“You know what I wanted to do when I was in the business? I wanted to survive.”

Ted Corporandy is our guest on Episode 2 of Refined By Fire. A thirty-six year veteran of the fire service, Chief Corporandy spent the majority of his career in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, fighting fire out of some of America’s busiest firehouses. Ted is the the co-founder of the visionary web magazine FireNuggets, the first of its kind for the fire service.  Retiring from SFFD in 2006 as a Battalion Chief, Ted remains a highly influential figure in the fire service, both through his own direct contributions and through those who have been influenced by him.

In this talk, we touch on Chief Corporandy’s experiences as a young wildland firefighter, navigating fire service traditions, the Gorter Nozzle, fighting fire in the Tenderloin, the importance of empathy, the value of social media for the 21st Century firefighter, and lots more. Chief Corporandy was extremely gracious to spend the time with us and we’re excited to the share it with you!

Chief Corporandy's article on tradition:

Tradition: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Books mentioned by Chief Corporandy:

Fire Officer’s Handbook of Tactics

Building Construction for the Fire Service

Random Thoughts