Fire Chief Edward Casares, Jr. is a 31 year member of the Hartford Fire Department, a member of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Latin American Section, and, the International Association of Fire Chiefs. He is an Instructor at the Dr. Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute held at Dillard University, New Orleans, LA

Chief Casares previously served as Commissioner and Chairman of the Hartford Redevelopment Agency; former member of the Hartford Democratic Town Committee in the Sixth (6th) District. The Julio Lozada Park renewal project, Chief Casares currently serves on The Salvation Army Advisory Board, Goodwin College Board of Trustees, and its Homeland Security Criminal Justice Program Advisory Board ,the CREC Public Safety Academy Advisory Board, and, Leadership Greater Hartford Board of Directors.

Chief Casares has been awarded the 2006 Maria C. Sanchez Leadership award, and has received proclamations from Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, and the Mayors of Hartford, and Miami Florida.

Chief Casares is a 2008 Graduate of the Dr. Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute (EDI) and is a member of Leadership Greater Hartford’s Summit program. He graduated from Goodwin College with an Associates of Science Degree in Homeland Security and is a senior at Columbia Southern University Orange Beach, Alabama in pursuit of a Bachelors of Fire Science Degree. He is pursuing a Certificate of Emergency Management with The Federal Emergency Management Agency Independent Study Program. Edward lives in Hartford’s Southwest neighborhood with his wife Ines of 35 years.