Combustible

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Episode 100 - Bob Maynard Part II - Purposeful Non-Compliance

The CTP Group

Bob is the first guest we’ve had to show up to the recording with a powerpoint presentation. And while that gave us a chuckle, it’s a presentation filled with concepts that blew us away…and it’s a presentation that he “threw together” the day before. There’s a lot here, and we barely scratched the surface on some of it, but we really dig into purposeful non-compliance in Part 2.

We also discuss getting everyone dialed in on paying attention on scene, as well as teaching all of our folks to speak up when they see something they think may be important. We also discuss what accident investigation in the airline industry may hold for the fire service, heuristics, and Bob throws in a literal war story from Vietnam about tunnel vision.

Episode 097 - George Cowgill on Resigning, Retiring, and Leaving the Birmingham Fire Department

The CTP Group

Former Birmingham Firefighter George Cowgill posted a very personal account of his time as a firefighter, and why he’s leaving that behind. If you’ve read it, you’re probably not surprised that it went viral, which is how we came across it.

In this episode, we interview George (in Birmingham) by telephone as he discusses how he decided it was time to go.

Episode 096 - We Debate What the Hell a Psychological Contract Is

The CTP Group

Like the picture above, psychological contracts can be binding, circular, heavy, old, rusty, and sometimes broken.

Before this episode, two of us hadn’t ever heard of a psychological contract, but apparently we all have them. What they really are, who you have them with, and whether or not it’s okay to break them are questions that aren’t so easily answered, but we give it the ol’ Combustible try.

Episode 095 - Know Your Enemy

The CTP Group

Fire is where the glory is. They call us firefighters, not building fighters. But fire isn’t really the enemy, is it? How well do you know your enemy?

Episode 094 - Every...Single...One

The CTP Group

Murder holes, force multipliers, and obstacles. All of them are components leading to what very well may be a unified theory of firefighters.

Episode 093 - We Solve The Pay Problem

The CTP Group

Spoiler Alert: we don’t really solve the pay problem. That would break a long-standing tradition on our podcast of not solving anything. But there are virtual arms races in some regions as departments raise salaries to compete for what seems to be an ever-shrinking pool of firefighters. Pay is one of those things that we’re all talking about, but we haven’t talked about. So, we took a stab at it.

Episode 092 - That I May See

The CTP Group

What happens when lightning doesn’t strike a house, and you don’t act like the other firefighters?

Episode 091 - The Pathfinder Part III

The CTP Group

And we wrap up our series on The Pathfinder with Part III, which picks up right where we left off at the end of Part II.