!Please Remain Calm!

We have veteran LAFD Captain Charles Boswell, former mentor to Danny & current peer counseling group leader for the LAFD wellness & mental health unit. He tells us an incredible swift water rescue story from his 1st year as a captain. A rescue that resulted in Medals of Valor for his crew who put their lives in such a risky situation that even other firefighters and swift water rescue teams couldn't believe that they pulled it off! It's a story that must be heard. He also talks about how the stress of so many dangerous incidents takes it toll, and why he now works to help his fellow firefighters manage it. We talk about the new number one cause of death in the fire service, why so many firefighters get divorced, & why some people struggle with life after retirement. We also talk about the new LAFD wellness resource center, & the impact this program is having on its members. But seriously, Capt Boz tells maybe the craziest rescue story we've ever heard on the show. You'll need to put a harness on.

We chop it up about chopped up body parts this week with cutting edge comic Cat Alvarado (Villains of History podcast). What happens when you cut your finger (or fingers) OFF? How often does it happen? What about that time Danny had an entire amputated leg he had to pack up & save? When do the doctors tell you your cut didn't make the cut, & they wont reattach it? How many things happen to peoples hands and fingers, & why is it a serious emergency? How did Cat almost chop her finger off in a door? We also discuss being completely vaccinated against Covid & the side effects we had. This episode is a cut above the rest.

After a major LA County Covid surge forced us into a hiatus, we are finally back to talk about how that went down, & its A LOT to unpack. We talk mega overcrowding in the ER's & ICU's, closed hospitals, why Covid is ripping thru the lower income communities in LA, bulk body bag orders, & MORE. We also get into the Capitol riot, the Red Pilled FD guys who were there, how having "Conspiracy Brain" affects guys on the job, & why it spreads thru the FD, including our own personal workplaces.

We talk to Louie & Alba Abeyta, who had to live through every parents WORST nightmare. Louie witnessed a head on collision between his 6 year old son riding a small dirt bike & a grown man on an airborne quad out on a motocross track in Mexico. Louie, a trained firefighter & EMT, had to rescue his severely injured, unconscious son. With no medical equipment, he rushes his son thru the back roads of Baja to the Red Cross. Then Louie & Alba tell us how the Red Cross helped rush their son to the border in an ambulance, then an American rescue ambulance rushes them to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, where he makes a full recovery. We talk about the horrifying drama of not knowing if your child will survive a broken neck. Whats it like living at the Ronald McDonald house? We also explore the dilemma of keeping active kids safe. Wheres the line between overprotective & reasonable? What did the pediatric trauma surgeon have to say about it? If you're a parent you'll want to hear this.

Comedian Alex Hooper has experience with being hated as the greatest roaster of Americas Got Talent, but he also had his own 911 story where the paramedics hated, each other! He tells us about nearly dying of a severe allergic reaction while the paramedics fought each other, with his mom sitting right there. We talk about looking like a gunshot victim from eating peanuts, partying on Benadryl & steroids, winning over drunks, tough aunts, Crave, pushing it, Sofia Vergara, impossible comedy circumstances, & Alex's new special where he's the Anthony Bourdain of comedy. You'll have a reaction for sure.

We're back after a small break to talk about the Dodgers possible Covid outbreak at the World Series, election aftermath on the job, & the number one overdose call Danny gets in Venice. Then we get into our own personal emergency stories. Including; the only time our mom called the FD, the guy who pulled a shotgun on our dad, the car that blew up across the street, Danny getting attacked by a dog, Ben burning his hand on a tractor, both of us fainting, Ben getting food poisoning in EMT class (for real), Danny blowing out each knee separately (neither on duty) & more.

We talk with our friend, Comedian (#1 album "Fathers Day" on iTunes) & host of the Private Parts Unknown podcast, Sofiya Alexandra about discovering a lump in her breast on vacation in Hawaii. She graciously explains the whole process of mammograms, biopsies, breast MRI's, chemo, radiation, blown IV's, ports, unnecessary tattoos, cold caps, frozen fingers, steroids, oncologists, & more. This was an eye opener for us & its full of useful tips for anyone who finds themselves in this predicament. We also talked about kinda weird Mass Casualty Incidents we've had. Lotta stuff here.

LAFD Captain Mike James tells us about a dirt biking "fun run" in Baja California that was anything but. After getting separated from his group and off of the trail, he crashes his bike & suffers a serious kidney laceration, causing his abdomen to fill with blood, while no one even knows he's missing. An incredible series of events fall into place for Mike to survive and give this interview. We get a 1st hand account of waking up in the middle of the back trails, and the severity of your situation slowly dawning on you. This is an adventure that no adventure seeker wants, & we learn why. Hang on to your handlebars.

"Lucky" Leroy Rogers is a Captain with the LAFD who's had 2 separate major medical/trauma events, that happened to HIM, in the span of a few years. 1st he tells us about having a full blown stroke, on duty, while beefing with his captain, and even driving the Ladder Truck with 1/2 of his face "out of service". He goes from refusing care, to having to learn how to walk again, & it changes his whole perspective on life. You'd think that'd be enough? Not for Lucky Leroy, he then has the thrill of breaking his arm, while having it crushed under his dune buggy out in the sand dunes of Glamis. BUT THERE'S MORE. His arm then swells to the size of his thigh as he develops compartment syndrome & he has to have an emergency fasciotomy to save his arm, the one he had to learn how to use again a few years prior. This is a hell of a story of a guy who can keep a good attitude no matter whats happened to him. He then breaks down how he was able to come back to LAFD after these incidents, & his role now as a Special Duty Captain with the Fire Prevention Bureau. This one has life lessons, & a cautionary tale, & a lot of clowning because Leroy is hilarious. ('I broke my arm, no big deal bro")This episode swells up fast.

We answer viewer questions & explain where our dad has been, why our mom is on Danny's case about F bombs, how to fix the healthcare system, all of the ways you can die on the job, why Ben got banned from a bar as soon as he could go to bars, the effects of irregular sleep, having a real hotel for a station, the differences between fire departments, how to pass a background check, & how Mr T literally crushed us as young kids. This ones full of life lessons.