Peter Matthews talks with Andy Starnes about the importance of each person having a personal board of directors who they can reach out to and seek advice from throughout their lives. Starnes stresses why this board is just as important for decisions within the fire service as it is at home and with your family.

While Starnes is known around the world for his efforts to educate firefighters on thermal imaging, this episode focuses on the human side of the firefighter and ensuring members make the right decisions, influenced by trusted friends and advisors. Starnes shares where the concept of the board came from, how to seek out the people you want on your board and how the two-way relationship works.

Listen for advice on how to be a better friend, colleague, firefighter and family member and for tips on how to pull through the tough times.

Resources

• Insight Training, LLC
• Kill the Flashover
• The Traveler’s Gift
• Station Design Conference
• FireFusion

Peter Matthews talks with Mike Wisko, the Agency Chief of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP) about their role in ensuring firefighter training and equipment and member safety throughout the state’s career fire departments.

The two talk about the annual TCFP Firefighter Injury Reports that are mandated training in the state, and some of the trends TCFP has found, including an overall reduction in fireground injuries but an increase in firefighters being burned, plus injuries at the fire that are on the rise.

Wisko discusses their policies on PPE and what the impact on non-compliant equipment is on the firefighters and their families. He also shares how the state ensures mandatory training is taking place and the process in which they determine the baseline for annual CE training, plus the at look at the future of the TCFP.

Resources

• Texas Commission on Fire Protection
• TCFP Annual Injury Reports

Peter Matthews talks with Jake Ryks, a St. Paul, MN, firefighter who was just named Minnesota’s Firefighter of the Year, along with Mason Conlin, for their efforts to rescue seven people from an early morning house fire. Ryks credits ongoing training and the desire to know your job with the herculean rescue and medical treatment efforts by firefighters at the Jan. 3, 2024 house fire.

Ryks, who was working in another company that shift, takes you step-by-step through the response, arrival and rescue efforts by St. Paul firefighters and explains why continued training played a pivotal role in decision-making that morning.

He also talks about becoming a trainer on hazardous materials, his work with The Haz Mat Guys and his new podcast launch, Hazard Class, in which he talks with firefighters on a variety of topics.

Resources

The Haz Mat Guys Hazard Class Podcast

All Things Hazard Class

‘Can’t thank you enough’: St. Paul firefighters who saved kids from house fire receive awards

‘Humbling beyond words’: St. Paul firefighters open up about fire

This Month in Fire History – December

Peter Matthews talks with Victor Stagnaro talks about taking over the CEO role at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), which he assumed last year, after more than two decades of having Ron Siarnicki create and lead the organization tapped to honor America’s fallen firefighters while taking care of their survivors.

Stagnaro highlights several of the programs that NFFF offers, including the annual Fallen Firefighter Memorial Weekend, training programs aimed to prevent firefighter deaths, injuries and provide mental health support while offering peer-to-peer support for LODD incidents. For the families of those who have died, and their organizations, Stagnaro looks at the memorable and meaning impacts they have on survivors.

They discuss what the NFFF is working on today, what to expect from the 20th anniversary of the Firefighter Life Safety Summit and how firefighters can get involved with them. Whether it’s supporting or organizing a stair climb, attending training or working at the annual memorial weekend, Stagnaro shares how each level of involvement humbles firefighters.

Resources

• National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
• Fire Hero Learning Network
• Ways to Help
• First Responder Center for Excellence
• NFFF YouTube
• NFFF 9/11 Memorial Stair Climbs
• Local Assistance State Team
• Memorial Weekend
• Giving Tuesday

Peter Matthews talks with Scott Richardson about how he manages the special operations and line support teams for South Metro Fire Rescue, which covers over 300 square miles of diverse terrain in Colorado with myriad of unique response scenarios. Under Richardson’s command is the department’s technical rescue resources, wildland and ARFF crews, dispatch and apparatus and equipment maintenance teams.

Richardson explains how each group ensures they have a dedicated command and training staff so each discipline is trained to handle a scenario that they may be called to, including the many disciplines of technical rescue. He talks about the budgets process, as well as ensuring each group had the equipment they need to respond.

When it comes to command technical rescue incidents, Richardson shares his perspectives on the unique challenges of these changing incidents and how they not only respond to fire and rescue emergencies but coordinate with law enforcement and other agencies to ensure life safety.

Resources

South Metro Fire Rescue website

South Metro Fire Rescue YouTube

Peter Matthews talks with Daniel DeYear, a recently retired deputy chief from Dallas Fire-Rescue, about his work involving LODD investigations in Texas and how it relates to the often contentious discussions on firefighter safety and fire service culture.

DeYear outlines a 144-day period in which his team investigated nearly 20 firefighter deaths – all from fireground operations – including the West, TX, explosion and Houston’s Southwest Inn fire. During his career in Dallas, he lost almost two dozen colleagues in the line of duty, including his rookie school partner and one of his academy instructors, all of which has led DeYear to connect the dots and champion efforts to ensure those patterns are reduced.

DeYear discusses why firefighters tend to focus on being aggressive on the fireground, without being aggressive with education and knowledge building to lead you to make the right decisions.

Resources

• Hidden Dangers, Hidden Secrets

• Daniel DeYear’s Firehouse bio and contributions

• ChiefDeYear.com

• Connect with Daniel DeYear on LinkedIn

• FireFusion

• Station Design Conference

Peter Matthews talks with Gilt Edge, TN, Fire Chief Brandon Fletcher about the challenges facing today’s volunteer fire service, plus an innovative program to help retain existing members.

Fletcher outlines some of the top factors that are impacting the rolls and operations of departments today, including a dive into volunteer-focused leadership, politics and personalities and how to keep members engaged, whether on calls or training. He digs into several challenges that he’s seen firsthand and has learned from others. He goes on to share a program he implemented that allows for grant funding to bring members to national training conferences that not only improves their knowledge and networking but serves as a reward for their dedication to the department.

Fletcher also talks about his experiences as a family escort for the annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend in Emmitsburg, MD. He has had the honor of escorting the families of the fallen throughout the memorial weekend events for three years, and he explains how that has impacted him as a fire chief, ensuring that his members do all they can to stay safe.

Resources

• Volunteer View: Alternative Funding Sources to Enhance Department Operations

• Volunteer View: Retention Through Leadership

• Brandon Fletcher’s Firehouse contributor page

• Connect with Brandon Fletcher on LinkedIn

• FireFusion

• Station Design Conference

• National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend

Peter Matthews talks with Daniel Byrne, Laura Konor and Ben Shearer about new approaches to Community Risk Reduction (CRR) and fire prevention in 2024, and what has changed with public outreach since COVID-19. Byrne is an assistant chief with the Burton, SC, Fire District, Kondor is fire safety coordinator for the North Charleston, SC, Fire Department and Shearer is community risk reduction specialist with the Pasco, WA, Fire Department.

They discuss how COVID-19 impacted the fire service’s reach in-person reach, whether through in-school visits, open houses, or community events and how that created a shift to digital learning. Since then, some departments have had more requests than ever from the community, forcing them to select the groups they meet with to talk about life safety.

The group shares advice for Fire Prevention Week success and year-round outreach concept that help fire departments connect with their communities at multiple levels. The three talk about how they have partnered with organizations and used fire department data to target education to certain groups, and close out the show with CRR wins and losses from their views.

Ben Shearer

Laura Kondor

Daniel Byrne

Resources

Fire Prevention Week