First Due Table Talk Podcast

Tulsa Fire Chief Michael Baker joins Eddie Buchanan to unpack how an innovative department turns emerging technology into operational capability.

Retired Fire Chief and Functional Fire Company author J. Scott Thompson joins Eddie Buchanan for a grounded discussion about building a culture that improves capability.

Training is not a classroom checkbox - it is an operational readiness system. Brian Zaitz breaks down how strong instructors, safe live-fire programs, and intentional training culture build crews that can perform when the fireground gets unforgiving. 

Ronny Smith traces incident command from passports and marker boards to real-time digital accountability and integrated preplan information. The episode focuses on what every incident commander needs under pressure: clear span of control, disciplined communications, and the right information at the right moment. 

In this special 9/11 edition of First Due Table Talk, Eddie Buchanan sits down with James P. Angerett, Director of Advisory Services at First Due and retired captain with the Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall Fire Department.

Angerett recounts responding as an acting company officer when American Airlines Flight 77 struck the Pentagon, the immediate decisions made amid extraordinary conditions, and the lasting impact of that day.

He also shares lessons that still resonate with today’s fire service: trust your training, take care of your crew, and recognize that every response prepares you for the one you never expected.

Erin McGruder challenges the old lecture-heavy model and makes the case for realistic, hands-on, adult learning built around the work crews actually do. This episode is a practical reminder that every rep either builds capability or creates a training scar. 

Matt Mullen, Vice President of AI Strategy at First Due, gives public safety leaders a practical starting point for artificial intelligence: policy, risk management, training, and disciplined use. The episode frames AI as another tool in the toolbox - useful only when responders understand its limits, guardrails, and operational purpose. 

Johnny Torgeson explains why leadership is not the finish line - building a real team is. For company officers, supervisors, and crew members, this episode digs into identity, trust, peer accountability, and the daily habits that turn a group of responders into a high-performing unit.

Jonah Smith brings an operational lens to the intersection of fireground tactics, research, staffing realities, accreditation, and data. The episode challenges leaders and front-line crews to use evidence without losing the aggressive, mission-focused mindset required to solve real incidents.

Jeremy Maners of the Carmel (IN) Fire Department walks through a major school explosion that could have become a mass-casualty incident and shows what happens when command, preplans, accountability, and communications are tested in real time. This episode is a hard look at why preparation matters before the bells go off.