Code 3 - The Firefighters Podcast

What do you do when you respond to a hazmat situation if you’re not a hazmat specialist?

Do you wait for the hazmat specialists to arrive? What if it sounds like a relatively minor situation, like someone who mixed two household cleaning products together and got an unfortunate result?

You’d probably go in to rescue the homeowner, right?

Of course, that means putting on all your PPE, including the SCBA and the hood.

Now, what if the location has a green cloud coming from the windows?

Well, that’s a little scarier, isn’t it? Maybe it’s time for the specialists to step in.

As you can see, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to these situations.

Here to clear up some of the confusion is Phil Ambrose, He’s the founder of HazSim and retired from the Glendale, California Fire Department after 24 years of service.

The next time you’re doing a training evolution, notice what your officer is doing. Is he or she standing nearby watching you train? Or are they actively training alongside you?

The answer says a lot about the officer’s leadership philosophy.

My guest today is Jeremy Sanders. He says that it’s better leadership for that officer to be doing the same skills you’re training on.

And if you are that officer, why aren’t you in there, participating?

It’s better for morale, it’s better for building respect, and it keeps you ready to take action when necessary.

Jeremy is a 23-year fire service veteran from the Edmond Fire Department in central Oklahoma. He is also the founder of Crew 1st Culture and The Crew 1st Culture Podcast.

A few years back, Frank Leeb put together a list of things probies need to know when they start work. Then he realized the items on the list are actually important for firefighters to keep in mind for their whole careers.

Today, I’m talking with Frank about some of the rules or virtues on the list and how he came up with them.

Frank was a 30+ year veteran of the FDNY when he retired in 2024. He served in several staff positions, including chief of the fire academy, chief of training, and chief of safety. He's currently a member of the East Farmingdale, NY, Volunteer Fire Department, where he's been since 1983.

There’s a campaign going on that aims to give volunteer fire departments some tools to help recruit new members.

It’s called “A Hustle Worth Having” and it’s aimed at Gen Z-aged community members. For those unfamiliar with the term, it's roughly defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, or 14 to 29 years old.

The International Association of Fire Chiefs is behind the campaign and has made all the campaign assets available at no cost to any fire department that wants to use them.

My guest is Jason Caughey, the Fire Chief of the Laramie County Fire Authority in Wyoming and an IAFC board member

How would you like to work the busiest volunteer firehouse in the nation?

This house answers an average of four to five thousand calls for service a year. That’s more than many career departments, and they do it out of one station.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department has no problem recruiting firefighters. They even staff a minimum of four people on overnights. And this is not a combination department. It’s all-volunteer.

Located in Prince George's County, Maryland, Kentland prides itself on high standards.

How do they do all this?

Here to answer that question is Alex Caldaro, the Truck 33 Sergeant. He’s a fifteen-year veteran of the fire service who also works at Wilson’s Mills Fire Department in Clayton, North Carolina, where he’s Captain of Ladder 5.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Airlines flight 93.

That means there’s now a whole generation that’s grown up since the attacks and views them as history.

There’s a new documentary out now that will help that generation understand what 9-11 means to this nation and why.

“The Heroism and Resiliency of 9-11” is the film. It features first-person accounts, actual footage of the attacks and dramatized re-enactments of events. It tells the story through the eyes of people who were there.

It’s narrated by well-known actor Gary Sinise. In 2011, he started the Gary Sinise Foundation to serve veterans, first responders, and their families.

And with me today is the film's executive producer, Dr. Chris Meek. Chris was there, at ground zero, on September 11th, 2001, working for Goldman Sachs.

He’s since become involved with several charities, notably SoldierStrong, which he co-founded to support VA Hospitals.

On this edition of Code 3, we're talking with a firefighter/paramedic who is using the internet to reach young people to tell them about a career as a firefighter.

RJ Clarke is working on a documentary photography project titled "The Color of Fire."

After 15 years in the fire service, RJ noticed that young kids in the communities he visited rarely considered firefighting as a career because they rarely saw representation of firefighters of color. Currently, about 8 percent of US firefighters are black.

In response, he set out to document black firefighters during the quieter, everyday moments between alarms, as well as at work on the fireground.

With over a million views online, the project highlights positive representation, community connection, and the true reality of the job. Today, he shares what inspired the project, the impact it’s having, and his plans to turn it into a traveling gallery for the next generation.

On today’s edition, we’re diving into a raw, unfiltered conversation about what happens when the turnout gear comes off and the cumulative weight of the job follows you home.

Joining me today is James Owen, a retired 30-year first responder and former Long Beach fire Captain. James is the author of the new book The Last Patient: A Memoir of Resilience and Recovery.

We talk about the hard realities of job stress, hitting rock bottom, dealing with trauma, and the work it takes to truly recover—not just for yourself, but for your family

adder work is one of the most basic parts of firefighting.

But basic does not always mean simple.

There is a lot of technique involved in throwing, carrying, and placing a ladder correctly.

And small decisions can have a big impact on how well that ladder works when it matters.

Today, we’re looking in-depth at best practices for using ladders,

We’ll talk about the mechanics behind a good ladder throw.

We’ll talk about storage and deployment on the rig.

And we’ll look at some of the common mistakes firefighters make.

My guest today is Sam Hittle. He’s a Captain with the Wichita, Kansas, Fire Department. He is an FDIC Instructor, a Traditions Training Instructor, a Wichita HOT Instructor, and an FDIC Lecturer. He has been published multiple times by Fire Engineering.

Today, we’re diving deep into fireground operations and functional strategy. Our focus is on how departments can adapt when dedicated truck companies are not available.

When you need an effective, efficient, and safe coordinated fire attack, truck company operations aren't optional—they are an absolute necessity. But what happens when your department doesn't have dedicated truck companies in the station?

To answer that question, we are joined by a veteran fire chief and co-author of the 2024 Fire Engineering book, The Non-Traditional Truck Company. Jim Silvernail is chief of the Kirkwood Fire Department of St. Louis County, Missouri. He’s a 25-year veteran of the fire service here to discuss how your department can build a "jack-of-all-trades" culture and how suburban and rural departments can master truck work using the rigs they already have.