Our People

Our personnel are carefully chosen and are nationally renowned leaders in the field of emergency response training and consulting. Each of them has their own unique contribution to the company with specialized knowledge and abilities in specific aspects of technical rescue. All have been rescuers and teachers within the field of emergency response for at least ten years with an average of 17 years. Members of our team are not only respected teachers and authors, but respected members of the rescue and standards-making community nationwide. The following information provides a biographical account of the background and experience of a few of our team leaders. Our people are unparalleled in the industry.

Richard Wright, President
Richard Wright is a nationally recognized leader in the field of rope and confined space rescue training and consulting with over 23 years of experience and thousands of students to his credit. He has worked with every area of emergency services including fire, EMS, police, and industry. Richard's career began as a firefighter/paramedic in Panama City Beach, Florida where he achieved the rank of Deputy Chief before retiring to begin his professional consulting career in May of 1990. In this capacity, he was an integral member in some of the most influential rescue training programs and organizations in the nation prior to establishing his own company,   As President, Richard is responsible for development and implementation of all programs and services.

In addition to his appearances and articles in various video and magazine publications, Richard is co-author of the book "Confined Space and Structural Rope Rescue" by Mosby Publications and author of the "Rescue Operations" section of the upcoming edition of the National Fire Protection Association's (NFPA) Fire Protection Handbook. He is a principal member of the NFPA's 1670 and 1006 Technical Rescue standards committees and a task group member with NFPA's 1983 standard on Fire Service Life Safety Rope and System Components.

Elise Wright, Owner / Vice President
We are a Woman-owned Small Business.  As the owner, Elise Wright provides the managerial and administrative expertise for the daily operations of She holds a BS in Business Management through Florida State University and specializes in areas of Human Resource management and accounting. Elise is responsible for all administrative, marketing, and accounting operations within the company.

Jimmy Sibley, Chief Instructor
Jimmy Sibley is a recently retired 27-year career Captain with the City of Baton Rouge Fire Department in Louisiana.  Having been assigned to both rescue and engine companies for the majority of his fire service career, Jimmy has had significant education and working experience in almost every discipline of technical rescue. He is an accomplished rescue instructor since 1990 with nationally recognized instructional institutions. Jimmy specializes in industrial confined space rescue, rope rescue, tower/antenna rescue, dive rescue, and firefighter survival. He serves as a Chief instructor for and is integral to the supervision and training of students as well as our internal quality assurance program.

Mike Giroux, Chief Instructor
Mike is a firefighter assigned to Rescue with the city of Yonkers Fire Department in New York. He brings much to the table with his diverse background which includes a great deal of education and experience in the area of research and development. An excellent teacher and practitioner of many areas of technical rescue, Mike specializes in Confined Space, Structural Rope Rescue, trench and structural collapse applications.

Scott Flitcraft, Chief Instructor
Scott Flitcraft is a Shift Lieutenant with over 20 years of service with the Panama City Fire Department (Florida). Scott is the Head Instructor for Panama City's Technical Rescue Team and an integral part of their Rapid Intervention and Water Rescue Teams. A licensed EMT since 1992, Scott heads up our Medical and Firefighter Survival/Escape training and also conducts our Incident Command Programs. Scott has been a certified instructor for the State of Florida and an Adjuct Faculty member for Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City since the mid 90's. Enthusiastic, out-going, and highly motivated; Scott brings a great talent to add to Wright Rescue's team of world-class instructors. Scott's other specialties include rope rescue, confined space rescue, firefighter survival and escape, trench, structural collapse and vehicle, machinery, and equipment rescue.

Wes Roberts, Chief Instructor
Battalion Chief Wes Roberts is a decorated veteran of the Tallahassee Fire Department in the state capitol of Florida. He is presently assigned as Battalion Commander of the department's 3rd Battalion. A founding member of Tallahassee's Technical Rescue Team, Chief Roberts is currently the Task Force Leader of Florida's TF7 Urban Search and Rescue team. Wes' career has spanned service as a firefighter, lieutenant and captain on Tallahassee's busiest Squad and Truck companies, giving him real world experience in technical rescue. He is internationally recognized in the field of heavy vehicle extrication and has developed and delivered extrication programs throughout the United States and abroad. Under the sanctioning of the Transportation Emergency Rescue Committee, he has competed regionally, nationally and internationally in the role of team captain/incident commander of Tallahassee's extrication team. In addition to winning two International Extrication Championships (2001 and 2003), he was also the recipient of the prestigious I.A.F.C.'s Al Mooring Leadership Award. This is awarded to one individual annually for leadership excellence in the field of vehicle extrication. Wes heads up Wright Rescue's Vehicle and Machinery Rescue division.

Robert Rhea, Chief Instructor
Robert Rhea is a 29-year veteran of the Fairfax County (Virginia) Fire and Rescue Department.  He is currently a Battalion Commander assigned to the Operations Division.  Battalion Chief Rhea served for 16 years with the department's Technical Rescue and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) Team, including serving as Task Force Leader and USAR Program Manager.  Robert also served as a content expert for the FEMA USAR System development tea, and as an adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy.  He is a principal member of NFPA's committees on Incident Management Professional Qualifications (1026), Operations and Training for Technical Search and Rescue Incidents (1670), and Professional Qualifications for Rescue Technicians (1006).  Chief Rhea is co-owner of ARK Technical Rescue Training Services, Inc, Wright Rescue's affiliate for Structural Collapse and Trench Rescue training.  In this capacity, Robert is Wright Rescue's Chief Instructor and Technical Coordinator for all such programs.