FIREFIGHTER SUCCESS PODCAST

Jared Van Ek is a lieutenant with the Spartanburg City Fire Department in South Carolina - an ISO Class 1 and Internationally Accredited Fire Department.  He is a 31-year fire service veteran – serving 24 years as a volunteer and the last 7 as a career firefighter. 

Jared is passionate about fitness and is an avid trail runner and Spartan racer.  He is a certified Peer Fitness Trainer, a CrossFit level 1 Trainer and leads a Fitness Team as the Fire Department’s Peer Fitness Coordinator.  

Jared is also a shift Training Coordinator for the department and is a part time instructor at the Spartanburg County Emergency Services Academy.  

In addition, Jared is also the President of the Spartanburg City Professional Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 369.

Jared has been married to his wife Mary for 25 years and has two daughters, Rachael and Leah.  He enjoys spending time with his family at the beach and the lake. 

Stephen Shaw is a 26-year veteran of the fire rescue service. He is the Assistant Chief for Training & EMS for Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue. Chief Shaw is an accredited Chief Fire Officer and the chair of the EMS Subcommittee for the Fire Chiefs Association of Broward County. He serves as Vice Chair of the South Florida Local Emergency Planning Committee. He is an IAFC Hazmat Committee member and a Hazmat Specialist for USAR Task Force 2.

As an instructor and writer, his articles have been featured in Fire Engineering magazine and he is a regular contributor to the Humpday Hangout focusing on training. He has presented at multiple conferences on topics including leadership, officer development, EMS, and training. 

Lastly, he is a dedicated family man with a beautiful wife and two sons. In his spare time, he brews beer, makes handcrafted soap, and enjoys working in his garage. 

Steve Pegram is a 35-year firefighter who has served in every rank from firefighter to Chief in both the volunteer and career fire services. Chief Pegram has been Fire Chief of Goshen Township Fire and EMS since 2009, and is set to retire on January 1, 2022. He will start his new role of Township Administrator for Goshen Township soon after. 

He has a laundry list of accomplishments, which include (but are not limited to):

• Being the past president of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors,
• An FDIC Instructor and member of the Fire Engineering/FDIC Advisory Board,
• And he was awarded the President’s Award from the IAFC for his work as chairman of the COVID19 Economic Task Force
• And many more…

Chief Pegram is working towards his Masters in Public Administration and was recently accepted to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government credential program. 

Lastly, he is active in his church, serves on the board of several non-profits, and owns a consulting business with three of his best friends. He and his wife, Mollie, live in Goshen, Ohio with their children: Jack and Riley.

Brian Olson is a 13-year veteran of the Eagle Fire Department in Eagle, Idaho. He is a founding member of the Firefighter Rescue Survey, a Brothers in Battle Instructor, and a Georgia Smoke Diver. He is also a dedicated husband, father, and man of faith.

Brian one of the hard-chargers in the fire service who takes a no-nonsense, no-excuse approach to every aspect of his life.

Take the Firefighter Rescue Survey at: FirefighterRescueSurvey.com 

Dennis Reilly is a forty-eight-year fire service veteran currently serving as the Fire Chief in Pittsburg, Kansas. Prior to his current position, he was the Fire Chief in Sunrise Beach, Missouri, an Assistant Chief in North Carolina & California and he retired as a Battalion Chief in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. During his time in New Jersey, Dennis became one of the original members of the New Jersey Urban Search & Rescue Task Force 1.  As part of Task Force 1, Chief Reilly made several deployments, including New York City as part of the response to the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11. 

Chief Reilly holds a Master Degree in Public Administration from Penn State University and is a CFO. An accomplished author and lecturer, Chief Reilly is active in numerous professional development activities within the fire service. 

Outside of his fire service career, Dennis is a US Army veteran having served in Iraq during the Operation Desert Storm. From 2007 – 2010, he worked as an independent contractor providing protective services to several different government clients in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Chief Reilly has been married to his wife Ann for over 35 years. They have two adult children, and three grandchildren.

Chris Hickman has served for nearly 27 years in the emergency services. Chris currently serves as a Captain/Paramedic for Ocala Fire Rescue in Florida.

During his career, Chris has remained active as a mentor, coach, and advocate for the community’s youth. His passion for inspiring the next generation of leaders has been highlighted accomplishments that range from Florida High School Football Championships, to teaching/coaching martial arts, to mentoring the future and present members of the fire service. 

Chris is the coordinator for the Ocala-Marion Mentorship Program. The program has developed nearly 350 aspiring firefighters and has helped gain employment for many of these candidates. Chris is also passionate about training, leadership, and fitness.

Chief Eric Dreiman has been a firefighter since 1990. He has served in every rank from firefighter up to division chief. He is currently the Chief of Training at the Indianapolis Fire Department. He serves on several state and local training boards and he is currently the Chairman of the Indiana Board of Firefighting Personnel Standards and Education. 

Chief Dreiman holds multiple fire and EMS certifications and has a Bachelor’s of Science from Indiana University and a degree in Fire Science from Vincennes University. Eric teaches nationally at FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World and other regional fire conferences. He is also a contributor to Fire Engineering magazine. He has taught 1000's of firefighters across the United States and several foreign countries.

Julian Serrano is a firefighter with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue in Florida. He is passionate about mentorship, leadership, training and firefighter fitness.

Early in his career, he decided to take ownership of his fitness, losing nearly 100 pounds. Since then, he has become a Florida Smoke Diver and ultramarathon runner. 

Julian is also passionate about firefighter mental health, teaching fellow firefighters about PTSD and suicide awareness. 

Tilden Billiter is a 24-year fire service veteran and the assistant chief at the Sacramento Fire Department in California. He also serves as the director of training, overseeing all in-service training, recruit and lateral training academies, college fire academy, health and fitness program, and emergency vehicle operations program.

Tilden is the previous assistant chief of EMS and a previous shift commander. He also served as the drill master of the Regional Fire Academy, teaching nationwide on firefighter safety and survival, as well as truck company operations.