Forged by FIRE with Ryan Rodriquez

Our fire crews are made up of teams of specialists; captain, engineer, firefighter, paramedic, etc.  To think that you can achieve amazing things without a specialized team is not only arrogant, but it’s incredibly myopic. If you’re looking to level up, it’s critical to surround yourself with people who make you better every day.  Regardless of your professional and personal goals and as...

Getting hired on with a fire department is a dream come true!  It’s one of the reasons why we fight so hard to obtain a career in the fire service.  We are all attracted to this job for different reasons, but one thing remains true; that we are passionate about helping others. Sometimes once we fight so hard to get hired on, we tend to let complacency creep in and we wind up letting our...

You’ve heard me talk a lot about organizational culture on this podcast.  One of the main reasons is that I’m incredibly fascinated by the elements that make up a company’s or fire department’s culture, good or bad. I’m interested in learning what makes good organizations thrive and bad organizations fail.  I am always looking for the elements that contribute to each side of that coin. &...

In today's episode, I talk to Brady Tucker, the man behind Books Behind the Badge.  It's a really great IG page and podcast that is focused on connecting those of us in the public service arena through reading. Brady feels that by reading books and discussing our takeaways, we bridge the gap that would otherwise separate us. Books are a great way to learn new things, meet new people, and shar...

Solving problems is at the heart of what we do in the Fire and EMS world.  In the field, we take different approaches to solving the unique problems that we are faced with at any given moment. Some of us use a linear approach while others use more of a dynamic approach.  Personally, I like looking at a problem from all angles, then choosing the one that would work best for me AND everyon...

Today's episode is an informal "part 2" to my previous conversation with Ben Dubin.  We go deeper into the science behind breath work and cold therapy and how taking control of these influences can help us refine our bodies and our minds.  Ultimately, these types of practices help to make us better at what we do; staying cool under pressure. I know you'll get a lot out of our conversatio...

We all know that in order to build muscle, we need to engage in some form of resistance training.  We push or pull against some form of resistance and eventually over time, our muscles grow and as a result, we become stronger.  Ultimately, we adapt to meet the need. This exact principle applies to every aspect of our lives, not just in the physical aspect.  We grow stronger by being...

Ben Dubin is a firefighter/paramedic with the Tempe Fire Medical Rescue Department and an advocate of and practitioner of focused breath-work and the Wim Hof method.  In this episode, Ben and I talk about his passions (mental and physical health and wellness) and his journey to finding IT.  Ben's journey to discovering his "Inner Truth" and helping others find their inner truth is dynami...

You’ve heard me say it, you’ve heard numerous people in the fire service community say it, because it’s true; complacency kills. We have a habit of working our butts off to get hired, but then we ride the wave instead of making new ones.  That’s complacency setting in. In today’s episode, I will talk about what complacency looks like, why complacency should be looked at like a cancer, and wha...

We all perform rituals of all different kinds every day, even if we aren’t aware of it.  Some rituals can be needless or restricting, while others are purposeful and enriching. It’s important to understand what a ritual is and how they can affect us, good or bad. In today’s episode, I will talk about what rituals are, why we should purposefully incorporate them into our lifestyle, and I will...

Once or twice a year, I submit myself to an outside source or coach for guidance on my physical training.  Not only does this help keep me in a growth-mindset, it helps me keep a pulse on the new and exciting challenges that are out there. I love learning new things and taking bits and pieces from all the amazing people out there who are  putting out amazing physical training programming...

Rayne Gray has been a Firefighter for over 23 years, working in every rank and currently serving as a Division Chief for the City of Phoenix. He is the host of the Fireground Fitness podcast, a US Marine veteran, an avid outdoorsman, public speaker, Father and Husband. Chief Gray has spent his life pushing the boundaries of physical discomfort, running ultra-distance events of all types, climbing...

When I was trying to get a career in the fire service, I didn’t have anyone to help me.  I didn’t have family or friends that were doing the job.  I don’t come from a “legacy family”.  I worked hard and forged ahead down a path of self and institutionalized education.  It was extremely challenging and I really wish I had someone help me along the path.  I could’ve avoided...

Today I speak with Mr. Matt Granados.  Over the last decade, Matt has tested, developed and helped thousands of others implement an effective and easy to duplicate system that will help you build an unbreakable foundation for your life as well as motivate even the most unmotivated individuals in your life.   Matt built his first million-dollar business by the age of 25, he travels the wo...

When the general public sees a firefighter, they see someone who is highly trained to complete life-saving tasks in very dangerous situations. What they don’t know are all the ancillary skills that firefighters might be trained in.  Yes, there are some ways to outwardly identify this like paramedic, TRT, and HAZMAT patches on our sleeves, but the general public typically doesn’t know what tho...

Back in the mid-1600s, the fire service utilized a system where they would create a line of firefighters that would pass buckets full of water to and from the fire in order to put the fire out. Being strategic in not spilling the water out of these buckets was crucial in order to put the fire out quickly and effectively for that time. We’ve come a long way in regards to fire suppression, but the c...

As firefighters and first-responders, we tend to dive all in when it comes to our careers.  We kind of have to, right? Commitment to the job is what makes us great at it!  By making sure that we are in physical, mental, and emotional shape to perform our duties brings a kind of satisfaction like no other.  However, when we neglect even one of those elements we run the risk of it all...

We all understand what an organizational chart is, but are we looking at it in the right way? Learning something new is all about perspective and being willing to look at things from a new angle.  The infamous org chart is no different.  Let’s take a look at it when we flip it on it’s head! In today’s episode, I will talk about what the current organizational chart looks like, propose a...

Does setting goals stress you out? Does setting goals make you feel like you're setting yourself up for failure? Do you feel like you rarely get any further than the writing stage with your goals? On today's episode, returning guest Skye Fagrell discusses how answering these three questions gets us on the path to successfully mapping out our goals.  We talk about how we measure success, how i...

Being full-time firefighters and EMS workers, we get different types of paid time off (or PTO as you may call it).  Whether it’s vacation time or sick time, or just a type of general leave, it exists as a way to help us take time away from work that we need to either recharge or heal. The way we do this can look a lot of different ways.  Maybe we need to take sick time to cart kids to do...

Trust is at the heart of any cohesive team, and in the FIRE & EMS world we take that trust into life or death situations. Leaders trust their subordinates to do what needs to be done.  Subordinates trust their leader to keep them safe and treat them with dignity and respect.  So how can we make sure that we’re meeting the needs of the people on our team? In today’s show, I will revie...

It is a privilege to be able to do this job.  Whether you’re in FIRE or EMS or both, serving our communities when things are going south is a big responsibility with big risk involved.  But we love it, don’t we? In prior episodes I talked about mitigating risk and making sure you’re fit for duty and all of that.  But today, I’m going to focus on a concept that I think a lot of people just don’t un...

When we are at work, our minds shouldn’t be on other things that would overtly distract us from performing our duties to the best of our ability.  If our focus is taken away while lives are in the balance, then how can we fool ourselves into thinking that we’re doing our due diligence?  We have enough to think about; our personal wellbeing, our crew’s wellbeing, our patients’ wellbeing....

Being called to dangerous situations, day or night, means that we have to be at the ready for anything.  This means we have to improvise and make last minute adaptations as the situations we’re a part of change.  “Adapt and overcome” is the theme on every fireground I’ve ever been on. With the constant changes, limited resources, and unseen wildcards laying in wait, it’s crucial for us t...

As firefighters, we are no stranger to flow.  We measure the gallons we put on a burning building in gallons per minute and we understand that in order to be most effective with that flow, we need to reduce or eliminate obstructions and kinks in the line. You’ve heard the phrase, “time flies when you’re having fun” right?  Well, time is seemingly passing by more quickly because you’re mo...