Tim Houweling
Tim Houweling works as a Fire Captain, Paramedic, and Hazmat Technician on a Type 1 Heavy Rescue for the Mountain View Fire Department. He is passionate about first responder mental health, and helps manage the department’s peer support program. Tim has also been a professional dog trainer since 2004. He is a Canine Search Specialist with one of the 28 FEMA Urban Search & Rescue teams in the United States. In that role, he has deployed eighteen times to various environments including post-fire searches, debris flows, floods, explosions, and hurricanes. He is also a member of the canine component of the Yosemite Search and Rescue team (“YODOGS”).
He graduated with a Master’s Degree in Extension Studies/History from Harvard University with his thesis on “The Origin and Evolution of Search and Rescue Dogs in California.” He also serves on the Board of Directors of First Responder Therapy Dogs, HD Search Dog Fund, The S.I.R.E.N. Project, and is on the Executive Board IAFF Local 1965. Prior to working in public safety, he was an investment banker on Wall Street and is a certified public accountant. He lives in Carmel Valley, California with his wife and son.