Firehouse

Peter Matthews sits down with Chief Tom Jenkins to discuss the latest developments with the National Emergency Response Information System (NERIS) and what fire departments should expect as NFIRS is phased out in 2026.  

Jenkins breaks down how departments can begin the transition, outlines timelines, and how more than a dozen records management systems have already been approved to integrate with NERIS, paving the way for more sea...

Peter Matthews talks with Assistant Chief Steve Baker of the Plymouth, MN, Fire Department about how fire service delivery has evolved in his region.  

Baker shares how the transition from volunteer and paid-on-call firefighters to combination and full-time agencies has led to faster responses and more efficient operations. He highlights the role of regionalized training, inter-agency collaboration, and a consistent command system ...

Peter Matthews talks with Rob Policht, a lieutenant with Passaic, NJ, Fire Department and one of the guys between Flow and Vent, about the state of today’s fire service and how a podcast he was on with a former Navy SEAL changed some of his approach to the fire service.  

As a young officer, Policht provides his perspective on bridging the gap across multiple generations in the station. From bringing new members to the crew to unde...

Peter Matthews talks with Jacob Gates, a lead instructor at the Ohio Fire Academy, about the need to stay relevant while instructing multiple generations of the fire service and staying up-to-date strategies and tactics.  

Gates, who also serves with Mifflin Township Division of Fire in Gahanna, OH and the Falls Township, OH, Fire Department explains some of the changes he has witnessed as teaching styles evolve and recruit/member ...

Capt. Joe DeVito talks about the need for added training and an enhanced understanding of thermal imaging cameras (TIC) for firefighters during today’s emergency responses.  

DeVito talks about the lack of training for most firefighters, from the basics of fireground operations to rescue and other incidents. They talk about how to overcome the common misconception that a TIC is primarily an officer’s tool and why every member needs...

Station Design Conference Director Janet Wilmoth and Principal Architect Rob Manns discuss the impact of the Station Design Conference on recent fire station construction projects, and how attendees can maximize what they get out of attending the annual conference focused on fire station designs and construction for new and renovated stations.

Wilmoth planned the 11th annual conference, taking place in Glendale, AZ, May 20-22, with...

Assistant Chief Christopher Zak talks with Peter Matthews about his retirement from the Milford, CT, Fire Department and transition to a new career in Hanahan, SC. He moved to become a training office and has since promoted to assistant chief.  

Zak talks about the decision to call an end to his first fire service career and how a Google search took him to South Carolina, plus the conversations and insight he sought from trusted an...

Chief Daniel DeYear returns to The Firehouse Yak podcast after talking about the fire service’s approach to safety with a discussion on company officer development based on his workshops. 

DeYear digs into decades of leadership lessons from nearly two decades as an officer and chief in Dallas Fire-Rescue, including communication, accountability, trust and support. Many including firefighters and officers, DeYear says, do not unders...

Peter Matthews talks with Jeff Cool about the tragedy of Jan. 23, 2005, which was named FDNY’s “Black Sunday” after the department lost two firefighters at a fire in the Bronx and one at a fire in Brooklyn. The Bronx fire left four other firefighters seriously injured, including one who died from the fire six years later. 

Cool, a Rescue 3 firefighter, responded a fire in an apartment building that was renovated into a maze of room...

Peter Matthews talks with Andy Starnes about the importance of each person having a personal board of directors who they can reach out to and seek advice from throughout their lives. Starnes stresses why this board is just as important for decisions within the fire service as it is at home and with your family. 

While Starnes is known around the world for his efforts to educate firefighters on thermal imaging, this episode focuses ...

Peter Matthews talks with Mike Wisko, the Agency Chief of the Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP) about their role in ensuring firefighter training and equipment and member safety throughout the state’s career fire departments.

The two talk about the annual TCFP Firefighter Injury Reports that are mandated training in the state, and some of the trends TCFP has found, including an overall reduction in fireground injuries but ...

Peter Matthews talks with Jake Ryks, a St. Paul, MN, firefighter who was just named Minnesota’s Firefighter of the Year, along with Mason Conlin, for their efforts to rescue seven people from an early morning house fire. Ryks credits ongoing training and the desire to know your job with the herculean rescue and medical treatment efforts by firefighters at the Jan. 3, 2024 house fire. 

Ryks, who was working in another company that s...

Peter Matthews talks with Victor Stagnaro talks about taking over the CEO role at the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), which he assumed last year, after more than two decades of having Ron Siarnicki create and lead the organization tapped to honor America’s fallen firefighters while taking care of their survivors.  

 Stagnaro highlights several of the programs that NFFF offers, including the annual Fallen Firefighter...

Peter Matthews talks with Scott Richardson about how he manages the special operations and line support teams for South Metro Fire Rescue, which covers over 300 square miles of diverse terrain in Colorado with myriad of unique response scenarios. Under Richardson’s command is the department’s technical rescue resources, wildland and ARFF crews, dispatch and apparatus and equipment maintenance teams.

Richardson explains how each gro...

Peter Matthews talks with Daniel DeYear, a recently retired deputy chief from Dallas Fire-Rescue, about his work involving LODD investigations in Texas and how it relates to the often contentious discussions on firefighter safety and fire service culture.  

DeYear outlines a 144-day period in which his team investigated nearly 20 firefighter deaths – all from fireground operations – including the West, TX, explosion and Houston’s S...

Peter Matthews talks with Gilt Edge, TN, Fire Chief Brandon Fletcher about the challenges facing today’s volunteer fire service, plus an innovative program to help retain existing members.  

Fletcher outlines some of the top factors that are impacting the rolls and operations of departments today, including a dive into volunteer-focused leadership, politics and personalities and how to keep members engaged, whether on calls or trai...

Peter Matthews talks with Daniel Byrne, Laura Konor and Ben Shearer about new approaches to Community Risk Reduction (CRR) and fire prevention in 2024, and what has changed with public outreach since COVID-19. Byrne is an assistant chief with the Burton, SC, Fire District, Kondor is fire safety coordinator for the North Charleston, SC, Fire Department and Shearer is community risk reduction specialist with the Pasco, WA, Fire Depar...

Peter Matthews talks with Capt. Ragan Underwood from the St. George, LA, Fire Department about a close call he had during a training burn where he was caught the flow path and was trapped in the home when the incident commander radioed for crews to leave the structure. 

Underwood, a veteran instructor and member of the Insight Training cadre, was taking part in a live fire training at a home in Illinois when he sent crews out of th...

Peter Matthews talks with Brian Gettemeier, a captain with the Cottleville Fire Protection District in St. Charles County, MO, about fires in warehouses, including sprawling ecommerce facilities that are being built in communities large and small. 

Gettemeier began instructing and writing on the topic of the dangers and challenges on warehouse fires after seeing several fires in such facilities that caused multi-million dollar lose...