Tailboard Talks Firefighter Podcast

Send a text Firefighters hate two things, the way the things are now and change.  Changing the fire service can be approached the same way you eat a whale, one bite at a time. Before we get into the details about thinking small for big results, there was a fantastic article on firefighternation.com titled The Aging Firefighter- Health and Fitness Considerations Throughout a Career, written by Alex...

Send a text This week we spent spring break on the beach for our first camper trip of the year.  Please enjoy this replay of my conversation with Stephanie White. Stephanie White is a full time firefighter with over 20 years of experience who works with an organization called the Beltane Guild to assist departments in creating and instituting pregnancy and postpartum policies and programs. She has...

Send a text Have you ever been real busy, but also real engaged and productive?  I have but I've also been stuck with a list of non-stimulating tasks that leave me paralyzed and stuck in neutral. This episode hits the pop psychology world by storm with the ideas of psychological momentum and a little look at executive dysfunction.  Guess what, the fire service is full of people like us who co...

Send a text This is the sort of week when I'm especially grateful for the awesome community of this podcast.  I'm training for a massive gravel bike ride in August and prepping for our first big camper trip to Florida.  So thank you for answering my Instagram question box and giving me some content topics for the episode. First I'm answering "What is one thing you want to learn...

Send a text Advice in the fire service is abundant, but GOOD advice is much more scarce.  I went to the IG polls to ask about the best advice, and best compliment you've received. Firefighters are a critical, harsh, pessimistic bunch so when one goes out of their way to encourage, compliment, or offer good advice it can really stick in your head. I share your answers as well as some stories a...

Send a text How much weight does seniority carry in your fire department, and how much carrying do the senior members do? Some departments have senior members who are bonafide recliner compressors while others use their senior membership as the backbone of the organization.  Regardless of which one you're involved with, those senior firefighters are getting paid more and have more time off, w...

Send a text You have a long career, don't let a temporary inconvenience ruin other peoples perception of you. Firefighters have an expansive perspective of patient and incident outcomes but a terrible ability to look past our immediate discomforts. Finding someone who has been through what you're going through can save you from turning that inconvenience into a career defining event. If...

Send a text Making something look easy is one of the greatest flexes.  Whether it's picking locks, being happy when you're not supposed to, flexing the seniority on the high hat badge, or tossing around the 4 inch when others are struggling. Take advantage of the flex but be ready for your turn on the short end.  It's all in good fun so don't be afraid to laugh and get a little...

Send a text The evergreen debate of performance over personal appearance.  Sure, it's easy to say that the patient doesn't care how you look when they need you, but how about everybody else on scene or that gets to witness your unzipped boots, untucked shirt, and belly hanging out when you're on more 'routine' calls. Many departments have a minimum standard, for lots of th...

Send a text Is there anything more 'firefighter' than missing the most recent episode of a show because you worked on the wrong day? A listener issue was submitted and it asks about what to do when "more senior" members of the department refuse to rotate onto the ambulance.  Curt and I have opinions on those people and how to handle the situation. Also I sent a horribly awkward...

Send a text Well, trying to.  But sometimes we just can't help ourselves.  Fear not, Curt and I are here to help...probably. I asked for some listener stories, conflicts, and tales and we got them.  Curt and I go over a situation that a firefighter had with his Lieutenant after a mistake was made. Before that we're giving some opinions on episode 2 of True Detective and answering the mos...

Send a text Testing, Interviewing, Academy, and Probation are the steps to get in the door at a fire department.  Curt and I hit on these topics and offer some stories and lessons we've learned along the way. The more things change, the more they stay the same and becoming a firefighter is a great example of that. Sure, tests may be administered remotely instead of sitting in a gym with 500 o...

Send a text Accountability to the organization can be drastically different than accountability towards your personal goals. In this episode I'm breaking down the two and although they are different, they share the common principles of clarity, freedom, and security and how they fit in the fire service or any leadership position. Along with that, building a diverse set of "bumpers"...

Send a text Welcome to 2024 and let's get it going! This is not your typical new years resolution episode.  The arbitrary date of Jan 1 is just not the time for me to be setting goals and making behavior changes. Lucky for firefighters, we can use any meaningful time to start.  These things called Temporal Landmarks are perfect for us to use.  Combined with the "fresh start effect"...

Send a text I'm leaving some things behind in 2023. I've given too much weight to the opinions and advice from gatekeepers and people who like to project their insecurities and fears on other people. I'm running towards people, groups, and projects that are looking to drive forward and make improvements in firefighters, people, parents, and life. Finally, a short lesson learned whil...

Send a text Old Scrooge had to learn from the past, present, and future and once a year we can take a look at it too. Try hating someone less, do something in the present, and think past the problem. These are the main points of making it through the holiday season, and your career. I truly hope the best for you and yours this season and as we look to the new year. Support the show Affiliate links...

Send a text Curt is back and has a 4 month old baby! We were supposed to talk about firefighter Christmas gifts, and we did, but only after 25 minutes of stories of onesie struggles, heart valve wrecking screams, and poop. Then we do get to some of our best and worst crew gifts. Dunkin', if you're listening, I am serious about the show sponsor thing.  The 4th Shift can absolutely run on...

Send a text If you've been in the fire service for longer than a cup of coffee you've heard some form of this question.  My approach on the answers has been formed over 20 years of gross stuff. Remember these couple of things; They have no idea what they're asking, and they have no concept of what the worst thing you've seen actually is. When people ask this question they'...

Send a text Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, I ate two pies in the firehouse kitchen. If you have fear and shame about counter surfing this season, this is the episode for you. We're all eating the pie, so do the damage and move on.  I give a couple ways to conceptualize the holidays and set the plan for January. I'm all about the realistic approach to these things and this is...

Send a text Matt Spaid is spearheading a new mental health campaign this winter.  PTSDecember is here to give you some tools to cope and some investments in your future. Matt claims he is absolutely not an influencer but you can be the judge after we run through the similarities he has with the Liver King. He's trying to get as many resources into as many firefighter  heads and families as po...

Send a text It's literally one of the foundational principles of being a first responder.  Also, one of the things we are least willing or comfortable sharing, when we care. "I don't care" is a statement that can divide, turn off, and isolate us. "Nobody cares, work harder" is the marching song of the firefighter hardo and aside from being a flawed sentence structural...

Send a text What do you do on or after shift that makes you happy?  I share some answers from IG to that question to kick off the episode. Then, I was on a popular firefighter website the other day and there were three stories about firefighters having heart attacks an cardiac arrest.  One while on a call, and two others of guys being found unconscious at the station. My approach to firefighter fi...

Send a text Last week I posted the question "The best leaders know..." and the responses are in.  I highlight two of the ones that stand out to me in this episode. I got into a gnarly confrontation with another firefighter last week.  I went into it using the correct tactics to resolve it quickly and within minutes, those tactics had gone to the dark side.  It was the type of conversatio...

Send a text Gatekeepers are those awesome people who decide who, gets what.  Who gets an audience with the chief, who gets to be on the special team, and even who someone gets to be friends with. But, not all gatekeepers are adversaries and in the fire service, some are absolute necessities. I've noticed a few different kinds of fire department gatekeepers.  Some are formal, some are informal...

Send a text Another Fire Prevention Week has come and gone.  Did you know that the Great Chicago Fire was NOT the worst thing to happen that week?  The Peshtigo fire is still known as the most destructive fire with an even higher death count than the Chicago fire. Then I talk about the newly implemented mandatory fitness test for the Decatur Alabama Fire Department.  FireRescue1 posted a story wit...