The Forward Firefighter

In this episode, Adam Barowy discusses the latest research projects about electric vehicle fires and lithium-ion batteries. Barowy is a Lead Research Engineer for the Underwriters’ Laboratory’s Fire Safety Research Institute (UL FSRI).

In this episode, I talk with Chief Dawn Herlache of the Townsend, Wisconsin Fire Department.  Chief Herlache received the first Responder of the Year award for Wisconsin’s 35th Assembly District. Chief Herlache discusses her experience with the Townsend Fire Department, which serves a rural community in northern Wisconsin.

Sean is an 18-year student of the fire service.  He is currently a career firefighter on the Ann Arbor, Michigan Fire Department.  Sean is the co-founder of Build Your Culture, founder of Great Lakes H.O.T fire conference, co-host of the Make Due Suburban Fireman Podcast and Unlock Your Culture webcast.  As an active member of the Mitten State F.O.O.L.S, he enjoys passing knowledge gained from his...

Michael Perry is a New York Times bestselling author, humorist, singer/songwriter, and radio host. Population 485: Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time, one of his most popular books, reveals his experiences as a Volunteer Firefighter and EMT in New Auburn, Wisconsin. Michael is currently a member of Township Fire and Rescue, serving on the EMS side. Township provides fire protection and ser...

Learn about Brad Koenig’s journey as a volunteer firefighter on the Cambridge, Wisconsin Fire Department. Koenig first became interested in the fire service when he went to the Cambridge Fire station with his son for a celebrity event and got talking with the firefighters there. He has since worked up the ranks to become the Assistant Chief. Listen in while we chat about small town fire service.

In this episode, I sit down with the Alex Felde.  Chief of the Vernon, Wisconsin Fire Department. Alex has an extensive career in the fire service.  With 36 years of total experience, he recently retired from the Racine Fire Department as a battalion chief.  He has been with the Vernon Fire Department for 14 years.  In this episode, you will learn how the Vernon Fire Department operates, how the d...

BJ is passionate about his work in the fire service, and search is one of the top aspects of the job that he is most passionate about. In this episode we talk about search culture, search tactics, and what it means to embrace search culture. We discuss the need to prioritize and focus on civilian lives. Career, paid on call, part-time, volunteer, it does not matter what firefighter you are or the...

In episode 12, I interview Devin Flanigan, a project manager from Keller. Keller is a commercial construction company based in Wisconsin that takes on building projects from the planning phase to final construction. While Devin has never served in the fire service directly, he’s got a unique perspective since his full time work often takes him through the process of designing and building fire sta...

Mollie Kallas has been a member of the Columbus Fire Department since 2019. She joined the department as a way to get more involved with the community and wanted to be part of an organization structured in a paramilitary manner. Currently, the only female on the department, Mollie developed a special interest in technical rescue operations and now has a number of ropes and confined space trainings...

Marc Hill has an impressive 20-year public service career, holding positions as a teacher, coach, principal, firefighter, engineer, and Fire Chief for both volunteer and career departments. He's also an accomplished author, with the Amazon bestseller "Two Dark Thirty: True Stories to Inspire Teaching and Learning in our local heroes" and its accompanying workbook. Marc's qualific...

Welcome to episode 9 of The Forward Firefighter.  In this episode, I chat with Chief Troy Haase from the Portage, Wisconsin Fire Department. Chief Haase was selected to be the Portage Fire Chief in the fall of 2000.  He has over 30 years of experience in the fire service.  For the majority of those years, he served as a career firefighter paramedic on the Fond du Lac Fire and Rescue Department, wh...

In this episode, I invited Tom Merrill as my guest to discuss just what a professional volunteer fire department is and what it means to be a professional volunteer firefighter.  Career or volunteer, we are providing public service doing a job that can kill you.  We need to take this work seriously, career or volunteer, because the communities we serve deserve our very best. Tom is a 39-year fire...

In this episode, I will talk with some of the newest members of the Columbus, Wisconsin Volunteer Fire Department. New members of the fire department are required to serve a year as a probationary firefighter.  During that probationary period, new members are required to take a 60-hour entry level firefighter class.  They are then encouraged to take the Firefighter I State Certification course soo...

Welcome to the Forward Firefighter Podcast, Episode 6, featuring Lane Heins.  In this episode, we discuss a few different topics, but the main focus is on PTSD in the fire service. Lane Heins began his career in Emergency Services in 1994 as an EMT with Green County EMS in Monroe. While attending University of Wisconsin Platteville he joined the Platteville Fire Department and Platteville EMS orga...

Welcome to Episode #5 of the Forward Firefighter podcast.  In this episode, you will hear from Lt. Bryan Keup, a career firefighter from the City of Waukesha Fire Department.  My focus is usually on the volunteer side of things, but Lt. Keup has a good message to share for all fire departments, volunteer and career.  After serving in the United States Air Force Special Operations, his fire service...

This interview takes place on Friday, March 17, 2023 (St. Patrick’s Day!) at the Columbus Fire Station.  This show features Fall River Captain Tom Stoltenburg.  Fall River, Wisconsin, is a neighboring community to the northwest of Columbus.  This guy does it all.  He can teach us a lot about balancing priorities.  He is currently active on three separate fire departments; Fall River, Arlington, an...

Columbus, WI Fire Department, Deputy Chief Jerrod Fox.  Raised on a dairy farm outside of Columbus, Fox moved within city limits in to join the volunteer fire department in 1998.  Since that time, he climbed the ranks from firefighter to his current role as deputy chief.  Listen in as we discuss his numerous roles including PIO, coaching experiences, fire investigations, and just so...

In this episode, you will hear from Columbus, Wisconsin Fire Department Chief, Scott Hazeltine.  Chief Hazeltine has been in the fire service since 1979.  Since then, he has held numerous positions, from firefighter /EMT to fire chief.  Chief also served on the Juda and Browntown Fire Department in addition to Columbus.  Listen to Chief Hazeltine and learn about what is new at...

Trailer for The Forward Firefighter Podcast

Learn what this podcast is about, the person behind the idea, about volunteer fire departments, and what it takes to be a volunteer firefighter.