Code 3 - The Firefighters' Podcast

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.