I am back from my globe trotting and excited to be joined on this episode by the OG of the Scrap, Mr. Episode 11, Cort Smith.  We dive deep into his philosophy on training recruits and why he believes it is such an overlooked topic.  We discuss tradition and it's impact on training. Of course the audience as always determined the direction and actual rabbit holes we dove down. It was an amazing episode with a lot of useful resources offered.  Enjoy!

Guest host, Chief Scott Thompson, was joined on this episode by Bret Stidham. They discussed Starting the USAR team in Dallas, rising the ranks, leadership And of course all the questions and comments that the audience had!  It was an amazing Scrap! Don't miss this one!

Joined on this episode by none other than Bryan LaFleur himself! Highly requested guest and it was a great conversation. We start off by talking about building a truck culture from the ground up. Then we discuss a legacy of mentorship, creating cultures of accountability, the culture of why? How to let your failures drive you and so much more. Of course that does not include everything that the audience brought our way, and they always bring the best questions.  

Joined by Ron Moore with the University of Extrication. We discussed everything extrication, electric vehicle response, rescue size-up, airbags, technology advancements, blankets and and of course all the stuff the audience threw our way! I did not think a rescue guy would destroy the Next five questions, but judge for yourself! (he did)

Joined by Stephen Runyan (AKA Tommy Gunn) to talk about what and who built him, recruitment being more than checking boxes, the word safety! --- all of this plus everything the audience threw our way. Was an awesome evening, enjoy the recording!

Joined by Justin McWilliams to talk about search... data on search... reasons for search... opportunities for search... data from Firefighter Rescue Survey and not to mention all of the topics and questions the audience throws our way!

To make up for last nights facebook outage. Bobby Eckert is stepping in to drop some fire and knowledge bombs. Make time to be here this evening!  We discussed everything from search to VES, to Engine OPS and Tactics. The audience as always absolutely crushed it with questions for Bobby. Enjoy!

Joined by the awesome Jay Bonnifield to discuss all things fire attack.... streams, hose, nozzles, application! It was an amazing scrap,  another great time and audience absolutely crushed it with their questions and comments!

Joined by Keith Niemann to talk about developing a training mindset and how to impact the culture of your department. His take on leadership and mentoring and all the great questions the audience threw our way! 

Joined by the legend himself Bill Gustin! Been trying to make this one happen for a while... and it is finally here! Was a great time as we discussed changes in the fire service, and hurricanes, and leadership and hose packages! The audience was on point with solid questions and comments. It was a Scrap for the ages!

Joined by Chad Butzine to discuss leading and growth in the fire service. Topics included, accountability, expectations, investing in your firefighters, leadership vs. management, mentorship, and desk chiefs. Plus everything that the audience decided to throw our way!

Joined by the one and only Dena Ali to talk about the effects of sleep on human beings, especially when it comes to first responders. The suicide topic that no one ever likes to discuss, and resiliency in the modern fire service. All of this plus everything the audience threw our way! It was another amazing scrap!

Joined by Robbie Townsend to talk about his mindset towards training , especially at the company level. His take on leadership and how he applies it. Dealing with the stress and mental toll of the job, as well as his personal story. And of course everything that the audience threw at us! It was an awesome Scrap!

Joined on this episode by the one and only B.J. Breecher, and it was a fun Scrap, he was not afraid to poke some bears!  We discuss training versus just checking boxes. Why so many departments just go through the motions. Being fit for duty, and the ramifications.  Expectations versus standards. As well as the challenges of working at a combination department.  Of course this does not include all of the awesome questions that the audience threw our way!  it was an amazing Scrap...enjoy!!!!

Joined by Captain Mike Dugan  to talk about a lot of great topics, including Operations and how they have evolved. Leadership actions on the fireground and at the firehouse, his thoughts on mental health. As always the audience  threw awesome questions, and Mike Dugan absolutely crushed them all.  An amazing scrap!

Joined by the one and only Devin Craig. We discuss training as education, teaching the current generation, how to lead in the current climate. and smoke divers... or at least we tried to... the audience absolutely crushed on amazing questions, and Devin crushed the answers!

Joined by one of the best, Mark VonAppen of Fully Involved. Was an awesome episode as we discussed how to impact the culture of your organization, the cost of being a rogue, and the lessons he has learned over the years. Not to mention all that the audience threw our way! It was anamazing scrap from an amazing dude!

Joined by the most dedicated Scrapper of them all, my friend Kyle Romagus. Discussion included his transition to Training Chief and his mindset towards training, & learning. A preview of what he is working on, with the "Ten Engine Company Drills that will set your crew up to Win!" Of course we discussed hose and nozzles... and Kyle then devours and destroys all questions the audience threw his way! 

Joined by one of my favorite people on this planet, Ric Jorge himself, we talk about decision making under stress, and how to best prepare ourselves to do so. The impact of the job and how we function. the importance of sleep, and how so many cope without it. If you are interested in mental toughness, look no further than this episode.  The audience was phenomenal, and the guest was even more so!

Frank Viscuso came on the Scrap to talk about his new book "Flashpoint: Ignite your team and forge a winning culture" It was an exciting episode, and I was not prepared for the rabbit holes we will disappeared down.  So much knowledge from one of the absolute best!

<<This Episode had Technical Issues>>  Joined by Chief Curt Isakson to commemorate episode #150 of the Scrap! Topics we discuss include: The year of the Rescue, We are the Lucky Ones! Understanding Impact, Experience and mentoring... and that does not include all the audience threw our way! Curt gave away a lot of conference passes to CF Tactic conferences during the live show. 

There were a lot of technical issues with the live feed, I tried to edit most of them out for the podcast, but it is choppy and disjointed at times.

Joined by Tom Hollick to discuss all things fire service related. Topics include your circle of influence, passion for training, No Quit RIT, and Leadership. And that does not include everything the audience threw in our path!

Joined by Forge Fire and Company's founder Todd Shepherd, it was an amazing evening as we discuss training like a professional, training dynamics, how to structure training disciplines, and self-defense related to first responders... plus everything that the audience threw our way!

Joined by Kevin Pfluger for another amazing episode of the Scrap. Unbelievably great conversation, topics included Family first, For them, overcoming adversity, the shift in the fire service, and then the audience really got warmed up! Was a great Scrap, with a passionate guest.

Joined once again by the person I call an absolute force of nature...hurricane Ike.... Curt Isakson!  We talk about the challenges of the firefighter life.  Training up the most important Probie.  In the words of Chief Ike, "I am giving you everything on this one, and i am not holding back. There are going to be some hurt feelings."  You know it would run long, you know it would be filled with passion.  You better have brought your energy drinks, your shots of espresso, your snacks and most importantly your attention!  Thanks for being here for 250!!!!

Joined by Robby Owens, AKA: Average Jake! It was an awesome conversation and we talked about the the three hours, Training, Mr. Perfect, Legacy vs. Impact... plus all the  rabbit holes the audience sent us down!

Joined by Brent Fenton, more commonly known as firefighter Fenton. Plan to talk about laughing and enjoying the job, as well as culture and mindset and how to stay engaged and plugged in! Plus he answers everything that the audience threw his way. Was an awesome conversation.

Joined on this episode by Uncle Don Sapp, one of the most sincere people I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, It was an amazing discussion as we talk about resiliency and tenacity and the changes that he has seen, as well as what he sees coming for the fire service. The audience was amazing with amazing questions, and it was a really good scrap!

Joined once again by one of my favorite deep conversation people, Dave LeBlanc is coming back on the show to talk about accountability and responsibility from the newest member to the tenured legends. Leadership, Culture, Motivation and of course all that the audience threw at him!  He was a champion through it all.

Joined by Jesse Quinalty, the man behind Red Helmet Fire Training, SlabSavers, The Firefighter Book Club, and Firefighters riding in firetrucks eating Ice Cream! This guy absolutely stays plugged in and has a passion!

Joined by the exceptional Chief Richard Kelley to talk about his journey through the ranks and lessons learned along the way. We discussed his philosophy on leading up, culture, training, overcoming adversity and Chief Kelley absolutely crushed anything and everything the audience threw at him!  Was an amazing Scrap!

Joined on this episode by none other than the one and only Paul Combs. The de-facto cartoonist of the fire service!  We discussed motivation, inspiration, leadership and how to make an impact in your organizations culture. This might be the episode that hit me hardest in the gut.

Joined on this episode by Jaime Reyes, who is passionate about improving the job! We are going to talk about fireground communications, how they can be improved, common problems and obstacles, from the technical to the common sense... then we will shift to leadership and culture... it was an awesome conversation with tons of questions from the live audience!

Joined on this episode by one of my favorite people on the planet, Nick Ledin! We talked about Firefighter Rescue Survey and the data that it is providing, Search... mission, metrics and mindset... plus whatever the audience throws our way! This was a great conversation!

Joined by Chief Ben Hoeppner to talk all about setting our young people up for success in their fire service careers. We will talk about handlines, firefighter challenges, and the progression of fire culture. It was an awesome conversation with tons of questions from the audience, and a lot of rabbit holes to go down.

Joined this week by the YOOF himself, Ryan Scellick and we discuss all things decision making, specifically in emergent situations and the stress involved.  We discussed Coopers Color Code, we discussed Grossman and "On Combat" it was a fun Scrap!  And that does not even factor in the wonderful live audience and all that they brought to the discussion with their phenomenal questions.  Enjoy the show!

Ray is coming on to talk about live fire training and the challenges the modern fire service is facing!!!
On April 9th, 2022 Ray McCormack posted "The Fire service needs to bring live fire training up a notch by working on replicating today's fires for today's firefighters."
The post went viral, and sparked hundreds of comments and questions. Ray is coming on the Scrap to discuss all of the comments, questions and concerns and to give his opinions on what can be done to address the issue.

Joined on this episode by Mickey Farrell, We talk about the importance of turning mindset into skillset, gaining position on the fire, understanding and developing flowstate, and that does not even include everything the audience threw our way! Was an amazing scrap, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The audience was amazing and the live Scrap was outstanding! Good questions were submitted and there was not a single inflated ego on the panel.  Just solid firefighters sharing their passion. Dennis Legear, Todd Edwards, Kyle Romagus, Clyde Gordon, Mo Davis, Howard Rhinewalt, Jacob Johnson... so much knowledge in one place! it was an epic evening!

The second Mega Scrap is amazing! Rob Ramirez, Bassel Ibrahim and Jim McCormack absolutely crushed the topic of MAYDAY and RIT. It was an unbelievable conversation as they deep dove into everything RIT operations and MAYDAY from three of the best in the business! The audience absolutely drove the conversation and it was one of the best Scraps to date!

Joined on this episode by Chief David Rhodes, the Smoke Daddy himself. We discuss too many topics to list them all, but including...  Smoke Divers, Decision Making, Training Under Stress, Experiential Training, Search, Search Size Up, UL Research, Post Traumatic Boss Syndrome vs PTSD, Leadership, FDIC H.O.T.,... not to mention everything the audience threw our way.  The entire episode is on fire, but the last hour, from the final (uninterrupted day) might be some of the best content the Scrap has ever put out.

This was the single most challenging episode of the Scrap to date. The internet would not cooperate with the live show and interrupted us multiple times. It was distracting and broke the flow.  Chief Rhodes was the epitome of a professional and absolutely rolled with the punches, and I cannot thank him enough. Turned out to be an amazing episode.

Joined on this episode by Rob Fisher, and it was an awesome conversation. Trying to make this one happen for quite a while, and the stars finally aligned. We talked motivation. leadership, culture, training, quints, plus everything the audience threw our way!

Joined on this episode by Mike Gagliano, one of my favorite people in the fire service. We discussed his philosophy on developing a great firehouse, house pride, trust, teamwork... then switched gears to talk about decision making on the fireground! You do not want to miss this one, the audience threw a lot at us, and Mike absolutely destroyed the next five questions!

Awesome conversation with Steve Stawecki. Was able to pick his brain on on training, fighting back from injury mentally and physically... the challenges of being a training officer, especially in the long haul...  as well as what motivates and inspires each of us. And of course as always, whatever the audience threw our way. He gave his suggested books, and then crushed the Next Five Questions!

Joined by Nick Esposito of Truck Tactics Training on this 128th episode of the Scrap! Topics included taking the training past the 'what' and 'how', results oriented performance, NIOSH reports, learning from them not judging them... plus everything the audience threw our way! Was an amazing Scrap!

Joined on this episode by Chad Daily of the Kansas City Missouri FD. Was an amazing discussion around his passion for instruction, as well as all the lessons he has learned over the last three decades. The audience interaction was amazing and we barely got to scratch the surface in what he had to offer!

Sean Duffy, Nick Ledin and Scott Thompson come on to talk about the state of OSHA and the revisit to two in/two out. 

  Here is Nick Ledin " TWO IN/TWO OUT IS TOO SLOW.... FIRE SERVICE, WE NEED YOUR HELP...
Currently, OSHA is proposing folding two in/two out, with some changes, into a new safety and health standard. This would make it MORE difficult for fire departments to forgo two in/two out with the intent of possibly saving a life or lives. This is the best chance we’ve ever had to effect a change to two in/two out and end this existential experiment.

Joined on this episode by OJ Kolodziej and excited to talk about truck duties, ladder tactics especially when it comes to being unconventional. He tells the story of the journey to bring the scaling ladder to the US, and his love of all things ladders!  As always the audience . Going to be an awesome conversation!

Joined by Bobby Eckert of Eckert Fire Tactics. Looks to be an awesome evening with some great topics. We discuss realistic fire training, wearing go pros, tradition, FF hate and even some building construction. All of that plus what the audience threw in!

Closed out January 2022 in style with none other than Clyde Gordon! Was an awesome time deep diving into leadership, responsibility, ownership, systemic failures, and whatever rabbit holes Clyde wanted to explore... not to mention what the audience threw our way! Then he crushed the next five questions.  Was a great episode!