Robert W. Cobb, Director — Community Hazard Mitigation

Robert W. Cobb is director of Community Hazard Mitigation for Risk Decision Services at ISO. He directs ISO's key mitigation programs in municipal fire protection, building-code enforcement and adoption, and floodplain management.

Before joining ISO, Chief Cobb served as Jersey City's Deputy Chief – Fire Department Operations and Deputy Coordinator – Office of Emergency Management/Homeland Security. While there, he authored specialized incident management guidelines for the Jersey City Fire Department, which comprises 650 uniformed personnel operating 28 pieces of apparatus from 17 fire stations. In addition to his considerable background in fire suppression, he was also responsible for the city's emergency all-hazard planning process.

Chief Cobb is a nationally recognized fire service expert and frequently requested speaker at industry conferences. He also served as a contributing editor for a leading fire service periodical, Firehouse Magazine, and is the author of more than 50 fire service–related articles. In addition to his career fire department experience, he is also a current volunteer and past fire chief of the West Milford, N.J., Fire Department and a past chief of the Dumont, N.J., Fire Department.

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