Welcome to the Hazard Class Podcast. This is the podcast where I ask my stupid questions to some of the smartest people in and around the world of emergency services. Once again, we have a different special episode.
So this one's going to be just me talking, and it's going to be to commemorate our one-year anniversary. Clap, clap, clap, clap. Right? So today is the 15th of October.
Last year on the 16th, we launched this podcast. And so it's been an awesome journey through the last year. And I'm going to talk about that experience, kind of what led to doing this, what the hope for the future is, and what's going on.
So with that, we'll get into it. Hello, hello. So thank you for tuning in.
Thank you for listening. That's the first thing I got to say through this is just thanks. This has been an unbelievable experience thus far, and there would be no point in doing it if there was no one listening.
So the point is not lost on me that I doubt very many people are listening because of me. It's because I've been very fortunate to have some pretty unbelievable guests on the podcast. And it's really a tribute to them that we've had the viewership that we have.
And it's a privilege of mine to be able to talk to all these people. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be having conversations with people like John Norman and Dennis Lagear and Ray McCormick, Coralie Moore. I mean, that's just like a few of these names, these titans in the fire service.
And to now know a lot of them, communicate with them frequently, it's just been such a pleasure. And if it wasn't for this platform, I wouldn't have the opportunity to do that. And so I'm just super grateful for that.
And I'm super grateful for the people that keep tuning in. I'm super grateful for the people that share it and try to grow it because the more it grows, the easier it is to get better and better guests. The truth is we've been super fortunate.
I don't quite know how we were able to get everyone that we were able to get. And I feel very fortunate that we were. From early on in the show, I mean, the second episode we had Dennis Lagear, then Peter Matthews from Firehouse Magazine, Tom Putnam, the director of Burn, the documentary, one of my favorite documentary films of all time.
It's just been a whirlwind of a year. And that's just in terms of the podcast. So beyond the podcast, obviously, if you've been listening at all, I took some time off and I went to the IAFF Center of Excellence to deal with my mental health.
And I've come back feeling better than ever. It was a great experience. And I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone out there that helped me work through my stuff.
But with that, the truth is last week, we took the week off. And this week, I'm doing a solo thing because prior to leaving to the COE, I had had a backlog of episodes of, I don't know, seven or eight episodes that we were recording. And then we wouldn't actually be putting out episodes until a month or two later.
But now, I'm literally just trying my best to keep up with the pace of an episode a week. And we're working through it. We have a lot of people book that I'm excited to record with.
But the truth was, last week wasn't just like a take the week off for fun. It was like, I don't have an episode. And unless I have something worthwhile talking about, I don't want to just waste your time.
I try to only bring things to the table that matter. And so I thought that this week, a year in review, talking about the state of the podcast would be interesting. I think that it would be interesting for me to hear if it was something that I listened to.
So I'm just trying to bring you kind of behind the curtain. But the truth is, you know, we're trying to build that backlog back up. And we're trying to get to the point where we can easily release an episode a week.
But at the same time, not dilute the quality of the episodes or just have you listen to me jabber on about something. Because the truth is, like I said earlier, it's the guests that make this podcast successful. Nothing to do with me.
I just am a conduit for their knowledge and their stories and whatnot. So another kind of life update. Right now, I'm recording this on the, what day is it? Saturday, so the 11th.
And then tomorrow I leave for Charleston, South Carolina to go to Firehouse Magazine's Fire Fusion Conference. I've been, you know, honored to receive their Medal of Valor for the fire that happened in 2024. And so me and my wife are going to go down to Charleston for a few days, take part in the conference, and then ultimately, you know, receive that award.
Unfortunately, my compadre Mason is deployed right now. He actually just left a couple weeks ago. I believe he's in Kuwait.
He's in the Air Force. And it's such a shame because, you know, this is obviously a once in a lifetime thing to be, you know, given this award. And unfortunately, he missed it by just a couple weeks.
So I'm going to go down there and we're going to accept it on behalf of both of us. But it's a huge honor, something that you would never expect to happen in your career. You know, you sign up to be a firefighter and never in your wildest dreams do you think that you're going to be, you know, receiving an award on the national scale, especially, but a huge honor.
And the reality is that it's just a testament to the fire department I work at. The fire department I work at is exceptional. And the things that we can accomplish are exceptional.
And I'm just a portion of that. And so, you know, the reality is that while me and Mason are the ones that will take home this, you know, honor, we are nothing but just a piece of the puzzle. That is that response that warranted this award.
And so, you know, to all the people that were there, it's just as much theirs as it is me or Mason's. But nonetheless, I'll be I'll be currently as you're listening to this down in South Carolina at that festival or at a festival conference, hopefully it has the vibe of a festival. I appreciate it.
I just booked kayaking with dolphins this morning for me and my wife. So we're looking forward to that. Actually, by the time this is coming out, we'll have kayaked with dolphins.
So hopefully we find dolphins and not, I don't know, some sort of like crocodiles or something. I don't know what they have there. I've never been to South Carolina before.
But, you know, if Florida has crocodiles and boa constrictors, maybe South Carolina does. I'm not sure. I'm not very smart.
That's why I talk to smart people, not be smart. I digress. But yeah, you know, this is not going to be a full length episode by any means.
But the big portion of it is, you know, just to say thank you. The journey has been unbelievable. And I don't know exactly what the podcast will be going forward.
Obviously, we're going to keep trying our best to keep putting out episodes week by week. But more than anything, we're going to be focusing on making sure that the content is as good as we can possibly make it. I love talking firefighting.
I love talking, you know, hazmat and to law enforcement. We're expanding more into the military now. But I also like talking to random people about random things just because I'm a curious guy.
So expect to see more of that, I would say. Well, obviously, I as a fireman, I'm interested in fireman stuff. But expect to see some more stuff.
I'll give you some hints. I'm working really hard to try to find a Bigfoot investigator right now, because I would really love to talk to someone that does that. I'm working hard to try to find an alien investigator and a ghost hunter.
These are just curiosities to me that I would love to talk about. And obviously, they're not exactly inside the world of emergency services. But you know what, it's my podcast, and I'll do what I want.
That's okay. But as I kind of look to close up here, you know, I don't want to take your whole day. But more than anything, I just want to say thank you so much for this last year.
If it wasn't for this audience, I wouldn't have the opportunity to do this. And so I'm very fortunate. Please share it and spread the word.
Like I said, the more it spreads, the more the viewership grows, the more that we're going to be able to have awesome guests on, have unbelievable conversations, and hopefully soak up some knowledge from some really knowledgeable people. Beyond that, I love you guys. Thank you very much.
So this one's going to be just me talking, and it's going to be to commemorate our one-year anniversary. Clap, clap, clap, clap. Right? So today is the 15th of October.
Last year on the 16th, we launched this podcast. And so it's been an awesome journey through the last year. And I'm going to talk about that experience, kind of what led to doing this, what the hope for the future is, and what's going on.
So with that, we'll get into it. Hello, hello. So thank you for tuning in.
Thank you for listening. That's the first thing I got to say through this is just thanks. This has been an unbelievable experience thus far, and there would be no point in doing it if there was no one listening.
So the point is not lost on me that I doubt very many people are listening because of me. It's because I've been very fortunate to have some pretty unbelievable guests on the podcast. And it's really a tribute to them that we've had the viewership that we have.
And it's a privilege of mine to be able to talk to all these people. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would be having conversations with people like John Norman and Dennis Lagear and Ray McCormick, Coralie Moore. I mean, that's just like a few of these names, these titans in the fire service.
And to now know a lot of them, communicate with them frequently, it's just been such a pleasure. And if it wasn't for this platform, I wouldn't have the opportunity to do that. And so I'm just super grateful for that.
And I'm super grateful for the people that keep tuning in. I'm super grateful for the people that share it and try to grow it because the more it grows, the easier it is to get better and better guests. The truth is we've been super fortunate.
I don't quite know how we were able to get everyone that we were able to get. And I feel very fortunate that we were. From early on in the show, I mean, the second episode we had Dennis Lagear, then Peter Matthews from Firehouse Magazine, Tom Putnam, the director of Burn, the documentary, one of my favorite documentary films of all time.
It's just been a whirlwind of a year. And that's just in terms of the podcast. So beyond the podcast, obviously, if you've been listening at all, I took some time off and I went to the IAFF Center of Excellence to deal with my mental health.
And I've come back feeling better than ever. It was a great experience. And I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone out there that helped me work through my stuff.
But with that, the truth is last week, we took the week off. And this week, I'm doing a solo thing because prior to leaving to the COE, I had had a backlog of episodes of, I don't know, seven or eight episodes that we were recording. And then we wouldn't actually be putting out episodes until a month or two later.
But now, I'm literally just trying my best to keep up with the pace of an episode a week. And we're working through it. We have a lot of people book that I'm excited to record with.
But the truth was, last week wasn't just like a take the week off for fun. It was like, I don't have an episode. And unless I have something worthwhile talking about, I don't want to just waste your time.
I try to only bring things to the table that matter. And so I thought that this week, a year in review, talking about the state of the podcast would be interesting. I think that it would be interesting for me to hear if it was something that I listened to.
So I'm just trying to bring you kind of behind the curtain. But the truth is, you know, we're trying to build that backlog back up. And we're trying to get to the point where we can easily release an episode a week.
But at the same time, not dilute the quality of the episodes or just have you listen to me jabber on about something. Because the truth is, like I said earlier, it's the guests that make this podcast successful. Nothing to do with me.
I just am a conduit for their knowledge and their stories and whatnot. So another kind of life update. Right now, I'm recording this on the, what day is it? Saturday, so the 11th.
And then tomorrow I leave for Charleston, South Carolina to go to Firehouse Magazine's Fire Fusion Conference. I've been, you know, honored to receive their Medal of Valor for the fire that happened in 2024. And so me and my wife are going to go down to Charleston for a few days, take part in the conference, and then ultimately, you know, receive that award.
Unfortunately, my compadre Mason is deployed right now. He actually just left a couple weeks ago. I believe he's in Kuwait.
He's in the Air Force. And it's such a shame because, you know, this is obviously a once in a lifetime thing to be, you know, given this award. And unfortunately, he missed it by just a couple weeks.
So I'm going to go down there and we're going to accept it on behalf of both of us. But it's a huge honor, something that you would never expect to happen in your career. You know, you sign up to be a firefighter and never in your wildest dreams do you think that you're going to be, you know, receiving an award on the national scale, especially, but a huge honor.
And the reality is that it's just a testament to the fire department I work at. The fire department I work at is exceptional. And the things that we can accomplish are exceptional.
And I'm just a portion of that. And so, you know, the reality is that while me and Mason are the ones that will take home this, you know, honor, we are nothing but just a piece of the puzzle. That is that response that warranted this award.
And so, you know, to all the people that were there, it's just as much theirs as it is me or Mason's. But nonetheless, I'll be I'll be currently as you're listening to this down in South Carolina at that festival or at a festival conference, hopefully it has the vibe of a festival. I appreciate it.
I just booked kayaking with dolphins this morning for me and my wife. So we're looking forward to that. Actually, by the time this is coming out, we'll have kayaked with dolphins.
So hopefully we find dolphins and not, I don't know, some sort of like crocodiles or something. I don't know what they have there. I've never been to South Carolina before.
But, you know, if Florida has crocodiles and boa constrictors, maybe South Carolina does. I'm not sure. I'm not very smart.
That's why I talk to smart people, not be smart. I digress. But yeah, you know, this is not going to be a full length episode by any means.
But the big portion of it is, you know, just to say thank you. The journey has been unbelievable. And I don't know exactly what the podcast will be going forward.
Obviously, we're going to keep trying our best to keep putting out episodes week by week. But more than anything, we're going to be focusing on making sure that the content is as good as we can possibly make it. I love talking firefighting.
I love talking, you know, hazmat and to law enforcement. We're expanding more into the military now. But I also like talking to random people about random things just because I'm a curious guy.
So expect to see more of that, I would say. Well, obviously, I as a fireman, I'm interested in fireman stuff. But expect to see some more stuff.
I'll give you some hints. I'm working really hard to try to find a Bigfoot investigator right now, because I would really love to talk to someone that does that. I'm working hard to try to find an alien investigator and a ghost hunter.
These are just curiosities to me that I would love to talk about. And obviously, they're not exactly inside the world of emergency services. But you know what, it's my podcast, and I'll do what I want.
That's okay. But as I kind of look to close up here, you know, I don't want to take your whole day. But more than anything, I just want to say thank you so much for this last year.
If it wasn't for this audience, I wouldn't have the opportunity to do this. And so I'm very fortunate. Please share it and spread the word.
Like I said, the more it spreads, the more the viewership grows, the more that we're going to be able to have awesome guests on, have unbelievable conversations, and hopefully soak up some knowledge from some really knowledgeable people. Beyond that, I love you guys. Thank you very much.
