Forged by FIRE with Ryan Rodriquez

Trust is at the heart of any cohesive team, and in the FIRE & EMS world we take that trust into life or death situations.

Leaders trust their subordinates to do what needs to be done.  Subordinates trust their leader to keep them safe and treat them with dignity and respect.  So how can we make sure that we’re meeting the needs of the people on our team?

In today’s show, I will review the three questions that every follower is subconsciously asking about their leader, I will break down what’s behind each question, and I will explain how we can meet the needs of those on our crew by keeping these questions in mind.

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When we are at work, our minds shouldn’t be on other things that would overtly distract us from performing our duties to the best of our ability.  If our focus is taken away while lives are in the balance, then how can we fool ourselves into thinking that we’re doing our due diligence?  We have enough to think about; our personal wellbeing, our crew’s wellbeing, our patients’ wellbeing.  All of that and then some!

With all the mental focus our job demands, along with being in an “at ready” state for whatever may come, we can’t afford to be distracted with menial things going on elsewhere.

In today’s episode, I will talk about what I mean by “bandwidth” and how we can set boundaries in order to keep our bandwidth from being stretched too thin.

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Being called to dangerous situations, day or night, means that we have to be at the ready for anything.  This means we have to improvise and make last minute adaptations as the situations we’re a part of change.  “Adapt and overcome” is the theme on every fireground I’ve ever been on.

With the constant changes, limited resources, and unseen wildcards laying in wait, it’s crucial for us to be able to keep a mentality where we can maneuver through incidents in order to get the job done.

In today’s episode, I will talk about what it means to “adapt and overcome”, how this mentality lies at the root of what it is we do in the fire service, and how this mentality can serve us in all aspects of our professional and personal lives.

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As firefighters, we are no stranger to flow.  We measure the gallons we put on a burning building in gallons per minute and we understand that in order to be most effective with that flow, we need to reduce or eliminate obstructions and kinks in the line.

You’ve heard the phrase, “time flies when you’re having fun” right?  Well, time is seemingly passing by more quickly because you’re more than likely in what’s called a “flow state”.  Some people refer to it as being “in the zone”.

In today’s episode, I will talk about what it means to be in a “flow state”, how to recognize it, and I will provide some strategies to help you facilitate it because we typically perform our best while operating in a flow state.

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11 Activities and Exercises to Induce a Flow State (+ 6 Examples)

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I’ve heard people give other firefighters compliments that sound like, “oh they’re an ‘aggressive’ firefighter” or “they are an aggressive paramedic!”  But what exactly does this mean, and is it a good thing?

I would say ‘yes’, being aggressive in your mode of execution but not your method is the key.  Jocko Willink says that “being proactive and aggressive are similar, and they are both good.” and the idea for the title of this episode comes from him and his team at Echelon Front.

In today’s episode, I will define what it means to be an aggressive firefighter and paramedic and I will break down, with the help of Jocko, what having the attitude of DEFAULT: AGGRESSIVE means and how we can incorporate that way of thinking and operating.

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Echelon Front

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*The DEFAULT: AGGRESSIVE brand is property of Echelon Front and is not affiliated with IGNITEd, LLC.

In the fire service, it is our job to be the ones to enter dangerous situations in order to decrease damage and improve the odds of life safety.  Whether we are conscious of it or not, we are taking risk into consideration.  We get called to a scene, size-up the situation, and then we determine what resources we will need in order to mitigate the problem.

Currently, in America, we are facing one of the largest pandemics in our history.  We should be cautious, but we still need to live our lives.  There is risk in everything!  Living our lives in fear creates a culture of fear, and when people are afraid, they do some pretty stupid stuff.

In today’s episode, I will talk about what the risk vs benefit analysis is, how we can take ownership of our own personal risk, what we can to do reduce the risk among our crew mates, and I will provide you with a matrix that you can use to base your future risk management practices on in the field.

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IGNITEd.com

IGNITEd Online Shop

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It’s been said that the person who doesn’t read has NO advantage over the person who cannot read.  This has become more and more prevalent to me as I collect years in the fire service.

If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, then you know how much I love reading books.  I’m constantly referencing them, I’ve got a list of some of my most influential reads on the IGNITEd website, and I am continually on the prowl for my next read.

In today’s episode, I’m going to talk about the ways that reading improves us as individuals as well as a profession as a whole.

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IGNITEd Readers Book Club

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POMPEII: A Novel by Robert Harris

One of the things that attracted us to the fire service is the sense of brotherhood, or perceived brotherhood.  We like the idea of all gathering around and doing things together, as a crew.  After all, we face life and death situations together, why shouldn’t we do other things together too?

However, one of the things I’ve seen deteriorate IS that sense of brotherhood.  This can be for a myriad of reasons; generational mentalities, room separations, just to name a few.

In today’s episode, I will talk about why that brotherhood is so important, some reasons that may have deteriorated our built-in brotherhood, and what we can do today to take action and bring it back into our firehouses!

Also, I have a surprise for you all today!  Not many of you may know this, but growing up, I was big into the punk rock scene.  I was going to shows probably 2-3x a week and was really into playing the guitar as one of the ways I helped myself to deal with stress.  Teenagers, right…?  Some of my all-time favorite bands were (and still are) Face to Face, Lagwagon, Goldfinger, The Bouncing Souls, MxPx...I could go on and on.  One of the bands I’ve probably seen play live over 20x since 1996 is Less Than Jake and they are STILL putting out amazing albums!  Through the podcast world, I was able to connect with the lead singer, Chris Demakes.  As a result, I asked him to write a custom song for the IGNITEd Firefighter Podcast and what he sent me is pure gold.  So today is the debut of the new song, enjoy!

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Pros and Cons of Private Sleeping Quarters in Fire Stations

Simon Sinek Be the Last to Speak

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At one point or another, you may have been on a sports team with a coach.  Or maybe you’ve worked in sales and had what’s known as a “sales coach”.  Or maybe you have BEEN a coach in some form or another.

Regardless of your experience being coached or AS a coach, in the fire service (and basically any profession), it’s in your best interests to retain the ability to BE coached.

But what does it mean to be coachable?  Why is it important?  And what are some things we can do to remain coachable no matter how far along in our career we are?  I will address these very questions in today’s episode; Become Coachable!

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28-Day Ignition Workout Program

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