Chris Koester is the owner of Priority One Safe-T, LLC, an emergency response and standby rescue services and training firm for industrial and manufacturing companies. He is also a captain with the Springfield, MO Fire Department and has over 21 years of experience as a volunteer and career firefighter. He holds numerous firefighting and instructor certifications, and is an adjunct instructor for the Northeast Technology Center, and University of Missouri Fire and Rescue Training Institute.

Chris has been a Hazardous Materials Technician for over 15 years and is a member of the Southwest Missouri Incident Support Team, the Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute (HMTRI), the Partnership for Environmental Technology Education (PETE), the Community College Consortium for Health & Safety Training (CCCHST), the National Institute of Environmental Health and Safety (NIEHS), the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), and the Joplin Safety Alliance.