Station Design Conference Director Janet Wilmoth and Principal Architect Rob Manns discuss the impact of the Station Design Conference on recent fire station construction projects, and how attendees can maximize what they get out of attending the annual conference focused on fire station designs and construction for new and renovated stations.

Wilmoth planned the 11th annual conference, taking place in Glendale, AZ, May 20-22, with a focus on building stations designed to last 50 years in the fast-moving environment of building design, construction materials and technology and new materials. The two explain how the conference is designed for education and time with service providers and why attendees should plans their schedule carefully.

Manns, a principal architect with Manns Woodward Studios, explains how attendees can maximize their conversations with speakers, architects, builder and component representatives and peers through networking and coming equipped with questions.

For departments who are seeking advice on current or future plans, Wilmoth explains the 1-on-One Sessions pair agencies with architects to look at blue prints for advice on design and layout concepts to ensure the station meets their needs.

As the show wraps up, they discuss some of the trends they’ve seen in volunteer fire stations, from the need for sleeping spaces to stations built to transition from volunteer to combination and how understand the future of the organization can save them money in the long run.

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Assistant Chief Christopher Zak talks with Peter Matthews about his retirement from the Milford, CT, Fire Department and transition to a new career in Hanahan, SC. He moved to become a training office and has since promoted to assistant chief.  

Zak talks about the decision to call an end to his first fire service career and how a Google search took him to South Carolina, plus the conversations and insight he sought from trusted and unknown fire service leaders. After that 700-mile move, Zak found himself in a new department, new city and with a phone void of contacts to help him navigate his duties.  

Learn how the leap of faith has led Zak to a renewed sense of commitment to the fire service and why it’s important to look at other agencies if you are ready to move on in the fire service.  

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Chief Daniel DeYear returns to The Firehouse Yak podcast after talking about the fire service’s approach to safety with a discussion on company officer development based on his workshops. 

DeYear digs into decades of leadership lessons from nearly two decades as an officer and chief in Dallas Fire-Rescue, including communication, accountability, trust and support. Many including firefighters and officers, DeYear says, do not understand the officer’s primary role in the fire department. 

Listen to learn about DeYear’s opinion of the biggest challenges facing fire officers today, most of which have been a challenge for the last few generations of fire service leaders. He also digs into the debate about being friends with your officers, about top-down and bottom-up communications and how to build a crew based on strengths and weaknesses.   

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Peter Matthews talks with Jeff Cool about the tragedy of Jan. 23, 2005, which was named FDNY’s “Black Sunday” after the department lost two firefighters at a fire in the Bronx and one at a fire in Brooklyn. The Bronx fire left four other firefighters seriously injured, including one who died from the fire six years later. 

Cool, a Rescue 3 firefighter, responded a fire in an apartment building that was renovated into a maze of rooms, making firefighter access extremely difficult. When conditions changed and the fire cut them off, six firefighters were forced to jump from the upper floors to escape. He recalls the fire, the tense moments they were trapped and efforts to escape before they all jumped as flames burned over their heads. Since FDNY had taken away personal rescue ropes, they used a rope that cool purchased at Firehouse Expo which he attributed to DiBernardo and he surviving their falls.  

He shares their stories about the time in hospital, the long road to recovery and what has happened since his injuries forced him to retire. Since then, the four survivors have taken their messages of training, equipment and hope on the road to inform today’s firefighters of that tragic loss. Cool is one of the instructors with the Lt. Joseph DiBernardo Memorial Fund and helps organize the 9-11 Memorial Golf Outing. 

Cool’s son, Jeffrey Cool, Jr., recently got appointed to the FDNY and Cool shares his hopes for the future.  

This episode is dedicated to the Lieutenants John G. Bellew and Curtis W. Meyran and firefighter Richard Sclafani who died that day and firefighters Brendan Cawley, Jeff Cool, Joe DiBernardo, and Gene Stolowski were severely injured. DiBernardo, who was promoted to lieutenant, died six years later from his injuries. 

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Peter Matthews talks with Andy Starnes about the importance of each person having a personal board of directors who they can reach out to and seek advice from throughout their lives. Starnes stresses why this board is just as important for decisions within the fire service as it is at home and with your family. 

While Starnes is known around the world for his efforts to educate firefighters on thermal imaging, this episode focuses on the human side of the firefighter and ensuring members make the right decisions, influenced by trusted friends and advisors. Starnes shares where the concept of the board came from, how to seek out the people you want on your board and how the two-way relationship works. 

Listen for advice on how to be a better friend, colleague, firefighter and family member and for tips on how to pull through the tough times. 

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Peter Matthews talks with Mike Wisko, the Agency Chief of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP) about their role in ensuring firefighter training and equipment and member safety throughout the state’s career fire departments.

The two talk about the annual TCFP Firefighter Injury Reports that are mandated training in the state, and some of the trends TCFP has found, including an overall reduction in fireground injuries but an increase in firefighters being burned, plus injuries at the fire that are on the rise.

Wisko discusses their policies on PPE and what the impact on non-compliant equipment is on the firefighters and their families. He also shares how the state ensures mandatory training is taking place and the process in which they determine the baseline for annual CE training, plus the at look at the future of the TCFP.

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Peter Matthews talks with Jake Ryks, a St. Paul, MN, firefighter who was just named Minnesota’s Firefighter of the Year, along with Mason Conlin, for their efforts to rescue seven people from an early morning house fire. Ryks credits ongoing training and the desire to know your job with the herculean rescue and medical treatment efforts by firefighters at the Jan. 3, 2024 house fire. 

Ryks, who was working in another company that shift, takes you step-by-step through the response, arrival and rescue efforts by St. Paul firefighters and explains why continued training played a pivotal role in decision-making that morning.  

He also talks about becoming a trainer on hazardous materials, his work with The Haz Mat Guys and his new podcast launch, Hazard Class, in which he talks with firefighters on a variety of topics. 

Resources 

The Haz Mat Guys Hazard Class Podcast 

All Things Hazard Class  

‘Can’t thank you enough’: St. Paul firefighters who saved kids from house fire receive awards  

‘Humbling beyond words’: St. Paul firefighters open up about fire  

This Month in Fire History – December  

Peter Matthews talks with Victor Stagnaro talks about taking over the CEO role at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), which he assumed last year, after more than two decades of having Ron Siarnicki create and lead the organization tapped to honor America’s fallen firefighters while taking care of their survivors.  

 Stagnaro highlights several of the programs that NFFF offers, including the annual Fallen Firefighter Memorial Weekend, training programs aimed to prevent firefighter deaths, injuries and provide mental health support while offering peer-to-peer support for LODD incidents. For the families of those who have died, and their organizations, Stagnaro looks at the memorable and meaning impacts they have on survivors.   

 They discuss what the NFFF is working on today, what to expect from the 20th anniversary of the Firefighter Life Safety Summit and how firefighters can get involved with them. Whether it’s supporting or organizing a stair climb, attending training or working at the annual memorial weekend, Stagnaro shares how each level of involvement humbles firefighters. 

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Peter Matthews talks with Scott Richardson about how he manages the special operations and line support teams for South Metro Fire Rescue, which covers over 300 square miles of diverse terrain in Colorado with myriad of unique response scenarios. Under Richardson’s command is the department’s technical rescue resources, wildland and ARFF crews, dispatch and apparatus and equipment maintenance teams.

Richardson explains how each group ensures they have a dedicated command and training staff so each discipline is trained to handle a scenario that they may be called to, including the many disciplines of technical rescue. He talks about the budgets process, as well as ensuring each group had the equipment they need to respond.

When it comes to command technical rescue incidents, Richardson shares his perspectives on the unique challenges of these changing incidents and how they not only respond to fire and rescue emergencies but coordinate with law enforcement and other agencies to ensure life safety.

Resources 

South Metro Fire Rescue website 

South Metro Fire Rescue YouTube 

Peter Matthews talks with Daniel DeYear, a recently retired deputy chief from Dallas Fire-Rescue, about his work involving LODD investigations in Texas and how it relates to the often contentious discussions on firefighter safety and fire service culture.  

DeYear outlines a 144-day period in which his team investigated nearly 20 firefighter deaths – all from fireground operations – including the West, TX, explosion and Houston’s Southwest Inn fire. During his career in Dallas, he lost almost two dozen colleagues in the line of duty, including his rookie school partner and one of his academy instructors, all of which has led DeYear to connect the dots and champion efforts to ensure those patterns are reduced.  

DeYear discusses why firefighters tend to focus on being aggressive on the fireground, without being aggressive with education and knowledge building to lead you to make the right decisions. 

Resources 

• Hidden Dangers, Hidden Secrets 

• Daniel DeYear’s Firehouse bio and contributions  

• ChiefDeYear.com 

• Connect with Daniel DeYear on LinkedIn 

• FireFusion 

• Station Design Conference