WDS is the national leader in insurer wildfire services, combining professional wildfire consulting with federally-certified emergency response wildfire suppression services. Founded in 2001 to fulfill initial-attack assignments for the US Forest Service, the company added professional services support in 2005 and launched comprehensive wildfire loss-prevention programs for insurers in 2008.

WDS provides services to the private sector at a wildfire agency-level scale. We cover a 20 state region with highly-experienced personnel, the largest insurance service fleet of wildfire engines in the nation, and an unmatched inventory of wildfire suppression and structure protection equipment and materials. Our mix of professional management and field operation expertise allows us to perform projects and assignments ranging from design and implementation of comprehensive wildfire programs to wildfire suppression and structure protection services.

Headquarters

We are pleased to announce that, as of July 2018, we have relocated to our new Corporate Headquarters in Bozeman, Montana. At the center of this state-of-the-art building is our national dispatch center for insurer wildfire operations. This dispatch center is the largest non-governmental wildfire dispatch center in the nation.

Meet The Team

WDS is a team of technical experts, management professionals, wildfire officers, and field staff. The following key personnel are supported by mid-level managers, field wildfire officers, GIS specialists, IT and security professionals, firefighters, editors and technical writers, and WDS subcontractors. Together we have grown the company from a small seasonal wildfire-fighting service with four engines to the largest wildfire service company in the nation.

David Torgerson

Chief Executive Officer

David is the CEO/Founder of Wildfire Defense Systems with more than 31 years of experience in environmental engineering and wildfire/hazardous materials risk management. A nationally recognized expert in insurer wildfire risk management and loss

Michael Ray

Executive Vice President, Wildfire Defense Systems; Chief Executive Officer, Wildfire Defense Insurance Services

Michael is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter with over 40 years of experience in executive leadership roles in property casualty insurance, including positions as CEO/Owner of a privately held MGA.

Nick Lauria

Chief Operating Officer

Nick has over 25 years of career fire department experience in emergency services strategic planning and administration and has served in all capacities from firefighter to fire chief in Colorado. Nick's expertise includes risk management, loss

Contact

For more information on programs or services contact WDS Corporate Office at 406.586.5400

For fire response related inquiries during a wildfire contact our operations center at 877.323.4730 ext. 1

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