In 2018, I decided to leave the military, return home to Colorado, and become a career firefighter. That year, I also finished a Master's Degree in Crisis & Trauma Counseling from Liberty University.

Over the next 2-years, I briefly served as a sheriff's deputy in the county jail, as a seasonal wildland firefighter, a fire academy administrator, and part-time firefighter, before being hired as a full-time fire training officer in 2020. In 2024 I transferred from being the training officer to supervising an operational crew responding to 911 calls.