Latest / Live Byrnes / Paul Verren- Captain KCFD Rescue 1

Transcript

Paul Verren- Captain KCFD Rescue 1 · Live Byrnes

0:13
SPEAKER_00: Real world tactics.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: No fluff.
0:17
SPEAKER_00: Mastering the fire ground.
0:19
SPEAKER_00: Let's get to work.
0:25
SPEAKER_02: Paul Varen, welcome to the podcast.
0:28
SPEAKER_02: It's good to be here.
0:30
SPEAKER_02: Glad to have you, man.
0:31
SPEAKER_02: I'm been excited, ready to do this one for quite a while.
0:34
SPEAKER_02: Just, you know, we we've got a pretty long history together now.
0:37
SPEAKER_02: I do.
0:38
SPEAKER_02: Working together with O'Burn and stuff.
0:41
SPEAKER_02: But you know, the kind of format we'd I'd like to follow is we're just kind of go back and start talking about the childhood and stuff like that.
0:47
SPEAKER_02: Um, but for an introduction for everyone, uh, this is Paul Vernon from Kansas City Fire Department.
0:53
SPEAKER_02: Currently working on Rescue One.
0:56
SPEAKER_02: Um been on the depart.
0:57
SPEAKER_02: Well, been on the job about about 30 years, but we'll let you talk about that.
1:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, so tell us a little bit about where you're at.
1:05
SPEAKER_02: That kind of stuff.
1:06
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:06
SPEAKER_02: What I do.
1:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:07
SPEAKER_02: Ronald.
1:08
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like you said, I uh Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department.
1:11
SPEAKER_02: I am current uh captain on Rescue One on B Shift, which is at Station 25 in the River Market, which is on the north end of downtown out there.
1:20
SPEAKER_02: So uh currently in my 22nd year uh with the department.
1:26
SPEAKER_02: Just celebrated our anniversary here a few weeks back and at the end of July.
1:31
SPEAKER_02: Um it's gone fast.
1:33
SPEAKER_02: That's for sure.
1:34
SPEAKER_02: It's it's it's gone real fast.
1:36
SPEAKER_02: And uh just looking at it, you know, technically I only got a few more years when I can put in the papers, so but we'll see when when we get there, what I do there.
1:44
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're getting up there in age.
1:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:46
SPEAKER_02: I think you're older though, aren't you?
1:48
SPEAKER_02: Um by maybe a couple months.
1:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:50
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:51
SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah.
1:54
SPEAKER_02: Anyway, uh so yeah, been doing that with Kansas City for 22 years.
2:00
SPEAKER_02: Uh been captain coming up on three years now.
2:03
SPEAKER_02: So Yeah, I remember when he got promoted.
2:05
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's just happened, you know, feels like it just happened yesterday.
2:09
SPEAKER_02: So just everything goes, it's a it's a blur.
2:12
SPEAKER_02: So now and here it comes, you know, retirement's coming.
2:16
SPEAKER_02: It's like, huh.
2:18
unknown: Yeah.
2:19
SPEAKER_02: That went fast.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, it does.
2:21
SPEAKER_02: And we don't realize it when we're 20-something-year-old kids.
2:24
SPEAKER_02: No, not at all.
2:25
SPEAKER_02: It's like, man, got a long ways to go.
2:27
SPEAKER_02: And then you look back and you're like, man, I already did it.
2:30
SPEAKER_02: So we sure as heck didn't think our buddies would be beat up for that.
2:35
SPEAKER_02: Not at all.
2:37
SPEAKER_02: Boy, boy, everybody out there understands that.
2:40
SPEAKER_02: Later on, you always wonder why the older guys are grumpy all the time.
2:44
SPEAKER_02: It's like, I don't think they choose to be grumpy.
2:45
SPEAKER_02: I think they're just grumpy because they're hurting all the time.
2:48
SPEAKER_02: Every morning, every morning.
2:51
SPEAKER_02: Uh roll over wrong in bed, sneeze wrong, and you throw your back out or break a rib or something.
2:56
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
2:56
SPEAKER_02: It's just I'm like, wow.
3:05
SPEAKER_02: Well, so talking about how old we are, yeah.
3:08
SPEAKER_02: We kind of got to go back to the beginning to get where we're at now.
3:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
3:12
SPEAKER_02: So your childhood, you know, where'd you grow up?
3:15
SPEAKER_02: Tell us about your family.
3:16
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, you're in the sports, those kind of things.
3:19
SPEAKER_02: What kind of things did you do as a kid?
3:21
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
3:22
SPEAKER_02: Uh, where I grew up, just uh over across state line in that in that dreaded state of Kansas.
3:28
SPEAKER_02: Kansas.
3:28
SPEAKER_02: In Kansas, yep.
3:30
SPEAKER_02: Grew up in Kansas, uh right there, little little city of Home of the Chiefs.
3:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, now traitors.
3:38
SPEAKER_02: So, yeah.
3:40
SPEAKER_02: Uh right there in the little town of Westwood, right there in the northeast corner of Johnson County.
3:45
SPEAKER_02: So um, but yeah, grew up there, went to school, you know, private school, elementary, uh, middle school, high school, went to uh public schools there over in Shiny Mission, graduated from Shiny Mission North in 1995, and uh childhood, had a pretty good childhood, pretty active childhood.
4:05
SPEAKER_02: Uh you know, hunting, fishing, riding motorcycles, hanging out with friends, uh, a lot of bicycles.
4:12
SPEAKER_02: I had a lot of road time on bicycles, you know, growing up.
4:15
SPEAKER_02: That's just friends come over, away we go, you know.
4:18
SPEAKER_02: Never come home until it's time to come home at night, you know.
4:21
SPEAKER_02: Dinner streetlights come on, it's time to be home.
4:25
SPEAKER_02: So uh those are good times.
4:27
SPEAKER_02: I loved those, loved those days, you know, just reflect back just all the fun that we had as kids.
4:32
SPEAKER_02: So if you didn't grow up in the 80s, you grew up in the wrong time.
4:35
SPEAKER_02: Wrong time, completely wrong time.
4:36
SPEAKER_02: That was the best time ever.
4:38
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
4:38
SPEAKER_02: So uh, but no, we had good good time, grew up playing baseball, a lot of baseball uh when I was a kid.
4:46
SPEAKER_02: Uh play pretty much all the positions, or what what position were you primary?
4:51
SPEAKER_02: Uh first base and pitcher.
4:53
SPEAKER_02: You know, it makes sense.
4:55
SPEAKER_02: First base and pitcher.
4:56
SPEAKER_02: So as a Southpaw.
4:58
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
4:58
SPEAKER_02: So for someone who's six's five, for those of you who don't know, uh Paul's six foot five, and he's got long ass wingspan on him.
5:06
SPEAKER_02: So first base and pitcher makes a lot of sense.
5:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
5:10
SPEAKER_02: I mean, don't get me wrong, I wasn't six foot five when I was 10 years old, but still just six three.
5:15
SPEAKER_02: Just six three, yeah.
5:16
SPEAKER_02: No.
5:17
SPEAKER_02: Uh, but no, I mainly played those those positions uh growing up through.
5:22
SPEAKER_02: Did played a little outfield every now and then, but mainly uh I'm I wasn't in I didn't have an outfielder's arm.
5:28
SPEAKER_02: So first base pitcher, enjoyed, enjoyed doing that stuff.
5:32
SPEAKER_02: Uh stopped that when I got into high school, and then uh then I picked up swimming.
5:38
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, which again makes perfect sense.
5:40
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
5:41
unknown: Yep.
5:41
SPEAKER_02: Tell us about your swimming career.
5:43
SPEAKER_02: Uh just high school, you know, summer and and in high school swim.
5:48
SPEAKER_02: Uh did pretty good.
5:50
SPEAKER_02: Uh if I would have swam longer, I probably would have done it even better.
5:53
SPEAKER_02: So, but no, I had a great time swimming, got really pretty decent at it, and I'm glad it did because it transfers into you know what I do now in the in the rescue division when we you know for swift water stuff and and swimming is it it it came through.
6:10
SPEAKER_02: You didn't it's like riding a bike.
6:12
SPEAKER_02: What was your favorite event?
6:14
SPEAKER_02: Uh I was mainly a freestyler and a breaststroker.
6:17
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
6:18
SPEAKER_02: So again makes sense.
6:19
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
6:19
SPEAKER_02: So I I I'd swim the other ones if I had to, if the coach, you know, is like, hey, I need somebody just to swim to get some points or whatever, you know.
6:28
SPEAKER_02: I but I didn't care for the other two strokes, but I can swim them.
6:31
SPEAKER_02: So but yeah, mainly freestyle, breaststroke.
6:34
SPEAKER_02: Those those are my those are my go-tos.
6:37
SPEAKER_02: So nice.
6:38
SPEAKER_02: And what what about your family, family life and all that stuff?
6:42
SPEAKER_02: Uh so mom, dad, sister, younger sister.
6:46
SPEAKER_02: Um much younger?
6:48
SPEAKER_02: Uh she was she's three years younger than me.
6:51
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
6:52
SPEAKER_02: She's yeah, eighties, 1980.
6:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, three years.
6:56
SPEAKER_02: So uh so yeah, pretty typical, you know, childhood, growing up, you know, nagging sister.
7:06
SPEAKER_02: Younger sister.
7:07
SPEAKER_02: Younger sister, yeah.
7:08
SPEAKER_02: I had an older sister, and I have an older sister.
7:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so y you're the pain to her.
7:13
SPEAKER_02: Oh, absolutely.
7:14
SPEAKER_02: Perfect.
7:14
SPEAKER_02: I was the troublemaker of the family, which seems to be a common theme in the fire service as well.
7:19
SPEAKER_02: Hey, you know, it all relates.
7:21
SPEAKER_02: It all it all relates.
7:23
SPEAKER_02: So uh, but no, for the most part, you know, typical, typical childhood.
7:30
SPEAKER_02: You know, got to high school.
7:32
SPEAKER_02: Uh mom and dad separated in high school, so you know, that was a little bit different, you know.
7:39
SPEAKER_02: Growing up, uh probably, you know, most paramount pinnacle times that you know, guy needs his dad, you know, type deal.
7:47
SPEAKER_02: Um but you know, made it work.
7:51
SPEAKER_02: Mom was right there, made sure I was active, you know, in sports and stuff.
7:56
SPEAKER_02: And um you know, and thank God she did because you know, we see what happens.
8:01
SPEAKER_02: You know, if you don't get active in certain things, you know, you tend to go in the wrong way, type deal.
8:07
SPEAKER_02: So uh, but she was right there, made sure that I, you know, stayed active in school and you know, pushed me right on through.
8:15
SPEAKER_02: And uh I just had some good friends and you know, some good good mentors coming through, which were you know, just came in at the right time.
8:25
SPEAKER_02: Not saying that I didn't get in trouble when I was at when I was a kid, you know, it's a did did you have a childhood if you didn't get in trouble type deal?
8:34
SPEAKER_02: I fleeed the fifth.
8:37
SPEAKER_02: It's pretty common these days.
8:39
SPEAKER_02: Uh no, but you know, so but had the right right people come in my life at the right time to help steer me through and get me get me on through.
8:47
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, those those different mentors in life.
8:50
SPEAKER_02: Yep, absolutely.
8:51
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
8:51
SPEAKER_02: Any of those uh particular mentors of what led you to the fire service or no, not at all.
8:59
SPEAKER_02: Nope.
9:00
SPEAKER_02: Um matter of fact, you know, my in my childhood, you know, firefighting wasn't even on my radar.
9:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, it was like military fly jets, you know, that's that stuff, you know.
9:10
SPEAKER_02: I was really into that stuff, you know.
9:12
SPEAKER_02: Had a family member become a police officer, and so I saw that and I was like, maybe I'd like to, you know, do that.
9:19
SPEAKER_02: You know, I'd I figured I was going into public service one way or the other.
9:22
SPEAKER_02: You know, one way or the other, I'm doing something.
9:25
SPEAKER_02: So, but firefighting wasn't even on my radar um not until uh college that I took a first responder class to help pad my resume and stuff, you know, heading the police officer route and then met a guy in there and just flat out asked me, you ever thought about being a fireman?
9:42
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, No, not at all.
9:45
SPEAKER_02: And he goes, Wanna try it?
9:46
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, sure, I'm not doing anything else right now, you know, except going to school and working my job, you know.
9:53
SPEAKER_02: So, uh, sure, let's try this thing.
9:55
SPEAKER_02: And he's like, All right.
9:57
SPEAKER_02: I said, plus, uh, but I didn't tell you in the first take, but but they're all gonna hear it now.
10:02
SPEAKER_02: Uh my girlfriend at the time, who is my wife now, pretty much told me if you become a cop, I'm not marrying you.
10:10
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, okay, very, very smart woman.
10:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
10:16
SPEAKER_02: And I thank God for her every single day, you know.
10:19
SPEAKER_02: And so that all just kind of lined up, you know, with with the guy I met in college and steering me towards the fire service.
10:28
SPEAKER_02: Who this guy, he's on the job with me now, you know.
10:31
SPEAKER_02: Matter of fact, he's on the same rig that I'm on.
10:33
SPEAKER_02: He drives Ryan.
10:35
SPEAKER_02: So, and uh uh Bill Young is the one who got me into the fire service.
10:40
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, yeah.
10:42
SPEAKER_02: We all know Bill, and he's one of our uh newer instructors, yes, um, with O'Burn.
10:46
SPEAKER_02: He's been on the job obviously for a long time, but with us, he's one of our newer instructors, which we'll get in here at some point as well and interview him.
10:53
SPEAKER_02: And I rated him yesterday down at FRI.
10:56
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
10:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and speaking to it.
10:58
SPEAKER_02: You going to FRI?
10:59
SPEAKER_02: Uh, I want to get there today.
11:01
SPEAKER_02: So that's the plan for the time.
11:02
SPEAKER_02: Probably when we're done after this, we'll probably try to head over that way.
11:05
SPEAKER_02: So absolutely.
11:06
SPEAKER_02: But I want to go there.
11:07
SPEAKER_02: Went last year.
11:07
SPEAKER_02: Pretty cool.
11:08
SPEAKER_02: Got to get to see familiar faces coming in town.
11:11
SPEAKER_02: Well, last year it was in Orlando.
11:13
SPEAKER_02: Uh what was it?
11:14
SPEAKER_02: We had two years ago.
11:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
11:15
SPEAKER_02: Two years ago.
11:16
SPEAKER_02: So it was good to see familiar faces coming through, you know, just other friends that have been in the fire service and stuff, and now you know, if they're retired, they're working vendors and stuff like that.
11:24
SPEAKER_02: So get to see those guys.
11:25
SPEAKER_02: So it's always good to see those, yeah, those gents.
11:28
SPEAKER_02: So absolutely, which we'll uh usually don't usually date the podcast because we don't know when they're gonna release, but this one just happens to be during FRI, and we'll get down there and hopefully see some of you guys down there.
11:39
SPEAKER_02: Um so okay, so Bill Young kind of brought you into it, and now he's a uh driver on rescue one, yep, which is where you're at.
11:48
SPEAKER_02: And then we talked about your family life growing up.
11:51
SPEAKER_02: Uh let's talk about your your family now.
11:54
SPEAKER_02: Um there.
11:56
SPEAKER_02: You you mentioned your wife, Misty.
11:58
SPEAKER_02: Misty.
11:58
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
11:59
SPEAKER_02: So let's talk about uh how you guys met and all that kind of good stuff.
12:03
SPEAKER_02: And well, we're high school sweethearts.
12:06
SPEAKER_02: So uh my best friend at the time and her best friend were dating each other.
12:10
SPEAKER_02: So that's how we met.
12:12
SPEAKER_02: Um so we just you know headed off, dated off, you know, throughout high school.
12:19
SPEAKER_02: Um believe it or not, it was one of those mentors that came into my life was her dad.
12:25
SPEAKER_02: So he was a great influence on me right right when I really needed it.
12:31
SPEAKER_02: So um you know, I did what a dad's supposed to do.
12:35
SPEAKER_02: Hold hold young men accountable.
12:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because you kind of said you're kind of searching for that.
12:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I was searching for that, you know, and I was kind of shaky little way, you know, and and life choices.
12:46
SPEAKER_02: And you know, he we we pretty much put the bar right in front of me.
12:51
SPEAKER_02: So and was he the one who led you to Christ?
12:55
SPEAKER_02: No, really, uh you know, growing up, you know, we we always went to church and everything growing up, you know, so it was not unfamiliar to me.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
13:07
SPEAKER_02: Um and then, you know, kind of like when my parents separated, had that rocky, you know, part of my life, you know, didn't go to church, didn't went hanging out with probably all the best people.
13:18
SPEAKER_02: And um, you know, when I met now my wife, she's the one that kind of helped me, you know, get back to church and stuff.
13:26
SPEAKER_02: So and then, you know, he was her dad was a good influence on me and you know, started doing things the dads, you know, do for their sons, you know, type deal, and just hold them accountable.
13:39
SPEAKER_02: So you were there one in ninety nine.
13:40
SPEAKER_02: What's that?
13:41
SPEAKER_02: You were there one in ninety nine.
13:42
SPEAKER_02: No, I I could have been, yeah.
13:44
SPEAKER_02: I tell you, like any good dad, because I have three daughters of my own, you you don't like the boyfriend, you know.
13:50
SPEAKER_02: Right.
13:51
SPEAKER_02: You don't you for you don't you're not supposed to like the boyfriend or whatever, but it's not so much that he didn't like me, it's just you know, he he wanted to make sure I was the you know the right one.
14:00
SPEAKER_02: That's all.
14:01
SPEAKER_02: Like any good dad does.
14:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so you'd say that's a dad.
14:04
SPEAKER_02: You just want to make sure that this is the right one, you know, because eventually, you know, you're gonna have to give them away.
14:10
SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
14:12
SPEAKER_02: And so you want to make sure you're giving them giving away to the right one right person, you know, that has the right mentality and everything else that's gonna treat their daughter right.
14:20
SPEAKER_02: So so he held held me to some standards, which is what I needed.
14:24
SPEAKER_02: So that's awesome.
14:25
SPEAKER_02: You know, him and uh my youth pastor.
14:28
SPEAKER_02: Uh he he was another great influence in my life, you know, showed up.
14:34
SPEAKER_02: Showed up.
14:34
SPEAKER_02: That's that's huge, you know, show up.
14:37
SPEAKER_02: And so those guys showed up and it was great.
14:41
SPEAKER_02: So helped me steer me in the right direction.
14:43
SPEAKER_02: So I'll be forever thankful for that.
14:45
SPEAKER_02: So fast forward, off and on dating, you know, through college, whatever, you know, and then finally, you know, uh propose, and you know, we got married in 2000.
14:56
SPEAKER_02: And uh then like five years later, we waited five years to start having children, and now I have three daughters.
15:04
SPEAKER_02: Twelve daughters.
15:06
SPEAKER_02: Uh so my daughters, I got I got Adeline, Danan, and Kaylin.
15:11
SPEAKER_02: My oldest.
15:12
SPEAKER_02: My oldest uh will be 21 here in just uh about a week.
15:17
SPEAKER_02: That happened really fast.
15:19
SPEAKER_02: Yes, sir.
15:21
SPEAKER_02: Yes, sir.
15:22
SPEAKER_02: You you have one 21, don't you?
15:24
SPEAKER_02: Yep, that's what I thought.
15:26
SPEAKER_02: So she'll be 21 uh here in here in about a week, and then uh uh Dan and my second, she's 19 years old.
15:34
SPEAKER_02: And and then my youngest is Kaylin.
15:37
SPEAKER_02: She just turned 16 last week, so she just got her her driver's license.
15:42
SPEAKER_02: So she's on the roads out there, so stay off the roads.
15:47
SPEAKER_02: Um if you're in Kansas City, stay off the roads if you know what's good for you.
15:53
SPEAKER_02: Right now she's like, thanks, Daddy.
15:56
SPEAKER_02: No, but she's she's she's great, she's 16, going on 35.
16:00
SPEAKER_02: Um, that's just you know the personality, the mentality that she has, you know.
16:04
SPEAKER_02: She's ball, she's a ball of fire.
16:06
SPEAKER_02: So um, but yeah, my oldest is finishing her senior year of college up this year, just went back.
16:14
SPEAKER_02: So um that's gonna be done and over with, you know, before you know it.
16:18
SPEAKER_02: She's gonna be done with college.
16:20
SPEAKER_02: And the middle one, she's done with her schooling.
16:22
SPEAKER_02: She went to culinary school and she just just got done with her internship, and I just got her back home here this week.
16:27
SPEAKER_02: So everybody's in different stages of life right now.
16:31
SPEAKER_02: So we'll see.
16:33
SPEAKER_02: Makes it interesting and fun at the same time.
16:35
SPEAKER_02: Yes, it does.
16:36
SPEAKER_02: Yes, it does.
16:37
SPEAKER_02: And we didn't hit a boo.
16:38
SPEAKER_02: What's Misty do?
16:39
SPEAKER_02: She's a teacher, right?
16:40
SPEAKER_02: Yes, she's a teacher, she's a special education teacher.
16:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
16:43
SPEAKER_02: High school SPED.
16:44
SPEAKER_02: That's why it works, you know.
16:46
SPEAKER_02: Right.
16:47
SPEAKER_02: That's why it works.
16:49
SPEAKER_02: I I thought it was maybe for your friends, like you know, children.
16:52
SPEAKER_02: Uh well, it helps.
16:54
SPEAKER_02: It it helps.
16:56
SPEAKER_02: So um well, and that's something we hit too.
16:58
SPEAKER_02: Like, she's a teacher, so it's it's it's funny how many people we bring in here and uh firemen, how we marry other other people that are you know part of serving.
17:10
SPEAKER_02: Be it nurses, doctors, oh my god, teachers.
17:13
SPEAKER_02: It seems like the firefighter nurse thing and the firefighter teacher thing are like yeah, the biggest ones that you know, everybody that I know is like, well, their wife's a nurse or a teacher is like, wow, I kind of see a trend here.
17:26
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, it's it's interesting because everyone we've brought in so far for this is uh their their spouse serves in one way or another.
17:35
SPEAKER_02: Yep, yep, yep.
17:36
SPEAKER_02: You got a feeling there'd be a lot more of that, and their kids are even like leaping that direction.
17:40
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
17:41
SPEAKER_02: So it'll be interesting to see, you know, I don't know what what the kids are gonna end up doing.
17:46
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I kind of know what they're wanting, but you never know how what life's gonna do for them, you know, which way they're gonna go and stuff, but you just trying to point them in the right direction, you know, and send them off.
17:57
SPEAKER_02: So we'll see.
17:58
SPEAKER_02: We'll see what happens.
18:00
SPEAKER_02: So I can do is wait.
18:01
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
18:01
SPEAKER_02: One day at a time, one day at a time and sh make as much money as I can to pad my bank account because I got three girls.
18:08
SPEAKER_02: Help me.
18:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, three weddings.
18:10
SPEAKER_02: Maybe at the end of this we'll pin my Venmo and if anybody wants to help.
18:18
SPEAKER_02: That is at Paul Veron.
18:20
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
18:21
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
18:22
SPEAKER_02: You get a GoFundMe.
18:23
SPEAKER_02: Right, right.
18:24
SPEAKER_02: Because my goodness, weddings aren't cheap.
18:28
SPEAKER_02: So, high school sweetheart, so Misty has been with you ever since you got into the fire service.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: Yes, yeah, that and that's that's the way it was for my wife and I as well.
18:38
SPEAKER_02: So it's just they don't know any different, you know, as far as our jobs.
18:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Misty, she didn't know any different at all.
18:45
SPEAKER_02: So, I mean, I graduated high school, got into the fire service in 97, you know, so we were still kind of dating.
18:52
SPEAKER_02: She's you know, she she had already gone off to college or whatever, you know.
18:55
SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, she doesn't know anything different.
18:59
SPEAKER_02: She knows 2448, you know.
19:02
SPEAKER_01: And they're in for a shock when we retire.
19:04
SPEAKER_02: Boy.
19:06
SPEAKER_02: Man, I I've heard some stories like just from mothers, like she doesn't know what to do with me.
19:12
SPEAKER_02: I'm home all the time now.
19:14
SPEAKER_02: I don't know though.
19:15
SPEAKER_02: My wife, she, you know, God bless her, she's got like five years left of her of her job also.
19:20
SPEAKER_02: And she uh I think she's in retirement mode now.
19:24
SPEAKER_02: Uh she's just she's just she's just biding time and you know, getting through.
19:29
SPEAKER_02: And and uh, you know, seems like every other day I get another text message of how about this house?
19:37
SPEAKER_02: How about this house?
19:38
SPEAKER_02: You know, and they're all lake houses type deal.
19:41
SPEAKER_02: Where you know, she so she's in she's in retirement mode, you know, she's ready to go, is which is fun to see.
19:46
SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, we got a few few more years to to ride out.
19:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're kind of in the same burden, if you will, as I am.
19:53
SPEAKER_02: You're kind of stuck in the city right now, yeah.
19:56
SPEAKER_02: Um where I have to live in my district too, being a battalion chief, but yeah, different rules.
20:01
SPEAKER_02: So it's just a matter of waiting.
20:03
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
20:04
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
20:05
SPEAKER_02: Well, let's kind of let's kind of move on and let's get into the uh what most people are probably watching or listening to this for is the fire stuff.
20:13
SPEAKER_02: Um so you we already covered your Clay Como.
20:16
SPEAKER_02: You're there for how many years?
20:18
SPEAKER_02: I was there from 97 to 2000, so six years.
20:22
SPEAKER_02: Six years, and then you applied for Kansas City?
20:24
SPEAKER_02: Well, I did at the time, but uh between Clay Como and Kansas City, I actually worked for Gladstone for about a year and a half.
20:32
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I forgot about that.
20:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
20:34
unknown: Yep.
20:35
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's right.
20:36
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, for about a year and a half.
20:37
SPEAKER_02: Misty was there too, right?
20:39
SPEAKER_02: What?
20:40
SPEAKER_02: Gladstone?
20:40
SPEAKER_02: Where's that picture come from?
20:41
SPEAKER_02: The one where she's got the gear on?
20:43
SPEAKER_02: Oh, no, that was a that was at Clay Como.
20:45
SPEAKER_02: Oh, that was at Clay Como.
20:46
SPEAKER_02: That's yeah, that was at Clay Como.
20:48
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
20:48
SPEAKER_02: So that's we'll post it.
20:49
SPEAKER_02: I'm sure you will.
20:51
SPEAKER_02: I'm sure you will.
20:52
SPEAKER_02: So careful with the pictures.
20:55
SPEAKER_02: We all got pictures.
21:02
SPEAKER_02: We're good.
21:03
SPEAKER_02: So but uh no, um, no, so for about a year and a half there, I was at I was at Gladstone and then got on to Kansas City in 04.
21:11
SPEAKER_02: So Okay.
21:12
SPEAKER_02: All right.
21:13
SPEAKER_02: Um, so you got on Kansas City, graduated from the Academy in what year?
21:18
SPEAKER_02: Oh four, you said.
21:19
SPEAKER_02: July of 04.
21:20
SPEAKER_02: What was your first assignment?
21:22
SPEAKER_02: My first assignment uh with Kans City, when you come out you float, um float districts.
21:27
SPEAKER_02: But my first my first real assignment actually, I was uh placed at Pumper 25 on C shift, and then I got bumped to Pumper Three.
21:38
SPEAKER_02: So those who don't know, where's where's 25 at?
21:40
SPEAKER_02: 25's in the river market.
21:42
SPEAKER_02: That's the station I'm at now.
21:43
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
21:43
SPEAKER_02: So um that's down in the river market, downtown Kansas City.
21:47
SPEAKER_02: So so out of there I got bumped up to Pumper Three, which is way up I say way up north, but north.
21:54
SPEAKER_02: Uh and where's that one at?
21:56
SPEAKER_02: That one's a hundred and eleventh of North Oak.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
21:59
SPEAKER_02: So So I was there for a little while.
22:02
SPEAKER_02: Kind of up by Gladstone almost.
22:04
SPEAKER_02: It's yeah, yeah, way further north.
22:06
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, north of 152.
22:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
22:08
SPEAKER_02: So uh so I was up there for a little bit, then a bit over uh to Pumper 34, which is real close to my house of where I'm at now.
22:17
SPEAKER_02: And I was there for I think it was about six years.
22:21
SPEAKER_02: So, and then uh bit over uh any good jobs during that time frame when you're on pumpers?
22:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, some real good jobs.
22:28
SPEAKER_02: Um tell us about some of those before we those jobs.
22:32
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you know, in the districts uh that I was in there, I had I got a few more jobs being at 34s and threes.
22:40
SPEAKER_02: Just it's just the geographical, you know, uh parts of the city, uh, little older homes and stuff down in 34s area.
22:47
SPEAKER_02: So uh we we we got a few jobs down there and they were they were pretty good.
22:52
SPEAKER_02: And and in the area that we were in, sometimes uh, you know, we're there by ourselves for a little bit longer than than most, um, just because our district was a little bit bigger and help was a little farther away.
23:05
SPEAKER_02: So you got to do some work, got to get get some good work in, you know.
23:09
SPEAKER_02: Um had a good captain.
23:12
SPEAKER_02: He was an inner city captain for a long time and had a lot of knowledge, you know, and and and trusted us and allowed us to, you know, be men and do our jobs.
23:23
SPEAKER_02: So uh we we had a few over there, had a good district, had a good other crews that we ran with, so we all got along pretty darn good.
23:32
SPEAKER_02: So um it was a good time up there.
23:35
SPEAKER_02: Fires and you know, up there are a little bit fewer far between up there, so you you know, try to do your best and get as much work as you can in them because you know you don't know when the next one's next one's gonna be.
23:47
SPEAKER_02: So um but no, there was we had some good fires up there, you know, and you know, I enjoyed it.
23:55
SPEAKER_02: Like any type of close calls or anything like that for you while you're up there?
23:59
SPEAKER_02: Close calls no.
24:04
SPEAKER_02: No.
24:05
SPEAKER_02: A little hairy, you know, as is the way fire goes, you know.
24:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah might might question yourself, like, you know, but we're gonna go get it anyway, you know.
24:17
SPEAKER_02: And but close calls never when I was up there, didn't never really had any any close calls fire-wise, you know, getting to the fire.
24:29
SPEAKER_02: That's another story.
24:30
SPEAKER_02: That's a different story, you know.
24:32
SPEAKER_02: So uh, but no, no real, you know, like come out of that one going, who you know, that that was something else.
24:41
SPEAKER_02: So um, but you know, had I have had those, you know, just in different in my different assignments, you know, just get exposed to more, you're gonna have more of those little little gotta go, gotta get it done, you know, get stepped back and then go.
25:00
SPEAKER_02: That was close.
25:03
SPEAKER_02: I get it.
25:04
SPEAKER_02: So, but there, I had a good time, had a real good time.
25:08
SPEAKER_02: Uh, you know, good friends, you know, from my fellow firefighters, you know, just had a good time meshing and just making the most of it while we were there.
25:18
SPEAKER_01: So where'd you go next?
25:21
SPEAKER_02: From 34s, I went to rescue nine.
25:23
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
25:24
SPEAKER_01: How'd you get down there?
25:25
SPEAKER_02: Bid down there.
25:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:27
SPEAKER_02: Pretty was it a pretty uh um were they like pretty contested spots for the rescues back then?
25:33
SPEAKER_02: They are.
25:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
25:34
SPEAKER_02: They are they're contested spots.
25:36
SPEAKER_02: I mean, in any inner city, they're all contested, you know.
25:40
SPEAKER_02: People that's where because that's where your most action, you know, where you get a lot of your action, more fires.
25:46
SPEAKER_02: So you get be able to get exposed to more, you know, hone your craft a little bit more.
25:51
SPEAKER_02: So it it is.
25:52
SPEAKER_02: It's it's it's competitive.
25:54
SPEAKER_02: And uh what's the for those who don't know, like what's the process to get on a rescue?
26:01
SPEAKER_02: Is it is it an interview, is it a promotion, or is it a it's just it goes on the bid sheet and it's a seniority bid.
26:09
SPEAKER_02: And if you get it any pre prerequisites or anything?
26:12
SPEAKER_02: No, everything, everything is taught to you once you get there.
26:16
SPEAKER_02: So uh kind of unique, I guess, in that in that aspect with our job.
26:22
SPEAKER_02: Um it takes about two years to get all the certifications.
26:24
SPEAKER_02: It does, yeah.
26:26
SPEAKER_02: If you if you come in at the right time, correct.
26:28
SPEAKER_02: It's it's all on on timing, you know, if you can get through everything.
26:31
SPEAKER_02: If you come in at the very beginning, just so happens, you know, you get there early spring before ropes starts, and then you'll get everything in two years.
26:42
SPEAKER_02: If you come in towards the end of it, it'll take like all three years, you know, before you get all your all your certifications.
26:49
SPEAKER_02: So um, but but yeah, if you can do it right, you can do it, you can get it done in two years.
26:56
SPEAKER_02: So it's not like some other jobs, like uh I know other jobs across the country, you you know, you have to like apply for it and get interviewed for, you know, by the folk, you know, the officer of the crew and everything else, and you know, you get or you have to have prerequisites before you can even get there, which you know to each his own.
27:17
SPEAKER_02: But ours is you once you get in, we teach you everything.
27:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
27:20
SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
27:21
SPEAKER_02: And same same with same with us.
27:23
SPEAKER_02: I mean, and we've covered in other podcasts and stuff.
27:25
SPEAKER_02: How I mean, your job and our job, we train together in the rescue division.
27:29
SPEAKER_02: So we see, you know, a lot of each other most part of the year, every time we're doing the training.
27:34
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I think so.
27:36
SPEAKER_02: I got tied in with your knuckleheads.
27:37
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
27:38
SPEAKER_02: We just got done with boats class and uh we had uh one of y'all's uh firefighters um out there.
27:47
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, that's something I want to get into too, is like uh not uh instructing the tech rescue stuff, but we'll get to that in here in a little bit because like you just mentioned it, so I just want to make sure I don't forget that.
27:59
SPEAKER_02: Um but we go back, so you went down to rescue nine and who was your captain?
28:06
SPEAKER_02: Tell us about your crew.
28:08
SPEAKER_02: My captain.
28:09
SPEAKER_02: Um sure anybody who knows anybody about us knows who who's runs this thing, you know, who's or at least keeping it going for us, and is brought up and has brought us in.
28:22
SPEAKER_02: Um my captain's Chad Daly.
28:24
SPEAKER_02: So uh we had he's the captain, had uh a couple drivers, uh we had uh Jeff Hurstman and Avery Denby and firefighters, myself, uh a few others uh who are still who are still on the job with us uh battalion chiefs that's come up through.
28:53
SPEAKER_02: Um some have stayed firefighters, you know, just where you want to be in in your career.
28:58
SPEAKER_02: You know, people who have cycled through have some have had some really good crews, you know, really solid crews.
29:05
SPEAKER_02: Um it's just we get to the point where you just mesh and gel together where you know you don't have to say much, don't have to talk much, you just know what you're doing.
29:15
SPEAKER_02: Um crew cohesiveness throughout the years, you know, just the more longer I was there, you know, the better, you know, just our crews got.
29:25
SPEAKER_02: So um, and that's you know, you know, the the leadership, you know, Chad leading us, pushing us to do our best, you know, to be our best, um, getting to the point where it's not like, you know, in some some places, you know, it's like the captain's like, all right, let's go train, you know, always leading the training.
29:45
SPEAKER_02: We got to the point where, you know, we're leading the training, we're pushing the training, you know, and he's just like, take me wherever you want to go, I'll go wherever you want to go.
29:54
SPEAKER_02: Which is a great sign of a good leader, is so he can hand it over to his crews.
29:57
SPEAKER_02: Yep, and we just take off and run with it, you know.
30:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, and we just we just try to expose ourselves to everything that we can just to make ourselves better, you know, because some of the squirrely stuff that we we'd get into, you know, it's like, are we ever really gonna do this, you know, type deal?
30:15
SPEAKER_02: Probably not, you know, but just lessons learned, tools, techniques, everything else might apply somewhere else, you know, eventually.
30:23
SPEAKER_02: So, and they did.
30:25
SPEAKER_02: They they did.
30:26
SPEAKER_02: So, yeah, it was okay for us to put ourselves through all that and and uh uh by all that you mean Chad.
30:38
SPEAKER_02: 100% that's that's exactly what I mean.
30:42
SPEAKER_02: 100% that put put us all through that.
30:45
SPEAKER_02: No, just to put ourselves through all the all the all the training and stuff, you know.
30:49
SPEAKER_02: Just I mean, we'd find ourselves training at just weird times, weird hours, sometimes holidays if we're just sitting there just doing nothing, you know, it's like let's go.
31:00
SPEAKER_02: Two in the morning on Thanksgiving.
31:03
SPEAKER_02: No, that you got two two stories there.
31:06
SPEAKER_02: Yes, we did train on Thanksgiving, but there was another time we went out around midnight because we had a building that they were gonna tear down the next day.
31:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and it was our only shot at doing it, and we didn't we didn't want to let that let that opportunity pass us without being able to go through and and do some stuff.
31:24
SPEAKER_02: And you know, you had a we're in a busy district, you know, we're gonna be running calls, we're retired, you know, but it was an an opportunity, you know, and then Chad's like, let's go.
31:36
SPEAKER_02: Which for anybody who watches a lot of our uh videos and stuff on social media, and a lot of that stuff came from you guys taking advantage of that, those opportunities.
31:44
SPEAKER_02: It did, yeah, a lot of it.
31:45
SPEAKER_02: A lot of the footage in our classes comes from that.
31:48
SPEAKER_02: Um, so yeah, I mean, it's a great thing to do.
31:51
SPEAKER_02: Just get out there and you know, get out there and do it, and you know, put your put yourselves out there.
31:56
SPEAKER_02: That that's a big thing when you start putting yourselves out there, you know, you get can't be afraid to put your failures and everything out there, you know, too, because you know, the internet the internet's forever, and uh, you know, the critiques and everything else that come with it, you know, positive, negative, whatever, it's gonna be out there, and but you just move on, you know, just keep keep doing it.
32:18
SPEAKER_02: So don't let it uh you know distract you or deter you from keeping on to try to do good for the job.
32:25
SPEAKER_02: So and I completely agree with you.
32:27
SPEAKER_02: You put yourself out there and and uh I think one of the cool things that I have noticed with most instructors that we have is the fact that man, we like watching Chad, that guy will tell you every mistake he's made before he tells you about any of the successes that he's had.
32:47
SPEAKER_02: And I just think that I think that is what gives him validity.
32:50
SPEAKER_02: I think that's what why people engage with Chad is because they they can see themselves in him because he's not afraid to put himself out there and let you know his mistakes.
33:01
SPEAKER_02: Right.
33:01
SPEAKER_02: And you know, I see that in, you know, I see that in him and anywhere else we go, you know, across the country, anywhere else teaching, listening to people, other other trainers, and they kind of have that same trait, you know, they'll they'll tell you where they messed up, you know, and learn from me, you know.
33:18
SPEAKER_02: Knowledge is I learned from my mistake, wisdom is I learned from others, right?
33:22
SPEAKER_02: So I'll learn from others and try try not to make the same mistake that they did, you know, and pick up all the all the wisdom that I can, you know, from them to just help make myself better.
33:34
SPEAKER_02: So I if I can make myself better, then I can help make my crew better.
33:38
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, it's just kind of a little cascade thing, you know.
33:43
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
33:45
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I just uh I'm glad you brought that up because I do think that's a great value for anyone that's gonna teach is to number one, humble yourself.
33:55
SPEAKER_02: Oh, you have to.
33:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
33:56
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I I know when I first started teaching, I was afraid to let those, you know, the let that exposure happen as far as that goes.
34:06
SPEAKER_02: Um and granted, you know, if for most like most of us, we get kind of pushed into teaching.
34:11
SPEAKER_02: And then uh But we need to be for most part, most of us.
34:14
SPEAKER_02: There's some people that are just natural at it, but for a lot of us, you you have to be pushed into it so you can realize your own potential.
34:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know.
34:22
SPEAKER_02: Well, and it's just like you know, those people that push you into it's because they see something in you that you don't even see in yourselves a lot of times.
34:28
SPEAKER_02: And uh man, I brought it up before, like Bob Little was was mine.
34:32
SPEAKER_02: He's the guy that pushed me into sort of teaching the tech rescue stuff.
34:36
SPEAKER_02: Man, I was not comfortable doing that.
34:38
SPEAKER_02: I was like, what you want me to do what?
34:40
SPEAKER_02: And it was like our first classes that we had in the region, you know, with Kansas City, CJC, O'Lathe, and KCK.
34:47
SPEAKER_02: You know, you didn't know what you're gonna run into.
34:48
SPEAKER_02: We didn't we didn't know each other that well back then, you know, none of us did.
34:52
SPEAKER_02: And it's just that that kind of putting us in that tough situation.
34:55
SPEAKER_02: Man, look what it's turned into now.
34:57
SPEAKER_02: And you go again, those mentors who led you in one way or another kind of pushed you in the direction that you didn't see yourself going.
35:04
SPEAKER_02: Right.
35:04
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, and I enough about me, but but no, I'm I'm what I'm getting at is is I see where you're coming from, exactly what you mean when it comes to those uncomfortable situations.
35:16
SPEAKER_02: And it's okay to be uncomfortable, you just gotta get comfortable being uncomfortable.
35:20
SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, I've heard that heard that saying, you know, most of my career, you just gotta get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
35:29
SPEAKER_02: And, you know, that's that's something that's just stuck with me, and it's okay if you can operate and uncomfortable being uncomfortable, you know, it's gonna, it's gonna, you know, it's gonna stretch you, it's gonna uh push you, you know, to be better.
35:45
SPEAKER_02: So, and you know, what if you can collect yourself and and work through it, you will.
35:49
SPEAKER_02: You'll be you'll be better on the other side.
35:51
SPEAKER_02: You'll just be a better teacher, be a better mentor, be a better whatever.
35:55
SPEAKER_02: Doesn't matter what it is, you know, just if you can get comfortable with being that, it's just gonna make you all that much a better person all around.
36:05
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, and even for you know the maybe some of the viewers that may be looking to get in getting into teaching is I can tell you right now, there's you're never gonna feel a hundred percent comfortable.
36:17
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you could tick.
36:20
SPEAKER_02: I've taught that a million times and still get nervous before I start teaching it.
36:25
SPEAKER_02: Same.
36:25
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's just but once you get going, you find yourself you get in that groove and it just takes off.
36:33
SPEAKER_02: You know just the exposure of the job, you know, of of also just doing the stuff for real, you know, you're out there doing the stuff, and then you you come in to teach it, and then when you start teaching, then you realize oh I I've done this, you know.
36:49
SPEAKER_02: I I can I can tell you my real world experiences and it helps helps teach in that moment, you know.
36:54
SPEAKER_02: So that's just it's you know, huge.
36:58
SPEAKER_02: It's huge.
36:59
SPEAKER_02: When and then when you start, oh yeah, I do got this, it's okay.
37:03
SPEAKER_02: You start trusting yourself, you know, a little bit more.
37:06
SPEAKER_02: So so you don't you're not so uncomfortable.
37:10
SPEAKER_02: So those real world experiences.
37:13
SPEAKER_02: Let's uh let's start talking about some of those, like on your time in Kansas City.
37:18
SPEAKER_02: Uh I know there for a little while, which you can talk about whatever you want, but I know there for a little while, you were uh I mean you were getting grab after grab there for a little while.
37:27
SPEAKER_02: It was just that two or three year span, it just seemed like you were getting a ton of them.
37:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, it seems like a ton, and I think back on them, you know, not a whole lot, but enough, you know, and it just, you know, right place if you look at it that way, is it right place, right time, you know, or is it just I think with this crowd, yeah.
37:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, um, it's just where it happened to be, you know, and um doing my job, what's what's expected of what was expected of me, you know, that was put upon me and you know, by my captain, you know, the expectations that he he wanted and needed, and you know, just rose to those rose to those expectations and to do that to do the job right, you know, just put me in the right spots.
38:16
SPEAKER_02: You know, I wasn't alone, I had a partner with me every single time, so I can't sit there and aye aye aye, you know, it's wee wee we we we wee all the way.
38:24
SPEAKER_02: Never mind.
38:25
SPEAKER_02: Uh but yeah, uh it's us, you know.
38:28
SPEAKER_02: Um so I was never just just by myself.
38:31
SPEAKER_02: I I had my partners that were with me that were just every bit as involved in, you know, of of the rescues as you know as I was and the rest of the crew.
38:40
SPEAKER_02: So uh, you know, but together our crew, you know, we we were put in into some situations, you know, that it just so happened it fell into fell into our laps.
38:53
SPEAKER_02: So and so we just had to come through with it and met the challenge and and got it done.
38:59
SPEAKER_02: So but you want to tell us about a couple of those or do you feel comfortable talking about them?
39:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean there, you know, there's nothing nothing real nothing really that just stands out like uh, you know, you got real heavy fire pushing on us, some of our glow on air, or anything like that.
39:20
SPEAKER_02: You know, you know, you go in, do the search that you need to search, you know, you get the reports that you get from command and everybody else, and you know, try to put things together and you you approach it systematically, you know, and and you put you know, you go through and and and put to work everything that you've been taught and what you've been practiced on, you know, and you know, you get you get the results, you know, you find, you end up finding them because you did what you were supposed to do, and uh you know it it paid off.
39:51
SPEAKER_02: You know that and I I I totally respect your your humility right now, but a lot of this stuff that we're talking about, these these grabs that you had um as the team uh led to some innovation from the crew.
40:06
SPEAKER_02: So I don't know, try to work into that a little bit with uh the victim drag strap.
40:10
SPEAKER_02: I mean, like tell us about like like when you found the victim, like what were some of the the the struggles that you had or or the successes that you had?
40:21
SPEAKER_02: Uh you know, there are some, you know, that you that we would you know drag out and you hope that you know when you got them out that you you're not you know not making them worse on the way out by them getting beat up by you dragging because you know you're not you a lot of it you can't see where you're going or whatever, you just know the way you're supposed to be going.
40:42
SPEAKER_02: But on the other hand, you'll sign their cast after they're okay.
40:45
SPEAKER_02: Break their arm, you'll sign the cast later type deal, you know.
40:48
SPEAKER_02: Um, but you do your best, you know, to not make the situation worse, you know, and get them out as quick as you can.
40:54
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, different you always practice on your different drags, different carries, you know, when you can carry, when you should be dragging, you know, when there's always every fight, everything's gonna give, you know, give you a different scenario.
41:08
SPEAKER_02: You know, it it's not gonna be the this will do it, this is the way you will do it every single time.
41:14
SPEAKER_02: Will it work most of the time?
41:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, will it work all the time?
41:17
SPEAKER_02: No, you know, because you don't get to you don't get to pick your environment and you don't get to pick your victim.
41:24
SPEAKER_02: So um they're those are the two things that are driving what you're gonna do.
41:30
SPEAKER_02: So, you know, after we've we've had some had some saves or or or actually just, you know, some rescues, attempted rescues, and some not all of them ended up in the happy story, you know, the happy ending, unfortunately.
41:44
SPEAKER_02: But uh for the ones that did, it's like when you get out of there, it's like how could we do that better?
41:49
SPEAKER_02: You know, how can we do this better?
41:51
SPEAKER_02: How can we help ourselves?
41:53
SPEAKER_02: Where did we fail, you know, uh in trying to get the these people out.
41:59
SPEAKER_02: Where where did we fail?
42:00
SPEAKER_02: You know, because get your larger victims, you know, yeah, you're gonna drag them, you're gonna get spent, you know, you're gonna drop them, your grip goes, everything else, but you're trying to reset and you're trying to get them back out, you're not gonna quit, you know.
42:13
SPEAKER_02: That there's just that's not an option.
42:15
SPEAKER_02: You know, to quit is not an option.
42:17
SPEAKER_02: So you're gonna you're gonna, you know, complete the task, but it's probably not gonna look pretty, you know, as you do it.
42:25
SPEAKER_02: So um, so uh Ryan and Chad, you know, they were started started spitballing it, you know, what what we could do and everything.
42:36
SPEAKER_02: And I know Chad went other places and learned from uh some other guys of learning techniques and stuff, how do they keep their grip and everything else?
42:44
SPEAKER_02: And and then like the two-size gloves.
42:47
SPEAKER_02: Two-size gloves, you know, whatever, you know, just so they can lock their hands in so they're not losing everything because you know it's our grip that'll go, you know, which could work.
42:55
SPEAKER_02: Which it works, yeah.
42:56
SPEAKER_02: It worked for him, worked for that guy.
42:58
SPEAKER_02: Awesome.
42:59
SPEAKER_02: You know, awesome.
43:00
SPEAKER_02: Um and then I think it was Ryan's like, what about a piece of webbing?
43:05
SPEAKER_02: You know, what if we try running it through and then we we started just playing with it, doing all different configurations and everything, and uh to help with our grips, you know, where we can take it off of our off of our hands and put it to our you know, our core and everything else, be it, you know, dragging arm drags, leg drags, whatever.
43:27
SPEAKER_02: Can you can you is is it good enough environment where I can just pick them up and out out we go, you know, type deal.
43:33
SPEAKER_02: Um but it you know, something to just take our take our hands out of it.
43:38
SPEAKER_02: And you know, as we you know went farther and farther, changed some things.
43:43
SPEAKER_02: Some other guys, newer guys came in the crew, and then they're look, you know, real good about hey, let's we can stitch these straps and do this stuff, and it just started developing and into what it is what we have today.
43:57
SPEAKER_02: Which is the victim directory, which is that victim directory, which all in.
44:00
SPEAKER_02: Insert that on this part of the podcast too.
44:02
SPEAKER_02: Yep, yep.
44:03
SPEAKER_02: And so it it took a few years just you know tinkering with things and making things, you know, see what can we what what can we make work, you know, and so came up with that and it works, it works very well.
44:18
SPEAKER_02: Um so it it it's it's a kind of a so do you guys you guys identified and this is for all the viewers out there, but you guys identified probably the hardest thing with any of your grabs that you guys made as a team was grip.
44:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
44:35
SPEAKER_02: I mean I mean we're not you know weak by any means, you know.
44:39
SPEAKER_02: I mean most people most people aren't.
44:42
SPEAKER_02: We but once you've been working, once you're wet, you know, your gloves get heavy, your gloves are wet, you know, everything's gonna slip, slide.
44:49
SPEAKER_02: The victim might be burned up a little bit.
44:52
SPEAKER_02: They're you know, we all know what a burned victim does when we when we carry them or drag them out, you know.
44:58
SPEAKER_02: So you're not gonna have the best grips with that stuff.
45:02
SPEAKER_02: So it's like, how can we take that out of it, but continue to be successful and not lose our victim four, five, six times on the way out the door type deal.
45:11
SPEAKER_02: So, but that that was something that we just you know that we integrated ourselves.
45:18
SPEAKER_02: Do would I use or did I use the victim drag strap every time?
45:22
SPEAKER_02: No, not every situation dictates that I I needed to use that.
45:27
SPEAKER_02: My victim might be small enough that I I can just I can hang on to it.
45:31
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna lose them, you know, type deal.
45:33
SPEAKER_02: But if I encounter my larger my larger uh victims, then yeah, you know, that I'm gonna use every every tool, everything that I can use to get this person out of here.
45:44
SPEAKER_02: So throw the whole toolbox at them if I have to, you know, just to just to get them because again, you don't get to pick your victim, you don't get to pick your environment, and you don't get to pick where they are, right?
45:56
SPEAKER_02: We take all the studies that that are out there for us to help us, you know, to have best guesses of where they're gonna be at certain times of the day, but you know, going back to just good searching and hands-on searching and and and just getting down and dirty and getting with it, you know.
46:14
SPEAKER_02: And then when you find them, you don't quit and get them out.
46:18
SPEAKER_02: So which and I and I think uh the grip thing is is something Ryan and I talked about, and uh, I'm sure you'll agree, is that's one of the in fact maybe we'll make this a uh just the tip Tuesday um in the future is uh as a fire service in general when we train on rescue, well, how do we normally train?
46:42
SPEAKER_02: We gear up another fireman and we go in and we find them.
46:45
SPEAKER_02: Whether we're doing May Day or just normal search for a victim.
46:49
SPEAKER_02: Well, the problem with that is is and I think that's what you're you guys identified.
46:53
SPEAKER_02: They don't present.
46:54
SPEAKER_02: They don't present because we got every grip in the on the in the world on a firefighter in a bulky coat, it's got it's textile, it it's air pack pants, whatever.
47:03
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, got it all.
47:04
SPEAKER_02: It's not sloughing skin, it's not those things that you guys identified.
47:09
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, like and and that's part of the maybe just the tip down the road is uh I don't know, take a fireman, put them in coveralls and don dis soap and try to grab them, get make them a little slippery.
47:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we have done that.
47:22
SPEAKER_02: We we've done that.
47:24
SPEAKER_02: We've done that before in some trainings, and it changes.
47:26
SPEAKER_02: People look at you like, what are you doing?
47:28
SPEAKER_02: And we're like trying to make it about as real as as we can for you, you know, because if we can make it closer to the real thing, you're gonna be better off for it.
47:37
SPEAKER_02: So we try.
47:38
SPEAKER_02: They look at you all kinds of weird, and you're like, just hold on, watch this play out, you know.
47:44
SPEAKER_02: So, and then when they get into it, they're like, Oh my gosh, you know, if anybody who had pulled somebody out, they're like, you know, that was pretty close, you know.
47:52
SPEAKER_02: Not the exact same, but closer than dragon fireman, you know.
47:56
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, and a lot of times even in that training, we've we've got air packs on everything, and we've got every grip, no demand.
48:03
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
48:03
SPEAKER_02: Um, so I think it's and and and again, you guys aren't the the first ones to make an attempt at this.
48:10
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, there's other straps out there as well, but as far as the um the way you guys came across the idea, right?
48:18
SPEAKER_02: I think just I mean, it's just a little bit different, you know.
48:20
SPEAKER_02: I mean, to each his own, you know, you're gonna find what's gonna work well for you.
48:24
SPEAKER_02: And you know, my my advice for that is like whatever you work with, train with it.
48:29
SPEAKER_02: Train with it, you know, until you know that thing inside and out, backward, blindfolded, can't see, you know, just train with it, you know, and get get good at it, you know, no matter what.
48:40
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, what we were after is can I have something readily available right now that I I don't have to go digging in a pocket for?
48:48
SPEAKER_02: That was kind of like like one of our focuses is is it right here?
48:53
SPEAKER_02: Can it be right here?
48:54
SPEAKER_02: And I I can get it deployed and we can put it to work right now, you know, or is it something that's in my pocket, you know, which I'm gonna get it out, it's gonna come out, is it gonna get hung up in my pocket, whatever?
49:04
SPEAKER_02: Everybody understands that stuff in the heat of the moment, you know, when you know adrenaline's going and stuff and you're trying to, oh, this is gonna work, you know, not everything goes smooth like it's supposed to, you know.
49:16
SPEAKER_02: But I, you know, like I I tell anybody, I was like, I don't care what you use, you know, you if you decide to use, you know, something that we've come up with and you can make it work, great.
49:26
SPEAKER_02: Uh we appreciate it, you know.
49:29
SPEAKER_02: But if whatever you have, you better train with it because it's not in the moment, you know, when you're actually having to do it of, hey, I saw this on a YouTube video on a training seminar the other day, I want to try this.
49:42
SPEAKER_02: That ain't the time.
49:43
SPEAKER_02: That yeah, that ain't the time.
49:45
SPEAKER_02: That ain't the time right then to try this new this new technique.
49:49
SPEAKER_02: Right.
49:50
SPEAKER_02: You know, that's just about anything we go, force forcible entry techniques, lock techniques, anything like that.
49:56
SPEAKER_02: Just because you saw it on video the other day, probably isn't the time.
49:59
SPEAKER_02: And now that we're in front of this thing to, hey, I want to try this, you know, let's see if it works type deal.
50:05
SPEAKER_02: You better get out there and train so that you know that it works, so and how it works.
50:10
SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
50:12
SPEAKER_02: So you guys, who were the uh the parties involved with the victim drags?
50:18
SPEAKER_02: With that, uh, you had Chad and Ryan, myself, uh Alex Koday, and Christian Lockridge.
50:27
unknown: Yeah.
50:28
SPEAKER_02: Which was that was that old North 9 crew.
50:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that was that was our crew back in the day.
50:34
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
50:34
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's uh pretty neat what you guys have done with that and how far it's gone.
50:39
SPEAKER_02: Um kudos to you guys.
50:41
SPEAKER_02: So man, I feel like I missed out on that one.
50:44
SPEAKER_02: So I mean, we're still working on it, still trying to, you know, get it out there.
50:48
SPEAKER_02: It's you know, we're still still going, still kicking.
50:51
SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, if you see us, meet us, ask us about it, you know, always more than welcome, you know, more than willing to talk to you about it and train with you and everything else.
51:02
SPEAKER_02: So it works.
51:04
SPEAKER_02: It's it's tried and true.
51:05
SPEAKER_02: It works.
51:06
SPEAKER_02: So we we've we've put it to the test.
51:09
SPEAKER_02: So and you guys are one of the and I don't have any like tabulated data or anything on this, but you guys are one of the few that have actually used your rescue device in actual fire situations.
51:20
SPEAKER_02: Yep, we have.
51:21
SPEAKER_02: And I know there's been a few others across the country that have used it also.
51:25
SPEAKER_02: Just kind of reached out, hey, we used it, it worked great, you know.
51:29
SPEAKER_02: Um you know, so it's always fun to hear here.
51:33
SPEAKER_02: That's like, wow, they somebody really used it.
51:35
SPEAKER_02: And you know, it's not here, it's not us, it's somebody else that got to use it.
51:38
SPEAKER_02: And it goes back to that legacy thing, yeah, and how the outreach that the the information you guys have collected and wisdom you've learned over the years, yeah, and how it's spread even further.
51:48
SPEAKER_02: That's really cool.
51:49
SPEAKER_02: Uh what was really cool is when we were very first uh you know teaching it, you know, when we're just using basic webbing and stuff, uh Chad and I ended up all the way out in Boise, Idaho, and to to teach this, uh among a few other things.
52:04
SPEAKER_02: And uh there was a firefighter there, this gal, um, you know, we're breaking up in our groups, and she gets to me and she's like, All right, I got this, and she pulls, you know, out her sleeve and I go, Oh, Chad, I already got you set up, or you're ready to go.
52:18
SPEAKER_02: And she's like, No, no, no, this is my own.
52:20
SPEAKER_02: And I'm like, What do you mean it's your own?
52:23
SPEAKER_02: You know, and she's like, No, no, no.
52:25
SPEAKER_02: She goes, uh, I watched Chad on a podcast, you know, month or two back, and I saw that.
52:33
SPEAKER_02: And so I've been I've I've set myself up this way.
52:36
SPEAKER_02: And you know, she's little, she's a little thing, you know, a little gal.
52:40
SPEAKER_02: And uh she goes, it's helped, you know, and you know, my training and everything else, it's it's helped me, you know, where I can actually drag people and hang on to people and through the whole class watched her do it, watched her move big fellas and everything else with it, and you know, that was cool to see, you know.
53:00
SPEAKER_02: So it's like it was already being starting, you know, a little bit of influence out there just from little, you know, podcasts, you know, little interview or whatever he, you know, Chad had, you know, a couple months prior to us showing up out there.
53:16
SPEAKER_02: So um, yeah, it works.
53:18
SPEAKER_02: And it's cool to see it when people put it to use and like it helps.
53:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it works.
53:23
SPEAKER_02: And boys, they get work out there.
53:24
SPEAKER_02: They do.
53:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, Brian and I went the next year and did some teaching out there as well.
53:29
SPEAKER_02: And and I so I've been following them ever since, and they they get some work, so it's pretty cool.
53:34
SPEAKER_02: Folks out there, yeah.
53:34
SPEAKER_02: Oh man, beautiful country.
53:36
SPEAKER_02: Yep, they don't want us telling anybody, nope, because they're gonna keep it to themselves, but it is beautiful country out there.
53:42
SPEAKER_02: It is.
53:43
SPEAKER_02: Oh wow.
53:45
SPEAKER_02: All right, so um rescue nine, you were there for several years, you guys developed that, and that was later on in your guys' tenure at Rescue Nine.
53:54
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
53:55
SPEAKER_02: Um but with that, uh when did you uh let's get into the O'Burn side of things?
54:02
SPEAKER_02: When did you start teaching with O'Burn?
54:06
SPEAKER_02: Alright, so oh man, you're making me dig back now because we've we O'Burn has been up what about eight years now?
54:17
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
54:18
SPEAKER_02: Come on, nine years.
54:19
SPEAKER_02: Was it 2014?
54:21
SPEAKER_02: It's oh so maybe even Yeah, I think it's been longer now.
54:24
SPEAKER_02: Oh man, even longer.
54:24
SPEAKER_02: Man, time slips, it goes by so fast.
54:26
SPEAKER_02: Don't quote me on that, but uh feel like it was a 2014 time.
54:30
SPEAKER_02: So uh it was it would have been a little bit before that with Brotherhood Instructors.
54:37
SPEAKER_02: Um great group of guys out of Canada and New York.
54:41
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
54:42
SPEAKER_02: And uh so got in on that and uh started doing a little bit of teaching.
54:49
SPEAKER_02: Chad brought me in uh and and and so got exposed me to that and started doing that stuff there with Brotherhood, and then they decided to say, alright, we're you know, kind of done or whatever, and then we uh we purchased, you know, we bought the stuff from them and started our own.
55:09
SPEAKER_02: Got out there and I remember what our last last day is Brotherhood, our first day of O'Burn.
55:17
SPEAKER_02: We were down in Lake Ozark.
55:20
SPEAKER_02: So and uh one day we had Brotherhood T-shirts on, the next day it was O'Burn.
55:26
SPEAKER_02: That's exactly it.
55:27
SPEAKER_01: That's that's just and it was nothing hostile.
55:29
SPEAKER_02: No, it was just no, it's just the way it worked out.
55:31
SPEAKER_02: This is the way it worked out.
55:32
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
55:33
SPEAKER_02: So um so we've been doing that for better part O'Burn, at least the better part of 10 years at least now.
55:42
SPEAKER_02: So but uh yeah, it's a little bit, so probably about 12 years, 13 years, excuse me.
55:50
SPEAKER_02: So but yeah, been at it for a little bit.
55:54
SPEAKER_02: So Chad's one of the guys that got you in on all that with the with Brotherhood.
55:57
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I had the um influence with with Matt and Dusty and those guys, um, Dusty Dines from Kansas City as well, and Matt Black.
56:07
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I just remember going to one of those classes and just like wow, couldn't believe what I didn't know.
56:15
SPEAKER_02: You know, I mean, and I think that was for all of us, yeah.
56:18
SPEAKER_02: Even you guys, like uh the things those guys brought to us and taught us in the Midwest.
56:22
SPEAKER_02: Yes, was like something that was completely missing out of my playbook.
56:26
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
56:26
SPEAKER_02: Um, which was that's whenever it changed my whole career outlook, you know, at that point.
56:33
SPEAKER_02: And and I I've talked to Chad about it in the past too, and it's the same for him, you know, like wow, you know, like you didn't know what you didn't know, yeah, you know, and still today that happens.
56:43
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
56:44
SPEAKER_02: You know, we go on the road and talk to you know, whatever fire department could be career volunteer, and you get a piece of information from one of the students, and and and I've brought this up before in the in the interviews or whatever, but it's like how did I not know that?
56:58
SPEAKER_02: You know, how how come nobody ever taught me that piece of information?
57:00
SPEAKER_02: I know that happens for all of us.
57:02
SPEAKER_02: Oh yeah, it's and it's it's a great asset to have.
57:07
SPEAKER_02: It is the students, yeah, the students themselves.
57:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, I try to learn something every class that we go that we go teach, I try to learn something from somebody.
57:15
SPEAKER_02: So it just makes me that much better that I can pass that information on uh to the next group that we go to.
57:22
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, absolutely.
57:24
SPEAKER_02: And uh just moving on from there is like uh we we went to a burn fire ground training.
57:32
SPEAKER_02: Um, and anybody that's watched this in other episodes uh has seen us talk about Tom.
57:40
SPEAKER_02: So where was Tom at?
57:42
SPEAKER_02: Was he 105, Battalion Chief 105 when you went to Nines?
57:47
SPEAKER_02: No, he can't I was already there.
57:49
SPEAKER_02: Okay, when he when he came to 105.
57:51
SPEAKER_02: Yep, when he came there.
57:52
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
57:53
SPEAKER_02: So uh yeah.
57:57
SPEAKER_02: Who was uh my my chief when I first got there was Randy Mullins.
58:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
58:03
SPEAKER_02: So Randy's Randy's Randy teaches with us.
58:05
SPEAKER_02: We're gonna get him on here as well.
58:06
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you gotta go with him.
58:07
SPEAKER_02: Randy's a jam-up dude.
58:08
SPEAKER_02: He is he is so he was he was the battalion chief there uh before Tom got there.
58:14
SPEAKER_02: Okay, after Randy retired.
58:17
SPEAKER_02: So tell me about your experiences with Tom, because I feel like that's the least that we should do in every one of these is bring up Tom and his legacy that he left because he's no longer with us, obviously.
58:27
SPEAKER_02: Right.
58:28
SPEAKER_02: You know, um, you know, my interactions with Tom being battalion chief uh at our station, um you know, unfortunately, you know, he was in a different he was in later stages of his of his life there, you know.
58:42
SPEAKER_02: Um kind of wish I, you know, I could have been around him earlier on, you know, to pick his brain and and and learn more from him, you know, earlier on in my career.
58:55
SPEAKER_02: Um but for the you know, for the little bit that, you know, he was there, you know, in the interactions we had and got got out do a little training with him there, you know, just sit and listen to him talk.
59:08
SPEAKER_02: You know, when he's talking, you listen, type deal, and you just take notes, you know, and then he's he's willing to show you anything.
59:15
SPEAKER_02: He's always willing to teach you anything.
59:17
SPEAKER_02: And if and he definitely wasn't afraid to call you out if you're messing up.
59:21
SPEAKER_02: So absolutely not.
59:24
SPEAKER_02: I'm pretty sure I got fired twice.
59:30
SPEAKER_01: That's one of the great things about his character, though.
59:32
SPEAKER_02: And we and to this day, every one of us can laugh about it and have a good time.
59:36
SPEAKER_02: And yep.
59:37
SPEAKER_02: So uh, but when he's when he's talking and when he was teaching, you listened, you know.
59:43
SPEAKER_02: So just anything that you could pick up from you from how he's teaching it to to what exactly he is he was teaching, you know, you you just listened, paid attention.
59:53
SPEAKER_02: And so I I just I just tried my best whenever we were around him when he was talking, just listen to what he had to say, you know, and and and learn from it.
1:00:02
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, and I think his character and demeanor demanded that.
1:00:06
SPEAKER_02: He had a very strong command presence.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_02: Oh, very much so.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_02: Whenever he spoke, which at least the time I knew him wasn't a lot, right?
1:00:14
SPEAKER_02: But when he did speak, you you you shut up and you listened.
1:00:18
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_02: Because I mean he just demanded that idea.
1:00:21
SPEAKER_02: Like, not like formally demanded it.
1:00:23
SPEAKER_02: Nope.
1:00:23
SPEAKER_02: But his just his persona, yeah.
1:00:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the way he carried himself, yeah, absolutely.
1:00:30
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so yeah, I try to make that a uh point to always bring up Tom for those of us that that knew him, and obviously, like I said in the other podcast, I didn't know him as well as you guys did, but the the time that I did know him, the couple years was like just from doing a burn was just the respect that I know he deserves when we do these.
1:00:49
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, thanks for talking about that.
1:00:52
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, he was a he's a great dude.
1:00:55
SPEAKER_02: Um, so you were we'll go back to your rescue nine crew and all that.
1:01:01
SPEAKER_02: Um, and then you got you guys had all the a lot of the grabs that we talked about, and you guys we've talked about in the past how you guys split up in a crews of twos because it was a six-man, well, it's an eight-man company, but staff minimum of six.
1:01:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:01:14
SPEAKER_02: And you guys had what two interior, two roof, two exterior.
1:01:18
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, two front door, two back door, two up top, if if needed.
1:01:23
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:01:23
SPEAKER_02: So, but yeah, we'd split up in in for your basic house fires and in into three teams of two and had our own respective uh tasks that we had to do.
1:01:36
SPEAKER_02: Did you guys switch roles often or yeah, yeah.
1:01:39
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I know you worked out of grade and all that stuff, you know, you drove over, you so each each position in the truck had a yeah, like captain had his firefighter, driver had his firefighter, and the other two firefighters were were paired up.
1:01:50
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
1:01:51
SPEAKER_02: So and we I still to this to this day with my crew kind of kind of run the same kind of run the same way.
1:01:58
SPEAKER_02: So um, but it just depends on you know what was what kind of building we were going to, you know, anything commercial or anything, we might just split three and three or stay to all stay together, just depending on you know what are we dealing with, right?
1:02:13
SPEAKER_02: Type deal.
1:02:14
SPEAKER_02: So um, but yeah, we break up mainly into into three teams of two and and go have at it, you know, and do it do our jobs.
1:02:25
SPEAKER_02: So you know that's something that I I I feel like I've missed in the in the past.
1:02:31
SPEAKER_02: We're talking about a rescue company with you guys with Chad Ryan and now you is but we talked about the fires and stuff, which I know everybody's into, but we really didn't hit a lot on the tech rescue stuff.
1:02:43
SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, the actual calls.
1:02:46
SPEAKER_02: You know, we we know that the the the the playbook for training is just never ending, right?
1:02:52
SPEAKER_02: You know, uh as is the fire side of things, but as far as the tech rescue, it's even you take that responsibility on you gotta know going to work that that's you're gonna be training every day, you know, for the most part.
1:03:06
SPEAKER_02: Um, but let's talk about like some of the tech rescue calls you guys have ran, especially at nines, because I know we we had some trenches, we had Joplin.
1:03:15
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that Joplin was right before I got there.
1:03:17
SPEAKER_02: Okay, okay.
1:03:18
SPEAKER_02: I didn't realize that.
1:03:19
SPEAKER_02: I was I was down there for Joplin and Yeah, I wasn't there.
1:03:22
SPEAKER_02: I got there just after that.
1:03:23
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:03:24
SPEAKER_02: Um that was the tornado that that went through that you refined.
1:03:29
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
1:03:29
SPEAKER_02: Just destroyed about a mile and a half wide.
1:03:31
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
1:03:32
SPEAKER_02: I think 10 miles long or something.
1:03:34
SPEAKER_02: Crazy.
1:03:34
SPEAKER_02: Craziest thing I've ever seen.
1:03:36
SPEAKER_02: But uh, but I got I got into the rescue division just after that.
1:03:40
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:03:40
SPEAKER_02: So I wasn't I wasn't there for that one.
1:03:43
SPEAKER_02: Um things like you mentioned, you said, yeah, we had had some trench, had had a couple of trench calls.
1:03:52
SPEAKER_02: One was to say, one was uh recovery.
1:03:55
SPEAKER_02: So um had a couple of those.
1:03:58
SPEAKER_02: Uh we've had uh water calls, plenty of water calls.
1:04:06
SPEAKER_02: Um rope stuff.
1:04:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you guys do a lot of water, especially with rescue.
1:04:11
SPEAKER_02: Rescue one, rescue one, yeah.
1:04:12
SPEAKER_02: So where we're at, rescue one, we got yeah, we got the river right there, and now all three rescues go, but you know, we I think with us, we I think rescue one uh or just where we are downtown and everything else, where we're at located, we get to use our tech skills a little bit more, you know, just b it's just the nature of where we are, you know, in reference to everything.
1:04:38
SPEAKER_02: So it always seems like Ryan falls into them more than anybody else.
1:04:41
SPEAKER_02: It's just it's his crew.
1:04:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
1:04:44
SPEAKER_02: I don't know how it's just that's the way it goes.
1:04:46
SPEAKER_02: Because he's the guy that can crawl through a mile of shit and come up small like roses every single time.
1:04:50
SPEAKER_02: Man, can he?
1:04:52
SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, but we we get our our fair share every now and then.
1:04:57
SPEAKER_02: Uh we've been to let's see here when I was a nine, we we got deployed down to Houston with with you all and everything.
1:05:07
SPEAKER_02: I didn't go on that one, but yeah, yeah.
1:05:08
SPEAKER_02: Uh for when what Hurricane Harvey got we got sent down there, ended up back in Joplin for flooding stuff, you know.
1:05:17
SPEAKER_02: So we use our water stuff quite a bit, you know, boats and swift water stuff.
1:05:22
SPEAKER_02: Um used those those uh tech skills pretty often.
1:05:27
SPEAKER_02: So a few structural collapse type stuff.
1:05:30
SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah.
1:05:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:05:31
SPEAKER_02: Uh I can't remember the timeline, but let's see, Clinton was before Clinton was before the uh Joplin.
1:05:43
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:05:43
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:05:43
SPEAKER_02: All right.
1:05:44
SPEAKER_02: So you weren't on Clinton then.
1:05:45
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
1:05:45
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:05:46
SPEAKER_02: That was uh They were just getting the rescue division together, so they were in the middle of all the big training and everything, and then they had just come if I can remember right, they had just come off the river off of boats and then Yeah, that was like The first time we'd actually as far as uh CJC and uh um Kansas City working together.
1:06:07
SPEAKER_02: And it was I'm gonna use the working together loosely.
1:06:12
SPEAKER_02: We were uh, you know, there was uh little ego things, but I mean it all worked out.
1:06:16
SPEAKER_02: Um Chief Smoker Dyer kind of gave us all the come to Jesus talk and kind of straightened everything out, and that was pretty cool.
1:06:24
SPEAKER_02: I mean, and then from that point on, I mean, I would say the relationship is was awesome.
1:06:29
SPEAKER_02: Um at least from my experience.
1:06:33
SPEAKER_02: Um, but yeah, that aside.
1:06:36
SPEAKER_02: Um okay, so let's go into the rescue one.
1:06:39
SPEAKER_02: All right, so you went from from rescue nine several years on rescue nine to another busy rescue company, which is rescue one, you say is on uh River Market.
1:06:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:06:49
SPEAKER_02: Um you went there as a captain.
1:06:52
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
1:06:53
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so let's talk about that.
1:06:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:06:54
SPEAKER_02: Firefighter and driver on rescue nine, and then promoted and landed in the rescue one spot.
1:07:02
SPEAKER_02: So that was I didn't think I'd ever get back in the rescue once you, you know, because once you you promote up, you're out of your spot, you go float, and then uh you end up in a spot, and then that's right.
1:07:17
SPEAKER_02: You you went from float to rescue one, right?
1:07:20
SPEAKER_02: No.
1:07:21
SPEAKER_02: Okay, just walk through that timeline.
1:07:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because I don't want to forget the.
1:07:23
SPEAKER_02: So I floated.
1:07:24
SPEAKER_02: Floated in my float time and then I where was that at?
1:07:27
SPEAKER_02: Uh I floated in uh 104 and 108.
1:07:31
SPEAKER_02: I went to 104, got bumped to 108, then back to 104.
1:07:34
SPEAKER_02: So for those who don't know 104, like where's the general area in Kansas City?
1:07:38
SPEAKER_02: That's northeast side.
1:07:39
SPEAKER_02: So straight down, you know, you got Independence Avenue, station 23, uh Van Burn area, 24.
1:07:46
SPEAKER_02: 66.
1:07:46
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, 24 south, 18s to the south.
1:07:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:07:49
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, busy, yeah, busy, busy station, busy district.
1:07:52
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:07:52
SPEAKER_02: So and then 108.
1:07:53
SPEAKER_02: And then 108, which goes back up north, um, big district, land mass-wide, big district.
1:08:00
SPEAKER_02: Still get your fair share, fair share of calls, but not exactly the same calls of of what you're running down, you know, in the 104 area.
1:08:07
SPEAKER_02: So um still challenging, you know, being a new officer, you know, working with going from working in a district where, you know, guys are doing it all the time.
1:08:20
SPEAKER_02: You know, they're they're squared away, they're salty, you know, they you're pretty much showing up and talking on the radio, you know, you and guys know their jobs, you know.
1:08:28
SPEAKER_02: Uh sometimes being on a crew uh where between all three of the other firefighters, one driving and the two in the back seat, they have six years between them.
1:08:41
SPEAKER_02: You know, and I'm sitting here going, Wow, this is gonna be interesting.
1:08:46
SPEAKER_02: Let's go, you know.
1:08:47
SPEAKER_02: So stark contrasted, but I'm glad I got to do, you know, all of it, you know, and you know, just had to learn, you know, to do both and um picked up a lot of stuff being in both areas, you know.
1:09:02
SPEAKER_02: So I tried to learn every single day that I could, you know, and if I could pass along information and stuff to to some of the younger folks, so be it.
1:09:12
SPEAKER_02: So what would you say, because I th I know coming up through my career and talking to the other guys too, like when you make captain, it's it's it's a different level of responsibility and the different level of struggles.
1:09:26
SPEAKER_02: Uh-huh.
1:09:27
SPEAKER_02: Did you have what what are some like at least one major struggle that you ran across getting promoted to captain?
1:09:34
SPEAKER_02: And I don't mean like personal personnel problems.
1:09:38
SPEAKER_02: I'm just saying like you look at the scenes different.
1:09:50
SPEAKER_02: You know, not only, you know, as firefighter driver, yeah, I'll see you later.
1:09:56
SPEAKER_02: We're going, you know, as a captain, it's like, okay, where'd they go?
1:10:00
SPEAKER_02: What are they doing?
1:10:00
SPEAKER_02: You know, what do they need?
1:10:02
SPEAKER_02: You know, you're looking, you're look, you're at that higher elevation, trying to look at things because you're responsible for for everything that's going on, you know.
1:10:12
SPEAKER_02: And do did you struggle with the dichotomy of handling that of micromanagement versus almost a lot of fair type attitude?
1:10:19
SPEAKER_02: You know, I did I tried, you know, try my best not to micromanage anything.
1:10:24
SPEAKER_02: You know, that's because nobody likes that.
1:10:27
SPEAKER_02: Nobody likes the micromanagement, no like being under the but we also know a lot of new captains that's that.
1:10:32
SPEAKER_02: We do, we we see it.
1:10:33
SPEAKER_02: Uh, and you know, you you try to trust the people you're working with, you know, they're here, especially you know, on seasoned crews.
1:10:43
SPEAKER_02: You there's no need to do anything.
1:10:46
SPEAKER_02: But actually, I try to learn from them.
1:10:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you know, I I was on a seasoned crew.
1:10:50
SPEAKER_02: I I really was.
1:10:51
SPEAKER_02: We, you know, I I knew my job.
1:10:54
SPEAKER_02: I knew how to do my job.
1:10:56
SPEAKER_02: But work, I got to work with other good seasoned crews, and now let's see how they work and let's see what they're doing and see if I can learn something from them.
1:11:05
SPEAKER_02: Just because I'm an officer doesn't mean I stop learning.
1:11:07
SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm gonna learn, I'm gonna learn from the firefighter that's on on that rig, you know the day, because they might do something totally different that I had never seen before in my life.
1:11:16
SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm gonna learn, you know, so so I lean lean on them to learn things to help make me better, you know, and hopefully I have something to help make them better.
1:11:27
SPEAKER_02: So and I think I think you speak to my point when you're talking about that working with the experienced crews versus some of the new guys is it's a complete dichotomy.
1:11:34
SPEAKER_02: If we were to take the the the the entire uh I guess di dichotomy, I'll say it again.
1:11:43
SPEAKER_02: Um, as far as like a micromanagement versus laissez-faire approach to to leading, I think it's I think you have to bounce back and forth on that line the entire time.
1:11:52
SPEAKER_02: Try not to get to the extreme of one or the other.
1:11:54
SPEAKER_02: Right.
1:11:55
SPEAKER_02: But I definitely think with your newer guys, uh I'm sure you ran into this, you almost have to lean more toward that micromanagement just because they don't know.
1:12:03
SPEAKER_02: Just a little bit.
1:12:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, exactly.
1:12:05
SPEAKER_02: Because you get into something and you turn around and you're like, all right, and their eyes are this big and they're looking at you, they're looking for, they are literally looking for you to tell them open the nozzle.
1:12:16
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, what you need to die.
1:12:17
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you don't have to tell them, you know, we're going in to put this out, you know.
1:12:21
SPEAKER_02: The other one's standing there, exhalting me like, like, we do it.
1:12:25
SPEAKER_02: You know, we gotta put this out.
1:12:30
SPEAKER_02: The reason we're here, this is our job.
1:12:34
SPEAKER_02: So, but yeah, I mean, but they look for you, they lean on you, and that's okay, you know.
1:12:40
SPEAKER_02: Um I can remember being young, not knowing anything, knowing that I'm I'm expecting to lean on the people who've been there who've done that, and I'm looking for guidance and direction, you know.
1:12:51
SPEAKER_02: And that's all right, you know, they lead them, you know, lead them.
1:12:57
SPEAKER_02: So it's okay to you, you gotta look at what you're you're dealing with to, like you say, kind of float back and forth of what what you need to do and how you need to handle those things.
1:13:08
SPEAKER_02: So, and you know, being in a in a business or in a district where there's a lot of young guys, not a whole lot of time, you know, trying to make sure that they know what they're doing, what their responsibilities are, you know, as a as an officer, you sit down and you're like, all right, here's my expectations.
1:13:26
SPEAKER_02: So everybody's on the same playing field, you know.
1:13:28
SPEAKER_02: We all know what's up.
1:13:29
SPEAKER_02: You know, if we're doing this, I need you to do this.
1:13:31
SPEAKER_02: You're doing this, I need you to do this, you know.
1:13:34
SPEAKER_02: If you have questions, ask.
1:13:37
SPEAKER_02: Because if I'm gonna tell you to do something, I expect you to do it, type deal.
1:13:40
SPEAKER_02: I don't need you sitting there, I don't know what's going on.
1:13:44
SPEAKER_02: Just tell me, I don't know where that is, you know, or I don't know what to do.
1:13:46
SPEAKER_02: Okay, got cool.
1:13:47
SPEAKER_02: I just need to know, you know, type deal.
1:13:49
SPEAKER_02: So um, so there was some there was some comfort being in a in a district that's you're dealing with a lot more, you know, seniority, a lot more season where it's like I can breathe a little bit and relax and just do my thing, you know, because everybody understands everybody.
1:14:09
SPEAKER_02: You're still, you know, that's just a that's just the job.
1:14:14
SPEAKER_02: That's just the dynamic, you know, part of the job that, you know, that if you're in an area that you're getting exposed to a lot more, of course you're gonna get, you know, a little more season before others, you know, so not necessarily time on the job, you know, is is a factor.
1:14:32
SPEAKER_02: It is to some some extent, but you know, you get somebody with less time but are being exposed to a lot more with some guys that have been doing this for a long time, sure, they're just gonna they're gonna come through and and just be some really good firemen, you know, just because they have that especially if they're engaged with the job.
1:14:51
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:14:52
SPEAKER_02: And that's another thing, yeah.
1:14:53
SPEAKER_02: Being engaged with it, not just, yeah, that's my job, I'm just here to do the the when they engage with it, you know, it's it's fun being with you know, around those guys that are just engaged in the job.
1:15:04
SPEAKER_02: So um but going back to what you were asking, you know, being being that officer.
1:15:15
SPEAKER_02: Uh it was it was a little intimidating, you know, at first.
1:15:24
SPEAKER_02: As I'm sure everybody that that steps into it, you you you have to look at it in a different you look at it in a different eye.
1:15:33
SPEAKER_02: Um it's like, oh, this is what my captain was looking at the entire time.
1:15:38
SPEAKER_02: You know, this is what he you know what he was doing.
1:15:40
SPEAKER_02: I was like, oh, that's why he yelled at us all the time.
1:15:48
SPEAKER_02: Oh, okay, I'm getting it now.
1:15:50
SPEAKER_02: Okay, and now I see what officers before me have seen, you know, and and when you understand that it all rests on your shoulders because that's you know, you you're the officer.
1:16:02
SPEAKER_02: It changes how you look at things just a little bit.
1:16:05
SPEAKER_02: It's that growth.
1:16:07
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I I look at it as growth because you you aren't able to learn those things until you take on that responsibility.
1:16:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
1:16:15
SPEAKER_02: Until you take on that challenge, which takes us right back to the beginning, what we talked about, you know, taking on those challenges.
1:16:20
SPEAKER_02: And I don't know if it was before we got on air or not, but we're just talking about taking on those um responsibilities.
1:16:27
SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, it was we were talking about teaching stuff, but it goes for your career as well.
1:16:33
SPEAKER_02: And and you can't learn those things until you take on those responsibilities.
1:16:38
SPEAKER_02: Right.
1:16:39
SPEAKER_02: And you know, sometimes it sucks having to be an officer.
1:16:44
SPEAKER_02: You know, here I am only three years and then I've and I actually said that yeah, because you got to say things and do things that uh on people, and you're like, I didn't want to have to do that.
1:16:52
SPEAKER_02: You know, but it's a tough conversation.
1:16:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, tough conversations.
1:16:55
SPEAKER_02: You know why they're tough?
1:16:56
SPEAKER_02: Because it's hard for us to have them.
1:16:58
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it is, you know, and you you have those conversations, and he's like, Man, I didn't want to have to talk to them, you know, like that.
1:17:05
SPEAKER_02: But you know, I wish I could, you know, if it was outside of here, it'd be a totally different conversation type deal.
1:17:10
SPEAKER_02: But now we're here.
1:17:12
SPEAKER_02: This is the job and this is the conversation we need to have.
1:17:15
SPEAKER_02: And yeah, it's a hard one.
1:17:17
SPEAKER_02: This sucks, but I gotta say it, you know, type deal.
1:17:19
SPEAKER_02: And hopefully on the other side of it, they still respect me for having to be an officer and and and you know, asking them what I need of them, type deal.
1:17:31
SPEAKER_02: You know, this is what we do.
1:17:35
SPEAKER_02: I've struggled with that as well.
1:17:37
SPEAKER_02: Um, having those tough conversations, but I remember one of the hardest conversations I had, which you know them.
1:17:44
SPEAKER_02: Uh, one of the hardest conversations I had with was one of my my peers who was working for me as my driver, and I had to have one of those conversations.
1:17:52
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'll be honest, I was nervous.
1:17:54
SPEAKER_02: Like, I did not want to have that conversation because I was letting the personal side interfere with the the business side.
1:18:02
SPEAKER_02: And I remember having that conversation with him, and he looked across the table and I was like, here we go.
1:18:08
SPEAKER_02: Because if you know him, yeah, he's an angry fella.
1:18:12
SPEAKER_02: Um, but I I expected him to blow up, and man, I just remember he actually looked at me and said, Thank you.
1:18:20
SPEAKER_02: Like in a minute, he goes, That was the first non-bullshit eval that I've ever had.
1:18:27
SPEAKER_02: He goes, the rest of them are just fluff, you know, like here we go.
1:18:31
SPEAKER_02: Fluff.
1:18:33
SPEAKER_02: Um, but it took me by surprise, but it also gave me the confidence that to have those conversations with them because you know, at the end of the day, that's where the respect comes from, is that they know that you're willing to have those conversations with them.
1:18:45
SPEAKER_02: As long as you're not like being a dick about it.
1:18:47
SPEAKER_02: Sure.
1:18:48
SPEAKER_02: And and I just think that was one of the again, one of those personal growth things that I experienced going through, and I think every young captain will go through that at some point.
1:18:58
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
1:19:00
SPEAKER_02: We all have to.
1:19:01
SPEAKER_02: We have to.
1:19:02
SPEAKER_02: If you're gonna be any good, if you're gonna be any good at your job, you have to.
1:19:06
SPEAKER_02: And you know, if you if you don't find yourself going there, then you know, maybe it wasn't, you know, where you're supposed to be type deal.
1:19:14
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, you have to.
1:19:16
SPEAKER_02: If you're gonna be any good at it, you have to.
1:19:18
SPEAKER_02: So yeah.
1:19:21
SPEAKER_02: Any other uh words of advice for that new captain role officer?
1:19:28
SPEAKER_02: Own it.
1:19:30
unknown: Yeah.
1:19:30
SPEAKER_02: Own it.
1:19:31
SPEAKER_02: No matter what you no matter which way you're gonna go with it, own it.
1:19:36
SPEAKER_02: You know, yeah, whatever tasks are are are laid at your feet, you know, pick them up, own the task, you know, own the job as that officer, own it.
1:19:46
SPEAKER_02: Uh and give all success to the people you serve.
1:19:50
SPEAKER_02: I agree with that.
1:19:51
SPEAKER_02: Because if if you're a good captain, you know, it's not so much as I'm leading in a front.
1:19:57
SPEAKER_02: No, I'm serving my crew, I serve them.
1:19:59
SPEAKER_02: So if I'm any any good at what I'm doing, I'm I'm making sure they have everything that they need, you know, when they need it, how they need it.
1:20:06
SPEAKER_02: So just keeping them going because they're the crew.
1:20:10
SPEAKER_02: So you mean servitude doesn't stop when we get back back the trucks back in the bay?
1:20:15
SPEAKER_02: No, not at all.
1:20:16
SPEAKER_02: Not at all.
1:20:17
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and and I know you, you know, you're you're a battalion chief now, and I know at least any any chief worth his weight is serving his officers, you know, and everybody else below him.
1:20:32
SPEAKER_02: That that's just how it goes all the way through, you know, from the first day you step through the door to the last day that you leave and whatever rank that you left, you're serving those, you know, all around you.
1:20:43
SPEAKER_02: So you're just not self-serving, you know.
1:20:46
SPEAKER_02: You're trying to be a be a good leader, and a good leader is a is a is a great servant.
1:20:51
SPEAKER_02: So and accept that you're not perfect.
1:20:53
SPEAKER_02: No, not at all.
1:20:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, and realize that they see your flaws.
1:20:57
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
1:20:57
SPEAKER_02: So don't act like you don't have any.
1:20:59
SPEAKER_02: And I, you know, I tell I tell my crew, I'm like, yeah, I'm I'm gonna hold you accountable.
1:21:03
SPEAKER_02: You know, I want you, I said, but I want you to hold me accountable too, because if you're not, who is?
1:21:10
SPEAKER_02: You know, I need to know where I'm at with everything.
1:21:13
SPEAKER_02: And if I'm stepping out of bounds or whatever, I need to hear from you guys.
1:21:17
SPEAKER_02: And and I'm okay, you know, I'm okay with hearing it, you know.
1:21:22
SPEAKER_02: Uh you're not gonna hurt my feelings or anything like that.
1:21:26
SPEAKER_02: It's it's that goes back to just being humble enough to hear what people gotta say and then do the right thing after that.
1:21:34
SPEAKER_02: So um, but yeah, you you just gotta own the spot, good or bad.
1:21:41
SPEAKER_02: Take your take your butt chewings when they come.
1:21:44
SPEAKER_02: It's okay, stay, you know, own it, and then do better and get better after it.
1:21:49
SPEAKER_02: So I love I love own it, and I think a lot of you know, Jocko, man, he's ownership, you know.
1:21:56
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
1:21:57
SPEAKER_02: Um, and I I I do take some of his stuff to heart, and I I do feel like a lot of it's kind of the uh the common verbiage everyone's using own it and all that stuff, but I think there's more to it, you know, as far as what does that mean?
1:22:14
SPEAKER_02: What what does it what does it mean to own it?
1:22:17
SPEAKER_02: You know, like Well, let me ask you, what does it mean to own it?
1:22:24
SPEAKER_02: To own the spot that you're in, you know, you're taking responsibility for what what has been bestowed upon you.
1:22:31
SPEAKER_02: All the all the trust, all the you know, the expectations from you know all the higher-ups and and and the firefight, you know, that are below you.
1:22:42
SPEAKER_02: There's expectations coming from both sides.
1:22:45
SPEAKER_02: Um your subordinates, they expect you to to lead them, and and your and your officers, you know, above you, your bosses above you, they're expecting you uh to do the right job, to do the your job that you're sp that you're there to do, you know.
1:23:02
SPEAKER_02: So it's coming from both sides.
1:23:04
SPEAKER_02: So you you gotta take you gotta be responsible in your in your position.
1:23:11
SPEAKER_02: Um you gotta carry with it integrity.
1:23:16
SPEAKER_02: People gotta they gotta trust you.
1:23:18
SPEAKER_02: You know, everybody has to trust you.
1:23:20
SPEAKER_02: Folks you work with, the public that you serve, you know, they gotta they gotta be able to trust you.
1:23:25
SPEAKER_02: They they're giving you a certain amount of responsibility and they're trusting you with it.
1:23:29
SPEAKER_02: They're trusting you with the people, they're trusting you with the equipment, you know, everything about it.
1:23:33
SPEAKER_02: They're trusting you with it.
1:23:35
SPEAKER_02: And uh, you know, I look at it as like I I get I get to do this job.
1:23:40
SPEAKER_02: It's not like I have to do this job, I get to do this job.
1:23:44
SPEAKER_02: And so it it it just comes with another level of responsibility, you know, each each level that you're at, different level of responsibility.
1:23:54
SPEAKER_02: And you're gonna be carrying more weight.
1:23:56
SPEAKER_02: And um so when you're owning it, you know, you're you're living up to the expectations of everybody.
1:24:05
SPEAKER_02: And it and it does, it comes down to trust.
1:24:07
SPEAKER_02: Can they trust you?
1:24:10
SPEAKER_02: You know, and we've seen it, seen trust been broken, you know, and trust gained and you know, throughout our whole careers.
1:24:17
SPEAKER_02: We've seen people have done it right and we've seen people have done it wrong, you know, and you learn from both.
1:24:24
SPEAKER_02: You know, so to own it, yeah, that yeah, this is my spot, but there's so much more there's so much more responsibility, you know.
1:24:31
SPEAKER_02: Not only you know, the my firefighters and drivers that, you know, that I serve, but their families.
1:24:40
SPEAKER_02: Even though some of their family may not know me or you know, I haven't met them yet, they're still, you know, I I'm still responsible for them.
1:24:49
SPEAKER_02: So um, you know, I own that leadership spot to be able to lead them right, because I don't want to tell them wrong or lead them wrong, and it it costs them.
1:24:59
SPEAKER_02: So it it falls on, you know, so it falls on me.
1:25:03
SPEAKER_02: And so I gotta be able to handle that.
1:25:06
SPEAKER_02: Whatever, whatever comes down, whatever comes my way, I gotta be able to handle that.
1:25:10
SPEAKER_02: And I think that's with any officer, be it you know, out of boys or discipline, it's coming.
1:25:19
SPEAKER_02: And it's your responsibility, and you gotta own it.
1:25:24
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, I like that.
1:25:28
SPEAKER_02: I like that, and I agree.
1:25:30
SPEAKER_02: Um one of the simple tools I like to use is respect, a measurement of how much respect I have of the guys I work with.
1:25:42
SPEAKER_02: And the way I do that is if I ever have to give somebody an order, if you will, it means I don't have the respect.
1:25:53
SPEAKER_02: Plain and simple.
1:25:54
SPEAKER_02: If I have to get to that level, I have lost the respect somewhere along the line, and I have to figure out how to gain that back or where I messed up.
1:26:02
SPEAKER_02: Because at the end of the day, I try to make sure that everything I ask of the people I work with is a favor.
1:26:11
SPEAKER_02: If you can look at it that way, something I found, if you can look at it as a favor, like I'm asking you to do a favor and you're willing to do it, we have respect for one another.
1:26:20
SPEAKER_02: Just a little something I've learned along the way.
1:26:23
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
1:26:23
SPEAKER_02: Um, but yeah.
1:26:25
SPEAKER_02: No, I I like what you said though.
1:26:27
SPEAKER_02: That's I think you nailed it.
1:26:28
SPEAKER_02: And that's but you can see where I'm talking about.
1:26:30
SPEAKER_02: We're owning it is kind of the buzzword right now, but I don't know that a lot of people really I'm still learning what it means to me.
1:26:37
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, because it can mean something completely different to me and versus you.
1:26:41
SPEAKER_02: It it's a it's a daily thing, you know, it it really is.
1:26:45
SPEAKER_02: So um, so yeah, you just try to take every opportunity, every whatever it is thrown your way, you try to take and and do what you will with it, but take every opportunity to make yourself better, no matter what it is.
1:27:01
SPEAKER_02: Is it personal relations, is it the job itself, you know, just so many different aspects, you know, that we're exposed to on the job.
1:27:09
SPEAKER_02: You know, you try to use every moment that that's put before you to make yourself better.
1:27:15
SPEAKER_02: And hopefully not, you know, do the you know, make a wrong choice and then you know, put the put a black mark on not only yourself, your company, your the job, because we all know, we all know if you do something that's messed up, you know, it's it's going to be Kansas City firefighter, so and so.
1:27:38
SPEAKER_02: CJC firefighter, so and so.
1:27:40
SPEAKER_02: It's not just, you know, Kansas City man, Blue Springs man, you know, whatever.
1:27:47
SPEAKER_02: It's going to be.
1:27:48
SPEAKER_02: And then there's that black mark, you know, because of the decision, the choices that you made.
1:27:54
SPEAKER_02: So there it goes back to that public trust thing.
1:27:57
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
1:27:58
SPEAKER_02: I I agree.
1:28:01
SPEAKER_01: How about uh what's Paul got in the future?
1:28:08
SPEAKER_02: Future.
1:28:10
SPEAKER_02: Well, tomorrow's the future, you know, everything is future, it's a day-by-day thing.
1:28:16
SPEAKER_02: Um you know, it's just riding my time out here and the, you know, doing the job that I believe I've been called to do, and uh trying to leave it better than what I found it, and still uh carrying on our burn training, you know, even after I retire, you know, I'm I see myself still doing this, just carrying it on, you know, uh being the old timer type you know type thing, you know, and bringing new younger guys in and teaching them to teach, you know, and who knows, maybe, you know, see myself tired with my wife, maybe at the lake.
1:29:02
SPEAKER_02: I got, you know, girls gone, married off, grandchildren, you know.
1:29:08
SPEAKER_02: Got all kinds of all kinds of visions, you know, dreams.
1:29:13
SPEAKER_02: So uh, but finish out the assignment that I got in front of me right now, you know, and that's for a few years left.
1:29:20
SPEAKER_02: So make the best out of them, have fun doing it, you know, and get done with it, look back and go, what a ride, you know.
1:29:28
SPEAKER_02: So and uh just look at everybody that I got to do it with.
1:29:32
SPEAKER_02: So each ever each person that I've ever encountered, one way or the other, has attributed to, you know, my career and who you know what I become, you know, who's kind of shaped me.
1:29:46
SPEAKER_02: So one way or the other.
1:29:48
SPEAKER_02: So and you just look back and you look at it all, and you're like, wow.
1:29:54
SPEAKER_02: So right on, man.
1:29:57
SPEAKER_02: Right on.
1:29:58
SPEAKER_02: Well, uh first I want to about an hour and a half into this, I just want to thank you for Are we really an hour and a half?
1:30:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I want to thank you for coming out and yeah, and being a part of this, which I knew you would, but I still, you know, I want to make sure I thank you for that.
1:30:11
SPEAKER_02: I want to thank you for everything that you've helped me with along the way as well, and on behalf of every student you've ever taught, uh, because I was one of those as well.
1:30:21
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for everything you've done.
1:30:23
SPEAKER_02: Um, you're you're a good person.
1:30:25
SPEAKER_02: I look up to you.
1:30:27
SPEAKER_02: Uh I know many guys do, and just thanks for coming out.
1:30:30
SPEAKER_02: Well, yeah, it's my pleasure.
1:30:31
SPEAKER_02: Thanks for having me.
1:30:32
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely appreciate you.
1:30:34
SPEAKER_02: With that, we're gonna wrap it up.
1:30:36
SPEAKER_02: I want to remind everybody to please follow us on uh the social medias, YouTube, Facebook, um the interwebs, huh?
1:30:43
SPEAKER_02: X and uh Instagram.
1:30:45
SPEAKER_02: It's O'Burn F G T.
1:30:47
SPEAKER_02: That's O-B-Y-R-N-E-F-G-T.
1:30:50
SPEAKER_02: Um, you can find us there, and man, we'll look forward to talking to everybody.
1:30:55
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
1:30:56
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
1:30:56
SPEAKER_02: So look forward to seeing everybody out there.
1:30:58
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
1:30:59
SPEAKER_02: Thanks again, Paul.
1:31:00
unknown: Yep.