The FireDawg Podcast

In this episode, Matt speaks with TSgt Quentin Patterson, an Air Force firefighter turned Air Advisor. With experience supporting partner nations across Africa and beyond, Quentin has been part of missions in Senegal, Tanzania, Ghana, Chad, France, Morocco, and Cameroon.

Quentin shares his journey in air advising including the training and his experiences, and gives insight into how his work impacts global security. He also discusses how this unique path will open doors for future opportunities within and outside the military.

In this episode, Matt is joined by three leaders who played a pivotal role in shaping the AF F&ES Concept of Employment: CMSgt (ret.) Phillip Winkelmann, CMSgt Mark Abrahamson, and SMSgt Jesse Marshall. During the Air Force’s transition to AFFOGEN, they were in unique positions to help lay the foundation for the F&ES framework we have today.

Chief Winkelmann, the former Air Force Fire Protection Career Field Manager, along with Chief Abrahamson and Senior Marshall, discuss and offer insights into how the Concept of Employment came together.

In this episode, Chris Bauchle and Chief AJ Kehl explain why negotiation skills are essential for fire service leaders - especially for DoD firefighters, officers, and chiefs. Drawing on principles from Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, Chief Kehl explains that negotiation isn't just about securing pay or resources - it's an essential tool for everyday leadership. Whether you're coordinating with other agencies, resolving shift disputes, advocating for equipment upgrades, or building trust with the community, negotiation plays a crucial role in effective leadership.

The conversation also dives into the power of influence in leadership. Effective leaders know that giving orders isn't enough - they influence to get results. From understanding incentives to building trust, this episode equips you with tools to lead with empathy, foster collaboration, and drive high performance in your fire service team.

Tune in and level up your leadership and negotiation game!

This Readiness Series focuses on all aspects of Air Force firefighter waretime preparedness. Throughout the series, we will explore key military doctrine, techniques, tactics, and procedures, examine equipment packages, and much more. While the series emphasizes topics related to wartime readiness, all information shared is unclassified, publicly available, and free of sensitive content.  

In this episode, Matt is joined by CMSgt Geoffry Wilson, the Air Force Fire Protection Career Field Manager. Chief Wilson and Matt delve into the origins of the Air Force’s Force Generation Models, as well as the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) model, which outlines how the Air Force plans to operate in a contested environment. They also explore the reasons behind the Air Force’s evolving strategies and how the Fire Service integrates into these new frameworks. Please note, the information shared is current as of December 2024 and may evolve as the Air Force continues to refine its approach.

In this episode of the Table Talk Series, Chris shares a real-life story from Indianapolis about a firefighter who took a big risk and successfully made a daring rescue. He and Matt break down the "Risk vs. Reward" threshold—when should you risk a lot to save a lot, and when should you pull back? Every firefighter has their own approach, but one thing is certain: preparation, training, and discipline are key. Tune in to hear how Chris and Matt explore where that line falls and why being ready for any challenge is crucial in the fire service.

In this episode, Chris and Matt have the privilege of speaking with Chief Jason Hoevelmann, Fire Chief of the Florissant Valley Fire Protection District in North St. Louis County, MO.

Chief Hoevelmann has 28 years of experience in the fire service. He has held various positions including Company Officer, Battalion Chief, and now Fire Chief. He is also the author of two books: No Exceptions Leadership: The Leadership Handbook and The New Company Officer. He is also the creator of The New Fire Officer Facebook page which some of you may be familiar with; the page has 40,000 followers. Most recently, he was a keynote speaker at FDIC (Fire Department Instructors Conference), where he addressed the critical need for change and adaptation in the fire service.

In our conversation, Chief Hoevelmann shares his insights on leadership, discusses his books, explores the balance between higher education and ground competency, and discusses the importance of change and adaptation among other important topics.

Matt and Austin discuss breaking down engine company decision making into manageable, easy to remember, and useful approaches. They talk about the “rule of 3s” and how to break down decisions such as what hose or appliance to employ on a fire, how to load and stretch hose, and how to supply the engine and other things into 3 options each. They also talk about how to break down 1st and 2nd due company assignments to again, make decision making easy. The idea is that when you break tactics down into three options it makes your efforts much more effective and the outcome much more favorable.

It should go without saying that the information provided in this episode and others like it are not intended to replace existing department procedures or act as an excuse to not train. These approaches are “simple, not easy” and should be carefully thought through and practiced.

Let us know your thoughts or opinions in our FireDawg Mentorship Facebook Group and head to our website, www.firedawg.us, to check out other episodes.

In Episode 49, Jeret Kinnaird and Brandon Pelkey join Matt and Chris to talk about the North Carolina Air National Guard (ANG) Rescue Technician School. The school offers Rescue Technician I and Rescue Technician II courses that are AETC sanctioned and are IFSAC and Pro Board accredited. Throughout the episode, Jeret and Brandon give insights into what the course is about, what the future holds and how to sign up.

In this episode, Matt is joined by Austin Perry. Austin and Matt talk about engine company operations as they relate to interior structure fire tactics. More specifically Austin talks about zero visibility nozzle work or working within a structure with zero visibility (and how to approach that), he also talks about the importance of training subordinate firefighters so that they understand tactics and approaches so that they are empowered to work alone when necessary, and we also talk about some other firefighting tactics and approaches throughout our conversation.

In this episode, Matt is joined by Brandon Laird to discuss fireground size up. They discuss having a standardized approach to size-ups so that they are easy to remember and ultimately improve fireground efficiency. They discuss the acronym CANC3R:

• C - Conditions and Construction
• A - Actions
• N - Needs
• C - Command
• 3 - 360
• R - Report