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Kurt Kamm
TOPIC-
About the Book: Tunnel Visions
Working 5 miles inside a water tunnel in 1971, Willie Carter was one of 17 men killed in a
methane explosion. The ensuing underground fire burned for two days before Los Angeles
firefighters could attempt a rescue in what became known in California as the Sylmar Tunnel
disaster.
Kurt Kamm Bio:
Malibu resident Kurt Kamm has used his contact with CalFire, Los Angeles County and Ventura
County Fire Departments, and the ATF, as well as his experience in several devastating local
wildfires, to write fact-based (“faction”) firefighter mystery novels. Kurt has attended classes at
El Camino Fire Academy and trained in wildland firefighting, arson investigation and hazardous
materials response. He is also a graduate of the ATF Citizen’s Academy. Recently he rode
with Los Angeles County Fire Department’s famed Urban Search & Rescue Task Force while
completing work on Tunnel Visions, a USAR mystery in which terrorists threaten the Southern
California water supply. Tunnel Visions will be released in September 2014.
Kurt has built an avid fan base among first responders and other readers. Each of his firefighter
mysteries features a firefighter skilled in a particular discipline (wildland, arson investigation,
paramedic, hazardous material response, and search and rescue). His first novel, One Foot in
the Black (2008) has become a favorite of the men on the fire lines. Subsequent novels, Red
Flag Warning: A Serial Arson Mystery (2010) and Code Blood (2012) have won numerous fiction
awards. Hazardous Material, released in 2013, received the Hackney Award for best novel of
the year.
In 2006, one of the infamous Malibu wildland fires, the 60 mile-per-hour Santa Ana wind-driven
Canyon Fire, burned to Kurt’s front door and destroyed the homes of several neighbors. Kurt
said the lessons he learned from the County Fire Department while writing his first book helped
him save his home.
A graduate of Brown University and Columbia Law School, Kurt was previously a financial
executive and semi-professional bicycle racer. He was also Chairman of the UCLA/Jonsson
Comprehensive Cancer Center Foundation for several years and is a supporter of the Wildland
Firefighter Foundation.
Visit Kurt Kamm’s first responder/author website, www.kurtkamm.com, to see stunning fire
pictures, and for information about his novels and free chapter downloads.
Date Recorded: 7/16/2014
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