CHATS WITH FIREFIGHTERS

In this powerful episode of Chats with Firefighters , Craig, a former Fire Captain from Kansas, shares his deeply personal story of service, struggle, and recovery. He opens up about the challenges he faced throughout his fire service career and how seeking help at the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Center of Excellence transformed his life. By sharing his journey, Craig hopes t...

What a pleasure to chat with former Arizona fire chief, Scott Freitag! Even after an unexpected twist near the end of his career, Scott looks back on a long and successful journey to fire chief with pride, and shares the life motto that keeps him going: “Never give up.” Join us for a really interesting conversation!

Chat with Eric Ackerman, Battalion Chief in Murrieta, California. Second generation professional firefighter, Eric shares with us about his fascinating and successful journey promoting through the ranks: a courageous path that guided him to be the leader he is today, as a Battalion Chief. A dedicated father and husband, he's been managing a great balance between his career and his family time. Tod...

Kim Hood, Fire Captain in Ohio, is our first female firefighter guest. Kim is a very accomplished fire captain, with a fascinating backgound, a mix of bodybuilding and teaching young children- every journey is unique! And we loved sharing with Kim about hers. Despite a really busy agenda, she manages to have time for scuba diving and traveling as often as possible with her motorcycling club, the A...

David Hall, retired fire chief from Springfield, Missouri, sharing about his journey into the fire service, his accomplishments, its challenges, and his life then and now, as a very busy retired firefighter, still working full time as a director of facilities management in Missouri State University, with 7 grandchildren, and still finding the time for many more passions. We loved chatting with Dav...

In our very first episode of Chats with Firefighters: The Men and Women Behind the Helmet , we sit down with Jeff, a fire captain in California, for an honest, relaxed conversation about life in the fire service. Jeff shares his journey into the job, what it means to lead a crew, and how the role has shaped him both on and off duty. From the realities of the work to the human stories behind the he...