5-Alarm Task Force!
205 episodes - English - Latest episode: 18 days ago - ★★★★ - 20 ratingsNews and Issues For Today's First Responders. We provide some of the top mentors, leaders and members of the Fire Service from the U.S. and Canada.
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Episodes
Episode 179: Episode 6–9 – Battalion Chief Jacob Johnson – “DO YOUR DAMN JOB!”
November 18, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 97.5 MBWe are so pleased to have B.C. Jacob Johnson back on “5-Alarm Task Force!” Chief Johnson has taught his class, “Do Your Damn Job!” at local, state, and regional conferences. His message is crystal clear, “It is the responsibility of experienced firefighters to mentor the new recruits coming in!” It does not mean that you didn’t clean the pumper well or you have to pick-up papers on the day-room floor. It means YOU need to be both a learner and a teacher! The Chief shares his own...
Episode 178: Episode 6–8 – Fire Commissioner Jared Renshaw – “Answering the Call Inside City Hall” + Drone Rescue
November 11, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 103 MBIn our first segment, Fire Commissioner Jared Renshaw of the Western Berks Fire Department in PA, explain the news that recent broke that his department used their new drone with a TIC (thermal imaging camera) in a rescue. An elderly patient with dementia had wandered away from his care house, and into a huge corn field. While first responders on the ground searched with ATV’s, dogs and even volunteers on horses, it was a difficult search. However, using their newly acquired drone w...
Episode 177: Episode 6–7 – Ms. Tonya Herbert – Responder Wipes
November 04, 2021 00:00 - 39 minutes - 25.6 MBIn the past eight years or so, we have learned some difficult lessons regarding the link of cancer in the fire service. At first, many just shrugged off the connection or they looked at it as simply, “part of the job!” Yet, nothing could be further from the truth! My guest on this episode is Tonya Herbert, the Owner/President of Responder Wipes® and Florida PPE Services, a certified ISP. Tonya shares with us how her life journey led her from her work in an architectural firm to ...
Episode 176: Episode 6–6 – Steve Greene – “My Story” - When You Can No Longer Be a Firefighter
October 28, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 90.3 MBWhat happens to a firefighter who cannot be a firefighter any longer? What happens to that firefighter when an injury or illness ends his/her firefighting career? I know because it happened to me! In this special episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” I share my personal experience of how an unnecessary accident wound up costing me my career as a volunteer firefighter, after only eight years. We who choose the fire service feel a calling to do so. And when we’re in, learning, doing, le...
Episode 175: Episode 6–5 - The Wingspread VII Panel
October 21, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 66.3 MBThe Wingspread conferences began in the 1960’s. It brought members of the fire service and affiliated agencies together at the Johnson Foundation Wingspread Conference Center in Racine WI. At that point, through Wingspread VI in 2016, the conference was held every ten years. However, with the pandemic and other key professional, cultural, and societal changes occurring, the leadership decided that the industry (and therefore, the public) would be best served by the conference taking...
Episode 174: Episode 6–4 – FF/PM Jim Burneka – Firefighter Cancer
October 14, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 103 MBIf you are a member of the fire service, you should be aware of the toll cancer has taken on members from every area of “the job,” career, volunteer, part-pay and WUI. It wasn’t so long ago, that many of us attributed cancer losses to our brothers and sisters who worked the pile after 9|11. Sadly, that was not the case. Though the number of working fire years per year (for most non-urban departments) were down, WHAT was burning had evolved. No longer was furniture and its covering m...
Episode 173: Episode 6–3 – Capt. John Lovato, Jr. – Brotherhood Coaching
October 07, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 75.2 MBWhat makes a team? Its members? Its leader? Its tasks? To be honest, it is all of those and more. It takes training, learning, training some more, learning more and of course, the leader and members sharing their knowledge. Capt. John Lovato Jr., has been a firefighter in southwest Florida since 2003, with the City of Ft. Myers Fire Dept. A third-generation firefighter, he started in the suburbs of Chicago; no easy place to learn to be a firefighter! As he learned his craft, he ro...
Episode 172: Episode 6 – 2 – Lt. Chris Kessinger – Citizens First Fire Training
August 25, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 96.2 MBChris Kessinger is a career Lieutenant with the City of Riverside Fire Dept. in OH. He has been in the fire service for seventeen years. Chris believes every firefighter must be a lifelong student of the craft and love this blue-collar job! Chirs serves as the lead instructor and owner of Citizens First Fire Training, in addition to his roles as training officer and instructor for numerous schools, training facilities and departments. In addition, he is also a member of the Central...
Episode 171: SEASON 6 PREMIERE - Episode 6 -1 -Todd Leduc – Lifescan Wellness Centers
August 18, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 87.2 MBAs First Responders, we face many challenges and risks. Many of them can be seen and avoided, some are just fate and others, well…we may just not know about…yet! So, what do we do? That’s where Lifescan Wellness Centers enter the picture. My guest is longtime friend and Chief Strategy Officer of Lifescan Wellness Centers and, Executive Assistant Chief (ret) Todd LeDuc. In his Chief’s position, he was charged with managing the health and wellness of an 800-member fire service. A...
Episode 170: Episode 5-28 – Chief Paul V. Jockimo – “Peer Support/CISM”
June 29, 2021 00:00 - 2 hours - 129 MB“We’re firefighters!” “We’re cops!” “We’re EMS!” These are the three main branches of Public Safety. And often times when the public sees or hears about us, they “think” we wear capes! However, nothing could be further from the truth. No, we don’t worry about kryptonite, the Joker or “Dr. Evil.” But we do care about you…sometimes more than we do ourselves. As First Responders, we are well aware of the dangers, tragedy, and horror we often face. Yet, these experiences do not make u...
Episode 169: Episode 5-26 – Andi Clark – “First Responder Burnout”
May 27, 2021 00:00 - 2 hours - 99.7 MBAndi Clark is known online as The Elite Trainer for Police and First Responders and creator of her signature program 911 Elite Performance. She’s the wife of a Police Officer and an expert in peak performance and how stress physically affects your body. She is renowned for her ability to reverse and prevent burnout in First Responders, then help them regain their athletic conditioning, so they can thrive throughout their entire career—online and offline—as well as her refreshingly r...
Episode 168: Episode 5-25 – Battalion Chief Jacob Johnson – “Mentoring” – Part 2
May 23, 2021 00:00 - 2 hours - 101 MBI am pleased to welcome back, Battalion Chief Jacob Johnson as we continue discuss his passion in the fire service: mentoring. Chief Johnson recently had an article on this topic published in FIREHOUSE® Magazine. If you have not listened to Part 1 of our interview in Episode 5-20 of “5-Alarm Task Force,” Chief Johnson explained that even though he himself had been mentored at age 15, when he began his firefighting career as a 15-year-old in Katy TX, when he was promoted to Lieutena...
Episode 167: Episode 5-24– Chief Bruce Varner & Chief Dennis Rubin – WINGSPREAD VII
May 19, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 79.7 MBIn 1966, top leaders and instructors in the American Fire Service gathered for the Wingspread I conference. Their focus was not to look at what the fire had done in the past, but to look forward to the changes and challenges that faced them in the future. At that first meeting, it was decided to hold the conference once every 10 years. And until now, this conference was indeed held every decade, the most recent being in 2016. However, at that conference, the idea was raised of changi...
Episode 166: Episode 5-23 – Chief John Vance – Command Training & “All or Nothing” Strategy & Tactics
May 15, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 72 MBChief John Vance had been Chief of the Minnetonka MN Fire Dept. since 2013. However, many of us know the Chief from the website, www.bshifter.com, where along with Nick and John Brunacini, they carry on the message of one of the greats of our time, the late Chief Alan Brunacini. As a student of “Chief Bruno,” Chief Vance leads by the mantra, “Be Safe, Be Effective and Be Nice!” Chief Vance has been a BLUE Card Lead Instructor since its inception in 2008. The course provides strong c...
Episode 165: Episode 5-22 – Chief (ret) Dan Jones & Kelly Walsh – Book Release – “Facing the Fire”
April 29, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 93.2 MBChief (ret) Dan Jones and business partner, Kelly Walsh are not newcomers to “5-Alarm Task Force.” But this time they return to announce the release of their new book, “Facing the Fire – Stories to Ignite Leadership Excellence.” (There is a special availability on Amazon – for 3 days, starting 4/28/2021, download the digital copy for just $.99!) This book is based on their more than five years of teaching and coaching members of the fire service who are interested in leadership posit...
Episode 164: Episode 5-21 – Chief Gary Ludwig – Firefighter Health & Leadership
April 26, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 77.3 MBOne of the great leaders of today’s fire service is Chief Gary Ludwig, of the Champagne IL Fire Dept., and immediate Past-President of the IAFC. When he took office, he created a strong, international, promotion for firefighter health and wellness. Part of that promotion is his, “If you don’t feel well, DON’T make it your Farewell,” PSA. Chief Ludwig began his career and the age of 18 with the City of St. Louis Fire Dept. and served for 25 years, retiring as Chief Paramedic. Subseq...
Episode 163: Episode 5-20 – Batt. Chief Jacob Johnson – Mentoring in the Fire Service
April 12, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 79.7 MBVery few people have ever joined the fire service and knew everything they needed to know on his/her first day! Sure, many came from a lineage of firefighters in the family and had a general idea of what goes on. However, on your first day that you show up to start, whether at an academy or at a station, you’re as fresh and innocent as a newborn! And even if you attend an academy, there is no way that you can be taught everything today’s firefighter needs to know! So, how do we fill ...
Episode 162: Episode 5-19 – Capt. Jim Moss – The Firefighter Success Book
March 16, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 65.2 MBIf you ARE a firefighter, career, volunteer, wild land or, if you aspire to be a firefighter, my guest has some excellent reading for you! Capt. Jim Moss has recently published, “The Firefighter Success Book,” (www.firefightersuccessbook.com). Besides his career as a firefighter and officer, Capt. Moss has also been a partner, along with Chief Dan Kerrigan, on books, lectures and presentations on firefighter fitness. With this book though, he has gathered phrases, memes and stories ...
Episode 161: Episode 5-18 – Peter Matthews – Editor-in-Chief & Conference Director - FIREHOUSE
March 08, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 156 MBIf you have been a firefighter from around 1977 until today, you have heard of, seen and or read, FIREHOUSE® Magazine. Moreover, you have probably seen or even attended, FIREHOUSE® EXPO or WORLD conferences. Founded in 1976 by FDNY Firefighter Dennis Smith, it quickly became a staple in many firehouses around the country and yes, even beyond. It took us right on the streets and roads of America, as we read the stories about incidents, learned new methods and tactics, and sage advic...
Episode 160: Episode 5-17 – Capt. Sean Mitchell - IAFF Resolution Against PPE Manufacturers
February 19, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 87.8 MBBrothers and Sisters of the Fire Service – Be you career, volunteer, paid-on-call and wildland: THIS IS THE GEAR WE WEAR TO PROTECT US WHEN WE ARE NEEDED TO ANSWER THE CALL! Until just a few years ago, we thought that, as long as we followed the Gross Decon procedures, shared throughout the fire service, we would remain relatively safe. And what happened several years ago to change that way of thinking? Our Brother from Massachusetts who, just after being promoted to Lieutenant, was...
Episode 159: Episode 5-16 – Part III - Gamaliel Baer, EdD. – Behavioral Change & Org. Leadership
February 17, 2021 00:00 - 2 hours - 108 MBIt is our pleasure to welcome back, Gamaliel Baer, EdD., to “5-Alarm Task Force,” as we continue the discussion, we began in Episodes 5-12 and 5-14. Dr. Baer’s dissertation dealt with overall health and wellness of the fire service today and, into tomorrow. In our current episode, “G,” as he is called, discusses the behavioral changes necessary for positive leadership, both from the leader and for the members. We also focus on organizational leadership and how a good leader must aff...
Episode 158: Episode 5-15 – Chief Charles Werner – New Technology in Public Safety
February 09, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 77.3 MBIt is our pleasure to welcome back Chief (ret) Charles Werner, the Executive Director of Drone Responders – The Public Safety Alliance. With nearly 40 years’ experience in the fire service, Chief Werner has always been interested, not only in new technology, but how it can and does benefit the Fire Service and other branches of Public Safety. In this episode, Chief Werner discusses the unimagined growth of Drone Responders, as well as the use of drones in all branches of Public Sa...
Episode 157: Episode 5-14 – Part II - Gamaliel Baer, E.D. – Resilience & Leadership
January 25, 2021 00:00 - 1 hour - 88.4 MBIt is our pleasure to welcome back, Gamaliel Baer, E.D., to “5-Alarm Task Force,” as we continue the discussion, we began in Episode 5-12. Dr. Baer’s dissertation dealt with overall health and wellness of the fire service today and, into tomorrow. In our current episode, “G,” as he is called, defines for us, the most important definitions and applications of resilience and leadership. And while these two terms can be used in numerous industries, our discussion takes us deep into the...
Episode 156: Episode 5-13 - Steve Hirsch, Chair - NVFC
January 12, 2021 00:00 - 2 hours - 117 MBEpisode 5-13 – Steve Hirsch, Chairperson, NVFC There are approximately 1.2 million men and women who are firefighters in the United States. Of that number nearly 70% are volunteers and 85% of the U.S. fire departments are all or mostly volunteer., according to the NFPA as of 2017-2018. With those numbers (which were even higher back in the mid-to-late 1970’s), a national organization was created to help those departments and their members, was needed. And in 1976, the National Volunt...
Episode 155: Episode 5-12 – Gamaliel Baer, EdD, “Bringing Wellness & Resilience to the Fire Service
December 21, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 81.6 MBIn this episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” my guest is Gamaliel Baer, EdD, MSM, CTO. He is also an intelligence Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard. His dissertation from University of Southern California focused on Organizational Change and Leadership. He has also been a firefighter since 2008. His education and experience lead us to discuss several issues facing the fire service, including organizational development to create a sustainable health and wellness program; how does the fire...
Episode 154: Episode 5-11 – Todd LeDuc – Lifescan Wellness Centers
December 14, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 80.3 MBFirefighter health, wellness and fitness-for-duty – you have often heard us address these topics because they define our abilities as firefighters. If you do not take care of yourself, how do you expect to be able to care for others? Our guest on this podcast, is my friend, Todd Leduc, Chief Strategy Officer of Lifescan Wellness Centers. And FYI, before Todd joined the Lifescan team, he served for thirty years with Broward County Fire – Rescue, attaining the rank of Executive Assista...
Episode 5-10, Chief Dan Kerrigan & Capt. Jim Moss
November 14, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 77 MBFirefighter health, wellness and fitness-for-duty – you have often heard us address these topics because they define our abilities as firefighters. If you do not take care of yourself, how do you expect to be able to care for others? Our returning guests, Chief Dan Kerrigan and Capt. Jim Moss, have dedicated themselves to teaching just how important these topics are, not just by learning about them, but by embracing their values and making these values part of your life. If you want...
Special Episode to Introduce F.R.E.T. - Fire, Rescue & EMS Today
November 09, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 69.3 MBThere have been any number of changes here at the “5-Alarm Task Force” podcast since we started in Fall of 2016. Our guest list is amazing, we have recorded over 150 episodes, we are on every major (and numerous, “minor”) podcast platforms and we have listeners in over 40 countries and, we moved to the Zoom platform! You might think we have attained all our goals. Nope! If you are a regular listener, you know that we recently added a new monthly installment of the series, “Make Due....
"Make Due!" With Chief Curt Isakson & Chief Shannon Stone
November 02, 2020 00:00 - 2 hours - 105 MBFrom its inception, our “Make Due” segments have focused on the fact that out of approximately 1.2 million firefighters in the U.S., approximately 80% of us are firefighters in suburban and/or rural areas. Unlike most cities, we do not roll-out on a call with two, three or even, four pieces of apparatus, each fully staffed! We are often lucky to have two or three personnel on that first apparatus that leaves the station. And too often, once on scene, that limited crew must “make due!...
Episode 5-8 - Dr Burton A. Clark, EFO - How to Lead the Fire Service in the Next 50 Years
October 23, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 73 MB*From the newest cadet to the 30-year firefighter, we have all become part of the “fire culture.” We enjoy hearing stories from the senior folk and cannot help but to juxtapose those stories to this fire service in 2020. Lots of changes and adaptations have occurred. For some we know the reason and for others, we have no idea. Most of those changes came about through the first person who thought about them. They shared that idea with others and, sometimes soon and sometimes much late...
The Fight Against PFAS/PFOS in the Fire Service & Beyond
October 19, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 79.8 MBWe fight fire, we fight HAZMAT, we rescue the ill and injured. And we don’t think twice about doing so. This is who we are and what we do. However, imagine that your enemy is unseen, yet deadly. You have no way to protect yourself, not your gear, or SCBA! What do you do? That is part of question raised by attorney Robert Bilott. If you saw the recent movie, “Dark Waters,” actor Mark Ruffalo portrayed Mr. Bilott and you saw how this attorney filed a multi-million lawsuit against a ma...
Episode 5-6 – Aaron Zamzow – Firefighter Health & Fitness-for-Duty
October 08, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 135 MBOK, let’s be honest. For many, this pandemic with lockdowns, quarantines, etc., gave folks a lot of home time. Sitting around, binge-watching on cable or satellite and eating. I don’t mean three squares a day, I’m talking about potato chips, tacos, ribs, candies, etc. You probably just stopped reading and dropped your chin on your chest! “How does HE know what I did?” you ask yourself. How? Because many of us did it and it is basic human nature. Fear not – for our good friend from F...
Do You Know C.L.U.E.S. for Your TIC??
October 01, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 86 MBWelcome our monthly installment of “MAKE DUE,” with Capt. Nick Peppard, Sean Duffy and our guest, Capt. Joe DeVito. In this episode, Capt. DeVito, with twenty years’ experience and, who has become an excellent instructor in the use of thermal imaging cameras (TIC’s), makes a strong point that TIC’s are not just for overhaul. As a matter of fact, your TIC is an invaluable tool for your size-up! Capt. DeVito begins with a quick review of the key terminology regarding different TIC ter...
Behavioral Health in Fire & EMS
September 17, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 89.5 MBWhen the average person thinks about firefighters, paramedics and EMTS, the adjectives that often come to mind include, brave, caring, compassionate, putting others’ needs first, etc. The words they often do not think of include, depressed, anxious, upset, confused and more. Why? While most of us love our jobs and helping others when it is most needed, that “love” does not include the pain, trauma, tragedy and more, that we often see. My guest today is Jeff Dill, a former firefigh...
What's Hiding in Our Bunker Gear!?!
September 10, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 81.7 MBSadly, the word, “cancer,” is all too common in today’s fire service. Sure, we have made some bold strides in both educating our members and providing tools and funding in many cases, to mitigate our exposure to carcinogenic compounds. However, there was one place we never thought to look for it, if it were not for a former Worcester MA firefighter and his wife. That location? The very bunker gear we wear to protect us from this crap! “Miss D” sent a letter to a nuclear scientist at...
The How & Why of Leadership + ??
August 29, 2020 00:00 - 2 hours - 113 MBIt is the “buzz-word” of the fire service today - “Leadership.” With about 1.2 million firefighters in the U.S., there are probably about 1.2 million definitions of fire service leadership! In this second podcast of our fifth season, I am joined by a well-educated and well-trained leader in the fire service, Lt. Jason Liska, aka “The Can Man,” who is also a dear friend and colleague, in more than just the fire service! Jason is often found instructing at both the Florida State Fire ...
We Kick-Off a new Season & a New Monthly Feature - "Make Due"
August 13, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 90 MBHere is a fact – approximately eighty percent (80%) of America’s firefighters serve in suburban departments! Sure, they might work in “cities,” but when we think about urban firefighting, we think of FDNY, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and many more. But most of us are not in cities that large. We may be close to one, but it still means we are suburban firefighters. Sure, we have mixed usage, i.e., residential, industrial, commercial, etc. You may even have a high-rise or two or three...
Chief John Salka & Chief Rick Lasky
July 06, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 62.1 MBOne of the most lasting discussions in the fire service, at least since I started in 1977, are those about leadership and mentoring. No matter your generation or your background, when we joined up we were all “rookies,” “probies,” “newbies,” or any other name you wish to attribute to the newest member in your “house.” However, to achieve that sought-after goal of “riding the rig,” we had to learn to be firefighters. My guests on this episode are Chief (ret) John Salka and Chief (re...
Who Knew? This Doctor Did!
June 22, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 93.4 MBWhen most of us first heard about the coronavirus, we probably thought that is was a problem for the Chinese to solve. That opinion held until we saw it begin to spread throughout East Asia and Europe. But who thought it could “swim” across the Atlantic or Pacific to reach our shores? My guest on this episode of “5-Alarm Task Force” one of those who did! Dr. James Augustine has served as the Medical Director for numerous fire, and EMD agencies in the Eastern U.S. From Atlanta GA to ...
2020 Safety Stand Down - Safety at Roadway Emergencies
June 15, 2020 00:00 - 28 minutes - 106 MB“DAMN!!! That was fricfkin’ close!” you exclaim, as you are standing next to your Heavy Rescue on a busy, four-lane road. Your engine and ladder helped setup a “blocking” safety to lane to allow you to work on an extrication. But that semi that just passed you ran over half your orange cones! This week, June 14-20 is the annual, joint, IAFC –- NVFC Safety Stand Down. During this week, fire and EMS departments are encouraged to suspend non-emergency activity to focus on the topic. An...
Finding the Work/Life Balance
June 03, 2020 00:00 - 2 hours - 108 MBWe try to do IT. No matter our vocation or avocation, most of us try to do IT! OK, so what is, “IT?” Well, look at it this way – people have jobs, from first responders to cement works, from pool installers to meat cutters, from first responders to bank presidents, and from teachers to neurosurgeons, we all try to find some way to juggle our professional lives with our persona lives. Sometimes we meet with success and other times, we fail miserably. This is where my guest comes in –...
Crisis Management
May 18, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 70.1 MBIf you are older than 18-20, you probably have had to deal with some form of crisis; be it very small one like a broken shoelace when dressing for a special occasion, someone close to you was ill or a major job interview was lost due to a technicality. None of us is immune to the concept of crisis, however, we are often defined by how we manage that crisis! My guests on this episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” are Chief (ret) Dan Jones and his business partner, Kelly Walsh. Together, t...
Is There More 5-Alarm Task Force to Come?
April 27, 2020 00:00 - 4 minutes - 5.51 MBThis weekend (4/24-26/2020)the entire Windows Library folder entitled, "MUSIC" was lost in an unauthorized transfer that Windows performed during a reboot to its OveDrive cloud platform. All the files built up over the nearly 4 years of the show were lost. Will I or can I recover from such a loss is yet to be determined. Until next time, Stay Safe, Stay Well and remember to take of each other.
Episode 4-22-Anthony Mangeri - Staying Safe Amid Coronavirus
April 13, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 83.9 MBFor well over a month, our lives and the lives of millions of people across six of the seven continents, have been turned upside down. The loss of life has been like nothing that has been seen since 1918! And the interruptions to our lives, from home quarantines, online schooling for our children, a ridiculous run on toilet paper, etc. My guest on this podcast is Anthony Mangeri, a certified Public Manager, volunteer firefighter/EMT and he has many years’ experience in public healt...
Keeping First Responders Safe Amidst the Coronavirus
March 27, 2020 00:00 - 1 hour - 54.3 MBIt is all over the news! It has invaded our lives and everything we do! It is the Coronavirus. For well over a month, it has changed our entire perspective into our daily lives; what we do, where we go and who we can and cannot see. No one is more affected by this pandemic than our first responders, from our amazing dispatchers, to our firefighters, LEO’s, paramedics/EMT’s, doctors, nurses, road rangers and recovery operators. This podcast is for all you. My guest, Todd LeDuc has be...
The Prometheus Paradox - The American Fire Culture
March 23, 2020 00:00 - 2 hours - 99.2 MBOK, so we realize that going into the fire service, no matter if it’s career, volunteer, part-pay, wildland, etc., that it can be a dangerous job…very dangerous! And yes, most of us will put our lives on the line to save someone else that, for the most part, is a total stranger! We do so out of our deep commitment to our job. My guest, Dr. Burton A. Clark, EFO wrote a very interesting book, “I Can’t Save You, But I’ll Die Trying: The American Fire Culture.” In it and in this podcas...
Chief Dennis Rubin – Key Current Topics in the Fire Service
February 24, 2020 00:00 - 2 hours - 137 MBEven with all the electronic media at our hands, we often want ourselves to be “spoon-fed” news the way we want to hear it, as opposed to the actual content. When we allow ourselves to hear all the details, we can better understand the topics and discussion around them. This is especially true in the fire service. Though most of the time, when the fire service is in the news, it is usually good news. Yet, we do find ourselves on the “naughty” list at times, too. My guest on this po...
Episode 4-18 - Capt Nick Peppard - Firehouse Culture: Ideas over Egos
February 20, 2020 00:00 - 2 hours - 150 MBWhen we’re on the fireground or other emergency scene, most of the time we work as a great team. We know what to do, how to do it and what to do when we’re done. Sure, from time-to-time we may wonder about a particular task we’ve been assigned, but for the most part, it’s smooth running. However, back in the firehouse, it’s often a different story. Each firefighter is encouraged to ask questions, bring up new topics and propose new ideas. Too often though, a newer or less-experienced...
Boost Morale by Letting FF's do FF's Things!
February 13, 2020 00:00 - 37 minutes - 97.8 MBIn any organization, morale is one of the most important facets of the group, whether they are volunteers at a religious facility, workers in a mill, or the staff of a huge law firm encompassing an entire floor of a high-rise. Yet, it plays an even more important role for a cadre of first responders, especially, the fire service. Most of us have seen a fire department, maybe our own or a neighboring, where morale is low. While vigorously trained to fight structure fires and perform...
Chief Don Abbott - MAYDAY! MAYDAY!
February 03, 2020 00:00 - 2 hours - 152 MBEvery first responder must remember that any and every emergency scene remains fluid. No matter how hard we practice, review, prepare, etc., there is always an “unknown” factor that can, and often does, come into play. For the fire service, when that happens, we call a “MAYDAY!” Nevertheless, when we do, the scene often devolves into chaos. My guest on this episode is retired Chief Don Abbott. Chief Abbott runs the ProjectMayday.net website and, along with his group of various profe...