Behind The Shield

Peter Van Dorpe is a retired fire chief of the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills Fire Protection District in Illinois. Chief Van Dorpe began his Fire Service career in April of 1980 as a Firefighter on Truck Co. #22 for the City of Chicago Fire Department; where he rose through the ranks including engineer, lieutenant, captain, battalion chief, eventually retiring in October of 2013 as a district chief for the Division of Training. Among Chief Van Dorpe's Line experience, he was also the Lead Instructor for the Chicago Fire Departments Fire Officer School from 2005 to 2010 as well as a Field Instructor for the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute where he is still actively involved in Firefighter Training. Chief Van Dorpe obtained an associate's degree in fire science from the Chicago city-wide Colleges; moving on to obtaining his bachelor's degree in fire science management from the Southern Illinois University. Chief Van Dorpe has also taught "Building Construction for the Fire Service" at Harold Washington College's Fire Science Program. Chief Van Dorpe has been actively involved in research by being a subject matter expert on multiple UL and NIST studies dating back to 2007. Chief Van Dorpe has strived to give back to the fire service through ways of education and training which has led to him delivering the 2012 FDIC Keynote Speech as well as being awarded the 2016 Fire Engineering/ISFSI George D. Post Instructor of the Year award.

Spencer Thomas is a former football athlete turned stunt performer and John Cena's stunt double. We discuss growing up around athletics, moving to LA, humility on set, his journey into stunts, the mental impact of injury, his connection with the fire service, John's altruism, and so much more.

Patrick Pianezza is a paramedic, actor and the writer of the film Code 3. We discuss his journey into EMS, the volunteer fire service, some career calls, the US healthcare crisis, universal healthcare, screenwriting, bringing his story to the screen and so much more.Patrick was born in central Illinois. He has an associates degree in Biology from Lincoln Land Community College and a certificate of completion for his Paramedic license. He served as a volunteer fireman and EMT at the Sherman Volunteer Fire Department. Next, Patrick transferred to the University of South Carolina garnering a Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) in Public Relations and a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) while concurrently working as a Paramedic Crew Chief for Lexington County Emergency Medical Services.His graduate work took him to Baltimore to complete his externship at Johns Hopkins Hospital's Human Resources Department as well as serving on The Johns Hopkins' Critical Care Transport Team known as Lifeline. He has worked in hospital operations and Patient Experience for large complex health care systems across the country since 2010. He is a published author, reference source and podcaster. He co-wrote "Code 3" with his friend Chris Leone. He is a dual citizen with the USA and Canada, Speaks Italian, bad Spanish and terrible French. Patrick is married to an amazing woman, his brother is Paul "Pizza" Pianezza a producer on the film, and has the world's greatest nephew. He lives in Long Beach, CA.Episode Sponsor:https://www.levels.com/

Rob Jamieson is a 30 year law enforcement veteran, police officer, Director of the Ontario Provincial Police Association and the author of "In pursuit of Mental Wellness". We discuss his journey in to policing, organised crime, protecting the indigenous populations, the allegations of corruption that almost destroyed his union, rebuilding trust and relationships, mental health and so much more.After joining the OPP in 1995, he began his career stationed in Southwestern Ontario in uniform patrol, eventually being seconded to the Biker Enforcement Unit. Rob then transferred to Central Ontario, taking on the role of Detective in the Nottawasaga/Dufferin Crime Unit. It was in this position that Rob began to experience the first-hand effects of sanctuary trauma. He was promoted to Platoon Sergeant team leader in 2008 and was then asked to join Professional Standards (internal affairs) in 2010.Rob saw first-hand the stressors that investigations had on police officers and, by extension, their families. In 2014, Rob joined the OPP Academy as a recruit instructor and on March 6, 2015, learned that the RCMP had executed a search warrant on the office of the Ontario Provincial Police Association, more commonly referred to as the Police Union, representing 6,200 non-commissioned officers and approximately 3,600 civilians in the OPP.Rob ran for the vacated position of President and CEO of the largest Canadian Police Association in Canada and, on November 30, 2015, was elected as the 20th President in the history of the OPPA. No one could imagine the depths of the challenges that lay ahead, but through leadership, teamwork, and determination, Rob led the OPPA team into a better future. While doing so, the organization was also dealing with a mental health crisis in the OPP, including several officer suicides. The Association’s response was the founding of a unique and comprehensive mental health program called Encompas.Since its launch on March 30, 2020, thousands of Association members and their families have received unprecedented quality of care. Encompas has saved lives, kept families together, kept officers and civilians of law enforcement in the workplace, and supported Association members with their return to work.Episode Sponsors:https://www.stationwise.com/https://transcendcompany.com/

Ryan Conley is a 10 year veteran of the fire service, Exercise Physiology graduate and the founder of Carna Bunker Gear. We discuss his journey into powerlifting, training the tactical athlete, firefighter fitness standards, rem0ving carcinogens from our gear, creating a safe bunker gear to train in, the work week and so much more.https://www.carnabunkergear.com/Episode Sponsor:https://www.levels.com/