The Professional Brotherhood™

On today's episode Kara and Brian discuss the "brotherhood".  Are we paying attention to our team? Do we recognize when a brother or sister is going through a tough time? Are we checking in on them? Are we truly behaving like a brother or are we just tossing that word around like it doesn't mean anything? About our hosts: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 3...

On Friday, July 29, 2022 I had the opportunity to be a guest on WRCR’s “Who Wants to be a Volunteer?”  Thank you Chris Kear and Gordon Wren for having me on the show and thank you for all you do for the fire service. The interview begins at approximately the 25.00 mark. About our hosts: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the...

At one of our recent seminars a student asked me, "Why do so many career firefighters hate volunteers?"  It's not the first time I've been asked this question, but it's a topic I have always chosen not to address on the show for various reasons.  After pondering my own personal feelings and beliefs along with the input of others, I feel like we've finally addressed th...

Have you ever heard a volunteer firefighter refer to themself as "just a volunteer" or maybe you've even referred to yourself in such a way at some point in your career.  On today's episode, Brian dives into the "just a volunteer" mindset.  Listen in with an open mind, because this one may sting a bit. About our hosts: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the...

On today's episode Brian and Kara take a trip to rural small town American with lieutenant Bill Smith and firefighter Evan Spaulding from the Erieville (NY) Fire Department. Small town volunteer fire departments face even greater challenges to when it comes to the recruitment and retention of members and the ability to respond to all types of emergencies when called.  About our hosts: Brian S...

On Tuesday, March 8, 2022, the Liberty Fire Department (Sullivan County, NY) was dispatched to an activated alarm at Buckley Garden Apartments.  While en-route command was notified of a smoke condition with the possibility of victims entrapped on the upper floors.  The incident quickly changed from "just another AFA"!  On today's episode Brian and Kara have an open conversation abou...

Let's take a moment to discuss two works that can defeat you before your even try.... "I can't!" About our hosts: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and for the past 17 years has been a New York state fire instructor assigned to Sullivan County, NY.  Soller also served as chi...

On today's episode Brian and Kara discuss the recent "Join Sullivan Fire" event in Sullivan County, NY and the future of the podcast. Tune in and check it out!  About our hosts: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and for the past 17 years has been a New York state fire instructor...

Think the unthinkable can never happen to you, your agency or your mutual aid? Think again, because "it can"! **we apologize for the sound quality of this episode.  About our hosts: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and for the past 17 years has been a New York state fire instructor a...

On today's episode Brian and Kara are joined by members of the Sullivan County (NY) Recruitment and Retention Task Force. In early spring of 2021, the Sullivan County Bureau of Fire created the recruitment and retention task force  Their mission is twofold - inspire more of our friends and neighbors to join the fire service and to ensure the success of our current members.  Learn how the task...

Is your organization failing?  Who's to blame for that failure?  On today's episode, Brian discusses organizational mindset, leadership, and the treatment of our membership!  About our hosts: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and for the past 17 years has been a New York state fire in...

Todays episode is sponsored by @daddymacdyes Get your custom disc golf discs at daddymacdyes.com and use promo code brotherhood20 On todays episode Brian and Kara dive back into volunteer fire department elections.  Topics discussed are setting our officers up for success, commitment, job requirements, disagreeing with others and attempting to have a successful career while continuing to be everyo...

Who's responsible for helping to ensure a firefighters success?  Is it on the leadership to follow up and make sure that he/she/they have all the tools necessary and follow up regularly, or is it on the firefighter to chase down the leadership to ensure they own success? Join Brian, Kara and guests deputy chief Heath Pannell and Lt. Cecil Hunter as we discuss this, as well as mentorship, lead...

On today's episode Brian discusses the career /  volunteer comparison game!  Why can't we just focus on being the best firefighter that we can be? Why do we feel the need to compare ourselves to others? Why do some of us spend so much time on social media feeding into the negativity? About our host: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as...

On todays episode Brian discusses "priorities".  Is the volunteer fire service a priority in our life? Is our training a priority? Is our desire to be a professional a priority?  About our host: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and for the past 17 years has been a New York state fire...

On todays episode Brian discusses two of his favorite topics, passion and professionalism and why they are both vital to your success in the volunteer fire service. About our host: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and for the past 17 years has been a New York state fire instructor assigned to...

It was an honor to spend some time with Jim Moss on his podcast "Firefighter Success".  Jim is the author of "Firefighter Success" and the co-author of "Firefighter Functional Fitness".  Jim is a friend of the "Professional Brotherhood" and has been our our show multiple times. We hope you enjoy listening to episode 32 of "Firefighter Success" as m...

On today's episode Brian and Kara discuss a few traits that are key to becoming and remaining a successful, professional volunteer firefighter. Inspiration - and how it relates to our fitness journey. Hydration - an extremely important part of our overall preparation. Dedication - a key element to our overall success in the fire service and life.  About our hosts: Brian Soller has been an act...

Yes!!  We are still here and we don' t plan on going anywhere soon.   On today's episode, Brian discusses what's been going on over the past few weeks, the podcast, our platform and the future.  About our host: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and for the past 17 years has been...

Mutual aid, automatic aid, staffing your apparatus, knowing who to call for specific situations or specialties, it's all about setting yourself and your company up for success and not getting caught with our pants down!  About our host: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and for the past 17...

It's hard to believe, 100 episodes!  We celebrate this podcasting milestone with none other than Jeremy Sanders from the Crew 1st Culture podcast.  Jeremy is also celebrating his 100th episode. We could not have gotten this far without the support of our loyal listeners!  We thank you for your continued support. About our hosts: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years...

On today's episode Brian discusses being the "senior firefighter" and the responsibility that comes along with that position as  well as how our "attitude" can impact others.  About our host: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and for the past 17 years has been a New Yor...

On today's episode Brian is joined by friend and co-creator of "Setting Our Volunteers Up For Success", Assistant Chief Tom Andryshak.  Tom is a career firefighter with the Arlington Fire District in Dutchess County, NY and a volunteer firefighter / assistant chief with the Florida Fire District in Orange County, NY.  He is also an NYS Paramedic  as well as a NYS Fire Instructor ass...

Listener Request On todays mutual aid episode Brian discusses the "rekindle".  Why are they so common in the volunteer fire service and why aren't we taking the time needed to conduct a proper overhaul and utilize the tools at our disposal.  About our host: Brian Soller has been an active volunteer for the last 30+ years.  He currently serves as assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire...

About our Guest: Tim Ahern is a Principal and Founder of Ahern, Murphy & Associates. Tim is the Past Chairman of the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce, Past President of the Syracuse University Football Letterman’s Club, Past Chairman of Beacon Federal Bank, Board Member of Byrne Dairy and The Fulton Group and a former trustee at Cazenovia College. He has been recognized for his accomplishm...