Code 3 - The Firefighters' Podcast

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

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.