Hey everybody, thanks for joining us as we crack open another episode of the undisclosed agents podcast. Today on the show, we had a chance to sit down with Cody Cavin and Pat Case the owners of BA Shields. Cody started in the Private EMS world in 2009. In 2012 he dipped his toes into the fire world and began volunteering with Truckee Meadows fire protection district in Reno Nevada. Little did Cody know, 1700 miles away Pat Case was on the same path in Minnesota. Working private EMS for the Mayo Clinic and volunteering as a firefighter as well. As fate would have it these two met in the Fire Academy for the Sparks Fire department just outside of Reno in 2015. There they would forge a partnership that has had a tremendous impact on the fire service

Chances are you have a BA Shield on your SCBA mask right now. If you don’t you should. In this episode we’ll talk not only about the BA Shield and its vast array of benefits, but about the trials and tribulations of starting a firefighter owned business. The up and downs, and the incredible community and brotherhood that Cody and Pat found along the way. This is an awesome conversation with firefighters trying to leave the fire service better than they found it. 

BAShields - Superior SCBA And Dive Mask Protection 

https://hortonsandhunt.com/

This episodes guest is Captain Rob Ramirez.  Born and raised in Miami, Florida. He has been a passionate student of the Fire Service for over 22 years. Rob is a state-certified Fire Instructor II, Fire Officer II, Safety Officer, and Live Fire Training Instructor. 

Since 2005, he has served as a Rescue Team Manager for the Department of Homeland Security F.E.M.A. U.S.A.R. Florida Task Force out of Miami, FL. He has deployed on many national and international high-profile USAR missions, including the Haiti earthquake in 2010 and major Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, Florence, Michael, and Ian. 

Rob is the founder and Lead Instructor of Mayday Mindset Consulting LLC. Rob is also the lead instructor for the Firefighter Rescue programs at the Ft. Lauderdale Fire Expo Conference and travels nationally and internationally as a guest instructor, speaker, and keynote at various Fire Conferences throughout the year. 

Strap in and get ready for a Mayday master class! This was one of the most intense episodes yet and I definitely took more notes that I talked. We hope our get as much out of this episode as we did!

https://hortonsandhunt.com/

Preston has served as a firefighter/paramedic at North Metro Fire in Colorado for nine years. He is a 10-year Navy veteran and got his  start in firefighting as an aircraft crash and salvage firefighter onboard the flight decks of aircraft carriers during the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Then had his first exposure to structure firefighting in the 850 as a volunteer firefighter in Escambia County, FL in 2010. Preston is also the creator of Fit Fire Fortitude on Instagram but has recently rebranded and created a podcast under the name Relentless Rejects. we’ll dive into this topic and several others, including his recently published article “When fire conferences meet reality” referenced in the show notes. Preston is a driven non nonsense firefighter who holds himself and others around him accountable through his actions not just his words. Preston has some thought provoking ideas and we had an excellent conversation. 

https://www.firefighternation.com/leadership-and-management/when-fire-conferences-meet-reality-bridging-the-gap-between-passion-and-proficiency/#gre

https://www.instagram.com/therelentlessrejects?igsh=MTZlMmJpOGthc3l6bA== 

https://hortonsandhunt.com/

Today we got a chance to sit down with Brad Driscoll. Brad is a retired member of the Fresno Fire department. Serving at all ranks from firefighter to Battalion Chief. During his 22 years with Fresno Fire department Brad pretty much had his hands and everything from chairman of  the local 202 executive board, recruit Academy drill instructor, public information officer, and was also a member of the serious accident review teams on the Cortland incident and Porterville incident. I will attach a link to these two SART reports in the show notes. I suggest if you haven’t already reviewed these reports you do so, the findings and lessons learned at these tragic incidents has helped shape some of the West Coast fireground tactics. The topics Brad brought to the podcast were incredibly thought provoking and stimulated some excellent conversations. We hope you enjoy the discussion as much as we did.  

https://www.fresno.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/SART-Report.pdf

https://cms9files.revize.com/PortervilleCA/departments/Fire/PFD-SART-Report.pdf

https://hortonsandhunt.com/

We’re starting something new. The Undisclosed Agents Podcast  wants to help firefighter owned businesses, as well as promote ways to better yourself as a firefighter so were going to start recording some “mini episodes” that do just that. Today we sat down with Trish Bonari, Executive Director of Fire Shows West. This is a conference in Reno, Nevada coming up this September. Fire Shows West is changing and has the potential to be a premier fire conference out West. This mini episode highlights some of the exciting changes happening this year and gives you all of the information you’ll need if you’re  interested in attending this year. 

https://www.fireshowswest.com/ 

https://hortonsandhunt.com/

Bobby is a Second-Generation Fireman from Collingswood, NJ. Bobby got his start in the Fire Service in 1996. In 2006 he left Collingswood as a career Firefighter to pursue a career in the Camden, NJ Fire Department. Bobby spent 10 years as a private being assigned to Engine 9, Ladder 1, & Squad 7. In 2016 he was promoted to Captain and is currently assigned to Squad Company 7. He is a Pro Board Level II Instructor, and has a B.S. in Public Safety Administration. Bobby is also the owner of Eckert Fire Tactics. His Taking it to the Streets live fire class is one of the most popular in the country. Bobby is a dynamic fire service instructor who has been featured at fire conferences all over the county. This conversation wasn’t like the rest. Bobby requested that we come up with the questions and topics so he could come in blind. 

This isn’t the way we normally do business but who are we to tell Bobby Eckert how the mop flops? We hope you enjoy this no bullshit conversation with a no bullshit blue collar fireman. 

https://www.eckertfiretactics.com

https://hortonsandhunt.com/

Justin started in fire service in 2005 at a rural combination department about 30 miles south of the metro and was there for 3 years before getting hired at Oklahoma City fire department. Where he is currently a Lieutenant on the south side of the city at station 7/C, the “Capitol Hill Creepers”, and drives Battalion 603. Justin also Served as a training officer for 3 years in the training division. Outside of his department Justin is currently the president for the local F.O.O.L.S chapter, Mid-America F.O.O.L.S OKC Metro, he is a part of Firefighter Rescue Survey, the Valor Fire Training Cadre and Build Your Culture Cadre. Justin’s passion is Search and all things training but most importantly leaving the job better than he found it! This was yet another excellent conversation with a very humble inspirational individual. We hope you enjoy the show. 

https://hortonsandhunt.com/

Eric Wheaton is a 17 year veteran of the fire service and currently serves as a truck lieutenant for Winter Park (FL) Fire Department. Eric is the Owner of VentEnterSearch, LLC. He also serves as an advisory board member on the UL-FSRI Size-up and search & rescue study. Eric has been an instructor at conferences all over the country. This year at FDIC he will be teaching his “Can confidence” hands on class, if you’re heading to Indy in April be sure to sign up. This was an excellent conversation with someone who has an undeniable passion for this craft, and has most certainly helped me along my journey. We have included in the show notes a link to Eric’s website vententersearch.com an amazing website full of information compiled from all over the fire service, if you haven’t seen it definitely go check it out. We have also included a link to Erics book of mentors he put together and we discuss during the podcast. Definitely give it a look and start adding to your own. 

http://www.vententersearch.com

Book of mentors: fire service names you should know https://api.sherbert.cimpress.io/v2/assets/C_VUwwvqhPCmnVwagMgL3~100?signature=bf9953ed5344e2302bd378591b25cd8fe0e153fc&showDeleted=false

https://hortonsandhunt.com/

Kevin Pfluger is a 17 year veteran of the fire service and is currently a Lieutenant at the Live Oak fire department in Texas. Kevin is the President of the Live Oak Professional Firefighters Association Local 4098.  Through the local, Kevin is the lead organizer of the Dagum Texas Fire Conference. He teaches with MV Fire Rescue as the lead instructor teaching hose line management in their  class “The First Line” for the Engine Ops Cadre and helps teach firefighter rescue and survival skills on the “No Quit RIT” Cadre. Kevin is also an instructor with the Bearers of the Oath Cadre out of Georgia. When he’s not at the firehouse or instructing Kevin also works for Mercedes Textiles Hose as a Consultant, and sits on the UL 19 Technical Committee for Fire Hose. All that being said Kevin is as humble as they come. The conversation with him was not only entertaining, but also sparked questions inside of us that we discussed at length amongst ourselves after the show. He is the kind of guy that makes you want to be better at this job, period. This was an awesome conversation with an inspiring human being. Hope you enjoy the show.

https://www.dagumtexasfireconference.com/ 

https://hortonsandhunt.com/

Today we had the opportunity to chat with Tom Hollick. Tom is an 18 year veteran of the fire service who currently serves as a Battalion Chief in Texas. Tom has an impressive resume thanks to his incredible passion for this profession. Some of the  highlights include being an instructor with bearers of the oath, and MV fire rescue heading up amazing classes like NO QUIT RIT. This was an excellent, no bullshit conversation with someone who isn’t afraid to tell the truth about this job and what it takes to be successful. We hope you enjoy our conversation with Chief Hollick. 

https://hortonsandhunt.com/