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This is Part II of our presentation about the EFO (Executive Fire Officer) program, offered at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg MD. Our guests went through the long educational process needed to achieve this level. While one is required to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree to enter the program, what you will learn goes far beyond fire tactics and administration.  This program will help you attain the true measure of a fire service leader. If you have that "hunger" inside you that keeps telling you to work harder, learn more and be the best that you can be, than this program might just be for you. Listen to our guests relate their experiences over thirty years ago and the bonds of both leadership and friendship that were an outgrowth of this amazing learning experience. You can watch us on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm Task Force Corp.” or tune in to our podcast via your favorite podcast platform or visit our website at https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org and scroll down the homepage to listen in.  To make a donation towards our 2022 Campaign goal to raise $12,000 to help our Brothers & Sisters, and/or their families in dire need, please visit our homepage! Thank you.Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Whether you call them ladders, trucks, towers, platforms or tillers, ladder operations are in their own category. And our guest on this episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” knows his category very well! Ryan Johnston is a 24+ year career firefighter and a 30+ year volunteer firefighter. He is the owner if Maineiac Training, a small training group that prides itself on providing realistic, experience-based, fire training.  Ryan is currently the Rescue Technician in A Shift at the Waterville ME Fire Dept. He is a lieutenant with the Oakland Maine Fire Department.  You can watch us on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm Task Force Corp.” or tune in to our podcast via your favorite podcast platform or visit our website at https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org and scroll down the homepage to listen in.  To make a donation towards our 2022 Campaign goal to raise $12,000 to help our Brothers & Sisters, and/or their families in dire need, please visit our homepage! Thank you.

Many of us have seen or heard of the acronym, EFO. However, how many of us actually know what it stands for: Executive Fire Officer. Does the designation apply to any level of Chief? Could any firefighter, of ant rank, receive the designation? Just what is it and where did it come from? My guests today are Dr. Burton A. Clark, PhD, EFO, Chief Trey Mayo, EFO, Winston-Salem NC Fire Dept. and Chuck Burkell, an advisor and former instructor at the  National Fire Academy. In this episode, which is Part I in a series, they explain the origins of, not only the EFO, but the creation of the National Fire Academy and the various programs that were developed as the federal government and fire service leaders worked together to build an educational foundation for the fire service.  You can watch us on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm Task Force Corp.” or tune in to our podcast via your favorite podcast platform or visit our website at https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org and scroll down the homepage to listen in.  To make a donation towards our 2022 Campaign goal to raise $12,000 to help our Brothers & Sisters, and/or their families in dire need, please visit our homepage! Thank you.Picture is courtesy the U.S. Fire Administration 

Within the last decade, one of most dangerous calls that first responders respond to, are emergencies on active roadways. In 2021 alone, 65 first responders (fire, police, EMS, recovery operators road rangers) died when stuck by a vehicle while on an emergency scene. And the number one cause falls on “distracted drivers.” While there is number of definitions for the term, “distracted,” drivers are simply not paying enough attention to the roads and to emergency scenes. Our guests today are Corey Hohs and Brock Aun of HAAS Alert. Haas Alert has been working for nearly six years, with local, state and national officials to provide a signal that would be initiated by the responding emergency agency and received in vehicles, either via the infotainment system or even as a message on the dash, to advise that there is an emergency ahead and to move over and slow down.  It is quite likely that a car or truck you are driving now or maybe the next one, will have Haas Alert’s “Safety Cloud” included in its configuration. Tune in and learn more! You can watch us on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm Task Force Corp.” or tune in to our podcast via your favorite podcast platform or visit our website at https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org and scroll down the homepage to listen in.  To make a donation towards our 2022 Campaign goal to raise $12,000 to help our Brothers & Sisters, and/or their families in dire need, please visit our homepage! Thank you.

Training…some of us love it, some don’t. Some enjoy teaching…some don’t. However, there are those who are teachers, instructors and mentors, who have the passion to teach and our guest today, is one of those with a strong passion to teach, share and mentor. Why? Because there was someone in his life who cared about him and introduced him to the fire service. And that was around 20 years ago.  Capt. Childers joins us today to discuss his recent article in FIREHOUSE® Magazine’s December 2021 issue, about training for night operations. Besides being the training officer for the Champaign IL Fire Dept., he is also an instructor for the IFSI (Illinois Fire Service Institute).    Capt. Childers truly cares, not simply about teaching, but educating and mentoring every single cadet that comes through the academy and in his own department. Tune in to hear us discuss the key issues that should be addressed through training modules performed at night and the reasons behind that position.  You can watch us on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm Task Force Corp.” or tune in to our podcast via your favorite podcast platform or visit our website at https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org and scroll down the homepage to listen in.  To make a donation towards our 2022 Campaign goal to raise $12,000 to help our Brothers & Sisters, and/or their families in dire need, please visit our homepage! Thank you.

It is no secret that voluntarism is at a low in this country. Society always changes and evolves and with that said, this problem is far broader than just the volunteer fire service. Even before the pandemic, fewer and fewer people were able to find adequate time to contribute to volunteer positions throughout local, regional and national organizations.  One of the largest impacts of the lower availability of volunteers is the shortage of personnel in the volunteer fire service and, there multiple causes behind this phenomenon. In turn, volunteer fire departments must “up their game” as regards training, so that the members will be as safe as possible and the community will benefit from their assistance. My guest is Chief Justin Bailey of the Oliver Springs TN Fire Dept. Chief Bailey talks about the need for a training calendar. The calendar will advise all the members what topics, tactics or practices will be covered and when. While not every member may make a given drill night, there are always make-ups scheduled, in an effort to be fair to all. Learn more of what Chief Bailey faces everyday and how it might not be too different from what you experience in your own volunteer department. You can watch us on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm Task Force Corp.” or tune in to our podcast via your favorite podcast platform or visit our website at https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org and scroll down the homepage to listen in.  To make a donation towards our 2022 Campaign to raise $12,000 to help our Brothers & Sisters, and/or their families in dire need, please visit our homepage! Thank you.

On January 14, 2022, a massive fire erupted at a pool chemical and supplies manufacturing plant erupted into a massive inferno in Passaic NJ. Due to its location, it was first called in as a car fire on a highway that runs behind the C-side of the involved structure. In charge of Tour 3 that day was good friend, Battalion Chief John Hayowyk A. Hayowyk, Jr., with over 29 years in the fire service. Also on shift that evening was Capt. James Kovacs, a 24-year veteran of the fire service.  Initially, multiple calls came into Passaic Dispatch as a car fire. However, first arriving units realized that what they really had was a plant of 1-3/3 acres, that manufactured chlorine and other pool supplies. And the first chief officer to arrive was Chief Hayowyk, soon followed by Engine 4 with Captain Kovacs.  These brave firefighters explain what they heard, then saw and what had to be done to hopefully, prevent the fire from reaching the area where the chlorine was stored! YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THIS EPISODE!! You can watch us on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm Task Force Corp.” or tune in to our podcast via your favorite podcast platform or visit our website at https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org and scroll down the homepage to listen in.  To make a donation towards our 2022 Campaign to raise $12,000 to help our Brothers & Sisters, and/or their families in dire need, please visit our homepage! Thank you.   Photo © Matzav. Com Audio provided by Broadcastify

No stranger to “5-Alarm Task Force,” returning guest and good friend, Aaron Zamzow joins us to discuss the new level of his company, “FRF – Fire Rescue Fitness. These topics have been very important to Aaron for over 15 years.  Having initially been a personal trainer, who rose to work with players in both the NFL and NBA, when he joined his first fire company, he realized that he needed different workouts to focus more on the jobs that we do as firefighters. You will hear a great analogy from Aaron to the movie, “Rudy.” In today’s discussion he shares the new “level” hi has and continues to create with is an app that you will be able to have on a computer or a mobile device, which will provide you with different programs, menus, nutrition information, hydration and much more!  You can tune in via your favorite podcast platform or visit our website at https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org and scroll down the homepage to listen in.    Photo Courtesy of www.firerescuefitness.com

Strange title for an episode, right? Not if you know my guests for this episode. Our comrades and friends, Battalion Chief Jacob Johnson, Captain Nick Peppard and Lt. Jason Liska, “dropped by” to discuss our mutual passions and concerns.  Each of my guests host excellent podcasts about the fire service. Capt. Nick (along with another great firefighter and friend, Sean Duffy) host, “Make Do!” a podcast that focuses on issues of suburban firefighting (which about 80% of us deal with), Lt. Jason Liska is the host of “The Can Man Radio Show,” which covers tactics, practices, training, camaraderie and more. And Chief Johnson will very soon launch his new podcast, “Do Your Damn Job!” which focuses on the importance of mentoring and guiding in the fire service.  We got together to share those passions, talk about our shortcomings, some reality checks and what we can do to help our fire service improve in the future.  This is a “no holds barred” discussion! And be advised, some “salty” language is used. But it will be the takeaways that you hear that you need to remember and share with your colleagues.

I am pleased to welcome back an excellent fire officer, instructor, mentor, author and friend, Steve Prziborowski of the Santa Clara CA Fire Department. Too much time has passed since his last appearance and we are glad that our schedules were able to finally sync-up!   Though he officially retires on December 31st, after a storied, 30-year career, the Chief has spent some of his accrued time off traveling the country to enjoy his three passions, visiting ballparks (he’s been to all major league parks!), visiting firehouses and sharing his experience, knowledge, and wisdom, with firefighters across the country.    We discuss his travels, his books, his career and what the future holds for him. When it comes to the Fire Service, the Chief is a “Man of Letters,” a term that reflects strong learning, teaching, and mentoring skills. It is our honor to welcome him back to “5-Alarm Task Force.”   Check out the video webcast on our YouTube® channel, 5-Alarm Task Force Corp, or tune in to the audio podcast on your favorite podcast platform.    Photo Courtesy of: Steve Prziborowski

Cancer and other dangers we face in the fire service are not new topics, but they have “morphed” a bit. Initially, it was though that only those who worked the “Pile” after 9|11 were being affected. Then, the various carcinogens and other toxins from the benzene products burning were found to be hurting us as well. Then, came the news that they very bunker gear we wear to protect ourselves while we perform our often-dangerous jobs, could be leaking carcinogenic toxins into our bodies. With manufacturers denying that either, no carcinogenic products in the turn-out gear, or they changed their tune to,”…it might be there, but it can’t hurt you,” an organized offense was needed.    One of the leaders for that call is my guest, Jason Burns. Literally, thrown into the presidency of his local IAFF union, he was forced to bury two colleagues, both in their thirties, within two years of his election. And Jason wanted to learn more about cancer in the fire service.    He did extensive homework to learn as much as possible. As did many of us, he was introduced into the “PFOA in Our Bunker Gear” action group on social media and he learned a great deal from the members and research down by those independent from manufacturers. He was instrumental in the passing of Resolution 28 at the 2021 IAFF annual conference. Listen as he shares his difficult and painful journey to where he is today!   Check out the video webcast on our YouTube® channel, 5-Alarm Task Force Corp, or tune in to the audio podcast on your favorite podcast platform.    Photo Courtesy of: USGS.gov

What makes a great firefighter? And who judges who is a “good” firefighter or a “great” firefighter? To be honest, it should e no one else but the image you see in the mirror. For that person in the mirror, never lies and more importantly, knows every one of your secrets.    It is my pleasure to welcome my dear friend, Nic Higgins, Co-Founder and Editor of “The Firehouse Tribune,” to discuss his newly published first book, “The 5-Tool Firefighter.” Nic put this together with nearly twenty years of experience as a firefighter, a long-time fire instructor and a former collegiate athlete. The name of his book was derived from a term he learned while playing collegiate baseball, the “5-Tool Player. This defined a player who was good at hitting, fielding, running, etc.    With that thought, Nic created this book to provide the reader with similar definitions that would make a great firefighter. No, not a “perfect” one, but a great one. Tune in to view and listen as Nix explains his thought processes and how a baseball term certainly has its place in the fire service.      Photo Courtesy of: Nicholas Higgins

We are so pleased to have B.C. Jacob Johnson back on “5-Alarm Task Force!” Chief Johnson has taught his class, “Do Your Damn Job!” at local, state, and regional conferences. His message is crystal clear, “It is the responsibility of experienced firefighters to mentor the new recruits coming in!” It does not mean that you didn’t clean the pumper well or you have to pick-up papers on the day-room floor. It means YOU need to be both a learner and a teacher!   The Chief shares his own failings earlier in his career and how it made him realize how he had dropped the proverbial “ball” in assisting a new recruit. He learned from the lesson that there is much more for a firefighter to do, besides fighting fire and working MVC’s. And if we banter the word, “family” around because we are  firefighters, then we must live up to the meaning of family.    Join us and learn how Chief Johnson sees our duty, both in and out of the firehouse! 

In our first segment, Fire Commissioner Jared Renshaw of the Western Berks Fire Department in PA, explain the news that recent broke that his department used their new drone with a TIC (thermal imaging camera) in a rescue. An elderly patient with dementia had wandered away from his care house, and into a huge corn field. While first responders on the ground searched with ATV’s, dogs and even volunteers on horses, it was a difficult search. However, using their newly acquired drone with a TIC, they were able to find the victim, which allowed those on the ground to find him and return him safely.   In our second segment, the Commissioner discusses that the rank of fire chief, often holds more responsibility than tactics, operations, and training. All the facets of a COO (chief operating officer) are in play, as the chief must also be a part of the “city hall” of his/her community. From his recent article in FIREHOUSE® Magazine, Commissioner Renshaw notes the key attributes of being a member of the community leadership, i.e. City Council, Mayor, etc., and provides strong and positive advice of how to participate in this side of the job.    As always, finds us on your favorite podcast platform or watch the webcasts on our YouTube® channel, -5-AlarmTask Force Corp.     City Hall Photo Courtesy of: Fireragestock.com

In the past eight years or so, we have learned some difficult lessons regarding the link of cancer in the fire service. At first, many just shrugged off the connection or they looked at it as simply, “part of the job!” Yet, nothing could be further from the truth!   My guest on this episode is Tonya Herbert, the Owner/President of Responder Wipes® and Florida PPE Services, a certified ISP. Tonya shares with us how her life journey led her from her work in an architectural firm to creating Responder Wipes® and, this journey began in 2014, prior to the overall national recognition of the Firefighter Cancer Initiative.    Additionally, she has become one of the key leadership members of the Carney Strong Initiative, created in memory of Battalion Chief Josh Carney, who succumbed to occupational cancer at far too young an age.

What happens to a firefighter who cannot be a firefighter any longer? What happens to that firefighter when an injury or illness ends his/her firefighting career? I know because it happened to me! In this special episode of “5-Alarm Task Force,” I share my personal experience of how an unnecessary accident wound up costing me my career as a volunteer firefighter, after only eight years.  We who choose the fire service feel a calling to do so. And when we’re in, learning, doing, learning more, doing more, it becomes a passion; it begins to define who we are. When the ability to follow that passion is suddenly cut short, due to an injury or illness, it tears out piece of who we are. And all too often, it leads us to a “dark place.” I share with you my story – what happened, how it occurred and what the long-term results were. I will not lie and say that it was easy, because it was not. It was emotional, difficult on many levels and very dark at others, too.  Remember, there is always someone you can talk to. At the very least, to can text the word “badge” to 741741. Stay Safe & Stay Well.  As always, catch the webcast on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm task Force Corp,” or listen on your favorite podcast platform or our website, https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org. 

The Wingspread conferences began in the 1960’s. It brought members of the fire service and affiliated agencies together at the Johnson Foundation Wingspread Conference Center in Racine WI. At that point, through Wingspread VI in 2016, the conference was held every ten years. However, with the pandemic and other key professional, cultural, and societal changes occurring, the leadership decided that the industry (and therefore, the public) would be best served by the conference taking place every five years. Wingspread VII took place in August 2021 at the Conference Center. For this webcast/podcast, we are truly honored to have a panel of fire service leaders and educators who will share their “take-away” from the conference. My guests include Chief John S. Butler of Fairfax County VA Fire & Rescue, Ms. Jessica Pickett of RPM Solutions Group, Inc., Kevin Roach a FACETS partner and formerly of the Phoenix Fire Dept., and Commissioner Adam Thiel of the Philadelphia Fire Dept.  What they share has meaning for anyone and everyone in the American Fire Service, no matter if your career, volunteer, part-pay or WUI! We discuss not just what we do, but how we do it, both out on calls and in our lives in our stations.  As always, catch the webcast on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm task Force Corp,” or listen on your favorite podcast platform or our website, https://www.5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org.    Photo courtesy: The Johnson Foundation

If you are a member of the fire service, you should be aware of the toll cancer has taken on members from every area of “the job,” career, volunteer, part-pay and WUI. It wasn’t so long ago, that many of us attributed cancer losses to our brothers and sisters who worked the pile after 9|11. Sadly, that was not the case. Though the number of working fire years per year (for most non-urban departments) were down, WHAT was burning had evolved. No longer was furniture and its covering made from real wood and fabric. They had been replaced with parts and covering made from fossil-based chemicals, e.g., natural gas and petroleum, as are so many products in in our homes today. And when these burn, they release massive amounts of carcinogenic compounds into the structure. Thankfully, the Firefighter Cancer Initiative was officially launched in 2015. My guest today is FF/PM Jim Burneka. Jim has served with the Dayton OH Fire Dept. for twenty years and has been involved with the fight against occupational cancer for fifteen years. He has presented  on cancer prevention across the U.S. and Canada. And as you will hear on this podcast, his knowledge about firefighter cancer is not just from study and his presentations. Over the last year, it became personal.PLEASE....Listen to this episode! It just might save YOUR life! As always, catch the webcast on our YouTube® channel, “5-Alarm task Force Corp,” or listen on your favorite podcast platform or our website, https://www/5-AlarmTaskForceCorp.org.    Photo courtesy: Healthline.com

What makes a team? Its members? Its leader? Its tasks? To be honest, it is all of those and more. It takes training, learning, training some more, learning more and of course, the leader and members sharing their knowledge.  Capt. John Lovato Jr., has been a firefighter in southwest Florida since 2003, with the City of Ft. Myers Fire Dept. A third-generation firefighter, he started in the suburbs of Chicago; no easy place to learn to be a firefighter! As he learned his craft, he rose through the ranks, now a Captain and fill-in Battalion Chief.  One of the most important tenets he learned was teamwork, And that means that every firefighter on the team must share in the team’s tasks. As is often said,” Just because you got a t-shirt, doesn’t make you a firefighter!”  It takes working together, practicing together, learning, and teaching each other. Just like two cogs in a machine, when the gears mesh-up, the machine works well. But if just one cog has a broken tooth, the machine stops…COLD. If firefighting teams stop…danger and disaster may follow! Listen to his message, then ask yourself, “Am I a true member of a team or am I a freelancer?”   Photo courtesy: NASA/Daniel Casper, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Chris Kessinger is a career Lieutenant with the City of Riverside Fire Dept. in OH. He has been in the fire service for seventeen years. Chris believes every firefighter must be a lifelong student of the craft and love this blue-collar job! Chirs serves as the lead instructor and owner of Citizens First Fire Training, in addition to his roles as training officer and instructor for numerous schools, training facilities and departments. In addition, he is also a member of the Central Ohio F.O.O.L.S. chapter.  While currently assigned to an engine company, his passion and heart will always be with truck company operations. Chris just loves this job and loves spreading that passion everywhere he goes.  Our citizens are our number-one priority and we must always remember our mission and they are number one!   Photo courtesy nohat.cc