Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast

We throw the word professional around a lot in the fire service. But are we truly approaching the job with a professional mindset? In this episode, we explore the transition from amateur to professional—what it takes, what it really means, and how to apply those lessons on and off the job. Inspired by The Way of the Champion by Paul Rabil, we break down the mindset shifts that separate those who s...

What happens when we stop focusing just on the job and start taking care of the person behind the gear? This week’s podcast answers that question in a big way. I sat down with Kory Pearn , firefighter and founder of Crackyl Magazine , to talk about building resilient firefighters and tackling the challenges that impact us beyond the calls. Kory’s got an incredible story—one shaped by health scares...

Join us as we dive into the world of training, leadership, and resilience with Captain Danielle Landholm of the Omaha Fire Department. Dani brings a wealth of experience, from her beginnings as a volunteer firefighter to leading innovative changes in fire academies. She’s a trailblazer in cultivating meaningful training experiences that focus not just on skill but also on building resilient, well-...

How do you revolutionize wellness in the fire service? You listen, you lead, and you start small but think big. In this episode, we sit down with Christian Macklin, Health and Wellbeing Officer at South Metro Fire Department. Christian’s journey from a light-duty assignment to leading one of the most innovative wellness programs in the country is nothing short of inspiring. Whether you're a line f...

In this powerful episode of the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast , we sit down with Jay Bettencourt, company officer from Asheville, North Carolina, instructor, and founder of the Resilient Mind Program. Jay shares how a life-altering line-of-duty death early in his career shaped his approach to training, resilience, and mindfulness. Together, we explore the psychology of high performance in the...

It's our one year anniversary of the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast and to celebrate we have a very special topic and guest to share with you. This week we speak with former professional baseball pitcher and retired firefighter Doug McGraw on how to show up strong, serve well, and finish strong. Doug has been an instrumental part of my human performance journey and without his guidance, ecourag...

In this episode of the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast , we dive into how creativity can transform the fire service by building a culture rooted in high performance and genuine engagement. Creativity is often seen as an afterthought in a field focused on discipline, protocols, and safety. But what if tapping into our creative potential could enhance individual and team performance, job satisfact...

How good are you at actually choosing your response? Is it an intentional choice or is it more of a reaction that you just kind of muddle through? This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast we continue our deep dive in how to build your firefighter resilience through intentional training. Division Chief Dave Gillespie helps us connect some dots and gives us some great and simple to impleme...

We hear a lot about how we get to choose our mindsets and how we should see the good in everything and every situation we're involved in. That's all great but is it reality? This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast we have the honor of speaking with Jeremy Sanders of Crew 1st Culture and we dive deep into how things like the growth mindset and separating from the negativity actually work...

Want a free resource that you already have harnessed and built into you physiology, psychology and biology? One that can amp you up or slow you down and can absolutely help you CRUSH your goals, expand your mental toughness, and grow your resilience? This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast we have the honor of speaking with Matteo Pistono and expand on his recent book "Breathe How You W...

We gain a lot of value when you search for resources and information from outside of your sphere of influence and outside of your industry. One great and relevant resource for us in emergency services is the world of business and specifically entrepreneurship. One of our favorite books here at Firefighter Craftsmanship is by Seth Godin titled Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? This week on the Firef...

We in emergency services want to solve problems. This applies on way more than just 911 calls and sometimes we have to try and solve problems with ourselves or a member of our crew. At times we can notice something is "off" with ourselves or one of our crew members and maybe we chalk it up to disengagement, sleep deprivation, or just having a bad day. What happens if this bad day turns into a bad...

There is a lot of great conversations happening about mental health in emergency services. Unfortunately some of these conversations are ignoring that the 911 calls might not be the root cause of our current challenges and fail to acknowledge that organizations play a massive part in their employee's overall wellness. This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast we have the honor of speaking...

Nitric Oxide (NO) is a super power gas that we actually produce on our own through normal respiration. This cool gas was initially though of as a toxin but in 1998 won a Nobel Prize for its role in cardiovascular health. This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast we dive into how nitric oxide can calm you down, help you do more work on the emergency scene, help you reintegrate into your of...

Did you know you can actually get tougher by humming a song? It's true and hilariously enough there's actually quite a bit of research to support my claim. This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast we dive into how humming can increase your vagal tone (aka make you tougher), help you have higher quality days off with your family, and how this technique is commonly taught in fire academies...

Today marks the 23rd anniversary since the attacks on the United States of America on 9/11. It also marks the greatest rescue in the history of emergency service with over 20,000 people saved. For some of us this event was the catalyst to get into emergency services. For others of us we might have been too young to remember that fateful day. This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast we pa...

Most of us got into emergency services for a reason. Do you remember what your's was? If I was to guess it was probably grounded in some version of "I want to help people" as the foundational element. Do you still feel this way? Has the purpose for you changed over time? Has it gotten stronger or maybe morphed into some other version? This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship we dive into a psych...

Creating relevant training in emergency services is paramount to success on an actual call. But are we actually doing a good job of replicating the real world environment? How do we balance safety standards with prepping ourselves and our people to actually be ready? Are we overloading ourselves and our students and therefore missing the mark when it comes to training? This week on the Firefighter...

Is Wellness the new buzzword that sounds cool but is so watered down its losing its punch? We all know it's important but what are the actual parts and pieces that make up wellness and how do we work towards them both personally and organizationally? This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship we speak with Captain Jesse Clark of Boise Fire Department who has worked through some significant challen...

Operations is a term that all of us in emergency services are very familiar with. But have you ever heard of an operational psychologist? This special group of highly trained individuals might be the key for you personally and for your organization to take all aspects of what you do to a whole new level. This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship we speak with Dr. Barb Thompson and dive into some...

Mental toughness is always a focus for emergency responders. How do you build more of it? How can you be more resilient in response to the demands of the job? What are the principles that lead to healthy, happy and strong people both on and off the job? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast dives into the psychological theory of self efficacy and how you can use it to catapult not only you...

There's a lot of information out there about sleep! As an emergency responder it is tough to figure out how it all applies to you and your specific situation. Especially if you work shifts. This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast features Dr. Mark Petrun a longtime pulmonologist with a specialty in sleep medicine who's been involved in the sleep conversation since the early 1980's! Along wit...

We hear a lot about how technology negatively impacts our performance and sleep. Especially blue light from screens before bedtime. Is there a way that we can we use technology to tap into our biology, physiology and psychology to help us become ultimate performers? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast features Jason Suntych from XTI and he and his team are doing some tremendous work usin...

Are you aware of the foundational basics of sleep and how a simple understanding of things like the 4 sleep cycles can impact your overall human performance as an emergency responder? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast talks dives into an easy to digest foundation of the basics! In this episode we cover: the 4 Sleep cycles and Why it's important we understand them How does alcohol play...

Are you sleeping a full 7-9 hours a night (probably when you’re not on shift if you’re a firefighter) but still waking up feeling less than refreshed? Do you toss and turn at night, or wake up with a dry mouth every time? Have you ever gotten smacked because you snore? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast talks about a possible intervention using a small piece of tape that might be a game...