5-Alarm Task Force!

Few of us will ever forget the terrible fires of January 2025. Around the country, viewers were looking for news, statistics, etc.  Our Guest, Assistant Chief Chad Costa of the Petaluma CA Fire Department was deeply involved. In this episode, he will discuss some of the facts that may not have been seen by the news teams.  In this podcast, Asst. Chief Costa explains some of immediate issues that t...

If you have been a firefighter, you may have heard the name of our guest for this episode. Capt. Daley “wears” several endeavors, not only in his personal area in New Jersey, but around the country. He has a 37-year in firefighting, reaching the Captain status. However, Capt. Daley is also the President of the organization, Kill the Flashover with classes to teach firefighters how to “Kill the Fla...

Episode 9-18 – Chief-Emeritus/Retired Charles Werner- New Technology for First Responders Chief-Emeritus/Retired Charles Werner has served 44 years in the fire service, 37 years with the Charlottesville Fire Dept., the last ten as the Charlottesville Fire Department. Additionally, he is also the current Executive Director of Droneresponders.org with just under 12,000 members from across the world....

In most fire departments and some EMS agencies have to file a bunch of paperwork to report the fires/rescues, additional info i.e. number of patients, levels of damages and so much more. Well, there’s a new “day” coming, starting on January 2, 2026! Our podcast welcomes Troy Lachinski of Image Trend, a company integral to the change of Fire/EMS recording within the new system, NERIS, N ational E m...

Episode 9-16 – Miranda Spivack and Dianne Cotter – “Backroom Deals in Our Backyards” As we pass through life, we encounter many people. This one works in a tall building; another delivers office supplies and a third washes all the windows. Most see this as “blue-collar” job, but do we really know what’s going on. Our guests today are Miranda Spivack, a former reporter and she worked for the “Washi...

Episode 9-15 – Assistant Chief Jacob Johnson We are proud to have Asst. Chief Jacob Johnson from the Pearland Fire Department in Pearland TX.  Jacob first joined us on “5-Alarm task Force,” when he was a Captain. And it was easy to see how dedicated he was, and still is, of course, to being the best firefighter and officer that he could be.  In this episode, we discuss the “how and why” of, not on...

What are some of today's most pressing issues in the Fire Service? We look at a couple in this episode: Training in Today's Fire Service, as well as Retention and Recruitment.  Joining us to cover these topics is Assistant Chief Joe Manning of the Largo FL Fire & Rescue Department. With nearly 30 years in the Fire Service, he has seen it all in training programs, as well as a departments worki...

Whether you’re a veteran firefighter or a rookie, the likelihood that you’ve seen or even read FIREHOUSE® Magazine, is high. It has been a staple in most firehouses and with thousands more visiting the website, attending conferences and more.  Its current Editor-in-Chief is Peter Mathews. Peter is the Director of Conferences and FIREHOUSE® Magazine. He has worked at FIREHOUSE® since 1999, serving...

Since 2015/2016, we have an elevated consciousness regarding cancer in the fire service. With slow, but sure processes, we learned the AFFF, and our gear are “dosed” with PFAS. That it about to change.  My guests on this episode of “5-Alarm Task Force!” are Kevin Yeazell and his son Kevin Ryan Yeazell of a company Fireground Supply. Several seasons ago, we met (via podcast) Quincy Emmons, from Can...

How many times have we heard about a friend or relative made his/her annual visit to their doctor. She runs a batch of tests, only to tell you that there is a problem. When the patient is asked, “Why didn’t you come in sooner?” The sad answer is, “I didn’t think it was anything to bother you with.” Sadly, this often results in a serious condition that might have been mitigated with early discovery...

If you are a “student of fire service,” you should know the name of our guest very well! Capt. Daley has over 35 years of experience in the fire service. He is currently a Captain with the town of Monroe, NJ. Capt. Daley is also the president of the Kill the Flashover organization, a 501(c)(3) charitable company that strives to teach to others about how we can indeed, learn the tactics to look for...

Like many kids in countries around the world, many want to be firefighters. And many of us fulfill that childhood dream. Our guest on this episode of “5-Alarm Task Force!” is Lt. Michael Stachowicz of he Edinburgh Fire Service in Scotland. Prior to joining the Edinburgh Fire Service, he was a firefighter with the Lincolnshire Fire & Rescue Services in England. As you view the video and/or list...

Often, where we are dispatched to a building that we know has automatic water flow in the event of the fire, we tend to expect that the water is flowing as designed and that all we will be left with is mopping up. Our guest on this episode of “5-Alarm Task Force!” is an engineer who designs water-flow systems, from the FDC outside to the sprinklers inside the facility. On this episode, E.J. stress...

Chief Justin Bailey is a 25+ year “student of the Fire Service. He is the Fire Chief with the Oliver Springs (TN) Fire Dept. and a Captain/Medic with the Knoxville (TN) Fire Department, where he has been serving since 2007 and currently assigned to Engine 1.  His career began in 1999 as a Junior Firefighter/Explorer with the Oliver Springs Fire Dept. He is a part-time fire instructor with the Stat...

Capt. Kory Pearn has over twenty years in the Canadian Fire Service. However, looking at the trades to provide more than photos and fire story articles, he did not find what he was searching for. Kory started thinking that firefighters need more than “hotshot” pics. He wanted to read a trade that would focus on firefighters’ health and wellness. And when he was unable to find a trade like that, he...

Chief Dave Robertson has more than 25 years in the Fire Service in five different departments in Canada, from bust urban systems to wildland, and to rural/semi-rural areas. He has instructed with his fire departments, in fire academies, paramedic schools and private fire institutions. Chief Robertson is fueled by a sincere passion to make the fire service better, which today includes talking to hi...

Chief (ret) Marc Bashoor has been one of best chiefs in the business. He was the Chief of Prince George's County Fire Department, a mix of career, volunteer and combo stations. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the trade, Fire-Rescue 1.  His many years in the fire service have seen changes, some for the good and some...not. Nevertheless, he promotes the key concept of firefighters be f...

It is no secret that being a firefighter, career, volunteer, WUI, Paid-on-Call, etc., can take a physical and emotional toll on us. Often a rookie/probie takes a “lot of heat,” and that is before his/her have even rolled out of the station. Now, add everything else we must do outside the fire service, and we might be shouldering physical issues like weight, unbalanced diets, etc. Our Guest on this...

Jeff Dill was an active firefighter and officer with the Palatine Rural Fire Prevention District. But in 2010, he founded the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA) which is an IRS-Certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Jeff travels the U.S. and Canada. Holding workshops to teach firefighters and EMS personnel about behavioral health awareness and suicide prevention. FBHA was the only known organiz...

Those of us who have served or those who continue to serve as a First Responder, as a firefighter, law enforcement and EMS know that beneath the “glory” feeling as we respond, it often comes with a darker side. And, whether we admit it or not, the horrors and trauma we see, we tend, we transport, etc. take an emotional toll on us, whether we wish to admit that or not. When we were little kids and...

So many podcasts about the fire service cover tactics, gear, tools and many more, focusing on what we do when we respond to a call. However, before you even catch your first response, there is one key aspect of what we do that is often “lost” on the excitement and adrenaline coursing through both new and well-established firefighters. What is that? It’s the word we often use outside of the firehou...

Our guest, Jack Sullivan is the Director of Training for the Responder Safety Institute and has been with us several times over the years.  On this occasion Jack addresses the tragically high number of “Struck by,” incidents, where a firefighter, law enforcement officer, ambulance team, recovery (tow) operator, Road Ranger and even innocent good-Samaritans are injured or killed, most due to inatte...

If you have been or still are a firefighter and you have a few years (or more) under your belt, you have probably had a couple of “workers” that gave you a bit more than an east knockdown. Initially then, the title of Brad’s book is somewhat incomplete. For the full title of his new book is, “The Flames of Fire – Firefighting Amidst the Explosions!” A bit more intriguing than the first look. Brad...

There is no doubt that Asst. Chief Jacob Johnson has had a well-experienced path in the fire service, starting as a 15-year-old “water boy” and “hanger-on” to learn as much about firefighting as possible. It wasn’t long before Jacob was climbing the department’s “ladder,” through the Katy Fire Department for approximately seven years.  Then, the Pearland Fire Dept. started its “Growth Spurt” and J...

David Wiklanski is an Engine Company Captain for an urban fire department in New Jersey. He has over twenty years in Emergency Services. Wiklanski is a speaker and writer, with most of his presentations on behavioral health, in addition to Suicide Terrorism. His mission is to end the stigma associated with mental health and to connect responders with the available resources to not only survive but...