FIREFIGHTER SUCCESS PODCAST

Jim Silvernail is the fire chief of the Kirkwood Fire Department of St. Louis County, Missouri, and a 25-year veteran of the fire service. He is also a graduate of the National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer Program and is internationally accredited as a Chief Fire Officer through the Center of Public Safety Excellence.

Chief Silvernail is the author of Suburban Fire Tactics and the co-author of Suburban Fire Tactics from the Right Seat. In addition to Suburban Fire Tactics, Jim has written numerous articles for Fire Engineering Magazine. He was a lead instructor at the St. Louis County Fire Academy, specializing in truck company operations. He shares his message nationally and has presented at FDIC for the past 10 years. 

Chief Silvernail served on the board of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors and has also served as a Planning Team Manager of Missouri Task Force 1, a FEMA Urban Search & Rescue team.

Brian Soller has been an active volunteer firefighter for the last 31 years.  He currently serves as the assistant chief of the Rock Hill Fire Department and was their fire chief from 2018-2020. Soller also served as chief of the Monticello Fire Department from 2001-2002. 

Brian is a nationally certified level 2 fire instructor, nationally certified fire officer, an advanced swift water / flood rescue technician and instructor. For the past 17 years has been a New York state fire instructor assigned to Sullivan County, NY. 

He speaks extensively on the promotion of professionalism in the volunteer fire service through his podcast and YouTube channel, "The Professional Brotherhood." Lastly, he is the co-creator of the class: “Setting Our Volunteers Up For Success.”

Learn more at: ProfessionalBrotherhood.com

Kara Judd is a fire lieutenant in upstate New York. She is also the only female in her fire department and the first to hold a line officer position. Additionally, she is a firefighter/EMT for Clark Burn Center at Upstate Hospital in Syracuse, New York, where her role is outreach and education.

Kara is the founder and owner of St. Florian Fitness, where she brings education and awareness to reducing firefighter line-of-duty deaths. It is her passion and mission to help firefighters get healthy and stay healthy. 

Follow St. Florian Fitness on Instagram and Facebook: @st.florianfitness

Jeremy Sanders has served for 19 years on a suburban career fire department in central Oklahoma where he currently holds the rank of Captain. In 2020 he created Crew 1st Culture and the Crew 1st Culture Podcast in which he shares the importance of the pursuit of daily personal growth. This daily growth has helped him to not only become a better firefighter and officer but also a better dad and husband. He is married with 7 kids and lives on a small farm just outside of Tulsa.

Listen to the Crew 1st Culture Podcast on all podcasting outlets and follow Jeremy on social media: @Crew1stCulture

Craig Stalowy started his fire service career in the Chicago area in 2004 before eventually moving to Colorado in 2009. He worked for the City of Colorado Springs for 6 years and is currently a Firefighter/Paramedic on a truck company for East Metro Fire Rescue (CO).

Joining John Spera and Tom Johnson, Craig became a member of the Fit to Fight Fire team in 2019. He is the primary author of Fit to Fight Fire’s newest book: The Backstep.

He has completed the Ironman race and multiple ultramarathons. He is also a lead instructor with Elevated Safety, a company that provides world-class training on confined space and rope rescue. Lastly, Craig was awarded the Medal of Valor for his efforts as the SWAT Medic at the 2015 Planned Parenthood Shooting in Colorado Springs.

Learn more at FitToFightFire.com. 

James Geering was born and bred in Bath, England. After moving to the United States in 2002, he began his journey in the fire service, ultimately serving for fourteen years as a firefighter/paramedic on both the East and West Coasts. 

James started The Behind the Shield Podcast in 2016 after losing multiple first responders to a host of physical and mental health issues. In 2020, James released his book: “One More Light: Life, Death and Humanity Through the Eyes of a Firefighter” to make even more of a difference in the first responder and civilian wellness arena.

Learn more at JamesGeering.com

Robert C. Owens Sr. is a captain and EMT intermediate with the Henrico County, Virginia Division of Fire. He began his fire service career with the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department and previously served as a career firefighter in Stafford County, Virginia. 

Owens is a certified Fire Instructor II and Fire Officer IV by the Virginia Department of Fire Programs, and a Mass Casualty Incident Management instructor for the Virginia Office of EMS. He graduated as a member of the Charter Class for the National Fire Academy’s Managing Officer Program and holds a bachelor’s degree from Columbia Southern University. 

He is perhaps best known for the AverageJakeFirefighter.com Blog and for hosting the Average Jake Firefighter Podcast.

Josh Chase is a lieutenant with Norfolk Fire Rescue in Virginia, and is a 15-year veteran of the fire service. He has a passion for leadership and strengthening firefighters to lead at the informal level. Josh is the author of Jump Seat Leadership: The Guide to Informal Leadership in the Fire Service, and also Take the Lead: The Guide to Taking Ownership of Your Life. He currently runs the Jump Seat Leadership Facebook page and teaches informal leadership in the fire service. Josh is also the recipient of the fire service Medal of Honor, which he received in 2019 after rescuing a child from a two-alarm apartment fire. 

Before he entered the fire service, his leadership abilities were developed and tested while he served as a sergeant in the United States Army. Josh was a crew chief and door gunner for black hawk helicopters in western Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Through his military service, fire service career, and life experience, it is his mission to strengthen, encourage, and empower others to embrace leadership as a core principle to succeed in any venue.

Learn more at JoshChase.org.

101 Rules For Firefighter Success is the Special Report download, available for free at FirefighterSuccessBook.com. It provides readers with a taste of what is inside the pages of the #1 bestselling book: Firefighter Success: 20 C's to Firefighter Excellence.

Download the free Special Report at: FirefighterSuccessBook.com

John Dixon is currently serving as the Chief of Training and Safety in the Teaneck Fire Department in New Jersey and has over 23 years in the fire service. He has earned his Fire Officer (FO) credentials from the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Graduate Grade from the Institution of Fire Engineers, Training Officer credentials from the International Society of Fire Service Instructors, and is a National Fire Academy alumnus. 

Chief Dixon has a passion for training, mentoring, and inspiring up-and-coming officers and firefighters. He is a member of Project Kill the Flashover Executive Board, Peer Reviewer for the Center of Public Safety Excellence, and currently serves as the New Jersey State Lead Advocate for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.

Learn more at: InstructorJohnDixon.com