B Shifter

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We call this "Open Shift", discussing a variety of topics with the crew this time around including health and wellness, wild land fires, communications and out of control IC's.

This episode features Nick Brunacini,  John Vance,  Sean Glaser and Mike Dobesh.

Sean Glaser is currently a lead instructor for the Train the Trainer Blue Card Command Training and Certification program (for Type 4 & 5 Incident types).  He is assigned as Assistant Chief of Operations for the Vandenberg Space Force Fire Department located on the Central Coast of California.  Sean has served 31 years in the fire service as a DOD firefighter.  

Mike Dobesh has been in the fire service since 1996, currently serving as the Fire Chief for the Richfield Fire Department (MN).  He has held the rank of a Chief Officer since 2004.  As an active member of multiple other committees and work groups, Mike is passionate about firefighter health, safety, enhancing training, and expanding leadership within the Fire Service and all of its strategic partners. 

Mike is an Blue Card Lead Instructor , serves on the Minnesota Type III Incident Management team, past-president of the Hennepin Fire Chiefs Association and the Metro Fire Chief Officers Association (MN), and is a co-founder of the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFIRE) https://mnfireinitiative.com/.  

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This episode was recored in Phoenix, AZ at the Alan V. Brunacini Command Training Center. 

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It's Leadership Thursday so we gathered the chief's around the table to talk about stuff on the strategic level and tell a few light hearted stories too. It like having microphones at a support group for chief officers (and you are invited too!). This week we talk about ballistic protection for firefighters, alternative response and taking care of the safety of Firefighters while de-victimizing our customers.

This episode features Terry Garrison, Nick Brunacini and John Vance.

Sign up for our two day command training workshops here.

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This episode was recored in Phoenix, AZ at the Alan V. Brunacini Command Training Center. 

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We are talking to Deputy Assistant Chief Frank Leeb of the FDNY (see his bio below) about cancer prevention and work life balance.

The day after we interviewed Chief Leeb, the FDNY performed a heroic rope rescue at on the 20th floor during a working fire. Read all about it here: https://www.firefighterclosecalls.com/from-the-ic-about-the-fdny-rope-rescue-fire/

A free Healthcare Provider’s Guide to Firefighter Physicals is for you to bring to your physician to help them understand the physiological demands of firefighting and the resulting health risks research shows firefighters are most prone to. Download it here: https://www.fstaresearch.org/resource/?FstarId=11591

Age 40 and Above Who Actively (or Did) Respond to Fires
40 Plus Fire is a Fire Service group effort to help you, your family and departments better understand PROSTATE CANCER PREVENTION, RISKS AND SOLUTIONS. It was started because FIREFIGHTERS are generally uneducated about PROSTATE CANCER. https://www.40plusfire.com/

Sign up for the Health & Safety Workshop here.

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Frank Leeb is a deputy assistant chief in FDNY. Leeb has been a member of FDNY since 1992 and a member of the East Farmingdale, NY, Fire Department since 1983. He holds a bachelor's degree in fire service administration from the State University of New York and a master’s degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

Josh Blum, Blue Card Program Manager and has been in the fire service since 1993. He began his service as a volunteer firefighter before accepting a full-time career position. Josh served as the deputy chief of operations for the Loveland Symmes (Ohio) Fire Department, where he measurably increased the department’s training and operational effectiveness. Josh retired from Loveland Symmes in 2020 and now works for Blue Card as the program manager in all aspects of curriculum development and program delivery. Josh continues to work directly with departments throughout Southern Ohio assisting with training and fire department operations. Josh has developed and managed many fire service training programs throughout his career. He is a graduate of the Ohio Fire Executive Program

Contact Josh Blum at [email protected]

Jeff King who is our Professional Development Manager, Lead Instructor and Houston Fire Department member.  Jeffery L. King began his career with the Houston Fire Department in 2001 and currently serves as a safety officer. As a dedicated student of the fire service, Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science in fire science and a Master of Science in emergency services management. He has also earned the professional designations of fire service chief executive officer through the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University and chief training officer through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Jeff is a graduate of the City of Houston’s Leadership Institute Program. He lives in Spring, Texas, with his wife, Tracy, and their daughters Savannah and Ma

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It's Leadership Thursday so we gathered the chief's around the table to talk about stuff on the strategic level and tell a few light hearted stories too. It like having microphones at a support group for chief officers (and you are invited too!).

This episode features Terry Garrison, Nick Brunacini and John Vance.

Sign up for our two day command training workshops here.

Shop B Shifter here. 

This episode was recored in Phoenix, AZ at the Alan V. Brunacini Command Training Center. 

Please subscribe!

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This episode is co-hosted by Josh Blum, John Vance & Doug Wehmeyer.

The guys are talking hazard zone accountability and how proper accountability on the task, tactical and strategic level outperforms any other system 

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This episode was recored in Westbrook, Maine on October 6, 2022. 

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This week there was a joint safety advisory issued regarding the emergency alert button (EAB) on portable radios. You can read that here.

This episode is co-hosted by Josh Blum, John Vance & Doug Wehmeyer.

Sign up for our two day command training workshops here.

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This episode was recored in Excelsior, MN,  Phoenix, AZ and Deerfield Township, OH on October 19, 2022. 

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This episode is co-hosted by Josh Blum, John Vance & Doug Wehmeyer (making his B Shifter debut!).

Douglas Wehmeyer is a thirty-three-year veteran of the fire service holding every rank from fire cadet to fire chief. He is currently a Deputy Fire Chief and Shift Commander for Deerfield Township Fire Rescue Department in Warren County, Ohio and a part-time Fire Chief for his hometown of Lockland, Ohio. Doug is a professor for Columbia Southern University. He is an Executive Fire Officer Program (EFOP) Graduate and holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Anna Maria College.

We talk about division operations and the impact having a division boss can have on an incident.

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This episode was recored in Westbrook, Maine on October 6, 2022. 

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This episode is co-hosted by Josh Blum and John Vance.

This episode features rescue radio traffic from Georgia and an Arizona department that does Blue Card without an active tactical radio channel dispatcher.

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This episode was recorded in Minnetonka, MN on September 21, 2022

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You can find information on the FSRI study here.

This three-year Research and Development Project examines fireground size-up measures and search and rescue operations as part of a coordinated fire attack on a residential structure.

Our guest is Craig Weinschenk, Research Engineer.

Craig is a Research Engineer with UL's Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI). He holds a Master of Science and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from The University of Texas-Austin. During his graduate studies, Craig worked with the Austin Fire Department on analyzing firefighter compliance to changes in standard operating guidelines and on characterizing the impact of forced ventilation on room-scale fires. Since graduation, he has conducted full-scale residential fire experiments designed to characterize the thermal environment within the structure as well as exposed firefighter personal protective equipment. Craig is also a developer of NIST's Fire Dynamics Simulator (FDS) Version 6. He has used FDS to study the fire dynamics and thermal environment of fires that resulted in line-of-duty deaths and injuries to firefighters.

Nick Brunacini is the leader of B Shifter and Blue Card. He joined the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD) in 1980. He served seven years as a firefighter on different engine companies before promoting to captain and working nine years on a ladder company. Nick served as a battalion chief for five years, and in 2001, he was promoted to shift commander. He then spent the next five years developing and teaching the Blue Card curriculum at the PFD’s Command Training Center. His last assignment with the PFD was south shift commander; he retired from the department in 2009. Nick is the author of “B-Shifter—A Firefighter’s Memoir.” He also co-wrote “Command Safety.”

Contact Nick Brunacini at [email protected]

Josh Blum, Blue Card Program Manager and has been in the fire service since 1993. He began his service as a volunteer firefighter before accepting a full-time career position. Josh served as the deputy chief of operations for the Loveland Symmes (Ohio) Fire Department, where he measurably increased the department’s training and operational effectiveness. Josh retired from Loveland Symmes in 2020 and now works for Blue Card as the program manager in all aspects of curriculum development and program delivery. Josh continues to work directly with departments throughout Southern Ohio assisting with training and fire department operations. Josh has developed and managed many fire service training programs throughout his career. He is a graduate of the Ohio Fire Executive Program

Contact Josh Blum at [email protected]

Jeff King who is our Professional Development Manager, Lead Instructor and Houston Fire Department member.  
Jeffery L. King began his career with the Houston Fire Department in 2001 and currently serves as a safety officer. As a dedicated student of the fire service, Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science in fire science and a Master of Science in emergency services management. He has also earned the professional designations of fire service chief executive officer through the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University and chief training officer through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Jeff is a graduate of the City of Houston’s Leadership Institute Program. He lives in Spring, Texas, with his wife, Tracy, and their daughters Savannah and Madigan.

You can contact Jeff at [email protected]

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We are talking fire science with Daniel Madrzykowski. Dan is the Director of Research for the UL's Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI). He has a PhD in fire engineering from the University of Canterbury and a MS in fire protection engineering from the University of Maryland. Dan has more than 32 years of experience working to improve fire safety by conducting research and development in areas of: fire dynamics, fire test methods, fire control, and fire investigation. Dan is a member of the NFPA and serves on the committees for Fire Service Training, Structural Fire Fighting, and Fire Investigation. He is a member of the ISFSI and co-developed the Understanding and Fighting Basement Fires course. Dan has collaborated with IAAI and IAFC in the development of several on-line training programs. Dan is a Fellow with the SFPE and was presented with the Harold E. Nelson Service Award in 2017. As a result of his firefighting research, he has been honored with many awards including: the rank of Honorary Battalion Chief with the FDNY, the IAFC President’s Award, the IFSTA Granito Award, the ISFSI Instructor of the Year, and the Citizen Services, Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal.

At the end of the episode we draw a card from Bruno's Timeless Tactical Truth's and discuss it.

Nick Brunacini is the leader of B Shifter and Blue Card. He joined the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD) in 1980. He served seven years as a firefighter on different engine companies before promoting to captain and working nine years on a ladder company. Nick served as a battalion chief for five years, and in 2001, he was promoted to shift commander. He then spent the next five years developing and teaching the Blue Card curriculum at the PFD’s Command Training Center. His last assignment with the PFD was south shift commander; he retired from the department in 2009. Nick is the author of “B-Shifter—A Firefighter’s Memoir.” He also co-wrote “Command Safety.”

Contact Nick Brunacini at [email protected]

Josh Blum, Blue Card Program Manager and has been in the fire service since 1993. He began his service as a volunteer firefighter before accepting a full-time career position. Josh served as the deputy chief of operations for the Loveland Symmes (Ohio) Fire Department, where he measurably increased the department’s training and operational effectiveness. Josh retired from Loveland Symmes in 2020 and now works for Blue Card as the program manager in all aspects of curriculum development and program delivery. Josh continues to work directly with departments throughout Southern Ohio assisting with training and fire department operations. Josh has developed and managed many fire service training programs throughout his career. He is a graduate of the Ohio Fire Executive Program

Contact Josh Blum at [email protected]

Jeff King who is our Professional Development Manager, Lead Instructor and Houston Fire Department member. He joins us on this episode to talk all things Blue Card, especially in a large system like Houston. Contact Jeff at [email protected]

Jeffery L. King began his career with the Houston Fire Department in 2001 and currently serves as a safety officer. As a dedicated student of the fire service, Jeff earned a Bachelor of Science in fire science and a Master of Science in emergency services management. He has also earned the professional designations of fire service chief executive officer through the Mays School of Business at Texas A&M University and chief training officer through the Center for Public Safety Excellence. Jeff is a graduate of the City of Houston’s Leadership Institute Program. He lives in Spring, Texas, with his wife, Tracy, and their daughters Savannah and Madigan.