Code 3 - The Firefighters Podcast

Depending on who you ask, women make up roughly four to five percent of US career firefighters. That’s why it’s still a news story when a woman is promoted to a leadership position in a major fire department. How you see this situation likely depends on your age and your gender. Older male firefighters may recall a time when women were unwelcome in firehouses. They may claim quotas allowed women w...

A firefighter in San Diego County, California, has started Operation Joint Guardian, an effort to help the people of Ukraine. Eric Hille, a veteran of the US Army, planned to just send USAR equipment over there. Many civilian structures are being heavily damaged by Russian rocket attacks and local USAR resources are unable to keep up. Then, when he found out that aid workers on the ground wouldn’t...

If you’ve ever walked into a firehouse and heard someone say, “This isn’t what I signed up for,” or if you’ve thought it yourself, let me relate a quick story. About five, six years ago, I was visiting station 71 in Prescott, Arizona. The engine was dispatched to a lift assist. Now, you may think you know what that is, but this call was not that. Engine 71 arrived to find a woman who needed help g...

The evening of March 21, 2003 was normal for the crew of Colerain, Ohio Township’s Engine 26. The guys were cleaning up after dinner. Then the dispatcher interrupted them with a call to a structure fire. When they arrived on scene, the crew found a single-family residence with flames showing. Police said there might be someone trapped inside. Lt. Steve Conn and a rookie partner made entry and bega...

If you’re a firefighter or medic, especially a volunteer, you’re able to do your job because the law grants you the ability to do it without fear of legal reprisal if someone decides you made a mistake. That’s thanks to “qualified immunity” laws. But two states have passed new laws that have the effect of eliminating that protection. And it could mean firefighters and medics in those states are in...

There’s an unusual fire department in Fairbanks, Alaska. It’s called the University Fire Department. It serves a University of Alaska campus and nearby North Star Borough from two stations. What makes this department special is that all the rigs are staffed by full-time University students, over 50 of them. They work side-by-side with 11 career firefighters, who act as mentors. The students work 4...

Once upon a time, there was VES. Then, thanks to the FDNY, came VEIS-vent, enter, isolate, search. Problem is, while the concept is still sound, it’s becoming harder to isolate rooms. The so-called open floorplan is eliminating walls and doors. It's also making searches tougher because following the walls won’t let you reach far enough into the room. My guest today has some thoughts on the merits,...

If you want something done, sometimes the best solution is to do it yourself. That can apply to fire service training, too. My guest today was a young firefighter when he was assigned to slower station after being at a busy one. He found a crew that wasn’t much interested in training. About the time he was starting to get lazy, he realized he could do his own training even when no one else wanted...

If your department doesn’t operate its own ambulances, a third-party operator is transporting your patients. But what happens when that company doesn’t meet your standards for response time? It can become a real problem, our guest today says. And it isn’t always easy to solve. Fire Chief Scott Freitag has been on Code 3 a couple of times before. He heads up the Central Arizona Fire and Medical Aut...

Today, we’re talking electric vehicles. If you live in Los Angeles, like I do, you see them every day. Teslas and hybrids are everywhere! But there are a lot of places where electric vehicles –called EVs—or hybrids still aren’t common. Problem is, these cars can be really dangerous when you do find one in an MVA. Time was, we worried about electrical shock. But those were the early days, and the b...

This is a special double edition of Code 3. We take a look back at the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York City. By now, you know it’s been 20 years since that tragic day when we lost 343 members of the FDNY. But I still find it hard to comprehend. It feels like yesterday to me, and I’m sure if you were around for it, you feel the same. Today, I have interviews with two members of th...

Fighting wildland fires is very different than structure fires. For starters, wildland guys sleep on the ground for days at a time. And then there’s the lack of hydrants on their firegrounds. They have to carry in all their gear, often walking miles to reach their assigned areas. But wildland firefighters, by and large, wouldn’t trade their jobs for structure firefighting. Today, we’re talking wit...

Sitting in the right front seat of a rig means a lot more than giving instructions on the fireground. In fact, that’s a small part of the job. Sure it’s important—I mean, lives are at stake—but you need to be equally good at the rest of the job. Company officers need to understand that not only will they be in charge at scenes, but they will become parental figures, coaches, counselors, and much m...

Just about everyone in the fire service will—at some time—have the opportunity to be an Incident Commander for a few minutes at least. Then the Battalion Chief, or another chief officer, arrives and takes over. Whether you’re a firefighter in a small department and you end up in that position or you want to promote to chief officer, today’s guest has some tips for you. Tom Dunne will be giving his...

Does your department require firefighters to be EMTs or Paramedics? Seems like most career departments do these days. What if it doesn’t? Does that mean you don’t need to get certified? Today, we’re talking about the need to be EMS-qualified. Think about this scenario: you respond to a structure fire along with a rescue ambulance. Almost immediately, you find a burn victim, package him up, and sen...

On this episode, we’re talking EMS history. I’m embarrassed to admit I was unaware of this background until I heard it on another, non-fire-related podcast. It’s the story of the first civilian EMS program in the U.S. Nope, not New York. That was 1968. Not Miami. That was 1969. Not even L.A., home of the “Emergency!” TV show. The law that allowed them to practice was passed in 1970. No, the first...

There’s a lot of advice out there about how to get promoted. There’s a little less about what to do when you are promoted. Suddenly, friends on your shift are your subordinates. So how do you work with them? Your first couple of days will set the tone for how you’ll relate to them for some time to come. If you screw it up, it could take months to repair the damage. My guest today has some insight...

My guest on this show, Dan Rogers, created a firestorm online with his article, “’And that’s okay:’ Not all volunteers want to operate like FDNY.” Here’s a quote from the article, which appears on the FireRescue1.com website: “We often try to ‘push’ pride in our department onto the younger members. But many of them weren’t raised with the same sense of community as we were, so they will likely nev...

When you set up your burn building, burn room, or burn trailer for training, what do you use for fuel? In my experience, sometimes it’s just a few old wooden pallets or some leftover 2x4s. And, sure, that makes smoke and flames, but how realistic are they? Modern furniture burns faster and hotter than the older stuff. Since structure fires are becoming less common, it’s important that the training...

Just about every firefighter enjoys reading about the experiences of other members of the brotherhood. That’s why books written by veteran firefighters are so popular. Plus, they give potential new recruits valuable real-world information on how to get into the fire service. My guest today is Stan Tarnowski, who is back on Code 3 to talk about his new book, “Firefighting in the 21st Century.” It’s...

Your department has probably been described, at least informally, as an all-hazards department. That usually means things like water rescue, hazmat, high-angle rescue, and so on. But over the years, and especially since the time of the late Chief Alan Brunacini may struggle with it. It may not relate strictly to firefighting. My guest to discuss the value of customer service –and what it is -...

If you’re not a career firefighter in a major city, this is going to be a familiar topic. If you do work in a major city, get ready to hear something a little scary: A lot of volunteer and smaller combination department ladder companies are just two…or fewer…people. And given the declining numbers of fires we’re seeing, those firefighters may not have much experience setting up their apparatus. As...

It’s not easy to be married to a firefighter. Whether you’re the wife or a husband of one, you know it can be tough to deal with emotionally. And if you’re thinking of marrying a firefighter, you need to understand that there’s more to it than the one-hour orientation class the department offers you. A lot more. That’s why Mike and Anne Gagliano wrote a book and frequently speak around the country...

This time, I’m doing something a little different. It’s been a tough fire season here in southern California and it’s not over. I’m helping out my friends up the road at the Los Angeles Fire Department. They’re doing a fundraiser, selling "LAFD Strong" t-shirts to buy more and better equipment. So, if you’re in SoCal, listen up. If not, you are, of course, welcome to listen too, as I talk wit...

How would you grade your most recent Incident Commander’s performance? Solid or...timid? Solid is an IC who has been trained and seasoned—and one more element: practiced. Timid is someone who is maybe trained, but not especially seasoned, or inexperienced, and especially – a little scared. They’re afraid someone’s going to get hurt or killed. Today’s guest argues that a timid IC is worse than simp...