Walter Lewis has been a firefighter since 1990, currently at the rank of Assistant Chief for the Orlando Fire Department, overseeing operations on B-Shift. He began his time as a Malabar volunteer firefighter, then later as a paid firefighter in Palm Bay, Fl, a bedroom community on the east coast. In 1996, he joined the Orlando Fire Department and has served on some of the busiest units and within special operations. He is a continual student of the fire service, has contributed to works such as the State of Florida Live Fire Training Instructor curriculum, is a charter member of the Orlando Fire Conference, a charter member of the Orlando Firefighters Benevolent Association, a bagpiper and charter member of the Orlando Firefighters Pipes and Drums, and also an original board member of FOOLS International, a fraternal organization designed to promote unity, training and education.

Early in his career with the Orlando Fire Department, he was accepted as a Field Training Officer for the newly created FTO program designed to help orient new firefighters to the operations of the agency during their first year, in collaboration with their respective company officers and the training division. He would later oversee the program during the massive growth period of 2002-2004 with nearly 100 personnel under his charge in various states of probation.

This would be a basis to a grass-roots initiative to ensure future promoted chief officers would be better prepared to operate in their given roles by creating the Peer-to-Peer Training Group. This group would meet monthly with the intent of covering at least one point in each of the three topics of Tactics, Administrative and Leadership.

Among his proudest work achievements is the collaborative effort that has become Command Proficiency. Prior to and since his promotion to District Chief (Battalion Chief), he sought training to ensure his preparedness to direct others to go into harms way, largely on the part of faith in operations. The only programs available were curriculum based with little interaction. This prompted Chief Lewis to look beyond and assemble an incredible cadre of command officers, leaders and experts to form the Tenacity Saves Lives group, developing a multi-day, multi-topic command program that engages interaction and stressors to challenge soon-to-be promoted, recently promoted and have-been promoted command officers.