Spotlighting our South Carolina Fire-Rescue Speakers: Chief Ryan Kunitzer

July 24, 2025

Last week, we introduced Captain Ken Norton of North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue, a first-time Fire-Rescue Speaker. Today, we are proud to spotlight another inspiring first-time Fire-Rescue Speaker: Chief Ryan Kunitzer from Charleston, South Carolina.

Chief Kunitzer leads the St. John’s Fire District in Charleston, South Carolina, and is well known for his impactful class, “Difficult Conversations and Effective Confrontation.” Though he has attended several Fire-Rescue Conferences, this year was his first time as a speaker.

“For me personally, [Fire-Rescue] is an opportunity to take some skills and things that I've learned through conversations with people and leading organizations,” he said. “How do we create change? A lot of [change] happens through conversations we have with our subordinates and with [the] people we work with.”

Chief Kunitzer views speaking at Fire-Rescue as his way of contributing to the next generation of leaders in the fire service. 

“[Fire-Rescue] was a great opportunity for me to give back a bit and set up the next generation of leaders,” he said.

Much like Captain Norton, Chief Kunitzer emphasizes the importance of understanding the diverse backgrounds of those in the fire service. He hopes that people leave his classes with better knowledge of how conversations and active listening can build stronger teams within the fire service community. 

“[Everybody] has different values and not everybody thinks the same way,” he said. “It’s important that we let our guard down so that we can have conversations with people that can truly ignite change.” 

We are very thankful for Chief Kunitzer and the knowledge that he shares with the fire service community. We hope to have the privilege of hearing him speak again at next year's Fire-Rescue Conference!