HAZARD CLASS

What actually makes someone a great leader in the fire service? Is it experience, rank, confidence, or the ability to bring out the best in the people around them? In this episode of Hazard Class , Jake Ryks sits down with retired Deputy Chief, bestselling author, and nationally recognized leadership instructor Frank Viscuso for a candid conversation about leadership, humility, accountability, and...

What does it really mean to care about the job, and whose responsibility is it to make firefighters better? In this episode of Hazard Class , Jake Ryks sits down with Scott Hewlett, host of the Multiple Calls Podcast , for a candid conversation about firefighter training, leadership, accountability, mental health, and the pursuit of excellence. Drawing on 28 years in the fire service, Hewlett shar...

In this episode of Hazard Class , Jake Ryks sits down with newly appointed Minneapolis Fire Chief Dr. Reggie Freeman for a candid conversation about leadership, overcoming adversity, and his vision for the future of the Minneapolis Fire Department. Freeman shares his unconventional journey through the fire service, beginning with his early career in Mississippi, where financial struggles led him t...

In this episode of Hazard Class , Jake Ryks sits down with retired FDNY Deputy Chief Thomas Dunne to reflect on his 33-year career with the New York City Fire Department, the experiences that shaped his approach to leadership, and the lessons learned from some of the most devastating emergencies in American history. Dunne begins with his unlikely entry into the fire service, initially planning to...

In this deeply personal episode of Hazard Class, Jake Ryks sits down with Dr. David Griffin, retired assistant chief with the Charleston Fire Department and author of The Ibogaine Diaries , to talk about what happened after he walked away from the fire service and began rebuilding his life. Griffin traces the cumulative weight of nearly two decades of trauma, beginning with the 2007 Sofa Super Sto...

What happens when doing what you believe is right costs you your career, your home, your financial security, and years of your life? Erik Holt returns to Hazard Class for the next chapter in one of the wildest stories we’ve ever covered. In Episode 47, Erik told us how he went from Army veteran and career firefighter to fire chief of a struggling Colorado fire district. In a matter of months, he h...

In this special bonus episode of Hazard Class, Jake hits record during a late-night drive across Minnesota and lets the conversation go wherever the road takes it. Part solo episode, part road-trip journal, and part rapid-fire interview show, the episode moves through engine company operations, fire service culture, training, fitness, leadership, and the constant challenge of balancing tradition w...

Retired FDNY Battalion Chief Jerry Tracy joins Hazard Class for a wide-ranging conversation about fire service leadership, mentorship, training, professional standards, and the lessons learned over a lifetime in the New York City Fire Department. Tracy reflects on the firefighters and officers who shaped his career, the importance of staying humble and teachable, and why the fire service depends o...

Jake sits down with fire service veteran Corley Moore for a deep dive into firefighter mindset, mastery, and organizational culture. They unpack the core challenges of fire training: moving past minimum standards, confronting "hollow ego" and the Dunning-Kruger effect, and helping firefighters understand the life-or-death gravity of their craft. Moore outlines his "Passion Triangle&...

Chief Curt “Ike” Isakson has spent more than three decades obsessed with the American fire service. In this episode of Hazard Class, he joins Jake for a deeply personal conversation about firefighting, leadership, mental health, resilience, family, and what it means to dedicate your life to the craft. Chief Ike opens up about the difficult end of his 25-year career with Escambia County Fire Rescue...

Stephanie White joins Hazard Class to discuss the future of the fire service, firefighter wellness, leadership, accountability, and what it takes to create meaningful change inside the firehouse. Stephanie spent nearly two decades as a firefighter and paramedic with Fairfax County Fire and Rescue before transitioning into fire service media as the Editor-in-Chief of Firefighter Nation. In this con...

Jake sits down with Austin Beier and Taylor Hayes from the Heart of the Lakes Fire Summit to talk firefighter training, firemanship, search tactics, hose and nozzle selection, and building a stronger training culture in the fire service. The Heart of the Lakes Fire Summit was created to bring high-level regional and national fire service instructors to firefighters in Minnesota who may not otherwi...

Jeremy Donch has built National Fire Radio into one of the most recognizable voices in the American fire service, but this conversation isn't about how he built a podcast. It's about what comes with having a voice people actually listen to. Jeremy joins Jake for a raw conversation about the changing culture and identity of the modern fire service. They dig into authenticity in the age of s...

Dr. Candace Ashby has spent more than 40 years in the fire service, and she's convinced the biggest threat facing today's fire departments isn't what's burning. It's the culture inside the firehouse. In this episode, Candace shares the unlikely story that took her from a troubled teenager to Battalion Chief with the Indianapolis Fire Department before diving into the leadership...

James Geering's path to the fire service is anything but conventional. Raised on a farm in England, he pursued careers as a stunt performer before immigrating to the United States and ultimately becoming a firefighter and paramedic. In this episode, James shares the experiences that shaped his perspective, the lessons learned from serving in multiple fire departments across the country, and ho...

After eight weeks of following Firefighter Peak Performance, Jake sits down with coach Ryan Provencher to review the results, lessons learned, and what's next. Rather than talking about what the program should do, this episode focuses on what it actually did, including nearly 20 pounds of weight loss, improved body composition, measurable gains in firefighter specific performance, and the chal...

This is not your typical episode of The Hazard Class Podcast. For this special bonus mini episode, we're doing things a little differently. Jake recently had the once-in-a-lifetime privilege of flying with Major Sam "RaZZ" Larson of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, and throughout this episode, actual in-flight footage from Jake's flight with "RaZZ" serves as the backdro...

Nutrition advice is everywhere, but how much of it actually applies to first responders? In this episode of The Hazard Class Podcast , registered dietitian and RescueRD founder Megan Lautz returns to separate fact from fiction when it comes to firefighter nutrition, performance, and long-term health. The conversation explores why crash diets fail, how to build sustainable eating habits in an unpre...

What actually happens when firefighters rescue people from burning buildings, and what does the data tell us that decades of tradition never could? In this episode of Hazard Class, I sit down with Jeff Bryant, President of Fire Nuggets, member of the Brothers in Battle cadre, and one of the driving forces behind the Firefighter Rescue Survey. We dive into the research that's changing the way the f...

In honor of America's 250th Birthday, we take a hard left turn from emergency services and dive headfirst into the wild world of monster trucks! Jake sits down with husband-and-wife monster truck drivers Paul and Kaila Strong for an inside look at what it really takes to build, race, crash, and survive in one of motorsports’ most chaotic arenas. Paul shares his incredible story of how a diffic...

Jake sits down with Dr. Dan Madrzykowski , one of the most respected minds in fire science, for a conversation focused on the gap between fireground tradition and research-backed tactics. Drawing from more than 30 years of fire research, Dan walks through the evolution of modern fire dynamics and how major incidents, firefighter fatalities, and large-scale testing helped reshape the way we underst...

Jake sits down with veteran firefighter, captain, and founder of Crackyl Magazine, Kory Pearn , for a candid conversation about firefighter wellness, burnout, identity, leadership, and life beyond the firehouse. Drawing from more than two decades in the fire service and his own near-fatal health crisis, Kory shares the lessons that transformed his perspective on work, family, health, and personal...

Jake sits down with Dr. Doug Olson , board-certified emergency physician, aviation medicine specialist, and Medical Director for Phoenix Air, to explore one of the most remarkable medical operations in modern history: the airborne evacuation of Ebola patients during the 2014 West Africa outbreak. Building on a previous conversation with author Kevin Hazard ( No One's Coming ), Jake shifts the...

In this episode of Hazard Class , Jake sits down with bestselling author, former Atlanta paramedic, journalist, and television writer Kevin Hazzard to discuss his gripping new book, No One's Coming . Known for his acclaimed works A Thousand Naked Strangers and American Sirens , Hazzard has built a reputation for uncovering the untold stories of emergency medicine and the extraordinary people w...

Jake sits down with acclaimed filmmaker Tom Putnam and retired Los Angeles County Fire Department Assistant Chief Steve Martin to discuss their groundbreaking documentary Into the Unknown: A Paramedic’s Journey . Known for the award-winning firefighter documentaries Burn and Burn X , Tom Putnam returns with an unfiltered, emotionally charged look at the realities of modern EMS and paramedicine in...