Dick Mangan founded Blackbull Wildfire Services after retiring from MTDC in 2000. Mangan came to MTDC in 1989 as the Fire and Aviation Program Leader. He served as an advisor to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group's Safety and Health and Fire Equipment Working Teams and was chair of the National Fire Protection Association's Technical Committee on Wildland Fire Protective Clothing and Equipment (NFPA 1977) from 1995 to 2000. In the wildland fire suppression world, Mangan is qualified as an operations section chief, safety officer, and planning section chief. He has been involved in suppression operations across the United States and has been chief investigator, team member, and technical expert on wildland fire entrapment and fatality investigations. He has written and spoken widely on fire safety and equipment issues not only in the United States, but also in Australia, Spain, and Siberia. He is a member of the International Association of Wildland Fire, the National Fire Protection Association, and the National Association of Fire Investigators. In April 2001, he was awarded the GEICO Insurance Public Service Award for Fire Safety. He served on the board of the International Association of Wildland Fire from 2001 to 2006 and was president from 2004 to 2006.

Fire season 2001