As the former senior career federal fire official, Dr. Denis Onieal was responsible for the day-to-day operation of the United States Fire Administration (USFA) — the annual training of over 140,000 first responders at and through the National Fire Academy; the National Fire Incident Reporting System, which documents and analyzes 28 million fire department emergency responses a year; the USFA’s fire prevention, public information and public education programs; and the 26 campus buildings and the grounds of the historic National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Maryland. An honorably discharged Army veteran, he joined the Jersey City Fire Department and rose through the ranks from firefighter to deputy chief, and then to acting chief, leading a uniformed force of 650 firefighters and officers. He spent his entire time "in the street" as a line fire officer.