Arborlook Insights

I worked as a research analyst with the Oregon Office of State Fire Marshal, building data products on wildfire risk and community vulnerability. After that, I supported Manitou Inc. with deployment and station location analysis for departments in CT, NJ, MI, and NY.

I hold a PhD from Oregon State University and have been doing spatial and statistical analysis since graduate school. I've been working with fire and EMS data since 2021. Arborlook Insights is my analytics practice; Risk & Response is the platform I've built out of it.

I built Risk & Response because the fire service deserves analytics tools of its own. Working at the State Fire Marshal's office, I saw how hard it was for individual departments to assemble the data they needed. The data existed (FEMA, Census, NFIRS), but getting it into one view for one jurisdiction took weeks. This platform does that automatically for every department.

Charles R. Jennings is an expert in emergency response, fire protection, and urban planning, with both academic and practical experience. He has consulted across the US and Canada. He holds a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University and advanced degrees in fire protection management. Dr. Jennings has conducted research on community-level fire risk and worked in deployment analysis and emergency response system design. He edited a special issue of Fire Technology devoted to deployment analysis methods. He has served as Director of the Christian Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies and Associate Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where he developed and led programs in emergency management and public safety. He transitioned to Emeritus status in 2026.

His applied experience includes leadership as First Deputy Commissioner of Public Safety in White Plains, NY, where he oversaw police, fire, EMS, and emergency management services, and implemented new safety and communication systems. His fire/EMS career includes service as firefighter, EMT, line officer, and Board or Commission member for over 20 years.

Through research, policy, and consulting work, Dr. Jennings has contributed to national safety initiatives, fire prevention strategies, and first responder coordination at large-scale events. His work has been supported by grants from FEMA, NIST, NSF, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other agencies. Among his publications is the most recent edition of Managing Fire and Emergency Services, published by the International City/County Management Association. Dr. Jennings is Principal and co-founder of Manitou, Inc., a public safety planning and program evaluation consultancy since 1999.