FIREFIGHTER SUCCESS PODCAST

Cayla Harper is a firefighter/paramedic for the Virginia Beach Fire Department on a heavy rescue, and has been in the fire service for 10 years. She has also been part of an ocean rescue lifesaving service for 14 years.

Cayla is certified at the technician level for rope rescue, confined space rescue, trench rescue, vehicle rescue and structural collapse, and she is also a hazardous materials technician. Cayla’s mission is to always be better than the day before and to never lean on excuses for anything. She believes you can never stop learning in this profession, and you can never be good enough at a job that can kill you.

Get the Firefighter Success Book at: FirefighterSuccessBook.com 

Captain Brendon Trayner started his public safety career 15 years ago, and currently works in the town of Gilbert, Arizona. Brendon is the author of the Amazon #1 Bestseller: Fire Interview - The Storyteller Method. He is passionate about firefighter recruitment as well as assisting firefighters with the promotional process. Brendon is always seeking to find ways to innovate and make the process better. 

He has also been a recruit training officer, health and fitness instructor, Haz-Mat technician, paramedic, and teaches special operations throughout Arizona. Captain Trayner is also an Executive Board member for the International Association of Firefighters, overseeing recruitment and promotional processes.

Buy the Fire Interview book at Amazon.com. 

Gary Ludwig currently serves as the Fire Chief of the ISO Class 1 Champaign Fire Department in Illinois and he has 43 years of fire, rescue, and EMS experience. 

Chief Ludwig started his career with the City of St. Louis at age 18, just two months out of high school. He eventually rose through the ranks and retired as the Chief Paramedic of the St. Louis Fire Department after 25 years of service.  He has also served 10 years as Deputy Fire Chief for the Memphis Fire Department, managing EMS and the Emergency Management Office. He has a Master’s degree in Business and Management, and has been a licensed paramedic for over 40 years.  

He has written over 500 articles for professional fire and EMS publications and is the author of four best-selling books, including Fully Involved Leadership. He has also been invited to speak at over 400 professional EMS or fire conferences or seminars.  

Most recently, he served as the President and Chairman of the Board of the International Association of Fire Chiefs during the 2019-2020 term. 

Learn more at GaryLudwigBooks.com

A.B. Turenne is a 22-year veteran of the fire service and currently a career firefighter in Middlesex County, Connecticut.

Starting in 2017 at nearly 40 years of age, A.B. made an amazing personal transformation to his health and fitness, losing over 150 pounds. 

A.B. is also a certified fire instructor II at the eastern Connecticut Fire School and a graduate from the Master of Public Administration program at Anna Maria College.  Lastly, he is a contributor to the Fire Engineering Training Community.

Chief Aaron Heller is a 37-year veteran of the fire service, beginning his fire service career in 1984. He is a Deputy Chief in the Hamilton, New Jersey Fire Department. He previously served as the Fire Chief for the Hamilton Township Fire District #9. Deputy Chief Heller is a NJ Level 2 instructor, fire official, and EMT. He is a past chief of the New Egypt Volunteer Fire Company and past chairman of the Plumsted Township Board of Fire Commissioners. 

Chief Heller is a senior instructor with the Mercer County Fire Academy.  He instructs and presents at several national, regional, and local training events throughout the United States and abroad. He has been published in Fire Engineering Magazine, Fire & Rescue Magazine, The Fire Department Training Network, and several local publications. He is a former co-host of Fire Engineering’s Humpday Hangout on Training. Aaron is a founding member of the Jersey F.O.O.L.S chapter of the Fraternal Order Of Leatherhead Society. Chief Heller holds a Bachelors degree in Fire Science from Columbia Southern University. Lastly, he is the founder and owner of On Scene Training Associates, LLC.

Learn more at OnSceneTraining.com.

Forest Reeder is a 43-year veteran of the fire service and is currently the Fire Chief in Tinley Park, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. He has instructed at FDIC for over 20 years and teaches nationally on fire service training, safety, and officer development-related topics. He is a previous recipient of the George D. Post Instructor of the Year award.

He is the co-author of Foundations of Instructional Delivery; Fire Instructor 1 and Fire Service Instructor, Principles and Practices. He is the author of the weekly drill feature at FirefighterCloseCalls.com and at FireEngineering.com. 

Learn more at TheTrainingOfficer.com.

Ryan Rodriquez is a firefighter/paramedic who has been on the job for 15 years. He is the founder, owner, and operator of IGNITEd, a company where he provides public strength training and nutrition coaching services as well as private leadership and teamwork consulting services. 

Ryan is also in the podcast arena where he writes, produces, and hosts the IGNITEd Firefighter Podcast.  On his show he talks about all things fire service related in order to help his audience deal with the mental, physical, and emotional stressors of the job.

He lives by the creed "Civilize the mind, but make savage the body."  He is also a peer fitness trainer and peer support team member. Ryan is a firefighter I and II instructor, as well as a paramedic and EMT instructor.  

Learn more at IgnitedFF.com

Devon Wells is a 30-year veteran of the fire service and retired Fire Chief of Hood River Fire and EMS in Oregon. He has been on the Board of Directors of the International Society of Fire Service Instructors since 2008, serving as the President of the organization from 2018 to 2020. 

Chief Wells is a graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program, serves on several national advisory boards for conferences, magazines, and college programs and manages the Facebook page the “Rural Fire Officer.”

Steve Prziborowski is the author of 101 Tips to Ace Your Promotional Exam. He is a 29-year fire service veteran currently serving as a deputy chief at the Santa Clara County Fire Department in California. He received the 2020 Ronny Jack Coleman Leadership Legacy Award from the Commission on Professional Credentialing/Center for Public Safety Excellence. He was also named the 2008 California Fire Instructor of the year, and has authored three other books on entry-level and promotional fire service preparation.

He is the founder of Code3FireTraining.com and an international speaker who provides his Courage Under Fire Leadership sessions. Lastly, Chief P. is also an adjunct faculty member at the National Fire Academy.

Learn more at Code3FireTraining.com.

Paul Combs is the editorial cartoonist for Fire Engineering Magazine and is the author of three books: Drawn by Fire, Drawn by Fire, Too, and Drawing Lines: The Art of Making a Difference.

Paul joined the fire service in 1995, and has been a fire service instructor since 2000. He is a former Lieutenant for the City of Bryan Fire Department in Ohio, retiring in 2019, where he was a Firefighter, EMT, HazMat Technician, and instructor for the City of Bryan Fire Training Academy. Paul is an FDIC presenter, keynoter, and Hands-On-Training instructor, and recipient of the George D. Post ISFSI 2018 Instructor of the Year Award. Paul is currently an instructor with On-Scene Training Associates.

Learn more at PaulCombsArt.com