The Firehouse Podcast

Peter Matthews talked with J.P. Moore, deputy director of the Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI), about their leadership development programs that place an emphasis on human performance for leaders during fireground operations and in-station situations.  

Moore details some of IFSI’s programs that look at train future and current leaders on dealing with incident command, personnel management and conflict resolution and how physical health is part of successful outcomes. IFSI connects students to telemetry that measures their vital signs other body systems data to help each one understand when their stress levels rise and offers techniques to help them keep calm.  

Incident command is a lot more that understanding fire behavior and personnel tracking, Moore says, adding that mental and human performance play key roles and are rarely taught to students. Moore explains how constant stress on officers can overwhelm them and what techniques they can use to limit exertion on the brain and body. 

Related links: 

Illinois Fire Service Institute

J.P. Moore’s Firehouse.com contributor page

For the last few years, electric vehicle (EV) fires have made national news headlines because of the unique and unknown challenges they present to firefighters, leading UL Research Institute’s Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) to launch a research effort to understand the mitigation and safety concerns. 

Adam Barowy, a principal research engineer with FSRI, details the three-year effort to document EV fires and help fire departments develop operating guidelines as well as raise awareness to firefighter health and safety concerns. He explains the steps that FSRI took to conduct test burns, what stakeholders were involved and the processes in which they conducted test burns. 

Barowy and Peter Matthews discuss the tactics needed, along with research findings on EV fire blankets, plus concerns for life safety when vehicles are burning inside occupied structures. The two discuss the impacts of the smoke on firefighter health and what impacts the smoke has on PPE. 

While completing the report, FSRI developed an EV Fire Tactical Decision Aid that provides responding firefighters with a look at tactics and guides decisions during EV fire emergencies.  

Related links: 

Researchers Release Evidence-Based EV Battery Fire Response Considerations

New FSRI Study Details What Firefighters Need to Know About EV Fires

Electric Vehicle Fire Tactical Decision Aid

Adam Barowy’s Firehouse.com contributor page

Chief Jacob Johnson interviews Chief David Jones (ret.) of the Addison, TX, Fire Department. In this week's episode of Beyond the Bugles, they discuss all things leadership involving leadership within a small department that hosts big events, the finite techniques it takes to be a successful fire chief and strategies on collaborating with other fire departments.

Peter Matthews talks with Capt. II Andy Ruiz, who oversees the In-Service Training Unit for the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). He explains how LAFD is rooted in training with recruits beginning their training at the site where a firefighter was killed in the line-of-duty during a fire at the now-LAFD academy. He shares how the department manages in-service training across 468 square miles at four sites, plus the Frank Hotchkins fire academy. 

Ruiz explains how the department has responded to several recent close call incidents that resulted in several firefighters being seriously injured, including implementing fire behavior studies from UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute and the International Association of Fire Fighters. The department launched local training to ensure all firefighters are trained on the latest threats in the field and shares examples where properly trained firefighters have escaped critical injuries.  

As he wraps up, Ruiz shares what he predicts to be the biggest challenges in the fire service, locally and globally.  

Related links: 

My Last Dying Breath 2nd Edition: Deeply Personal Stories of Firefighter Survival 

LAFD-My Last Dying Breath

Los Angeles Fire Department In-Service Training Instagram

Peter Matthews talks with Jared Vermeulen, who authored a new book, “The Modern Fire Officer: Building Legacy That Endures,” that is designed to help guide today’s fire officers through the many situations they encounter each day. 

Vermeulen says that today’s fire officers often wear dozens of hats compared to a few hats for previous generations because of the all-hazards role that fire departments play in their community while ensuring today’s firefighters are confident in their duties. He said officers can find themselves trying to bridge multiple generational gaps in understanding, technology and know-how at the same time.  

They discuss the challenges of some chiefs who take the helm as fire chief to fix a 20-year-old problem, blocking progress in their organization and possibly pushing it backward. Vermeulen says the fire service, in some ways, is the U.S. Post Office in it’s antiquated ways.  

Related links: 

The Modern Fire Officer  

Jared Vermeulen on LinkedIn

The Modern Fire Officer (Book 1)

The Modern Fire Officer: Building Legacy That Endures (Book 2)

The Firehouse Yak: Jared Vermeulen – Foundations for The Modern Fire Officer