So…you’d like to know a little more about who we are. We’re excited to share our vision with you and get to know you more as we serve together! In the meantime, here’s a brief introduction to the Team Fireline Core individuals who strive to fulfill our vision to developing leaders and cultivating heroes in the field of relational EMS.
Founder & Owner (Team Fireline); Director of Business Development (Fireline Medics)
Kelly Zakariasen
Chief Operations Officer
(Fireline Medics, Fireline Rescue, Team Fireline)
Andrew Belcher
Founder + Owner (Fireline Medics)
Troy Zakariasen
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Troy’s sense of adventure was cultivated as he grew up on the shores of a cold, Northern Minnesota lake. His interest in EMS began after witnessing a tragic accident on a ropes course. Not many years after he achieved his certification as a paramedic and eventually continued his education to critical care paramedic certification. Family life brought him to Idaho in 2011 and after seeing the devastation of wildland fires throughout the Pacific Northwest, he founded Fireline Medics in 2016.
Troy’s mission was to establish a principled company that could provide excellent emergency medicine in challenging settings, but his heart has always been for his staff. As the owner, Troy has only ever been a phone call away and always welcomes conversations—tough or celebratory—from any member of the Fireline Medics family. Now retired from deploying to the line himself, Troy enjoys spending time catching mountain snowfalls, warm July evenings on the porch, and boisterous board games with his wife, Kelly, and their growing family.
Andrew Belcher hails from Clifford Township, Pennsylvania and began his emergency/public service career as a volunteer in 1996. Throughout the years, he has worked his way up through the ranks of multiple agencies - both as a volunteer and paid staff - beginning as a first responder all the way through Paramedic and Paramedic EMS Instructor. Andy brings an extensive knowledge of the field, practice, and wilderness to his new leadership position along with his impressive credentials and management experience. He enjoys all things in the wilderness from hunting, camping, hiking, traveling, and winter sports, but also enjoys his work in the rescue field. Like a true responder, he dislikes stupid people but is ready to serve them with skill and compassion when they've made critical error in judgement.
As the wife of Fireline Medics owner and founder, Troy Zakariasen, Kelly has been acting as double agent both at home and in the office as the Director of Business Development for Fireline Medics since 2016. Utilizing her experience as an EMT, creative business professional, and communications specialist, Kelly established a vision to transform “corporate culture” and create a company that values its relationships with EMS providers and where each team member has the ability to not only develop professionally, but to thrive personally. She founded Team Fireline in 2022 to support the evolution of EMS leaders and heroes and amplify their vision of providing highly skilled medical care with integrity and compassion in challenging environments. When she isn’t generating ideas and visiting with our teams, she can be found relishing in an unusually quiet moment knitting amid the chaos of her joyful family life.