Code 3 - The Firefighters Podcast

What do you do when you respond to a hazmat situation if you’re not a hazmat specialist? Do you wait for the hazmat specialists to arrive? What if it sounds like a relatively minor situation, like someone who mixed two household cleaning products together and got an unfortunate result? You’d probably go in to rescue the homeowner, right? Of course, that means putting on all your PPE, including the...

The next time you’re doing a training evolution, notice what your officer is doing. Is he or she standing nearby watching you train? Or are they actively training alongside you? The answer says a lot about the officer’s leadership philosophy. My guest today is Jeremy Sanders. He says that it’s better leadership for that officer to be doing the same skills you’re training on. And if you are that of...

A few years back, Frank Leeb put together a list of things probies need to know when they start work. Then he realized the items on the list are actually important for firefighters to keep in mind for their whole careers. Today, I’m talking with Frank about some of the rules or virtues on the list and how he came up with them. Frank was a 30+ year veteran of the FDNY when he retired in 2024. He se...

There’s a campaign going on that aims to give volunteer fire departments some tools to help recruit new members. It’s called “A Hustle Worth Having” and it’s aimed at Gen Z-aged community members. For those unfamiliar with the term, it's roughly defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, or 14 to 29 years old. The International Association of Fire Chiefs is behind the campaign and has made all t...

How would you like to work the busiest volunteer firehouse in the nation? This house answers an average of four to five thousand calls for service a year. That’s more than many career departments, and they do it out of one station. Perhaps not surprisingly, the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department has no problem recruiting firefighters. They even staff a minimum of four people on overnights. And thi...

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines flight 93. That means there’s now a whole generation that’s grown up since the attacks and views them as history. There’s a new documentary out now that will help that generation understand what 9-11 means to this nation and why. “ The Heroism and Resiliency of...

On this edition of Code 3, we're talking with a firefighter/paramedic who is using the internet to reach young people to tell them about a career as a firefighter. RJ Clarke is working on a documentary photography project titled "The Color of Fire." After 15 years in the fire service, RJ noticed that young kids in the communities he visited rarely considered firefighting as a career because they r...

On today’s edition, we’re diving into a raw, unfiltered conversation about what happens when the turnout gear comes off and the cumulative weight of the job follows you home. Joining me today is James Owen, a retired 30-year first responder and former Long Beach fire Captain. James is the author of the new book The Last Patient: A Memoir of Resilience and Recovery. We talk about the hard realities...

adder work is one of the most basic parts of firefighting. But basic does not always mean simple. There is a lot of technique involved in throwing, carrying, and placing a ladder correctly. And small decisions can have a big impact on how well that ladder works when it matters. Today, we’re looking in-depth at best practices for using ladders, We’ll talk about the mechanics behind a good ladder th...

Today, we’re diving deep into fireground operations and functional strategy. Our focus is on how departments can adapt when dedicated truck companies are not available. When you need an effective, efficient, and safe coordinated fire attack, truck company operations aren't optional—they are an absolute necessity. But what happens when your department doesn't have dedicated truck companies in the s...

Today, we are rethinking everything you know about fire ground size-up. Everyone has been taught standard acronyms like COAL WAS WEALTH. But that traditional method is often too complicated for a young firefighter or inexperienced officer with no background in building construction. Our guest today is here to share what he calls a system for success. He breaks down the vital difference between an...

How many times have you pulled up to a location, seen fire blowing out of the second-story windows, and thought, "There is no way anyone is alive in there?" Today’s guest argues that firefighters have been making that call far too early. And it’s often based on outdated campaigns and fear rather than real-world data. You took an oath to protect life. It is the driving force behind every decision y...

You ever walk into *that* firehouse? You know the one. The crew is burnt out. They’ve given up on morale. And they’re constantly complaining that "Downtown" or "The Brass" have ruined the job. But my guest today argues that if your station’s culture is toxic, you shouldn't be looking at the Fire Chief for help... you should be looking in the mirror for solutions to your problems. Yep. The most pow...

There’s a lot of talk about "making the grab" in this job. But how often do you actually break down what went right when a rescue is successful? Not just the tools, but the mindset, the assignments, and the split-second decisions made in the first few minutes. After the high-fives and backslapping, it’s time to analyze how you did it. So you’ll do it right the next time, too. And to look at your m...

We often talk about the fireground as a chaotic environment, because it is. But there is a tendency in the modern fire service to meet that chaos with complexity—adding more gadgets, more steps, and more theories to what is, at its heart, a simple physical battle. When the heat is high and visibility is zero, complexity is the enemy. It slows you down. And in this job, slow can be fatal—in fact, i...

Do you know exactly how vertical ventilation works? Depending on your level of experience, you may think you do, but you still might not have a really solid understanding of why it works. Simply cutting a random 4x4-foot hole in the roof won't do the job in all cases. My guest today has a good deal of experience as a firefighter, but he admits that, until he saw a live fire test, he misunderstood...

If you spend any time on social media, you’re probably familiar with Curt Isakson. He has a massive presence on Facebook and about 6,000 followers. Chief Ike, as he’s also known, has had a 30-plus-year career in the fire service. He's also been an advocate for treatment of firefighters who sufFer from PTSD. So it was not a big surprise when Curt decided to enroll in the IAFF’s Center of Excellence...

When Bill Niemann joined the fire service in 1976, the landscape looked very different. This was a time of rubber boots, and riding the tailboard of the engine. SCBAs were the newest thing, and not everyone got to have one. When Bill Niemann joined the fire service in 1976, the landscape looked very different. This was a time of rubber boots, and riding the tailboard of the engine. SCBAs were the...

If you’re a member of a volunteer department, you’ve probably run into the problem of Incident Command. The issue is, who’s going to be the IC on a given fireground. Now, if your volunteer department is lucky enough to have career firefighters showing up to calls with you, the problem’s not so bad. Odds are, that career firefighter is going to be the one who takes command of the scene. But what if...

This edition of Code 3 is a little different than most. It’s about a Fire Chief who lost his job after he incurred the wrath of the Union Local’s officials and, ultimately, the IAFF. Scott Freitag was the chief of the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Authority, or CAFMA. The agency was created under Scott’s leadership when two fire districts combined under a JMA to form CAFMA in 2015. CAFMA covers...

Are you tired of being told to “think outside the box?” Well, if you are, I have good news: today’s show is about thinking inside the box. It's about looking at structures as a series of boxes, determining which box has the active fire in it, and how to attack that fire. Boxes determine flow path in large modern residential structures. It’s an interesting idea, and it was developed for the Plano,...

One of the first tools you were taught about when you started this job is the basic ground ladder. Once you learned how to throw one, it was no big deal, right? The longer the ladder, the more firefighters get to carry it. Except… What if there’s not enough people on the fireground to do that? You might be surprised to find that the 24-foot extension ladder can safely be carried and placed by just...

One of the least exciting jobs for a firefighter is the dreaded Community Risk Reduction assignment. In an urban environment, CRR may mean doing a meeting with the people you serve. Or maybe you’re changing smoke alarm batteries. Either of those—not exciting, but not so much work, either. But if your department covers urban and rural areas, where you could be tasked to fight a brush fire, well, no...

(This episode is a rebroadcast of a June, 2018 edition of Code 3) 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.

Incident commanders, here are some questions for you: How much thought do you put into where you set up your command post? Is it usually on the alpha side of a structure? Why is that? Routine? Street access? What about distractions? For example, noise. That can not only give you a headache but also make you miss an urgent radio call, right? My guest on this edition of Code 3 has been considering q...