Steve Shapira

Division Chief

Steve Shapira has spent 30 years working in Minnesota public safety, most of which was in the St. Paul Fire Department. He retired in 2015 as a captain. He is the founder of the St. Paul Fire Foundation (SPFF), which was established in 2010. He previously served as executive director and secretary of SPFF. He started as an instructor at Century College in 2014 and currently serves as the Fire and EMS programs planner. He has been a member of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network (FCSN) since 2014, serving in various roles, including regional representative, Minnesota state director and currently as the assistant state director. He is also the past president (2017 to 2022) of the Minnesota State Fire Training Consortium, which offers training on a number of Minnesota state college and university campuses. Shapira assisted in the development of the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFIRE), established 2016, which provides train-the-trainer seminars for the current instructor cadre. He still teaches on a regular basis. Helping firefighters achieve better health and wellness and finding creative solutions for underfunded public safety organizations is his passion.