Code 3 - The Firefighters' Podcast

It’s easy to become jaded or cynical when the fire department administration comes up with a new list of core values. They sound good, but you know and I know and the American people know that those core values get printed up on posters, sent around to each fire house, pinned to the wall…and then ignored. They just hang there and fade…until the next administration comes along and issues new ones. But what if these core values were actually put into practice somehow? What if they actually meant something? Today’s guest has some ideas on how to do that. Lieutenant David Bullard is a 20-year member of the fire service. He’s co-assigned to the Training Division of the Columbia County Georgia Fire Department and a Firefighter with Grovetown, Georgia DPS. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Georgia State Firefighter’s Association, he’s a National Volunteer Fire Council State Director and a whole lot more.

Since 1977, firefighter line-of-duty-deaths have been dropping. You know that already, right? And structure fires as a whole are decreasing as well, which you also know. Here’s something you may not realize: more civilians are dying in fires. It’s true. Since the 1980s, the rate of fire deaths is up six percent. This statistic is readily available—the source will be in the shownotes—but it’s not been publicized much. How did we get into this situation? And what will it take to fix it? Today’s guest has some ideas. Daniel Byrne’s been a guest before on Code 3. He’s a Community Support Officer for the Burton Fire District in Beaufort County, South Carolina. He’s a third-generation firefighter, and a retired Assistant Chief of Training from the Georgia Air National Guard 165th Fire Department.

If you’re a firefighter in a large metro department, you might find today’s topic a little unfamiliar. Because for firefighters in rural or even suburban areas, the challenges can be very different than yours. And if we’re talking about a volunteer department, that adds a level of difficulty. Today’s guest is the chief of a volunteer department that covers a rural community. He knows that any call may be hampered by longer response times, a lack of manpower, and even lack of water. Yet his department has the same goals as every other: to get on scene and get the fire out. How to accomplish that? The first 10 minutes on scene count. We’ll talk about that. Justin Bailey is the fire chief of the Oliver Springs Fire Department in Tennessee. He oversees 20 paid-on-call volunteers who cover a 5.5 square mile area. Justin’s also a master firefighter with the Knoxville, Tennssee Fire Department, where he has served since 2007. He hosts seminars on volunteer training program development, professional development and rural fireground management.

Everybody knows THAT guy. There’s one in every firehouse. He’s easy to spot. He knows and is happy to lecture you on every fire science topic, but never seems to have time to help wipe down the rig. But as Chief Brunacini reminded us, egos eat brains. That’s why it never pays to believe your own PR. My guest made captain and then figured out that he’d become THAT guy. Ken Himel has almost 30 years in the fire service. During that time, he’s served in volunteer, combination, full-time, and career departments. He’s currently chief of Bayou Cane Fire Protection District in Houma, Louisiana. He is a certified fire instructor level II

With today’s rapid fire growth, it’s more important than ever before to get water on the fire as fast as possible. Flashovers, for example, can occur in just minutes now. But another factor these days works against us: limited staffing. Decisions about what jobs get done first need to be based on that reality. My guest today says getting water on the fire is the primary goal. Even more than search and rescue. I’m pleased to have Curt Isakson back on Code 3 today. He is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue in Florida where he has worked for the last 19 years. Before that, he worked 9 years for Pensacola Fire Department. If you’ve missed seeing him speak at a live conference, you’ve missed a lot. He’s a lot of fun to watch and you’ll learn a thing or two. He also owns County Fire Tactics.

Here’s some easy math for you. What percentage of your time is spent on the rig and available? Now what percent do you spend looking at the exterior of buildings in your first-due area, planning for future responses? Now—and this is the tricky one—how much time do you spend stopping by these buildings to look inside? Today’s guest says that’s critical when you’re looking at a tilt-up concrete structure. That’s because this style of construction can be deceptive. The outside doesn’t necessarily give away what the inside look like. Jack Murphy spends a lot of time thinking about this. He’s chairman of the High-Rise Fire/Life Safety Directors Association in New York City. He is a retired fire marshal, a former deputy chief, and a former Bergen County, New Jersey deputy fire coordinator. He is the author of numerous fire service articles and wrote a field handbook on the Rapid Incident Command System, as well as authored the “Pre-Incident Planning” chapter of Fire Engineering’s Handbook for Firefighter I and II.

Today, I am introducing a new podcast. Don’t worry, this one’s not going anywhere.The new show is called True Fire, and it’s different from any other podcast available. It’s also quite possibly the most important one ever. Each episode breaks down, in detail, a line-of-duty-death fire. We know how these men and women died. True Fire tries to answer why. If you think it’s as important for people to hear as I do, then please go to truefirepodcast.com and click on the Kickstarter link. I have a $4,500 goal to reach by July 13. That’s what it’ll take to produce all six episodes of season one. True Fire is a monster to create, and that budget reflects this. If I make it to a second season, I may be able to bring on some help, but for now, I am doing it all…from research, to writing to interviewing, to recording, to editing.

I’ve noticed a lot of chatter on social media over the past months about the idea that fire departments aren’t aggressive enough anymore. The next poster will comment that we’re no longer in the stone age, and we can’t be so reckless anymore. Then someone will bring up Danny Dwyer, and things will get personal. Now, look: if my house is on fire, I want the firefighters who respond to save my wife, if she’s trapped. Period. If she’s out, save my stuff. Don’t stand outside and call it a defensive fire. Or wait for more resources. So I get that. But today’s guest says aggressive does not equal reckless. Duane Daggers is a captain with the City of Chesapeake, Virginia, Fire Department and a life member with the Gouldsboro, Pennsylvania Volunteer Fire Company. He’s been on the job for 35 years, and an instructor for over 20 years.

Sometimes, we make things more difficult than we need to. We develop a course of training, then insist on dictating every move firefighters make once they master it. The bottom line, usually, boils down to: put the wet stuff on the red stuff and the fire goes out. More wet stuff applied faster puts the fire out faster. This is taught on, or about Day One in Firefighter-1 classes. It’s certainly not all they’ll learn, but the rest builds on that foundation. And, with experience, they will use their own judgment, which we assumed was sound when they graduated, to guide them. So why do so many officers micromanage their crews? After all, wasn’t the point of training them so they could do the job? I’ve always hated being treated that way, and, conversely, I have loved to be able to point the guy at the job and count on him to get it done. My guest today, Kaci Corrigan, advocates for that same attitude. She’s a lieutenant at a department in Northwest Pierce County, Washington. She’s been on the job for 13 years. She deals heavily with training, including instruction in fire behavior, strategy and tactics, nozzles, hose streams, and tactical ventilation. She is an instructor with First Due Training in Washington State, as well as an adjunct instructor with Fire By Trade.

Last week, we talked with Chris Moore, a captain with the Chesapeake, Virginia Fire Department about his battle with PTSD. This week, I’m bringing you the other half of the equation. That’s his wife, Lori. If you’re a firefighter and you believe you have PTSD, please play this show for your significant other. Because, try as they will, no one fights PTSD alone. It affects all their relationships, especially the one between the firefighter and their spouse. Lori has been married to Chris for 16 years and they have a son, who is now 14. She saw the factors leading to Chris’ trauma begin to mount. And she has some insights as to what a spouse must endure while dealing with their partner’s PTSD.

Twenty years ago, it was a big no-no for a firefighter to admit to having anything like Post-Traumatic Stress. Of course, it’s still stigmatized in many firehouses. That’s a problem. PTSD can affect anyone, even the toughest firefighter. It doesn’t take being part of a line-of-duty-death or even a near-miss to cause it. And it can turn a dream career into a long-term nightmare. Suicides, driven by trauma, now take more firefighter lives than line-of-duty-deaths. But there are solutions. If you have PTSD and you’ll ask for help, it can be dealt with. With me today is Captain Chris Moore of the Chesapeake, Virginia Fire Department. He’s been a firefighter for 27 years. Chris has experienced the darkness of PTSD and recovered from it. Now he works to help others through his department’s Peer Support and Behavioral Health Team.

How would you define success in a volunteer department? Would it be recruiting and retention? Or how about solid leadership? Maybe response time? Today, we’re going to talk about a department that meets all of those criteria. It’s called Ulster Hose Company 5, and it’s found in New York’s Hudson Valley near the city of Kingston. Ninety members respond from their homes. And they cover 1,500 calls a year with an average time to response of 3 minutes. If you’re struggling just to get members to show up for runs, you’ll want to pay attention. Back again on Code 3 to explain how they do it is Ed Dolan. He’s been studying Ulster Hose 5 and has some interesting insights. Ed’s a member of the Catskill Fire Department in New York for 30 years, and he’s served more than half that time as a chief officer. Shabw Heppner is Chief of Ulster Hose Company 5.

What are your priorities in life? Most firefighters will typically answer this question by saying, “My family, my health, and my job.” But the reality is, most firefighters I’ve known, and I’ll bet most you know, are more likely to put their job first, their family second, and their own health a distant third. For example, a study found that about 80% of career firefighters are obese. And it’s pretty well-known that firefighters are frequently workaholics, taking extra shifts and working second and even third jobs. You do it for your family, of course. But that takes your time away from them, too. There’s an obvious disconnect between what firefighters say they value and what they do. My guest today says that all adds up over time and causes a lot of avoidable problems. Dr. Donnie Hutchinson says it’s time to find a work-life balance. It’s doable, and he’s here to explain how. Donnie is a work-life balance speaker who has held many firefighter health and wellness seminars. He’s spoken at IAFF conferences. He is a professor at the University of Dayton teaching leadership courses in the MBA school. He’s written two books on work-life balance.

One of the critical skills a firefighter needs is the ability to communicate concisely and completely over the radio. Some firefighters, especially new officers, get excited on the radio and are loud, but don’t have much to say. Then the IC has to ask for clarification, which wastes time and ties up the radio. It definitely pays to take a second and be sure of what you’re going to say. The key is a balance between too much info—oh, yeah, that happens more than you’d like to admit—and too little. Here to explain how to find that balance is Mark Szczepanik. He’s a past Chief at the Lake View, New York Fire District and a dispatcher for the town of Hamburg, New York with over 30 years of experience.

Every house goes on runs that the crew just knows is a false alarm. You know it, I know it, your administration knows it. But the public doesn’t. And when you pull up to that alarm you’re sure is nothing and act like it, they notice. Today’s guest says that sends the wrong message in this time when perception is reality. Especially with instant online video. But even more important, you miss a chance to develop habits and muscle memory when you act like the alarm is false. Ty Wheeler says every fire alarm can be an opportunity. He advocates an approach called Lines Off, Ladders Up.
Ty is a lieutenant with the Johnston-Grimes Iowa Metropolitan Fire Department with more than 10 years’ service. He has a managing officer certificate from the National Fire Academy and is a member of the Iowa Society of Fire Service Instructors. Ty is the president of the Des Moines Area Metro chapter of F.O.O.L.S.—yeah, that spells DAMFOOLS—and co-owner of Rogue Training Consulting.

By now, as I record this show on April 6, 2020, most of this nation’s fire departments are now dealing with the devastating effects of COVID-19. But if you think your department’s been hit hard, be glad you’re not in New York City. Just as it was on September 11, 2001, ground zero for COVID-19 is New York. The FDNY is dealing with an enormous number of deaths among citizens, so many that they no longer transport patients in cardiac arrest unless they can get a pulse in the field. The radio calls for 10-37s—dead bodies—are frequent. Constant. 12 an hour, by some accounts. Amid all this, nearly 2,000 FDNY personnel are also suspected to be infected. About 400 are confirmed. That number grows daily. Joining me to give us some perspective is FDNY Battalion Chief Danny Sheridan. He is a 34-year veteran of the FDNY, and a member of the FDNY IMT as well as a well-known instructor nationally. He’s also a lead instructor with Mutual Aid Training Group which works to train firefighters in Latin America.

Practically every study – not to mention common sense – says the fastest way to get a fire out is to get water on the seat of the fire. Modern day fires that burn hotter and faster demand the ability to rapidly select, deploy, advance, and start flowing handlines. What’s the best way to get that speed? My guest today will be talking about The Engine Company’s Need for Speed at Firehouse World 2020. Jonathan Hall is a captain with the St. Paul, Minnesota Fire Department. He’s been in the fire service for 20 years and serves as a lead instructor in the department's Training Division. He’s the co-owner of Make the Move Training, and teaches Engine Company operations around the country.

By now, it seems like just about every fire department has at least one thermal imaging camera. They’ve become a valuable tool. The trick, of course, is to be able to interpret correctly what the TIC is showing you. To be able to do that, you need to train with the TIC, matching an understanding of what a TIC does with experience reading it. Today’s guest writes extensively on how to use thermal imaging equipment, as well as what it can and can’t do. Manfred Kihn is a 19-year veteran of the fire service. He’s served as a firefighter, captain, and fire chief as well as an ambulance officer. He has been a member of Bullard’s Emergency Responder team since 2005. Manfred is the company’s fire training specialist for thermal imaging technology. He is certified through the Law Enforcement Thermographers’ Association as a thermal imaging instructor and is a recipient of the Ontario Medal for Firefighters Bravery.

Truck company operations are an important part of fireground operations, even when you don’t have a dedicated truck company available. That’s why, whether you’re a truckie or not, you need a thorough knowledge of truck company operations, tools, and equipment. This show's guest will be presenting at Firehouse World 2020 in Las Vegas on the topic of Top Tips for Effective Truck Company Operations. Sean Eagen is a 20-year veteran of the fire service. He’s a captain with the Buffalo, New York, Fire Department. He is also a part-time instructor for the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control Special Operations Branch.

The ultimate in mutual aid has got to be the assist Australians are getting from US firefighters. These are wildland fires on a massive scale: more than 25 million acres have burned in fires that have raged since September. Thirty-one people—including seven firefighters – have been killed. Thousands of homes have been lost. Those statistics describe a fire the likes of which the US has never seen. And even though the weather has cooperated with heavy rains, it still hasn’t been enough. But about 240 US firefighters have travelled to Australia to lend a hand in the past weeks. It’s a unique experience, from the landscape to the fuels involved … to the culture shock. My guest today, by phone from Australia, is among the US firefighters currently in-country. Rick Young is in his 30th fire season for both the Forest Service and National Park Service. He’s a Type 1 Incident Commander for California Interagency Incident Management Team 5. And he’s the Deputy Interagency Fire Chief of Operations for Six Rivers National Forest and Redwood National Park.

The two things firefighters hate the most are change-and the way things are now. You’ve heard that quote from Alan Brunacini before. But it’s still true and will remain true as long as there’s a fire service. Because this profession is so steeped in tradition, it’s hard to accept some of the changes that have come along. The helmet debate is just one of them- and it’s still raging. Yet, no one really argues in favor of the old-style rubber hip boots. And a lot of firefighters would like to be able to keep their turnouts grimy-it’s a badge of honor. But now, some departments don’t even put on their clean turnouts until they arrive at the scene. Here to reminisce—and talk about the positive changes we’ve seen—is Daniel Shoffner. Daniel is the PIO and strategic initiatives manager for the Burlington, North Carolina, Fire Department. With 25 years’ experience in the fire service, he’s also a volunteer with the Mt. Hope Community Fire Department in Guilford County, North Carolina. There, he follows in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, who were charter members. He has served with several other fire and EMS organizations in North Carolina, as well. He’s also on the faculty of the Fire Science and Emergency Medical Services Departments of Guilford Technical Community College.

Firefighters are well aware of the pain of PTSD. They’re also often familiar with the stigma that comes with it.We’ve talked about PTSD and the stigma that comes with it on this show before. It’s maybe twice as hard to endure when the firefighter suffering from it is a woman. PTSD has been seen as a sign of weakness, and, to some degree, it still is. The judgment can even come from firefighters who are experiencing PTSD themselves. Today’s guest is a woman who left the fire service after she experienced severe PTSD. She even considered suicide as a solution. Christy Warren is a retired Captain from the Berkeley, California Fire Department. She has 25 years of service as a paramedic, with 17 years as a firefighter. She was diagnosed with PTSD in May of 2014. Now, Christy serves as a peer at the West Coast Post Trauma Retreat.

By now, most departments have adopted social media in some form. Here in LA, as in many larger cities, Twitter is a great resource to learn where agencies are responding to various emergencies, 24/7. In fact, in many cases, Twitter and other platforms have taken the place of press releases. That came about as news outlets realized that official social media accounts gave them much faster access to details than even a phone call. So—are you using social media to its fullest? Maybe you’re on Twitter and Facebook, but what about Instagram? Here with some suggestion on how to best use these platforms is Rob Reardon. Rob is a captain and PIO with the Duxbury, Massachusetts Fire Department, where he has worked for the past 17 years. He is an EFO and a CFO graduate. He’s also PIO for several other agencies. Before he joined the fire service, Rob worked for 10 years at television stations and major newspapers as an award-winning photographer.

When you arrive on scene of a medical emergency, do you talk with the patient? Sure you do. In fact, if you’re still fairly new at EMS, you likely practically interrogate them. Questions like, “When was your last oral intake?” or “What were your events leading up to this incident?”…are laughable, when heard outside a run.How about, “When did you last have something to eat or drink?” or “What happened just before you passed out?” A real conversation will get you farther faster than trying to act like a doctor—who, if he has experience, knows better anyway. Here to explain some of the things we can learn from just talking to a patient is Tim Nowak. Tim’s the founder and CEO of Emergency Medical Solutions, LLC, an EMS training and consulting company. He's been involved in EMS and emergency services since 2002, and has worked as an EMT, paramedic and critical care paramedic. He’s also been involved as an EMS educator, firefighter and HazMat technician throughout his career.

Firefighting has always been about survival. But now, we are recognizing that fire isn’t the only danger. Whether it’s occupational cancer, cardiovascular events, or behavioral health injuries, the threats are constant. A new book, Surviving the Fire Service, contains information about cancer, cardiovascular risk, medical exams and screening, nutrition, managing heat stress, and a whole lot more. It explains how to manage and reduce risks in the fire service. Here to tell us more is Todd LeDuc, the editor of Surviving the Fire Service. Todd LeDuc retired as assistant fire chief for Broward County Florida Fire/Rescue after a 30-year career. Todd is the Chief Strategy Officer at Life Scan Wellness Centers. Life Scam provides NFPA 1582 compliant early detection physicals to some 35,000 firefighters and law enforcement officers. He’s also Secretary of the IAFC's Safety, Health & Survival Section.

This edition of Code 3 may make you a little uncomfortable. It’s about racial bias among EMS providers. And while that bias may be unconscious, it affects patients all the same. My guest today led a comprehensive study of nearly 26,000 EMS encounters in Oregon over two years. The results are disturbing. The data showed that medics were less likely to do a pain assessment on Hispanic and Asian patients than whites. It also found that black patients were 40 percent less likely to be given pain meds. What’s going on here? Certainly, no medic goes on a run thinking that a minority patient’s going to get different treatment. Jamie Kennel is the director of the Paramedic Program, a joint program between Oregon Health and Science University, and the Oregon Institute of Technology, where he’s an associate professor. He’s also a co-founder of Healthcare Equity Group – they help EMS organizations improve the equity of their care.

Okay, here’s an idea that’s guaranteed to divide opinions: The Cosumnes Fire District, near Sacramento, California, is using virtual reality technology to train firefighters for structure fires. Officials say the VR goggles are a cost-effective way to train on a variety of scenarios that would otherwise be expensive to create. The company that makes the system is loaning it to the fire district for evaluation. I have a lot of questions and I’m sure you do, too. Today, I’m talking with Cosumnes Fire District Battalion Chief Rick Clarke about what he thinks of the idea so far.

Lots of departments require you to be a paramedic as well as a firefighter, but that can lead to conflict. In some departments, this cross training means firefighters are assigned to ambulances. Many of them end up wanting to get out of otherwise excellent work environments because they don’t want to deal with an EMS role as their primary job. How you view this situation is largely a matter of attitude, of course. Ben Thompson wrote an article on firefighting from an ambulance a while back for FireRescue1.com. He’s a lieutenant for the Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service. He’s been the coordinator of the department’s mobile integrated health program, Birmingham Fire and Rescue C.A.R.E.S., since 2016.

After many years of being called “firefighters”, there is a small but persistent group pushing back. They want to be called “firemen” again. Perhaps surprisingly, some of those people are women. They also want to be called firemen. It comes from an attitude that says women should strive to be a part of the team, not to ask that the team change for them. Also important here is a feeling that, in past years, women in the fire service have been excessively accommodated…that they’ve been given unnecessary special treatment. Today’s guest says women in firefighting should not expect nor be given any specific accommodations just because they’re female. Got your attention? Let me introduce you to Alexis Shady.She’s a fireman—not firefighter—and EMT with the Bellefontaine, Ohio Fire Department. She wrote an article for Fire Engineering called, “I Am the Problem.”

If you’re listening to this edition of Code 3, congratulations! You made it through the 2010s. It was a turbulent decade for first responders of all kinds. And the ride’s likely to get even more bumpy into the next decade. What were the trends that made the 2010’s a challenge..and where are we going? Greg Friese, Editor-in-chief of EMS1.com took a look back at the lowlights and has some predictions.

You may be a TRT specialist in your department. Or you might be a novice. Either way, you’ve probably realized that rope rescue gear has become very technical. NFPA 1983 is very specific about the details required to make rope suitable for various tasks. And then there’s NFPA 1670, and others, too. With the bewildering number of choices out there how do you pick the right rope material, or friction device, or even carabiner? Here to explain which is best for what situation is Dale Stewart. Dale owns AHSRescue.com, a company that supplies rope equipment and training to the emergency services community. He’s worked with Phoenix Fire as an instructor in their mutual aid program as a consultant for rope and water rescue since 1987.

Technical rescues are high-risk/low-frequency incidents, and that means training on them is critical. One slip, and you could have a very bad day. If you know NFPA 1006, you know the minimum KSAs are tough. But departments routinely face problems with training when they have a shortage of really good instructors, current equipment, and funding for adequate training time. Back with me on Code 3 to offer some solutions is Dalan Zartman. Dalan is a technical-rescue expert for the Ohio Emergency Management Agency and Department of Homeland Security. He serves as regional training program director and advisory board member at Bowling Green State University. Dalan is a member of the Central Ohio Strike Team and the Washington Township Fire Department. He’s founder and president of Rescue Methods.

One of the most important roles of a leader is to take care of their crew. That means if you’re a company officer, you need to be aware of your crew members’ emotional state.
We’ve all heard that the job can lead to PTSD, and I certainly hope that you accept that. It’s proven, and it’s a fact just like falling from a ladder can cause a broken arm or leg. As a leader, it’s your responsibility to be looking for signs of emotional trauma. Then, you can take steps to help. My guest to explain how to do that is Jared Meeker. He’s a fire chief in a combination fire department in upstate New York, and has over 30 years’ experience in the fire service. He teaches incident command skills for fire officers and career survival skills for all first responders.

If you’ve listened to this show for any length of time, you know realistic training scenarios … and sometimes the lack of them … are my thing. Learning the fundamentals is always the key to later skill-building. So it’s important to get focused on training for bread-and-butter operations.. those common skills that sometimes are taken for granted. How do we develop a program that covers this ground when we’re working with multiple different generations that all learn differently? Today, we’re talking with Lt. Stephen Rhine about how to accomplish this. Steve’s been with the FDNY for 17 years. He’s also the Training Coordinator and former Captain of the Roslyn Volunteer Fire Department. He’s a certified New York State Fire Instructor and a Haz-Mat Tech Level 1. And he’s a PIO with the FDNY Incident Management Team.

If you’ve been in the fire service long enough, you probably remember when firefighters with a trade skill were highly valued. These were the guys who came into the job knowing things like engine repair, or electrical, or even plumbing. But these days, it seems those skills are not valued much anymore. Now, hiring and promotion are based largely on test scores and education. How did we get here? And is this okay? Or are we missing something? My guest to discuss this is Chad Costa. He’s a battalion chief with the City of Petaluma, California Fire Department. He has two decades in the fire service, and he’s worked in some pretty diverse situations, from a rural department to a city as well as CAL FIRE. Chad is the technology and communications battalion chief and a division group supervisor on California Interagency Team 5.

Are you an engineer? Or maybe a chauffeur? Or perhaps an MPO? Regardless of the name, if you operate the pump panel on an engine, you need to know a lot of technical stuff to be any good. And the guys on the other end of the line depend on you to know it.So how well do you know the way your apparatus operates? Many people with technical jobs are satisfied to be able to do well when everything’s working. But you don’t really earn your pay until you come through when the situation goes sideways. Here to talk about what a great engineer knows is Paul Watlington. He’s a battalion chief with the Burlington, North Carolina Fire Department.

Let’s talk Zen Buddism. Do you know the term Shoshin? It’s the Japanese word for a beginner’s mind. A verse from a philosopher says:“It is not difficult/to keep a beginner’s mind./There are many possibilities in a beginner’s mind,/but in the expert few.” … which is why my guest today says it’s important to keep the beginner’s mindset. To always be learning, to be confident in what you know, but never cocky. To remember why you got into this profession. George McNeil forgot those things, and he paid a price. Now he wants to make sure you don’t forget them. George has ten years’ experience working in rural fire and emergency medical services. He’s been a paramedic/firefighter an emergency manager and flight paramedic.

Let’s say you’re a new officer. You want your crew to follow you, right? Now how do you get them to do that? One thing that absolutely will NOT work is to order people around arbitrarily. This does nothing but make them annoyed with you. Put yourself in their place: What would get you to follow someone? Chances are, it’s an attitude called “command presence.” That’s what instills confidence that you know what you’re talking about. Back again on Code 3 today to discuss command presence – what it is and why it’s important – is Tom Merrill. He’s a 35-year fire department veteran and a former chief of the Snyder Fire Department in Amherst, New York. He is now a fire commissioner for the Snyder Fire District. Tom served 26 years as a department officer including 15 years in the chief officer ranks. He has taught at fire service events around western New York as well as at FDIC. He also is a fire dispatcher for the Amherst Fire Alarm Office.

Something good can come from even the worst situations, and in this show, you’re going to hear from a great example. This is the story of how Travis Howze, survivor of the Charleston Nine disaster in 2007, developed PTSD and ended up leaving the fire service after eight years. He went on to become a full-time stand-up comedian, and his 2015 album, “Reporting for Duty” reached the top ten. Now he entertains around the country and has performed at FDIC where he will be again in 2020.

For just about as long as anyone can remember, the fire service has operated in a pseudo-military style. Members have ranks, of course. And complex org charts are a favorite Powerpoint slide. The similarities to the military include passing information up and down the ranks. But today’s guest says that’s an old concept that has become a recipe for communications failure. Brian Schaeffer is the chief of the Spokane, Washington fire department. He’s served in fire departments in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest over the past 25 years, and works on several public safety and health-related committees. He has lectured on issues such as the psychology of decision-making, servant leadership and high-performing organizations.

Today, we’re talking about the Denver Drill. It’s well-known, but just in case you need a brush up, here it is: In 1992, a Denver, Colorado firefighter named Mark Langvardt was on the second floor of a commercial building on fire. He was doing a search but became separated from his partner. He couldn’t find his way out and ended up trying to escape through a window. But the space he had to work in was small and the window sill was high. Even though he was located and crews tried to get him out, it took nearly an hour to extricate him. Mark Langvardt died from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Since then, tactics to rescue firefighters from similar situations have been developed. Here to explain the Denver Drill and why it is important today is Tony Carroll. He is a battalion chief with the District of Columbia Fire and EMS Department.

Today, we’re talking tactical worksheets for EMS. This is more important than it may sound. A tactical worksheet is nothing more than a glorified checklist. Who needs that? If airline pilots use them every flight, maybe they should be in your arsenal also. They can prevent mistakes and protect you later if someone starts looking for blame. Here to explain the details is Bruce Evans. He’s is the fire chief and a paramedic at the Upper Pine River Fire Protection District in Bayfield, Colorado. Bruce is on the board of directors at the National Association of EMT's, and he is a National Fire Academy instructor. He’s also on the National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine's Preparedness Committee.

The Fire-EMS community lost a vital member this week. Bryan Fass passed away suddenly on Monday. He was just 46. A former paramedic, Bryan was well-known for his advocacy of first-responder fitness. His career was based on teaching injury-prevention and safety techniques. He ran Fit Responder, which he founded in 2007, and spoke frequently at EMS industry conferences around the country. Bryan was a prolific author, writing for multiple websites and his blog, as well as four books on fitness and wellness. With me today to remember Bryan is Greg Friese, Editor-in-chief of EMS1.com

There was a time when you were universally viewed as friends of the community. You were welcomed because people realized that you were there to help them. Sadly, that doesn’t seem to matter anymore. Violent physical attacks on EMS personnel are becoming more common, with new incidents being reported just about every day. So now we have to think about how to prevent those assaults. In Austin, Texas, they’re taking steps toward doing that. Here to explain more is Ernesto Rodriguez, the EMS chief for Austin-Travis County EMS.

On September 11, 2001 our world changed. America was just getting to work when it was attacked by terrorists using commercial airliners as weapons. That was the day everything we knew turned upside down. And it was the day that the FDNY suffered 343 line of duty deaths in one incident. Many more would lose battles with cancer caused by working in the rubble. Some are still fighting cancer today, 18 years later. Here to talk about the impact the terror attack on America had on the FDNY is Chief Rick Lasky. He’s well known around the country for his seminars on Pride and Ownership. If you’ve not heard him speak live, you’ve missed an amazing presentation and you should book him to speak at your next event. Rick retired after being Chief of several departments, including Lewisville, Texas. He started his career 40 years earlier in Chicago, which is where I hail from myself.

One of the aspects of firefighting that we don’t often discuss is the role of the fire-cause investigator. Once a structure fire is under control, this job becomes critical to determining what insurance will pay to the property owner … and if arson was involved. There are a few things firefighters can do to make the fire cause investigator’s life a little easier, and today’s guest says they really don’t get in your way of extinguishing the fire. Rick Chase is a fire cause investigator with the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority in Prescott Valley, Arizona. He is also a division chief and the fire marshal. Rick started in the fire service as a member of a U.S. Forest Service hotshot crew. He joined the Central Yavapai Fire District (the precursor to CAFMA) in 1995 and worked his way from a reserve firefighter to his current position.

We have discussed several times on this show the sad – and potentially disastrous –story of the declining numbers of volunteer firefighters. Everyone has their own theory of why no one wants to volunteer these days. But a Syracuse, New York newspaper op-ed column with a new explanation began showing up in social media in August. Maybe you’ve seen it. If not, we’ll link to it on our website. It was written by Jack Kline, of Lysander, New York. He has been a volunteer firefighter for over four decades. He remembers the good old days when people liked giving their time to protect their neighbors. His column’s title explains why Jack believes we’re experiencing a manpower shortage now. It’s “Make Volunteer Firefighting Fun Again.”

If you conduct training for firefighters, your teaching may be out-of-date. Now, you’re probably thinking, “That’s bull. I know how to throw a ladder.” Problem is, if you haven’t taken recurrent train-the-trainer courses, you may not be doing it right...the way it’s being taught now. If you’re a Baby Boomer or Gen X, your methods are probably outdated. It’s not your fault—it worked for you. But today’s new firefighters are different. Here to tell us why we need to update our training skills is Chris Garniewicz. He’s a captain with the Bluffton Township, South Carolina Fire District. An IFSAC certified Fire Instructor 2, Chris is an instructor with the SC Fire Academy and lectures throughout the East Coast on truck operations and instructor education. He began his career in the Metro Boston area as a volunteer firefighter and EMT.

If you’ve wondered what it would be like to be a newly-minted Fire Chief – it could be a turbulent experience. You may think you know what it takes to run a department successfully. Maybe you do, may you don’t. But there are a million details to consider that might not even occur to you. That’s why the IAFC has put out an e-book titled, “You're the Fire Chief--Now What?” It’s a guide for new and interim Chiefs from Day One to Day 100 and beyond. Here to tell us what’s important for a new chief to know is Al Yancey, Jr. Al headed up the committee that developed the book. He’s the Chief of the Minooka, Illinois Fire Protection District. It’s a combination department.

The late Vince Lombardi, famous Green Bay Packers coach, was known for his inspirational quotes. Today’s show is about this Lombardi quote: “Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all time thing. You don’t win once in a while, you don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” That applies to firefighting as well. It’s not just how you perform on the fireground that counts, it’s how you perform all the time that makes the difference. Here to explain why ... and how to build that winning leadership culture in your firehouse… is Adam Neff. Adam is assistant chief of training at the Nixa, Missouri Fire Protection District. He got into the fire service 25 years ago as a cadet volunteer and worked his way up. He also holds a Chief Fire Officer Designation.

There’s a certain mindset that says it doesn’t matter how you start, as long as you finish strong. That’s not always true, though. One example: when you pull your first line at a fire. How you do it sets the whole scene for the firefight. If there’s confusion about where those initial lines are going, you’ll end up with a bowl of spaghetti. Back with me today to explain how and why to best stretch that first line is John Lightly. He’s a battalion chief in the Youngstown, Ohio fire department with over 20 years on the job.

Look around construction sites and you’re likely to see a lot of trenches. If there’s an underground line of any type, it takes a trench to put it in and to maintain it. Unfortunately, not all trenches are constructed to standards. That makes the job of rescuing a trapped worker even more hazardous. There are a lot of factors to consider when you arrive at a trench rescue scene. Here to discuss some of them is Mike Daley. He’s a lieutenant with the Monroe Township Fire District No. 3 in New Jersey.
He holds a Master Fire Instructor certification from the ISFSI and is an instructor at the Middlesex County Fire Academy. Mike is also a member of New Jersey Task Force 1.

What color is a fire engine? Well, if you’re a fan of traditional fire helmets, then I assume you’d prefer your apparatus to be red. You know, fire engine red. But for years, since the 1970s, there’s been that nagging question of conspicuity. What color is safest? What color do drivers see most readily? In today’s world of highly distracted drivers, does color matter? My guest is Dr. Stephen Solomon. He’s taken a look at the data that’s been collected and has some answers. Stephen is an optometrist. He’s also a veteran firefighter, with 17 years as a captain, and 17 years as a fire commissioner. He is a hazmat tech and TRT supervisor in Tioga County, New York. He’s worked on projects to make fire apparatus safer. And you know that reflective and fluorescent trim on your turnouts? He worked with 3M to develop that.

Helicopters are a great tool to have available when someone needs to be pulled out of a remote canyon – or transported to a level 1 trauma center in a hurry. They’re unbeatable at those missions. I know—I flew helicopters for a while, back in the early 2000s and I hold a commercial pilot – helicopter certificate. But they also pose a danger to ground crews. Get complacent and you could have a very bad day. In Arizona, we’ve had DPS troopers killed by helicopter tail rotors and even a main rotor strike. Back again to give us a safety refresher is our favorite medical helicopter expert, Joseph Uridil. He’s a Air Methods clinical base supervisor for Native Air in Arizona.He is also, coincidentally, just back from recurrent scene-safety training for helicopter operations.

If you’re working toward becoming a firefighter, or you’re trying to get promoted, one of the scariest phrases to you is likely “oral interview.” You should be concerned about getting it right. You can do all the right things academically and on the application, but if you don’t ace that interview, your chances of getting hired or promoted are slim to none. So what do you need to do to prepare for the interview? What should you say or not say? Here to answer those questions and more is Mark Rossi. He’s a 20-year veteran of the fire service and a captain with the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fire Department. Mark is both an accredited fire officer, and is a licensed and certified career coach. He is the founder and president of RockStar Interview & Promotional Prep Training.

I’ll bet you use salvage covers when you can. Why not? If you’re going to protect property, you can do a better job of it with covers than without. But there’s another step you can take to save property, and you may not even think much about it. When the front door is locked and you need to get in, what do you do? Force it. After all, it’s more important to get inside and put out that room-and-contents fire before it gets any bigger. Even if the door frame splinters. Or what if grandma is having an acute MI and she’s locked in? Same answer, same reason. But now, when you leave, grandma’s got to deal with a front door that won’t close or lock. There is a solution, of course. It’s called “respectful entry,” and it’s a way to defeat a lock without destroying it or the door. Here to explain how it’s done is John Buttrick. He’s the owner and lead instructor at Coastal Fire Training in Suffolk, Virginia, which provides tools and training for through-the-lock entry. He is also a firefighter in Suffolk, with 10 years of experience.

On this show, we’re going to dive into some more detail for structural firefighters who find themselves working in the wildland-urban interface. If you’re going to be working these fires, there are new challenges to consider. The conditions are different, which means crews need different training, especially when they haven’t spent much time on wildland assignments.One big example: weather. It’s a factor that isn’t usually a consideration in structure fires, but it can mean everything in the wildland-urban interface. Here to explain what you need to think about –and why – is Tom Aurnhammer. Tom has over 40 years’ experience in the fire service. He’s chief of the Los Pinos Fire District in Ignacio, Colorado. He is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program. A fifth-generation firefighter, Tom holds a Chief Fire Officer designation and is a member of the Institution of Fire Engineers, U.S. Branch. You can hear him on the Back Step Boys podcast with Ron Kanterman.

There are lots of books about management styles available, but for my money, the ones written by firefighters are the best. They’re specific. They’re full of real-world examples. And they aren’t just page after page of the author’s latest catchphrases. For example, there’s “Fully Involved Leadership,” the new book by Chief Gary Ludwig. It explains concepts that any member of the fire service can use to become a strong leader… from how to keep your emotions under control in stressful situations to good decision-making. And Gary does it by storytelling. That’s the best way to make concepts clear. Gary has four decades of experience in the fire service. He’s currently chief of the Champaign, Illinois fire department. He’s responded to an estimated 25,000 fire, rescue and EMS calls during his career.

If you’re a structural firefighter, you’d probably rather not deal with wildland fires at all. That’s normally not really a problem, until the flames reach the wildland-urban interface, which is happening much more frequently than in the past. Then you guys from the cities need to know stuff like the 18 Watch-Outs. Or to be ready to go on a run that lasts 12 hours. Decades ago, city firefighters didn’t have to be concerned with this. Welcome to the New Normal. Here to discuss that with me is Brian Fennessy. Brian is the Chief of the Orange County, California Fire Authority,where he's been since 2018. He began his fire service career in 1978 working as a hotshot crewmember with the U.S. Forest Service, working his way up to crew superintendent. In 1990, Fennessy joined the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and became Chief of the Department in 2015. He has held multiple Incident Command System certifications and positions, and has also served on National Incident Management Teams.

Training is critical to performance, especially these days, when there are fewer real-world fires but the ones that do ignite burn hotter and faster. Problem is, a lot of training is not very realistic. Classroom only goes so far, and hands-on costs money. It also takes equipment, and some departments don’t have it to spare. Here to offer some ideas is Jason Caughey.Jason is the chief of Laramie County Fire District #2 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Before he arrived in Cheyenne in 2011, he was the chief of Gore Hill Fire Rescue in Great Falls, Montana. He spent 10 years working for the Montana Fire Services Training School as a regional instructor and regional training manager for the state of Montana. He is also a current technical member of the Underwriters Laboratory Positive Pressure test committee and he teaches a college course on fire behavior.

What qualifies someone to be a battalion chief? If they’re in a career department, it’s pretty clear. They need a specific amount of experience, they have to pass a written test, and probably an oral board of some kind.But what about volunteers? That’s a whole ‘nother deal. The volunteer BC may simply have more “time in grade” before being allowed to promote. This may be a person who shows up for more required training days and more responses than others. But does that qualify someone to run a fireground? Is it time to start testing candidates for the battalion chief – and higher – ranks? Back again to discuss that with me is Ed Dolan. He’s been a member of the Catskill Fire Department in New York for 30 years, and he’s served 16 years as a chief officer.

I got an email a few days ago. It was full of comments about the show, like a lot of other emails I get. But this one was different. It came from a firefighter in Germany, and he wrote mostly to discuss the Eurohelmet debate. Their regulations require the new helmets for interior attacks, and a lot of firefighters there don’t like them, either. I was interested to read how things are done there…and much is the same as in the U.S. So I decided to ask the guy who wrote me to come on Code 3. Ulrich Koellner is a 24-year veteran firefighter. He, like 97 percent of firefighters in Germany, is a volunteer. His position is something like a battalion chief—he’s a deputy platoon leader and the head of the hazmat squad.

Let’s say you wanted to become a company officer. In your interview, you probably told them it was because you felt your leadership could help the department, and you meant it. Even if you also felt that a promotion would give you a raise. Or more prestige. Or, mistakenly, less work. But if those were your real reasons for wanting the job, you’re headed for trouble. Here to explain why and what a company officer really needs to know and do is Kelly Lemmons. Kelly is the Deputy Chief of the Colonial Park Fire Company in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is also a firefighter/EMT for the Defense Logistics Agency. He’s served over 19 years in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and is a Staff Sergeant serving as an Infantry Advance Leaders Course Instructor. Kelly was awarded the Purple Heart after being injured in combat in Iraq in 2005.

June 30, 2019, marks the sixth anniversary of the LODD of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew, who were killed while fighting the Yarnell Hill fire southeast of Prescott, Arizona.

The 20-man crew, the only certified IHC that was part of a municipal fire department (City of Prescott), was trapped in a canyon when the fast-moving flames overran their position. The flames were so intense that their emergency shelters were not enough to protect them.

One man, Brendan McDonough, who was assigned to be the crew’s lookout, was not in the canyon and survived.

On Saturday, June 29, I visited the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew Learning and Tribute Center in Prescott.

Volunteer firefighters make up most U.S. departments, by far. Yet the state of volunteer firefighting is in serious trouble. The NFPA issued a report in March that said there were 46,000 fewer volunteers in 2017 than a year earlier. There just aren’t enough people willing or able to answer emergency calls any more. And it’s not just limited to rural areas. Response times are going up and the number of people responding keeps falling. It’s past time to start finding solutions. Here to discuss that is Billy Goldfeder. He’s the deputy chief of the Loveland-Symmes, Ohio Fire Department. He is a prolific writer for several fire service magazines. Billy’s a member of the board of directors for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the September 11th Families Association of New York and the International Association of Fire Chiefs.

Today’s topic is flowing water while advancing the line. Some departments always do it. Some don’t. There’s pretty good evidence that flowing while advancing is safer than dragging an uncharged line into a burning structure. Studies support water on the ceiling to reduce super-heated gases and cool it down. You can even change the fire’s flow path with a handline. Here to explain that and more is Jonathan Brumley. He is a firefighter with the Denver, Colorado Fire Department, having just left Houston, Texas. Since 2009, he’s worked as both a paid and volunteer firefighter. He recently presented at Firehouse World, is an instructor, and is behind The Fire Fight blog.

If you want to become a firefighter, the first thing to understand is that it isn’t easy. There’s a lot of school required nowadays, and it can take several years to get there. But there are some things to know that’ll make the process easier. Here to talk about them is Chris Baker. Chris has over thirteen years of experience in volunteer, combination, and career fire departments in California. He instructs on fire and EMS topics in college classes. You can hear him on his own podcast, The Future Firefighter, where he’s a co-host. And he runs Chris Baker Consulting, which provides training on techniques and career planning.

The battle over the traditional fire helmet and what I’ll call the Eurohelmet is growing as some U.S. departments make the switch.It’s hard to nail down exactly why firefighters are unhappy about wearing the new helmets. They’re safer. They weigh less. And they offer better eye protection. The older style is undoubtedly iconic. But is that a reason to keep wearing them? Here to explain why his department chose the Eurostyle helmets is Jerry Helm. Jerry is a training and recruitment captain with the Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue in Washington state. It’s a combination department. Jerry headed up the effort to make the switch to these helmets.

Swiftwater rescues are among the most dangerous that you will face. That may sound obvious, but some departments that haven’t seen many swiftwater incidents have been taken by surprise. Out west, we have unique situations where dry riverbeds or washes accumulate trash and broken branches for months before they turn into raging rivers during the wet seasons. But no matter where you work, there are some principles of water rescue that simply should not be ignored or downplayed. Here to talk about them is Kevin Keith.
Kevin is a Captain and Paramedic at Prescott Arizona Fire. He’s been on the job for nearly 20 years. He’s a swiftwater rescue expert as well as a technical rescue technician.

When you go to the roof, what do you include when you make your report on "
conditions? Right. Every department’s truckies report something different, depending on SOPs. Sometimes, there’s even a difference between truck companies. Thing is, the truck company officer is in an excellent position to give the IC a better size-up on the fire…as long as he makes a complete report. Here to explain what should be reported and why is Gibby Gorman. Gibby has over 30 years of experience in the fire service. He’s currently a battalion chief for the city of Maricopa, Arizona, Fire/Medical Department.Before that, he worked for Tempe, Arizona Fire and Medical for 27 years, where he was a captain of a busy downtown truck company. He developed regional ladder training programs. He was also a member of Tempe’s Technical Rescue Team for 12 years and the department’s SCUBA rescue team for 8 years.

Self-storage units present a unique challenge in case of fire. The come with the hazards found in a hoarder house, but worse. Making entry can be tough—nowadays, the simple padlock has often been replaced by an electronic lock. And while many of these storage units are constructed of block, a lot of them –especially in buildings converted to storage facilities may have sheetrock walls between the units. And who knows what’s stored in them? With me today to talk about the hazards is Jim Kirsch, a 35-year veteran of the fire service who retired as a captain in the Bergenfield, New Jersey Fire Department. He is a former volunteer chief, a New Jersey State certified level II fire instructor, drill ground instructor, and fire prevention official. Jim is an instructor at the Bergen County New Jersey Fire Academy.

If you want to be an officer, it may come as a surprise that not everyone does. That may be a good thing. You probably also know that not everyone’s cut out for the job. In a career department, it might be more attractive because of the pay raise and other assorted perks that come with being an officer. But in a volunteer department, the reasons you might want to be promoted are different. There’s definitely a need for good leaders, and if you think you could be one, then this episode is for you. Here to discuss that is Thomas Merrill. He has nearly 40 years in the fire service. He’s a former chief of the all-volunteer Snyder Fire Department in Amherst, New York. Tom is a fire commissioner for the Snyder Fire District and he’s presented at FDIC.He runs his own podcast, The Professional Volunteer Fire Department. He’s also a fire dispatcher for the Amherst Fire Alarm Office.

On May 15, Appleton, Wisconsin Engineer Mitch Lundgaard was shot and killed while on a medical run. A police officer was shot and survived, as did a bystander who was also hit. The call, a man having a seizure on a bus, came out at 5:30 p.m. When the engine crew arrived and started treatment, the patient got off the bus and walked away. The specifics are still fuzzy, but the man produced a gun and fired; police shot back and killed him. Here to discuss this tragic situation is Marc Bashoor. With 37 years in emergency services, Marc is currently the Highlands County, Florida, public safety director. He spent six years as chief of the Prince George’s County, Maryland, Fire/EMS Department and five years as emergency manager in Mineral County, West Virginia. He’s the executive editor of FireRescue1.com and Fire Chief.com.

Battalion Chief Abby Bolt was a 22-year veteran firefighter in the US Forest Service. She quit last month, posting a version of her resignation letter on the internet. In it, she says a “toxic dynamic of leadership, which made my job, which was my life, a complete misery” caused her to leave. Abby said the usual response to her repeated complaints about bullying and other mistreatment was that she could leave if she didn’t like it. After she filed a gender discrimination complaint in 2014, that harassment increased, she said. Anonymous notes began to show up in her mailbox, telling her that she was an example of why women didn’t belong in firefighting. An investigation by management went nowhere. Some people may find it hard to believe that this behavior still goes on, but, at least in the US Forest Service, it apparently does. Abby was a District Assistant Fire Management Officer on the Kern River Ranger District of California’s Sequoia National Forest.

How safe are you as a firefighter? Do you don all your gear before you make entry, or do you take a risk, thinking you may save someone else? What about something as simple as wearing your seatbelt? I know there’s a certain faction of firefighters who long for the days of riding the tailboard. These are the guys who say it’s possible to be too safe. But if you want to make sure you go home, and have a longer career, safety is the one key element. That’s why my guest today wrote a comprehensive book on how to be safe. It’s titled “Fire Officer's Guide to Occupational Safety & Health.” It’s written by Chief Ronald Kanterman of the Wilton, Connecticut fire department. Ron has 40 years of service, having been both a volunteer and career firefighter. He’s worked for the FDNY, as well as a Fortune 500 company’s emergency services division. Ron’s written books and dozens of articles and been on staff at FDIC.

Some structure fires are pretty easy to find. The seat of the fire is obvious. It’s the calls reporting a light haze of smoke that get tricky. The fire could be in any number of places, like in the wall. And if you try to anticipate and stretch a hoseline, you may be wrong and waste a lot of valuable time. So it pays to find the fire first. Here to discuss how to do that is Danny Sheridan. Danny Sheridan is a 33-year veteran of the FDNY, where he is a Battalion Chief. He’s a member of the FDNY IM and a well-known instructor nationally. He’s also a lead instructor with Mutual Aid Training Group which works to train firefighters in Latin America.

By now, you’ve heard over and over about the value of professional counseling. But, I know, you’re probably still skeptical. Maybe you think it’s too-touchy feely. Maybe you’re worried that word will get out that you’re seeing a shrink. Or it could be that you just don’t think a therapist will understand what you do for a living. That’s why, today, we’re going to talk about what exactly happens when you walk into a counselor’s office. Here to discuss that with me is Courtney Stewart. Courtney is a licensed professional counselor in Wisconsin and Illinois, as well as a law enforcement wife and mother. She works in corrections as a therapist and volunteers as a mental health consultant for law enforcement peer support teams.

A lot of volunteer fire departments are worried about the dwindling number of new recruits. But what about holding onto the members already in the ranks? That takes a little effort and it may require some structural changes, too. It may be necessary, though, because turnover is the enemy of a solid volunteer department. Here to discuss that with me is Ed Dolan. He’s been a member of the Catskill Fire Department in New York for 30 years, and he’s served 16 years as a chief officer.

When you hear the term “primary search,” what comes to mind? Is it something an engine crew does while they’re advancing the line? Or is it the job of the truck crew? And if you’re the first-in engine at a structure fire, and believe there might be victims inside, what’s your priority? Today’s guest says you might want to hash that out before the tones drop. Dave LeBlanc is a Deputy Chief with the Harwich, Massachusetts Fire Department. Dave started in the Fire Service back in 1986 as a Call Firefighter with the Dennis Fire Department while attending college. He’s also been a volunteer with the Allingtown and West Haven Fire Districts in West Haven.

Have you ever become lost in a burning structure? It ‘ll cause a pretty severe pucker factor, as my Air Force friends call it. And, yes, becoming lost in a fire can easily be fatal. Today, we’re going to hear from a captain in a volunteer department who found himself lost in a burning building. Captain Alex Davis of the Lower Providence Fire Department in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania has some important observations about the experience.

You don’t have to be the senior man at your station to have learned some valuable lessons. The things we learn that improve how we do our jobs sometimes come from keeping an open mind and asking questions. My guest today condensed a few concepts he picked up that way into Firehouse.com article. Charlie Evans has fewer than five years in the fire service, but he wrote about four lessons he’s learned as a firefighter in Lynchburg, Virginia.

This week was the premiere of A&E’s Live Rescue show. And this week, I’m reviewing it. Maybe I can help you decide if it’s worth your two hours every Monday night.

If you haven’t yet had the experience of having a victim of a structure fire die, all I can say is, you will. It’s not something anyone can really prepare for, and – especially if you were the one who pulled the victim out – it never gets any easier. Thankfully, most fires these days don’t result in fatalities. But what changes when you arrive at a working fire and a bystander tells you there’s someone inside? That’s what we’re discussing with today’s guest. John Lightly is a battalion chief in the Youngstown, Ohio fire department. He’s got over 20 years on the job, and he’s seen his share of civilian fatalities.

FDIC 2019 is in the books, and a lot of you were there this time. The conference was first held in 1929. It now draws in excess of 30,000 participants, making it one of Indiana’s biggest conventions. To find out how it went this year, my guest today is Bobby Halton. He is the editor-in-chief of Fire Engineering magazine and education director of the FDIC. He began his career with the Albuquerque Fire Department and came up through the ranks to serve as chief of training and chief of operations. He retired in 2004, then became chief of the Coppell, Texas Fire Department. He left that job to work for Fire Engineering Magazine.

Do you ever get the feeling that there are some people doing this job who really aren’t into it? They’re around -- but that's all. They’re mostly found in the ranks of the volunteer departments. These are the guys who want to wear the t-shirt and say they’re a firefighter—but don’t actually want to do the work.Now, you may want to just jettison these people. But what if you could motivate them to become actual assets on the fireground? That’s what my guest today would like to do. Jeremy Perrien is the Chief of the Scott County Rural Fire District in Missouri. It’s a volunteer agency, and Jeremy was hired to head it up in 2010. He has 20 years in emergency services.

What does it take to be a fire officer? There’s more to it than just giving orders, of course. In fact, being a great officer could be considered a skill … or even an art. My guest today wrote a post for the Firefighter Nation website about the art of being a fire officer. Kirk Galatas is Interim Assistant Chief at the Mukilteo Fire Department in Washington state. He began his career as a firefighter with the US Air Force right out of high school and then worked as a volunteer firefighter.

Re-kindles are every firefighter’s nightmare. When I was a reporter, PIOs would go to great lengths to get me not to use that word if a fire re-ignited. Avoiding them seems simple enough—use a lot of water and do thorough overhaul. So how do even proficient fire departments have re-kindles? More importantly, how do we avoid them? My guest today has some answers. Nick Martin’s been a firefighter since 1994. He started as a volunteer in a Philadelphia suburb. Since then he’s been both a career and volunteer firefighter in Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina and Virginia. Nick is currently a Battalion Chief with the Salisbury, North Carolina Fire Department.

Vertical ventilation is a pretty controversial subject these days. Ever since the UL report on it came out, firefighters have been arguing whether vertical ventilation is worth the risk and if it even has the effects we want. One thing that makes it risky is that it’s tough to do realistic training for it. Where do you stand? Today’s guest has some insights into the debate. Frank Ricci is a lieutenant with the New Haven, Connecticut Fire Department. He is an FDIC Instructor and lecturer. With two decades on the job, Frank has written magazine articles, chapters for textbooks, and created DVDs on firefighting technique.

If you’re trying to join the fire service, raise your hand. Wow, that’s a lot of you. There are some good resources to help you with things like passing the written tests and the interview stage. But one of the keys is mentorship, a/k/a networking. Turns out, who you know really can make a difference in getting in the door. My guest today is here to explain. Dave McGlynn is a 17 year Fire & Emergency Services veteran who has worked in both Municipal and Federal Fire Departments as a Volunteer & Career Firefighter. He is the Chief Training Officer for the US Military Academy at West Point’s Fire Department. Dave also owns owns Passion in Leading.

The RIT team has an important role at a fire scene. I say this, not as Captain Obvious, but because it’s easy to forget when you go to multiple scenes without ever taking action. It’s even easier when the IC tells you to throw a ladder because you’re just standing there.How much do you train for RIT operations? How realistic is that training? Today’s guest would like to see you do more, and to practice unusual scenarios. Keith Padgett is fire chief of the Beulah Fire District in Valley Alabama. He  retired as the chieffire marshal for the Fulton County Fire- Rescue Department. A 35-year member of the fire service, Keith currently serves as Fire and Emergency Medical Services academic program director with Columbia Southern University.

Village, Colorado, has had a new response policy in place. Air Methods helicopters, which operate from bases in 48 states around the U.S. , has been launching sooner on EMS calls. The goal is to have them standing by in the air instead of on the ground. The new procedure has been a success, so far. Here to explain the policy, and the results, is Joseph Uridil, the Air Methods clinical base supervisor for Native Air in Arizona.

Today’s fire departments ask more of their members than they used to.You’re now required to be at least an EMT in most departments, and there are advantages to being a paramedic, too. Today’s show is about being a good paramedic. It’s not just about emergency medicine. My guests today are a brothers who wrote a book about what it takes to fit into a world with no grey area. The book is “Life and Death Matters: Professionalism and Decision-Making for the First Responder.” The authors are Samuel and Christian Adams. They’re firefighter/paramedics in Colorado Springs. Together, they have over 20 years experience in firefighting and emergency medicine.

With active shooter situations on the rise, there’s been more concern about how schools should deal with them. Communities around the country have started thinking pro-actively about how they can prevent shootings. And how they’ll respond if one happens in their schools. My guest today is part of that planning process and has some insights on what might be considered. Alan Berkowsky has been the Fire Chief in Winnetka, Illinois since 2011. A 35-year veteran of the fire service, he started his career as a paramedic with the Chicago Fire Department. He went on to join the Evanston Fire Department in 1981 as a firefighter/paramedic and became chief of the department in 2004. He’s been an instructor for the Illinois Tactical Officers Association in the Rescue Task Force Curriculum.

Just about everyone wants to be promoted. More pay, maybe a different shift, and more authority to make things happen. So what do you do when you actually get that promotion? You might want to think about it in advance. And today’s guest is here to give you some things to think about. Rom Duckworth has more than twenty five years of experience working in career and volunteer fire departments, emergency services and hospital-based healthcare systems. He’s currently a career Fire Captain / Paramedic and EMS Coordinator. Rom is a speaker at national conferences and contributors to magazines, and textbooks on topics of field operations, leadership, and education in emergency services.

This show is a little different than most. We’re going to take a look at a feud going on in Arizona. AMR’s LifeLine Ambulance is on the hot seat as two fire departments covering Yavapai County are complaining to state regulators that their response times are too long. Life Line says it meets the state’s standards under its Certificate of Need, or CON. Joining me for this show are Chief Scott Freitag, from the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority and Glenn Kasprzyk, COO for AMR’s Arizona and New Mexico region.

Scott's opinion of the NYC proposal to change emergency sirens to the European high-low style. The city councilmembers behind the new law say they're less noisy and will lead to fewer complaints. Scott says they'll be less effective...and unAmerican, too.

Do you remember the Tot Finder stickers? For many years, families put them on the windows of children’s rooms, so, in case of fire, firefighters would know they should search that room. They’ve mostly fallen out of favor. My guest says we’re now counting on victims to do that—to rescue themselves –and it may not be realistic. Shouldn’t they rightfully expect firefighters to rescue them?
Here to discuss that is Brian Brush. Brian’s been in the fire service since 1996 and he’s currently a Firefighter for the City of Edmond, Oklahoma. He has been a classroom instructor at FDIC and is in the EFO program

Has your department given any thought to operating its own ambulances? It’s happening around the country, for various reasons. There are some considerations to be checked out before a decision is made, and we have a couple of guests to explain them today. First up is Joe Maruca. He’s the Chief of the West Barnstable Fire Department, a combination fire department on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He’s on the NVFC Board. And Joe is also a retired attorney. Next, we’ll hear from attorney Steve Wirth. He’s been a firefighter, EMT, paramedic, flight paramedic, EMS instructor, fire officer, and EMS executive. He was one of central Pennsylvania’s first paramedics.

Our topic on this episode is stretching a dry line. Way back in Firefighting 101, they taught where to do it and where not to. Problem is, my guest today says, once you gain some experience, sometimes that training goes unheeded. And that can lead to firefighters in a world of trouble. Here to give us a refresher on where to stretch dry is Anthony Avillo. He retired a Deputy Chief with North Hudson, New Jersey, Regional Fire & Rescue with 34 years in the fire service. With three decades in the fire service, he’s an instructor at the Monmouth County, New Jersey, Fire Academy. And an FDIC instructor and a member of the FDIC advisory board.

The Bernalillo County Fire Department in New Mexico is trying a new idea to cut down on job-related cancer.The department is adding apparatus, over time, that has compartments to store turnout gear. Firefighters won’t generally wear their turnouts in the rig on the way to or from a fire. It’s called the “Clean cab” policy, and spokesman Lt. David Lujan says it was a group decision. There's been some skepticism from firefighters on social media. Joining me to explain his concerns is Keith Collins. Keith has more than 14 years in the fire service, including military service, and is currently working as a firefighter in Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

It may surprise you to learn that PTSD is not the major factor in most firefighter suicides. That’s just one of the myths that surround—and drives discussion on – the topic of firefighters taking their own lives. One of the strongest advocates in the fire service fighting to dispel those myths actually nearly killed herself four years ago. Now she’s spreading the truth about firefighter suicide. Dena Ali’s been a guest on this show before. She’s a 10-yeer veteran of the Raleigh, North Carolina Fire Department, where she’s a captain.

Firefighters love handy phrases almost as much as they love acronyms. Wait, scratch that. Firefighters’ bosses love handy phrases almost as much as acronyms. The guy in the turnouts may not be so fond of those old maxims. They get repeated and then improved upon, until they don’t mean the same thing any more. But the phrases are still treated as gospel truth. Here today to discuss that problem is Clay Magee. Clay is a Firefighter/Paramedic with Birmingham Alabama Fire and Rescue as well as Chelsea Fire and Rescue. A 13-year veteran firefighter, he’s an instructor with Magic City Truck Academy.

Today, we’re going to talk about a role in the fire department that’s near to my heart: The PIO. The Public Information Officer was the key to my getting information about the department, its people, and the incidents it covered when I was a newsman. But I had to build a relationship with each one before they would trust me. The best PIOs are the ones who recognize that good journalists aren’t out to get them – we just want the best pictures and sound. And solid PIOs are proactive, too, promoting the good that fire departments do on a routine basis. Back again to discuss this are P.J. Norwood, a Deputy Chief Training Officer for the East Haven Connecticut Fire Department, and Sean Gray, a 21-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Cobb County Georgia Fire Department.

Have you ever been off-duty driving somewhere and come upon a crash scene? What should you do? What gear do you have in your POV? Most importantly, are you prepared to be a help and not a hindrance? My guest today has some thoughts on that. Michael Fraley is coordinator of the North Central, Wisconsin, Regional Trauma Advisory Council. Mike has worked as a flight paramedic, EMS service manager and an assisted living facility owner/ administrator.

We’ve talked a lot about upholding fire service standards on this show. On this episode, we’re going to discuss a voluntary oath, if you will, that you can take to reinforce your beliefs. It’s called the Vigilant Creed, and it was developed by Corley Moore. He’s a 22-year-firefighter from Oklahoma who started a blog, called “Firehouse Vigilance,” in 2017. As a student of fireground leadership, Corley believes firefighters should have resources like The Vigilant Creed.

As times change and research becomes more accurate, we learn more about fire behavior. And the more we learn, the faster fires get put out. With today’s construction techniques and materials, that also means a safer fireground. That’s why today’s guests worked together to write a book: “The Evolving Fireground: Research-Based Tactics.” Joining me for this episode are P.J. Norwood, a Deputy Chief Training Officer for the East Haven Connecticut Fire Department, and Sean Gray, a 21-year veteran of the fire service and a lieutenant in the Cobb County Georgia Fire Department.

Greg Jakubowski talks about ground ladders-how to chose which one you need in a hurry, and why it's important to train with them. He’s a fire protection engineer and certified safety professional. Greg started his fire service career in 1978. He is a Pennsylvania state fire instructor and a former chief of the Lingohocken, Pennsylvania Fire Company.

I love instructions on how to do stuff. That’s why today’s show is about how to be a firefighter. Not how to fight fires, but how to be a firefighter. They’re two different things. My guest today is the author of "The Firefighter's Little Black Book: Your Pocket Guide To Safety" But it’s not just about safety on the fireground. It’s also about keeping your job safe and holding onto your integrity. It's written by Stan Tarnowski.Stan has served as fire chief, 911 and EMA director in Union City, Georgia. He began his career in 1975 with the Boston- Logan International Airport Fire Department. Stan’s been a deputy and suppression chief at the Georgia State Fire Academy, and chief of training at the Henry County Fire Department. And he is currently the president of Firesafe Consulting Group.

Narcan has been pitched as the single best way to deal with opioid overdose. And while it does work, it’s being overused and misused. Some EMS providers and cops are administering it just-in-case … even if they aren’t sure they’re treating an opioid overdose. But Narcan has a lot of nasty effects on the patient. My guest today says EMS providers rarely need to use it at all. Dr. Bryan Bledsoe is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the UNLV School of Medicine. He routinely works the Emergency Department at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas. He’s board certified in emergency medicine and EMS.

Here’s an idea: Yoga for firefighters. Wait—don’t skip this episode yet! You owe it to yourself to hear about this, because, even if you think yoga’s not for you, it can probably help. It’s got a lot of benefits for firefighters. Here to explain why is Shannon McQuaide, the Director of FireFlex Yoga. That’s right, she runs a business specifically tailored to providing yoga for the fire service. She comes from a fire family, so she knows what firefighters need. She has 10 years of experience leading professional development training programs.

The most powerful position in the firehouse is likely NOT the Captain. You know who I’m talking about: the Senior Man. He commands respect simply because he’s seen a lot. But, whether he recognizes it or not, he’s also got a lot of responsibility. My guest today is a Senior Man, and he’s here to tell us what that really means and why. Casey Clinkscales has been a firefighter for 12 years, most recently in Irmo, South Carolina.

Training is the key to knowing how to fight fires, especially when your department doesn’t respond to frequent real-world structure fires. It’s also the way to make sure no one gets hurt. But there’s a right way to train and a whole lot of wrong ways, according to my guest today. He’s here to tell us how training goes wrong and how it can be more realistic. Robby Owens has been a firefighter for over 20 years. He’s a captain in the Henrico County, Virginia, Division of Fire.

Let’s talk safety. Or, rather, let’s talk risk, because we know firefighting isn’t safe. Risks are all about choices. The objective is to make choices that minimize risk. There are ways to do this, and my guest today says we need to do them. David Cain retired as a deputy chief at the Boulder Colorado Fire Department, where he served for 34 years.

It’s been over 70 years since President Harry S. Truman issued the first Presidential Report that told citizens how to survive a house fire. But people still don’t seem to give fire the respect it deserves. They go back in to burning homes to save pets or property. They still won’t change smoke alarm batteries or call the fire department, even when they live in a city where firefighters will do it for them. Why? Here to give us some possible answers and solutions is Ray Reynolds. He’s the Director of Fire & EMS for the Nevada, Iowa, Fire Department and a member of the IAFC’s Fire & Life Safety Section's Board.

A few years back, the NFPA said that just 27 percent of fire departments had a basic firefighter fitness and health program, and that was down from 30 percent in 2010. My guest today says that the time has come for the fire service to prioritize the health and wellness of its firefighters on a national level. It’s time to stop talking about how important firefighter fitness is and start doing something about it. Here to explain why is Dan Kerrigan. Dan is a 32-year veteran of the fire service. He is Chief Fire Marshal and department fitness coordinator for the East Whiteland Township Fire Department in Pennsylvania. He’s co-author of the best-selling book Firefighter Functional Fitness, and a international speaker on firefighter health and wellness.

Is EMS work a trade or a profession? There’s a growing push to require at least a 2-year associate’s degree for certification. Some officials want a bachelor’s degree to be required. Here to give us some perspective on all this is David Becker. He’s currently a Faculty Member for Columbia Southern University’s programs in Emergency Medical Services Management and Emergency Medical Services Administration. David worked for twenty-two years in the fire service including fifteen years as a Chief Officer. He has held a current paramedic license since 1977.

Are you tired of hearing about diversity in the fire service yet? I’m going to assume you are. The question is, why, in 2018, almost 2019, are we still talking about it? My guest today has an interesting theory: The hiring process brings in more diverse probies, but then the training process homogenizes them all over again. Here to explain how and why this can be avoided is Trisha Wolford. She's an assistant chief with the Spokane, Washington Fire Department.

What’s a firefighter worth to the community? Now what’s a professional athlete worth? There’s no doubt that pro sports generates a lot of revenue for a city, not to mention intangible benefits. But my guest today has crunched the numbers, and found that pro athletes – despite their millions of dollars in salaries – don’t come close to the fiscal value provided by firefighters.

Just about everyone will find that there are the official rules in EMS – and then there are the unwritten rules. They’re often more helpful to know than the stuff you learn in class. For those EMTs or medics who are new on the job and want a jump on these real-world rules, my guest on this show wrote a column for Firehouse.com about them. Gary Ludwig has four decades of experience in the fire service. He’s currently chief of the Champaign, Illinois fire department, and he's responded to an estimated 25,000 fire, rescue and EMS calls during his career.

Leadership in a volunteer fire department doesn’t work the same way as it does in a career department. For starters, the officer positions may rotate, as frequently as every year. That means it can be tough to develop a consistent leadership culture. My guest today says there’s also been a change in attitudes facing those leaders, and it’s not a good one. John Sahatjian has been in the fire service for 17 years. He’s the Fire Chief at the South Wall Fire Rescue Company, Fire District #3 in Wall Township, New Jersey. John is a certified National Level 2 instructor.

The transitional attack. Some firefighters swear by it, some swear at it. The NFPA says it’s a way to soften the target. Does it help, or does it have the potential to make firefighting harder? My guest today says a transitional attack is like a bunt in baseball. Ray McCormack is a 30-year veteran and a lieutenant with FDNY. He publishes Urban Firefighter Magazine. He delivered the keynote address at FDIC in 2009.

My guest today has a new book, titled The Functional Fire Company -- Positioning Small Groups for Success & Survival. It’s intended to explain how to develop a culture of learning and training in your department. It’s working: his department has a record of retaining motivated firefighters, even though neighboring departments pay more. Some firefighters even take a pay cut to join his agency.
Scott Thompson is a 35-year veteran of the fire service and chief of The Colony, Texas Fire Department. He has been a member of volunteer departments as well as worked for some of the fastest growing and most progressive departments in Texas.
Scott has been a classroom presenter and hands-on instructor at FDIC International since 2002.

What do you know about acupuncture? Yeah, it involves needles. But do you know what it can do for you? Here’s one benefit: it can be used to treat PTSD. It’s also helped relieve depression, chronic fatigue, joint pain, and low back pain, and a lot of others. Plus, it works without drugs.That’s why my guest today says it’s perfect for firefighters, who may suffer from physical or mental issues. Dr. Nikki Kelly is a former firefighter. She was an engineer/EMT for the Tavares, Florida Fire Department for six years, where she was awarded Firefighter of the Year in 2010. Now she’s a board certified, licensed acupuncturist and herbalist who specializes in the treatment of first responders.

If you’re injured on the job, you’ll likely be prescribed an opioid pain medication. They’re a double -edged sword: it can be tough to get enough, even when you really need them. But you might be surprised how quickly you can become addicted to them if you do get what you want. And believe me, doctors are terrified of losing their licenses these days. That means they’ll cut you off in a hurry. What can you do if you become addicted? Here to discuss that is Mark Lamplugh. Jr. Mark is the communications director at Deer Hollow Recovery. He’s also nationally recognized in Crisis Stress Intervention through the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress.

If you’re a probie or you want to be, listen up. This show’s guest, Mauro Porcelli, has written a new book titled “Surviving the Firehouse.” It’s a guide to life as a firefighter for newbies, and it’s full of real-world tips and advice. Mauro retired from the Orlando Florida fire department with twenty-five years of fire service experience. He started his career with Marion County Fire/Rescue in 1988. At 23, he was the youngest, highest ranking professional fire officer in Florida, holding the rank of District Commander.

Habits can improve your health...and bad ones can screw it up. That’s why building healthy habits is so important for firefighters. This isn’t just some trendy idea.
This stuff will prolong your career, and your life. Back with us again today is Aaron Zamzow, and he has five of them for us. Aaron is the owner of Fire Rescue Fitness, a company that creates workout programs and fitness articles that focus on getting Fire Rescue Athletes "fit for duty."

How fast do you get a knockdown on an average fire? Our guest on this show says you should see the effects in 30 seconds. If you don’t, he says, you’re not flowing enough water. Paul Shapiro is a back to talk about overwhelming a fire with massive water. Paul’s been involved with the fire service since 1981. He was an engineer with Las Vegas, Nevada Fire and Rescue for 28 years until he retired. He is a certified fire instructor III for Nevada and has served on the faculty of many fire academies throughout the United States. Paul wrote "Layin’ The Big Lines," a book on large flow water delivery.

Firefighters both train and work out. Though they share some elements in common, they’re two different disciplines. This show's guest says it’s important to do both well. Matt Page is an assistant chief with the Alpine Fire Department in Louisiana. He’s also a captain at the Lincoln Parish Fire Department.

Engine company riding assignments are the key to a ready arrival at a scene. They eliminate confusion. But some departments don’t actually specify who’s doing what, and my guest on this show says that’s a mistake. Chad Menard is a Captain/Paramedic for a city fire department in Alabama. He’s a graduate of the National Fire Academy's Managing Officer Program. He’s a USAR rescue technician with Alabama Task Force 3, and a Level II State Certified Fire Instructor and Fire Officer.

With recent increased attention on sexual harassment in the workplace, now may be a good time to address it in the firehouse. On this episode, we discuss what departments and officers need to know about sexual harassment with John K. Murphy. He’s a retired firefighter with 32 years of service who is now an attorney. He deals with cases concerning employment, firefighters, and fire departments.

I’ll bet your least favorite house fire is a hoarder house. They’re tough to navigate, have lots of fuel, and can hide some nasty surprises. If you haven’t dealt with one yet, you will. Compulsive Hoarding Disorder is a psychological mental condition that affects up to five percent of adults and the number is growing. My guest on this show wrote the book on fighting fires in hoarder houses.
Ryan Pennington is a Firefighter/Paramedic for the Charleston West Virginia Fire Department. He’s currently assigned to Station 8 and is part of the West Virginia Task Force 1 USAR team. With over 15 years of combined Fire, Rescue and EMS experience, Ryan teaches firefighter safety around the country.

When you did your early training, did you make a lot of mistakes? If so, you likely learned more from the screw-ups than anything else. It was valuable experience. And hard to replace effectively. But my guest today says a lot of today’s younger firefighters are short-cutting that training— and missing the point—by using the internet. Benjamin Martin is a Lieutenant with a large metro fire department in Virginia. With over sixteen years in public safety, he speaks around the country on leadership.

With more and more firefighters being injured as they work to ventilate roofs during a structure fire, we need to ask:Why are we still putting crews up there in the first place?
Is it time to admit that vertical ventilation is an obsolete concept? Our guest this week says it is. Mark Cotter is a third generation firefighter, who entered the fire service in 1974. He’s served in several departments, including one in which he rose to fire chief. In 2002 Mark joined the Salisbury Maryland Fire Department, a combination department, as a volunteer. He became a Captain, and currently is an Engineer.

If you or someone you know had a broken arm, you’d want it treated right away.
Well, PTSD or clinical depression are no different. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean you can ignore it. And just like a broken arm, it is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
Here to talk about why that stigma exists and how to overcome it is Todd Donovan. He’s a firefighter/paramedic for the Derry Fire Department and a Data Specialist for the New Hampshire Fire Academy and EMS.

Sometimes it seems that engine companies don’t always get the respect they deserve. It may be rescue squad crews or truckies that feel engine crews have a simple job: put the wet stuff on the red stuff. But this show's guest says he’s seen those guys have change of heart when they pay attention to what engine companies really do. Jarrod Sergi is a Lieutenant with Norfolk Virginia Fire Rescue. He’s been in the Fire Service for close to 18 years and has served in one of the city’s busiest Engine Companies.

We’ve been talking over the past few weeks on this show about whether firefighters have become too risk-averse. But there are also some department cultures that condone overly risky behavior. It’s not in the SOPs or SOGs – culture is an unwritten feeling or understanding of what firefighters expect to do. How do we balance safety with being aggressive firefighters?
Scott's guest to discuss this is J. Travis Carricato.

If you’re of a certain age, you were probably strongly influenced to become a firefighter-paramedic by a couple of guys named Johnny and Roy, the two heroes of the 1970’s TV show “Emergency!” They played a couple of the country’s first firefighter-paramedics. The characters on that show were good role models. Our guest says we could use some of their attitude these days. Mike Rubin’s a paramedic in Nashville, Tennessee.

If you’re a company officer or a command-level officer, you know the job is all about decision-making. The trick, of course, is to make good, defensible decisions in a big hurry at a chaotic scene. How do you do it? Scott's guest has some ideas that could help you make the right decisions under pressure. Nick Salameh is a 36-year veteran of the fire service. Thirty-one of those years were spent with the Arlington County, Virginia, Fire Department.

We’ve talked several times on this show about working with younger firefighters. But we haven’t heard their viewpoint. That’s about to change. Millennials are sometimes a mystery to previous generations. They learn differently, they react differently. They relate differently.
Here to offer some advice to the new guys is a millennial who’s been around long enough to have seen the mistakes young firefighters make. Tom Redden is 26. He’s been a Firefighter/ EMT with the Flanders Fire Department in East Lyme, Connecticut since 2017.

How do you conduct a primary search? It’s one of the most critical actions a firefighter can undertake at a fire. It’s also a dangerous task. There are several ways to conduct them. On this episode, Paul Mastronardi goes over a few tips on safely conducting a search.

The number of women in the fire service seems to be stalled at about four percent, despite efforts to recruit more. Why is this, and what can be done? Cheryl Horvath addresses that question and discusses what she thinks of the term “Brotherhood” on this episode of Code 3.

Do you go above and beyond, not for the praise, but because it’s necessary? Maybe you're a grinder. TJ Ward joins Scott to explain the grinder mindset. It’s an attitude that says—good enough is never good enough. And grinders absolutely do not believe in leaving anything to luck or chance.

What does it mean to “own it?” To a firefighter, it should mean taking pride in their job, and taking initiative to ensure it’s done right. Guest Andrew Sauder says that’s lacking among some younger firefighters, and it’s up to the more experienced crew to make sure they learn to own it.

What if you had unlimited funds to design and build the ultimate fire engine for your department? Yours would undoubtedly look different than one designed halfway across the country. My guest on this show is Ricky Riley. We discuss what features he’d like to see on the ultimate fire engine.

We all know we’re facing fewer structure fires these days… but the ones that do ignite are more dangerous than ever. More lumber is being used, and, worse yet, it’s not the old-style 2x4 or 4x4. The lumber industry is turning to manufactured lumber. It’s also called lightweight lumber. Our guest to talk about the danger of today’s wood construction is Mark van der Feyst.

On this episode, we discuss a major line-of-duty-death incident: the loss of the Charleston Nine.
It happened on the evening of June 18, 2007, at the Sofa Super Store in Charleston, South Carolina. About 40 minutes into the call, there was a flashover, and the roof collapsed. Firefighters caught in the flashover were unable to escape and were trapped under the collapsed roof.
My guest was there. Dr. David Griffin is a battalion chief today, but he was the engineer on the first-due engine on June 18, 2007.

How do you conduct a primary search? I’ll bet you do it by having the whole search crew follow the walls, staying in a line, right? Doesn’t that seem a little slow and even wasteful? My guest on this episode says yes, and he says the oriented search is the way to do it. Chris DelBello is a third-generation firefighter and a 30-year veteran of the fire service.

When you’ve got a great plan, but some team members just aren’t quite on board, how do you get them to meet your expectations? Dr. Liane Davey is back to give us some tips on how to make that happen on this episode.

On this show, we talk with Cindie Schooner-Ball, who retired a couple years back from a firefighting career that began in1987. She writes a blog, titled, “Sister in a Brotherhood,” and is working on a book by the same name. Find out what it was like for a woman in the fire service back in the day.

When a man climbed into a narrow pipe and then became trapped 12 feet below ground, New Jersey rescue crews found a difficult situation. Mike Daley explains how they extricated the man from the pipe, while trying to limit damage to the wastewater facility’s infrastructure.

When is it appropriate to call for a helicopter to a scene? Even when you have a flowchart to make the determination, there’s still a lot of subjectivity involved. In this episode, Joseph Uridil of medical helicopter operator Air Methods and Prescott Fire Operations Division Chief Cory Moser join Scott to discuss when to call for aerial transport.

If you feel as if the culture of safety in the fire service has been replaced with a culture of fear, then you’ll want to listen to Chris Tobin. An old-school firefighter at heart, he explains why fear holds today’s firefighters back, why supposedly-vacant buildings need to be treated as occupied, and the merits of being aggressive.

Just about everyone agrees that community paramedicine is a great idea. But, trouble is, no one wants to pay for it. Mesa, Arizona, had a very good program but had to shut it down for lack of funding. Gary Ludwig joins Scott on this episode to discuss what can be done.

There is a shortage of 911 dispatchers nationwide, and it can lead to unfortunate outcomes. PSAP and 911 consultant Barry Furey explains why there’s a problem and offers some suggestions for how it can be fixed. *** NOTE: This interview had some technical glitches in the sound quality. We hope you’ll bear with us. Barry’s comments are worth it. ***

Firefighters love to pass on information, and that’s what accounts for the numbers of speakers lining up for events like FDIC. But how do you know you’re qualified to teach others? Is there a certain rank you need to attain first? Guest Randy Hanifen explains in this edition of Code 3.

Safety at motor vehicle crash scenes can be difficult, and sometimes, there are non-vehicle related problems, too. Expert Jack Sullivan of the Emergency Responder Safety Institute drops by to discuss ways to keep from getting into trouble at crash scenes.

With community paramedicine, a/k/a mobile integrated health care, gaining popularity in the U.S., there are some challenges to be met when you’re building a new program. Chief Porter Welch of the Scioto, Ohio Township Fire Department helped write the Ohio laws that allow these programs, and he explains what you need to know.

If you thought Millennials were a confusing group, wait til you meet the iGen. Guest Linda Willing says they may be more comfortable with virtual communication than face-to-face, but they could ultimately prove to be the best group of firefighters yet.

Brad Davison’s study of combination departments and the challenges they face found that budgets are the #1 problem, according to chiefs. We talk about what impact they have and how much difference more money would make on this episode.

Drew Hughes died after an ET tube was improperly inserted while he rode in an ambulance. He had been injured in a skateboarding accident, but anoxia caused by the intubation error killed him. On this episode, we hear from his father about the Do It For Drew foundation he and his wife started to keep medical treatment errors from happening, and Bradley Dean, a battalion chief over a training division, about the mistakes made and learning from them.

In celebration of our official 100th episode of Code 3, Scott pulls back the curtain to give you a quick look at how we got here. Join us!

Bullying and harassment within the fire service isn’t talked about very much, but it happens. Find out what it will take to stop this destructive (and expensive) behavior as guest co-host Rhonda Orr joins Scott to discuss the problem with I. David Daniels.

Kevin Grange is a firefighter/paramedic in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. But he used to work as a paramedic in Los Angeles. In this episode of code 3, he explains the differences—and why he loves where he works now.

On June 30, 2018, the fifth anniversary of the LODD of 19 members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew at Yarnell Hill, a memorial ceremony was held in Prescott, Arizona, their home base. The brief ceremony commemorated their loss and celebrated their lives. This is the event.

Rehab is often given a lower priority than it should be, says our guest this time, Tim Nowack. He’s got some ideas about how to change that attitude., as well as a new acronym for more effective rehab operations.

It has now been five years since 19 members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots were killed fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire in Arizona. Jose Zambrano, a firefighter from El Seguno California began a run to the Hotshots’ memorial in Yarnell. Fireman Joe is running the way he has run many other such treks: in full-turnout gear.

SPECIAL EDITION: The NFPA released its annual firefighter LODD report, and, while deaths are down, Chief Marc Bashoor says this is no time to get complacent.

The NFPA has issued a new standard – NFPA 3000 (PS), Standard for an Active Shooter/
Hostile Event Response (ASHER) Program. The NFPA’s John Montes joins Scott to explain why it was needed and what it includes on this edition of Code 3.

Sure, firefighters work out a lot, but that still doesn’t make a poor diet all right. Dr. Susie day has been working on a study of what firefighters eat, and its’ not encouraging. Find out what you should be eating on this episode.

In October, 2007, a crew of four Washington, DC firefighters nearly lost their lives in a preventable accident while fighting a house fire. Dennis Rubin was the Chef of DCFD at the time, and he joins us to explain what went wrong and why.

There’s an art to being a great incident commander, and Jason Hoevelmann stops by Code 3 to talk with Scott about what it takes, and what not to do.

If you’re like a lot of firefighters, you stay busy. That’s productive, right? But what if you’re staying busy to keep from dealing with emotional problems? That’s not so good. On this episode, therapist Jada Hudson explains why firefighters need to have some time to do … nothing.

In a world with SLICE-RS. RECEO, and REVAS, comes a new and potentially better acronym: SLAB SAVERS, Jesse Quinalty’s solution to firefighting mnemonics. Find out what it means on this episode.

Burn buildings are part of every firefighter’s training, but how worthwhile are they? What do we learn in them, and are those things valuable? David Rhodes explains why burn buildings aren’t always the best way to learn real-world tactics and how to fix that.

One of the unfortunate changes the fire service has seen in the last few years is a move toward equipping firefighters with ballistic vests and body armor. It’s a reality, though, and Kane Nixon tells us why his department issues them.

What if there was a better standard for prehospital care than “First, Do No Harm?” Mike Rubin offers some alternative phrases that might make you think twice when you’re treating a patient.

As active-shooter incidents become more common, firefighters are being asked to do EMS rescues in some situations that they never used to enter. Jim Morrissey explains how interagency cooperation will work in the current atmosphere of hazards.

There’s been a lot written on how to advance in the fire service, but not as much on what to do when you’re passed over for a promotion. Matt Tobia offers some tips for doing better the next time.

There’s a certain sector of the fire service that advocates just slamming a fire with overwhelming water and getting an instant knockdown. Firmly in that camp is Paul Shapiro, who has been known to use a deck gun on some residential structure fires.

Everyday people don’t understand what firefighters see day in and day out. TV and movies have taught them that it’s mostly a heroic job where the victim almost always survives. Michael Morse tells us how he explains what firefighters know to civilians – and what he doesn’t discuss.

A mayday is enough to send chills down a firefighter’s spine. For several years, Don Abbott’s “Project Mayday” has collected recordings of the radio traffic that precedes a mayday in an effort to find out what causes them so they can be prevented. Hear about what Don’s learned so far in this episode.

Ben Vernon was a seasoned San Diego firefighter who was on top of his profession when he encountered unexpected trouble on a run: He was stabbed, nearly fatally, by a one-time prison knife fighter. How he recovered and beat PTSD to get back to work, on this episode of Code 3.

Finding and keeping volunteer firefighters is a challenge these days. For her doctoral thesis, firefighter Candice McDonald studied how successful departments do it and tells us what she found. They’re cheap or free ideas that you can apply to your recruiting and retention efforts.

Fighting a high-rise fire takes a considerable amount of pre-planning. Find out what guest Mike Terpak, a former Deputy Chief, says is important to plan for, and why he considers the elevator a “necessary evil” on this episode of Code 3.

We've all heard a million times that a 360-degree recon is a must at a structure fire, but what happens when you can't do one? Brian Butler has some real-world options.

The newest cars on the road are hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, and they require an understanding of how they operate on the part of firefighters who respond to crashes involving them. Expert Jennifer Hamilton explains how they’re different than other cars and what you need to know.

A no-way--out situation is different from a mayday situation, says guest John Cagno, because avoiding the no-way-out is a firefighter's own responsibility. Find out how he says they can be avoided.

John M. Buckman III gives us five tips we can use to become real leaders in the firehouse. They’re simple to apply and make an immediate difference in how you’ll be seen by other firefighters.

The Arizona Fallen Firefighter and Paramedics Memorial is nearly paid for; it was built without any taxpayer dollars. Find out from Chairman Rick DeGraw how much is still needed and how you can contribute.

Why don't fire departments spend more time training ICs to run Type 5 structure fires? Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer says it's time they did, and that simply letting officers learn on the job doesn't cut it.

If you like to visit firehouses while you’re on vacation, there are some unwritten rules of guest etiquette you may not think of—but just because you’re a firefighter, you shouldn’t feel like it’s okay to break them. Guest Justin Schorr reminds us of the rules good guests follow.

With the number of annual firefighter suicides now exceeding the number of LODDs annually, the crisis is being addressed in several ways that hold promise. Capt. Dena Ali of the Raleigh, NC FD has been studying the problem and explains some of the potential solutions.

If your diet seems like it’s slowing you down, you may want to try the Primal Blueprint. Firefighter Nick Holderbaum explains what it's all about and how to eat like your ancestors on this episode.

If you want a successful career in the fire service, you need to be prepared to do more than just go to a few seminars and training events. Billy D. Hayes, the chief program officer for the National Center for Fire and Life Safety gives us some tips on how to build a career –and a future – in the fire service.

Rope rescue technology has made some major leaps in the past few years, but training may be lagging behind. Bob Duemmel gives us some tips for effective rope rescue in this episode.

Social media is responsible for untold numbers of cases of SMACS –Social Media Assisted Career Suicides. Find out how to avoid killing your own career with some advice from Chief Marc Bashoor (ret.), who tells us in this episode when it’s time to just shut up.

When you live with your co-workers for 24-hours at a time, arguments are guaranteed to come up to come up. How you resolve them makes a huge difference to future relations.
Dr. Liane Davey can show you how to argue without starting a war.

Live wrap up of the day's events from San Diego

Coverage from Tuesday's events at Firehouse World 2018 in San Diego

Day two wrap up from San Diego

It’s Monday and that normally means a Code3 episode. But this week, we’re in San Diego for firehouse World 2018. So we don’t have a show for you today. But tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll have live coverage from Firehouse World. Look for live video reports from the massive expo floor during the day, via Periscope. Then – at 6pm pacific 9 pm eastern, join me for a live wrap up of the days’ events. You can find it all at code3podcast dot com.

Code 3 will have three days of live coverage of Firehouse World 2018, with wrap-up shows March 6, 7, and 8 at 6pm Pacific/9pm Eastern, from San Diego.

Picking the right-size line and matching it to the right nozzle for the type and size of structure on fire makes a huge difference. Battalion Chief Curt Isakson gives us some tips on what to use and when.

The Art of Reading Smoke can make you job easier. It can also save your life. Deputy Chief Phil Jose from Seattle says that reading smoke can tell you a lot about how to fight the fire it’s coming from. *** Ever notice how there are Amazon links to order guests' book on the show notes pages at code3podcast.com ? When you order from Amazon on our site, we get a cut of the sale ... and you don't pay any more. So if you'd like to buy a book we've emntioned, please do it through our site. We have other fireifghter-related gifts and tools, so when you need soemthing for a firefighter, order from us.

The strange sleep schedules firefighters have may be bad for their health, says Dr. Sara Jahnke. She offers some advice on how to counteract the negative effects of waking up several times a night to go on runs.

Mat Blankenship is a crusader in the fight to recognize concussions as a serious problem in the fire service. He believes they should be treated as a traumatic brain injury, not a minor inconvenience. After suffering a concussion himself during training, he began to study the effects and was surprised at what he found.

When Robert Avsec wrote a column for FireRescue1.com on the possible benefits of putting the company officer in the backseat of the rig, he had no idea that social media users would come out in (sometimes rude) force. He explains why he suggested the idea in this episode.

Firefighter Brian Gettemeier joins Scott on this episode to discuss what great engineers do that makes them so valuable. After all, if the fire department wanted a truck driver, they’d recruit from a truck-driving school. There’s a lot more to know and be able to do, Brian says, and he lists some of it in this show.

Paul Mobley is the photographer behind the new coffee-table book, “American Firefighter,” and in this episode, we talk with him about what it took to create the book. He traveled the country, meeting and photographing firefighters. Find out which stories impacted him the most.

Two segments in this show: A long-time volunteer firefighter, Captain Geoffrey Girodano at the Stevenson FD in Monroe CT, develops an advanced paging system for volunteers; and the Dante, SD Fire Chief Mike Kotab, talks about getting a new pumper/water-tender after 14 years of applying for grants.

Scott’s guest this episode is David Wiklanski, who joins him to examine mental health issues among firefighters. It’s a real problem, and saying “Just suck it up” isn’t helpful. Find out when it’s time to seek treatment. *** If you enjoy Code 3, then you’ll also like the Code 3 Bull Session. It’s extra material recorded after the “official” interview, and it can be about anything. But it’s only available to supporters who pledge $10 a month or more to keep Code 3 going. Just go to code3pdocast.com/support for details.

Do you feel the traditions that made this career great slipping away? Lots of members of the fire service do. Lt. Marc Aloan has seen this happen and he’s out to fix it. He joins Scott to explain how we can preserve the past while moving into the future. ***

What happens when the crew doesn’t feel like training? Scott Peterson is the guest this episode to talk about excuses why we don’t train and don’t want to train. And what to do about it. ***If you enjoy Code 3, then you’ll also like the Code 3 Bull Session. It’s extra material recorded after the “official” interview, and it can be about anything. But it’s only available to supporters who pledge $10 a month or more to keep Code 3 going. Just go to code3pdocast.com/support for details.

Aaron Zamzow joins Scott to talk about firefighter fitness, why it’s not the same as other forms of fitness, and what exercises work best for keeping you in shape to fight fires.

A good on-arrival size-up can preparing incoming crews for what they’ll be doing, says David DeStefano. He gives us some tips for doing a great size-up.

The on-scene post-incident critique is an often-overlooked but very useful exercise, according to the episode's guest, Dr. Harry Carter. With over 50 years' experience in the fire service, Harry knows what works, and he says this idea works.

Millennials are new to the fire service culture, and while some call them “snowflakes,” our guest this time, Tom Wiley, says they can actually do the job very well.

Swiftwater and Technical Rescue expert Tom Pendley joins Scott to discuss the hazards of flash flooding, what rescuers need to know, and the worst mistake in swiftwater rescue he saw in his career.

We talk with Rockland, Maine Fire Chief Chris Whytock. A fan named Jared suggested we talk with him, so we did. He's running a small-city department with a combination of career and volunteer firefighters and he loves it.

There's no show today. Happy New Year!

The biggest buzzwords in EMS today are “community paramedicine.” It may allow firefighter/paramedics to concentrate on more urgent calls. Our guest is Matt Zavadsky, public affairs director at MedStar Mobile Healthcare.

There's no show today. Merry Christmas!

For our Christmas episode this year, we decided to take a look back at the seminal 1970s TV series "Emergency!" Scott sat down with three fire service professionals, Chief Scott Freitag, Battalion Chief Brad Davis, and probie Kayleen Weiland, all of the Central Arizona Fire & Medical Authority, to watch an episode. It's a fun look back at the way (Hollywood) used to do firefighting and EMS.

Working on a roof can be dangerous, especially with the speed wood trusses and other members burn nowadays. But do you need to be on the roof at all? Is there a way to tell if one is nearing failure? Gary Bowker explains on this week's Code 3.

You probably go out on runs (more like walks) to change smoke alarm batteries, but our guest on this show says fire departments can do so much more to serve their communities. Daniel Byrne is a big advocate of taking advantage of the goodwill the public has for the fire service and using it to give back to various causes and organizations.

Anthony Rowett, Jr. stops by Code 3 to discuss the need for using the proper hose size and nozzle for the specific kind of attack being made. Too often, he says, we chose the nozzle based on what we've been training with, not what's best for the situation.

With 70 percent of the total U.S. firefighters being volunteers, it's important to keep recruiting and retaining them. The NVFC's Kevin Quinn joins us to explain how we can do that.

Extrication expert Dalan Zartman talks about alternative ways to rip open cars and save trapped victims.

Firefighters face an increased risk of developing any one of several types of cancer, and Brian McQueen is out to cut the number of victims. He's our guest on Code 3 this time.

The hiring process for firefighters is very competitive. This time, Mike Pertz, who runs the website FirefighterNOW.com, stops by to give us some tips for passing the written exam and then acing the interview phase.,

Scott visits the 10th Annual Company Officers' Academy at the Central Arizona Regional Training Academy and sits in on some size-up classes. Plus, what firefighters are thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Discussing the dangers of fentanyl for first responders with Central AZ Fire & Medical Authority EMS Capt. Doug Niemynski

Paramedic Kelly Grayson joins Scott to talk about the tools and techniques that were the latest and greatest thing 20 years ago but are no longer around.

There's a lot more to being a company officer than just doing more paperwork. Consultant Linda Willing stops by Code 3 to talk about how what you say affects morale among the crew, and gives examples of especially harmful phrases. **Please support this show (and get some nice rewards) by going to our Patreon page and becoming a patron of Code 3. What is this show worth to you? A dollar a month? Five? Ten? Whatever the amount, you can help us by going to http://www.patreon.com/code3podcast and making a monthly pledge. Thanks!

Once you pass the Engineer's exam and they hand you the certificate, you might be tempted to believe you know everything about the job. But there's still a lot to learn, and Jim Spell joins us this week to explain some of those things. **Please support this show (and get some nice rewards) by going to our Patreon page and becoming a patron of Code 3. What is this show worth to you? A dollar a month? Five? Ten? Whatever the amount, you can help us by going to http://www.patreon.com/code3podcast and making a monthly pledge. Thanks!

Rick Lasky is our guest on Code 3 this week, discussing his program, Five-Alarm Leadership and a bit about the late Alan Brunacini, who recognized the importance of customer service in this profession early on.

Scott reviews the film about the Granite Mountain Hotshots, "Only the Brave" and talks with Yarnell Hill survivor Brendan Mc Donough and former hotshot Pat McCarty.

Amanda Marsh, the widow of Granite Mountain Hotshots' Superintendent Eric Marsh discusses what she thought of the film "Only the Brave, which features both Eric and Amanda prominently. She also talks about why she formed the Eric Marsh Foundation for Wildland Firefighters. More info at EricMarshFoundation.org.

On Oct. 20, 2017, a major motion picture, titled, "Only the Brave," that tells the story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, who lost 19 of the 20 men on the crew at Yarnell Hill in 2013, hits theaters across the nation.
This week on Code 3, we talk with the widows of Travis Carter and Jesse Steed about their feelings, asking what they thought of the film

There are good reasons to become a firefighter and the are bad ones. Deputy Chief Steve Prziborowski of the Santa Clara County (CA) Fire Dept. explains the difference on this episode. **Become a patron of Code 3. Just go to patreon.com/code3podcast to make a monthly pledge to support the show today!

Today's cars can be dangerous to a first responder. The latest technology to make your job tougher is "auto stop-start," which can cause a crashed vehicle to suddenly start moving. That could mean a very bad day for you if you're in front of the car. Find out what Ron Moore of the University of Extrication recommends. **Don't forget to visit our Patreon page and become a patron of Code 3 today--we're offering fun rewards for your pledge. Go to Patron.com/Code3Podcast for more info!

Retired Battalion Chief Robert Avsec discusses some mistakes that engineers may make when operating on the fireground and how to avoid them.

Legendary former Phoenix Fire Chief Alan Brunacini stops by to talk leadership, both in the fire service and beyond. Since his retirement 10 years ago, he's been touring the country, giving seminars on the topic.

Author Mark van der Feyst stops by Code 3 this week to discuss apparatus safety on the fireground, The reminders he gives us could save the life of a firefighter. ***Don't forget, the Code 3 app for Android phones is now available. Go to Code3Podcast.com for the link to download it.

Avondale Arizona Firefighter Kyle Winterstein has produced a great new 'day-in-the-life" video about his department. It took seven months and he had to learn new skills to do it.

Battalion Chief Brad Davis joined the fire service in 1991 as a reserve. His scariest call came a few years later, when he and a much more experienced colleague went into a burning house to rescue a woman. The result was a story to be told and re-told in fireground safety classes.

Peoria Fire-Medical Department Engineer Stephen Gunn has been named as one of 12 public safety officers to be awarded the Public Safety Medal of Valor by the United States Attorney General. He risked his life, and was just seconds away from serious injury. We talk with him about the incident and how it went down.

The SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant has saved many struggling fire departments pay for enough people to staff full shifts. But what happens when these non-renewable grants run out? Prescott Ariz Fire Battalion Chief Cory Moser explains what his department is doing.

Every year, 30,000 firefighters are injured on firegrounds. How some of those accidents can be avoided is the topic this week with Prescott Fire Battalion Chief Scott Luedeman.

Central Arizona Fire & Medical Authority EMS Captain Doug Niemynski describes what his job entails and talks about what emergency medical training helps prospective firefighters get hired.

Just 4 percent of Phoenix (Ariz) firefighters are women, and the department is actively recruiting more female firefighters. Capt. Reda Bigler discuss how and why they're doing that. **Don't forget to get our new Code 3 app. It's available for Android phones right now. Get it at the Google Play store or at our website, Code3Podcast.com

Mesa (Ariz) Fire & Medical Department Chief Mary Cameli is facing the same budget problems as most department are having these days, but she's overcoming them with some new ideas, proving once again that necessity is, indeed, the mother of invention. ***Don't forget to check out our show notes at Code3Podcast.com AND download the free Code 3 app from the Google Play store!

Should fire departments continues to handle EMS calls? Or should private ambulance companies take it over? Would it save cities money do to that? Join Scott as he discusses the realities of the situation with Prescott, Ariz Fire Chief Dennis Light and Central Arizona Fire & Medical Authority Chief Scott Freitag. ***For more on paramedic history go to http://www.Code3Podcast.com

As we commemorate the fourth anniversary of the LODD of 19 of the 20 members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew, we talk with the man in the middle of the events in June and July 2013: Former Prescott Fire Chief Dan Fraijo. He speaks frankly about the behind-the-scenes aftermath of the worst firefighter LODD since Sept. 11, 2001.

Today's firefighters need a college education. Once upon a time, a man went to the academy, and jumped on the engine and learned on the job. Engineer Eric Merrill explains how and why that's changed.

Firefighting in the old days was wild and sometime,s violent, as competing fire companies tried to be the first to respond. Money was on the line, and these guys wanted the money. Prescott firefighter Conrad Jackson wrote a book about his department's history a couple of years back, and he's now the go-to source for info about the state of Arizona's oldest department.

Don't forget to check out our website - Code3Podcast.com - for more details on each episode. And please give this podcast a 5-star review wherever you get your podcasts. It helps others find us.
You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter!

It's getting tougher to recruit volunteer firefighters these days, and Chief Robert Rielage says it might be because people don't even realize they're served by volunteer departments. On this episode of Code 3, he talks about ways to recruit and retain an unpaid force.

Lots of kids wanted to be a firefighter when they grew up, and then became one.
Not Nathan Green. He decided in college to give it a try and then knew it was the career for him.
Scott talks with Nathan this week and finds out why he joined the fire service.

Mayer Fire Capt. Tom Haney discusses how his department deals with EMS responses, when having two runs at the same time can mean he responds to EMS calls alone.

Central Arizona Fire's Jeremiah King talks Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in firefighters, his role in an Honor Guard, and why he likes being married to a firefighter, even though she's on a different shift schedule.

Our current 911 system is built on the backbone of 1960s technology, and it's going to have to be re-built from the ground up. Communications consultant Barry Furey talks about what that means to first responders and their communities.

Joe Woyjeck, VP of the LA County Fire Museum and father of fallen Granite Mountain Hotshot Kevin Woyjeck, talks about why he feels it's important for the museum to win the bid for the Hotshots' vehicles, known as buggies, in a City of Prescott auction.

Chief Gary Ludwig of the Champaign, Illinois fire department, discusses the realities of providing EMS in the 21st century.

Remember when you were a probie? Whether you loved it or couldn't wait for your year to be up, no one ever forgets it. This week, we talk with two women in the first year on the job and find out what they think so far.

Does your agency hold a "civilian academy?" You might want to consider it. Central Arizona Fire & Medical Authority Capt. Brian Burch explains how and why they do theirs as an annual event.

Chief Scott Freitag discussed what it took to create Arizona's first Fire Authority and why; how he deals with staffing below NFPA standards while still responding to all-hazards; and why he's looking at smaller fire engines in the future.

Captain Kevin Keith is a 17-year veteran of the Prescott Fire Dept. He's technical rescue and hazmat qualified, and that's good, because one day on the job at his station can include a structure fire, a hazmat situation, a rope-rescue assignment in the mountains, a motor vehicle crash, and a full code patient.

Eric Kriwer is a 30-year veteran of the fire service, who has held just about every fire-related job you can have. He worked at the small Mayer Fire District a decade ago, move on, and now he's back to lead the operation. His group has some of the same problems to deal with as a larger agency, plus a few unique ones.

In our premiere episode,we talk with Chief Dennis Light, who took over the Prescott, Arizona Fire Department less than a year after 19 city firefighters, members of the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew, were killed fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire. Light's dealt with other problems, such as the state's firefighter pension fund, which is in trouble.