I do believe that you become white noise, but you also start to lose your credibility. They don't stop listening to you about the one thing that you're trying to change. They start not believing you're credible for many things.
SPEAKER_00Firehouse Vigilance presents the weekly scrap, a podcast dedicated to the never-ending fight against complacency.
SPEAKER_0140 more. Firehouse Vigilance. It is weekly scrap number 358. My guest tonight is Jason Worthy. He is husband to Samantha, father to Chloe, John, Abel, and Rowan, grandfather to Olivia, a second generation firefighter with 18 years on the job, many of them spent on a truck company. Currently the captain on Ladder 24 at the South Spartanburg Fire Department. He has attended OBT2, NC Breathing Equipment School, Truckman Academy, SC Fire Officers Academy, and he is here on the scrap to talk about anything truck work, search, writ, department culture, lateraling in as a company officer. They call him the best kept secret in the fire service. And people are saying he should have been on here so much sooner. And they're probably right. So I'm excited for this conversation. Welcome my brother, Jason Worthy, for episode number 358 of the scrap. Thank you all. I'm excited to be here. Humbled. Oh excited. Excellent. I always like to ask, after I do the whole intro thing, is there anything I missed? Anything you want to add? Anything that is important you'd like to get out there?
SPEAKER_04No, that was that was plenty. Way too much about me. So let's talk about some fire stuff.
SPEAKER_01I like it. I like it. So with that being said, audience, get your questions primed and ready at plans. It looks to be a huge a fun discussion, an interesting discussion. And so with that being said, I am going, and Sam is here as always, making us trying to make us look good. He has he has to work with what he has to work with. And he's going to be looking for your questions. So get him in. Sam will get them to us. I will get them to Jason and we will get you answers. Let's do the sponsors and let's get this crap going. We talk a lot on this show about fighting complaint. We talk a lot on this show about fighting complacency on the fire ground and with your fleet. That's why you need to know about shopgarage.com. ShopGarage.com is the premier online marketplace for used fire trucks, ambulances, and emergency equipment. They've got a huge inventory of quality, vetted, pre-owned apparatus so you can upgrade without breaking the bank. Do you have an old engine, squad, or gear collecting dust? List it on shopgarage.com. Turn that steel into cash and put the money back into your training. Don't let budget constraints become an excuse. Head to shopgarage.com today. Whether you're buying or selling, they'll help keep your department response ready. ShopGarage.com. Everything in the fire service gets tested. Training, instincts, equipment. That's why Snaptight designs and builds its fire hose to perform no matter the challenge. Durability, packability, kink resistance. Every single line is tested before it leaves the factory. So you know you can count on it. Snaptight is American-made, firefighter trusted. Visit SnapTightHose.com to learn more or find a distributor near you. Firestationfurniture.com, they provide a complete line of quality furniture for your firehouse. They are firefighter owned, firefighter operated. They understand the strain that firefighters put on furniture and offer furniture that's built to last. Visit www.fireestationfurniture.com for more information. And last but not least, yawonfire.com. If you want top-tier level instruction, company officers, situational awareness, confrontations, tradition and culture, man, yawonfire.com. Go check it out. One of my favorite people on this planet, Major Dane Yaw out of OKC Fire, amazing instructor. Go check out the class offerings. Okay. With all of that being said, the sponsors are done, the bills are paid, and it's time to scrap. Jason Worthy, let's stop. I'm going to kick it off and just and just let to get people to know you. Tell me about, well, you said, I always ask for topics, and you said my dad and my and your path to coming onto the job. So that's where we'll start. Your path to coming onto the job.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so uh when I was a kid, my my dad was a fireman my whole life. Um he started in the fire service as a volunteer at a rescue squad when he was 13 and 14, um, and then straight into the fire service. Uh so I've only ever known the fire department. Um, my experience with the fire department for me was very interesting. I spent uh a lot of my time at the fire department getting to ride in the fire truck running calls when I was three, four, and five years old. He became the chief of our local volunteer department very early in my life. So uh running calls with him, uh in his pickup truck, sitting in the in the cab of his truck while he went and done stuff and I just got to watch. Um but as things happened as uh my dad progressed through his career, uh he actually advised me as a teenager to not go into the fire service. And I know that's that's kind of common uh with firemen and and dads who have sons and and there's times where they just feel like maybe it's not not the path. Um so from about the middle of teenage years up, I had decided that I wanted to be a game warden. So that's kind of where my path was. Um if you had asked me, I said, hey, I'm I'm gonna go and I want to work for South Carolina DNR and be a game warden. Um all of my choices throughout my school career mirrored that. So uh I graduated high school, went to Clemson, uh, majored in fisheries and wildlife biology, uh came my senior year, started going to job fairs. Um I was actually running uh automotive shop on the days that I wasn't in school. So uh kind of wanted to keep doing that. Uh there were really no jobs in the state. Uh DR as a game boards at the time, but it's a job around here that that once you get it, it's it takes forever for you to see any turnover there. People typically stay in that job, or at least they did when I was graduating. Um so a lot of the jobs were out west and I didn't really want to move. One of the part-time gigs I did was I worked with uh a bunch of city firemen from our local city, city of Swarmberg, uh doing construction. And they kind of said, hey man, we're having a test to hire a new firemen. Oh, why don't you come and test? Uh and I kicked it back and forth, whether it's something I wanted to do or didn't want to do. I had been around it my whole life, but never really felt like, hey, this is this is where I want to go with life. Um and kind of the the schedule, you know, we sell a lot of people on that. Uh was kind of what sold me was hey, let's let's you'll have days off, you can run your business, uh, come try it. If you hate it, no harsh feelings, nobody's gonna think less of you. Uh so I I went, tested, got hired on at the department, uh, went to recruit school. Uh the very first fire behaviors burned. They lined us all up, lit the pallets off. We're sitting in fires growing, showing us the stages of fire. That was it. I walked out of the building that day and said, Well, this is what I'm doing with the rest of my life. This is this is where God called me. Um, and it's it's been that way ever since. Um, I've I've been committed to the job and all about the job since that day. Um, and it was kind of cool. My dad got into uh pin me post-graduation uh and and kind of went full circle. We worked in the same department for about four and a half, five years. Oh, that's good departments.
SPEAKER_01That is very cool. Yeah, so it is like he could the fact that he actually discouraged you from going into it, but yet you still ended up there, that is a unique uh a path to get into it.
SPEAKER_04It was it was it was interesting because he wasn't ever really super negative about it. He just said, hey, like don't don't commit yourself to this, go make more money, or or whatever the conversation would be at the time. And then uh man, when it's what you're called to do, though, like like I said, I'll never forget uh that burn and the feeling of, hey, this is it. This is this is what I'm meant to do.
SPEAKER_01That is beautiful, man. No, and it and uh there's a lot of people that get hit with the the especially once they get to see and go in and and and see the the big beautiful orange beast, and they're just they they're hit, they're hooked, and it's on. And that's just the way it the way it's supposed to be. So uh I love it. Let's go to taking a lateral company officer position. And this is a unique uh, I mean, this is happening more and more throughout the fire service as laterals become more and more prevalent. Uh so talk to me about how your experience was and advice you'd have for others when it comes to moving laterally, but especially laterally into a company officer position.
SPEAKER_04So I I'll tell you that this is probably the number one question that I get when I'm talking to people about um about the transition into the new department is how was it lateraling in as a company officer or as a captain? Uh and it was a concern that I had. Uh, I was a company officer lieutenant on a ladder at a department in Greenville County and uh decided like, hey, I want to take this position. And I was worried. Um, I'll tell you that my guys have made it super easy. Uh there was two of us that lateraled in. There's another stud from the middle of the state, Chavez Sexton. Uh, he's another one you should get on your guest list. Uh, but he uh he lateraled in with me. Uh, and I think for both of us, it's been different, it's been unique, but the guys we work with are the right guys, they're all dogs, uh, and they've supported us from the jump. Um, I think that if I was to give advice, it would be just to stay humble, to be who you are, but stay humble. I think both of us would tell you to take take some time to figure out the way things work at the department. Don't try to come in and be be the boss uh from day one. Try and and sit back and and just observe the way things are before you start trying to make a ton of changes. Um, and then just lead by example. Um, I really didn't change anything about my my leadership style or what I do. I just show up and and try to serve my people. Um, I feel like servant leadership is the best form of leadership, and and that's what I did. And like I said, my guys have made it made it super easy. They've been bought in with me since since the day I arrived. Um so it whether it's unique to my department and my guys, or that's the way it works across the country, uh, for me it was it was a pretty easy transition.
SPEAKER_01That's awesome. And that humility seems to be a recurring theme that comes up over and over and over when I talk about this topic. And I'm sure uh for you also. The audience is already starting with the questions, so we're gonna move right into them. We have plenty to talk about, but we're gonna get them involved. So here we go. Are you ready for your first question from the audience? Let's do it. Matthew, KFD wants to know question. When trying to build a culture from the bottom, when your crew keeps changing, in seven years, I've had several drivers and backstep guys and about to start over again.
SPEAKER_04So, my opinion on uh building culture from the bottom up is is something that we've tried to push since we got to the department, and that's uh having some buy-in from every position. So letting your firemen have responsibility and and take responsibility for those positions, uh letting them understand, like, hey, you influence our culture by you doing these things, uh, you taking ownership of whatever it may be, the inventory on the rig, or making sure the flags are raised in the mornings or and they're in half staff when they're supposed to be at half staff. Um and I think when everybody buys into their position and takes ownership of their position, it just pushes the culture forward. Um so I would say uh I I couldn't tell with the question whether that was like a company boss or a fireman asking. Um, if it's a fireman asking, but even if it's a company boss, uh, but definitely as a fireman, I would say control the controllables. Uh, there's only so much in your wheelhouse on the job that you can that you can control. Uh control those things, be good at those things, uh, the things you can't control and the things that get frustrating in the day-to-day life of a firehouse, let go. Uh own your position, be really good at your position, and then the culture just kind of snowballs from there.
SPEAKER_01Right on. And I love the control to controllables, which is again, uh anybody who's who's dealt with it, that seems to be the recurring theme. Anyone who's been, I should say anybody who's been successful. And and and because if you're not, then where are you spending your energy? And it's the and then at that, it becomes the dominating, the dominating force of the wasted energy as you try to impact that culture. Candace at Dr. Chief, I have to get it right. Dr. Chief Candace Ashby coming at you says, I find cultures within cultures with laterals, as they bring the culture of where they came from. How do you form a new culture when there's such diverse backgrounds?
SPEAKER_04Uh so that's interesting. And I and I would love if Chavez was here and he could give his opinion too, because it's something we talk about a lot. I think that's 100% right. We we bring a piece of the culture uh of the other places that we've been, that we have been with us. So the stuff that worked, uh stuff that we didn't think worked, um, and and and we bring that, and you know, our opinion of what the culture should be maybe is influenced by that. Uh, I'll tell you that even from the outside looking in, I I moved, I lateraled into the department of the district that I live in. Uh so I I had a good view of what that department culture looked like before I ever got there. And there was a lot of things culturally that I liked going on before I got there. Uh it was part of what led me to making the decision was culturally, especially in those bottom positions, uh, it felt like they were were doing a lot of the right things. Uh so coming in, I felt like there were a lot of things culturally that that were already equal to my mindset. So it wasn't a humongous shift in culture, it was just continuing to drive the culture in the right direction.
SPEAKER_01Right on, right on. No, and that that yeah, I can I'll leave it. Yeah, that's a great answer. So I'll leave it there. And we'll dig in on other stuff as we go. Jared Van Eck, my man. Jason, how important is it for recruits to have proper fitness indoctrination to mold them into successful firefighters? It's a great question from a fellow fitness cadre member.
SPEAKER_04He is he is a fit dude. He's a fit dude, and we're uh we work together on our county uh recruit ESA fitness program. So uh it's it's vital, right? Uh it's talked about a lot on this podcast and and a ton of others around the country, and it's it's a core belief of mine, and that's uh without physical fitness, we can't be firemen. Um it lets us do our job more efficiently, it lets us accomplish more work uh in a shorter time span, and it allows us to perform better for the people that we serve. So it's vital, and it's vital to indoctor in that uh from day one, not once you get on the floor.
SPEAKER_01Have you noticed it harder uh at where where you're at that like at that level where you guys are at? Has it become more difficult? Is do people seem to rise to the challenge, or what are the challenges that you've faced?
SPEAKER_04Uh I I feel like um it's it's probably a mixed bag of people who rise to the occasion and then people who just do enough to skirt by. And that's that's just uh an honest opinion from the recruit level of sure. Our recruit program currently is uh it's a mandatory part of their uh program, but not necessarily something that they can fail. So uh as long as they show up, put forth some form of effort, uh, then they can skirt by.
SPEAKER_01Now, is this okay? Go ahead. Go ahead. I didn't want to cut you off.
SPEAKER_04No, you're good. Uh that's that's at that's at the the county level, and there's a group of us that are pushing that program forward. And of course, we are are there to to motivate them and make sure that they're they're putting out, um, and we do a pretty good job of that. Uh as far as on the floor goes, um, once firemen get on the floor, uh the the way that I've always led there is just by example, right? It nobody really wants to sit back and watch you work. Uh so if you get out there and you're doing what what you need to do workout wise, and you're keeping your fitness at the forefront, uh, especially in a company officer's position, it becomes really easy for your people to just kind of show up and do it with you.
SPEAKER_01Right on, right on. Leading by example again, tied back to that servant leadership. Yes, sir. Uh now you mentioned OBT plus a lot of other stuff you went to, but OBT specifically. Now, obviously, you like to challenge yourself if you went and undertook that. Talk to me about those kind of personal things, those challenges. Why tell me why you chose OBT? Are you gonna do others? Are you done with that kind of thing? Where are you at with that?
SPEAKER_04So I uh I'm definitely doing more. Um, I'm always looking for a challenge. I believe that when we we find challenges like that, uh it causes us to step up our training, which only makes us better firemen, regardless of outcome of program. Um, I have attempted uh smoke diver programs and been unsuccessful, but I feel like that just the training for those programs have has made me a better fireman. Uh so I'm gonna continue to do that, whether it's uh a smoke diver program or the Georgia Flames program. There, there's a ton of programs out there and they get bigger and bigger as far as number wise and how many programs are there. Um so if you want a challenge, there's there's plenty out there for you to go and do. Um and for me, that's that'll be a part of my career as as long as I'm in it, is searching for that next challenge and something to train for.
SPEAKER_01Right on, right on. No, I love that. Uh yeah, no, okay. I'll come back to it if it if we have time. Uh Jason, this one's coming at you from Kevin Kate. He wants to know, Jason, how do you scale real world stress of the fire scene to the training ground when training regulations are holding us back?
SPEAKER_04Uh, that's a great question. Uh and Kevin teach a lot together, uh, something that we've discussed. But uh I think with getting conditions as realistic as you possibly can uh and then inducing stress through other means, whether that's fatigue, whether that's fatigue through some sort of PT before we go and work, or maybe we just ask you to do more things on the fire ground to fatigue you before we approach the actual goal of training. Um that's the best way that I know to create similar uh conditions to what we see on the fire ground.
SPEAKER_01Just as realistic as possible and then fatigue.
SPEAKER_04Realistic as possible and fatigue. Uh I have a saying, and all my guys at work know that uh one of my fans is we all, myself included, think that we're we're better than what we are. Uh as soon as we get tired, uh we learn real quick that that we're not as good as we think we are, and we could always be better. Uh so the more we can we can do reps under fatigue, I think uh the better off we are. We can only make conditions as realistic as we can make them. We all don't get to burn in acquired often. Uh I know across the country. Other places, maybe they do. Uh we're all kind of limited to NFBA 1403. So uh that kind of keeps our conditions to what they are. Uh so outside of that, uh trying to replicate the the heart rate that you're gonna have with the adrenaline dump and all that, uh introducing fatigue and stress into the reps is is the best way that we can make it realistic.
SPEAKER_01Right on, right on. What is Jay Jay Mosesar? I'm not sure exactly who that is, but that's the YouTube name. Jay Moses are says, where is the line between senior man privilege and just plain laziness? I love this question. So I'd like to hear your thoughts.
SPEAKER_04Man, that's uh that's a good question. Um I and it's a tough one for me uh because even as a company boss, I don't believe that the only the only privilege that I have is to serve my people. Uh so if if privilege means me getting to kick my feet up early, I that's never been me. Um so I I don't know that that I I would know where that line is. So for me, I want to see my guys all working together to accomplish the task, whatever their task is throughout the day. And that's that's myself included. Obviously, as a company boss, there's other things that we have to do, but I try to make it uh a goal that I spend my extra time, whether that's getting up early uh or staying up late, to accomplish all the things that I need to do that they're not included in.
SPEAKER_01Right on, right on. Great answer to it. Great question. Logan Hinkle coming at you and says, Jason, how do you place importance on having an impact inside the walls of your department while going outside of the walls so often?
SPEAKER_04That's another great question, and it's tough. Um, I'll be honest, I we ask about programs and stuff that I attended. I made the commitment when I lateraled into this position that I was taking the full year off, uh, meaning that I wasn't chasing a program, that my focus was going to be at this department and making an impact on my crew and getting buy-in from them now. Uh those programs can wait. Um they'll be there. Uh so I do think that you have to, you can't always be outside of your box if you want to make a difference in your box. Uh, you have to be in your box, you have to be with the people that you work with. Uh get being involved in training programs in your own department, which can be tough to do. It can be tough to be an expert in your field in your own backyard. Uh, the people that see you work every day and they they see the times that you're having bad days and slack off. Uh, it can make you seem hypocritical, but but you have to do it. If you really want to make an impact and you want to share the knowledge that that you've you've gained from going outside and and getting great trying training outside, you have to get involved with training at that at home too.
SPEAKER_01So no, it's a great question. Yeah, absolutely. I love it. Uh this one's coming from the salty rookie, Nicole O'Donnell. JW. What was the one experience that shaped you into the leader you are now for all your fighter fighter firefighters, and what did you learn from it?
SPEAKER_04That's another great question. Um, I and it's a tough one because I feel like servant leadership has just been a part, the part of my life. It's the way that I was raised. Um, I always try to serve my family at home. Uh, when I was at home as a kid, I tried to Serve my parents and and and that's just kind of where leadership has has led me. Just like anybody in the fire service, I've had bad leaders and I've had really good leaders. I've tried to mimic the good leaders, the qualities that I liked. A lot of those were serving leaders. They were the people who, as company bosses or chiefs, were always getting their hands dirty. They were always the ones that you could turn around after a fire and see a fire chief rolling hose. That is the the leaders that I have tried to mimic. And then the bad leaders, the they're all lessons, right? It's a lesson of maybe how I don't want to lead and things that I don't want to do and things that I would do differently. But but it all comes from having good leaders that that were servant leaders and then me mimicking that.
SPEAKER_01Right on. Now, do you think in your personal experience, did you learn more of what not to do or more of what to do? Like you're you there's no right answer. I just wonder in your personal experience, which one which one impacted you more?
SPEAKER_04Man, that's uh that that's a very reflective question because it would be really easy for me to say uh, you know, the positive ones influence me more because they're what I want to mimic. But in reality, it's probably the the leaders that didn't lead me as well that that left me for days on end wanting more, uh wanting someone to lead me better, uh, that that caused me to look outside of my box at leaders outside of my department uh to see leadership and see better leadership. Uh so that's a really tough question. And that an honest answer would be it was probably 50-50. 50-50. It's probably 50% of the bad leaders that that showed me what I didn't want to do as a leader, and then 50% of having really good leaders and really good friends in the fire service that are that are amazing mentors and leaders, and then just mimicking what they did.
SPEAKER_01No, and that's awesome. And to be able to say 50-50, it means you had a means you had a good mix of leadership because a lot of it depends on the leaders. Some people don't have the goods to even reference. So that is that that does make you blessed in this profession. Uh absolutely. Sam is still grabbing your questions. They are still coming. I'm still working on my Australian accent. I worked on it really hard. I actually did well. I've been I've been sick. Me and Jason were talking about, I've been under the weather and I've been working on my Australian accent. But Luke Stevenson coming at you from down under with the Luke Nukes, he says, What are your thoughts on there being a point where you switch from strain or what he calls making change from strain to maintain, holding where you are? How do you switch from strain to maintain without sliding to complacency?
SPEAKER_04I'm gonna still, one of my mentors in the fire service and good friend uh Basil, uh there is no middle ground. You're either making progress or you're losing progress. Um, if you are not making progress, then you are becoming complacent. So I it's a tough question, but I don't think that you can that's a switch that you can turn on or off. It's progress forward or you're moving backwards.
SPEAKER_01Oh, I love I love A, referencing basil. That's always, you can't go wrong. And B, what a great answer. I absolutely love because it's a never-ending fight against complacency. And it there is you you it is a fight. You have to be fighting, or you are you are you're you're sliding to complacency. I'm working on it, Luke. I'm gonna try my my without forcing it, I'm gonna try to do an Australian accent at some point. This it's an ongoing thing, it's gonna happen. Uh Pat English says, How do you build a culture in a firehouse when nobody else buys in, despite repeated attempts at culture and brotherhood? Now, this is a tough question because there's so many details you need to know. But this is the question you get from Pat. So dig into it whatever way you want.
SPEAKER_04Um, and that is a tough question, and it can become very frustrating, uh, if especially depending on where you are in the scale of the organization. If you're a back step fireman who's trying to push culture forward, it can be extremely frustrating if nobody else above you is buying in. Um my training chief at current department said just yesterday we had a fire, and then he made the comment that uh leadership's great, but you can only lead as much as the leadership above you lets you lead. Um, and though I agree with that statement, um if you're on a crew, you can lead your crew uh to the best of your ability. Um the answer to the question of how do you deal with that is uh the old saying for me is 10% of the pressure 100% of the time. Um a lot of people I feel like when they want to make change culture change in an organization, uh they want to come in at 110% pressure, and that can only last so long before you're a burnt out yourself and you're miserable, or the the organization is burnt out from you uh and they're no longer listening to anything you have to say. So I'm a fan of that 10% of the pressure 100% of the time.
SPEAKER_01Right on. My man Rob Fisher, 10% of pressure, 100%, and he doesn't take credit for it. That's where I learned it from. That's who I give credit to. And uh was it Von Oppen, I think, who said it's it is a war of attrition, it is not a shock in awe campaign. And if you approach it like a shock and awe campaign, you will you will find that you make a lot of enemies and don't make a lot of progress. At least that's been my experience, and most of the people could agree. Captain M Rossi wants to know what is one thing your company does consistently that has had the biggest impact on building and starting your culture, especially when no one is watching. He put that part at the end in parentheses.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, um a big thing that that I'm a huge fan of, and that's spending time together. Um and I think as as firehouses become more modern, um, and though I know that there's tremendous benefit from individual bunk rooms and individual space, um, I think that we start losing the aspect of spending time together. Um, I try with my crew to for us to do everything together, even if we're not necessarily cooking a meal that we're sitting down and eating together, we all sit down and eat our food at the same time. Uh we train together every shift, uh, whether that's something simple as on the ladder truck throwing aluminum or uh stretching a line off the engine, whatever that may be, it can be small, it doesn't have to be extravagant. But we spend time together, we train, uh, we typically try to get a workout together uh every shift. Um for me, a lot of times that's going to be a gear workout and we're gonna burn a bottle together. Nothing builds a bond like blood, sweat, and tears. Right on.
SPEAKER_01Now, now you make that a priority as the leader. You made that a priority, so it's become a priority for your crew. Do you think you're, I mean, I'm this subjective question, but do you think you're tighter than most crews because of that?
SPEAKER_04I mean, I I don't know if that's a no-brainer question, but so I think uh I think that any crew that spends time together like that is going to be tighter. I don't think that it's a unique thing to me. I think that that any crew that spends that time, a that amount of time together, uh, yeah, you're going to disagree, but those disagreements are typically water off your back by the time you move to the next task or the next thing that's on your list.
SPEAKER_01Was there any pushback to that? Or was it strictly lead by example, or were they all bought in? Was it easy for you because they were all bought in, or you know, what was what was your experience? For people who say, I want my people to spend time together, but our culture right now is everybody goes to their own bunk room and doesn't really do stuff together.
SPEAKER_04So it was pretty easy for me. Uh and and I think uh at our organization, uh it's it's pretty easy because we enjoy spending time together. Um it's it's one of the things that that culturally, as I said before, that that drew me into this firehouse. Uh whereas I've worked at other places where in the mornings you do your your pass on with the person or leaving you and it's out the door. Whereas this at my department now, it'll be past our shift changes at 7.15 and it'll be 8.30, 9 o'clock, and people are still hanging out, just spending time together. Um, whether it's out in the bay floor while the other crew's checking off trucks or going over training something on training or or whatever. Um so so I can't say that it was hard for me. Uh everybody being bought in was definitely made it easy.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_04But I also just showed up day one and did exactly what I was doing when I left my other department. Uh when it came time that I would normally work out, I put my gear on or went and got the weights and started working out. Um told the crew, hey, I'm gonna go work out. If you guys want to, you you're more than welcome to join me. If you don't, you don't have to get your workout in now. Now my department does have a mandatory PT program where we're required mandatory to uh do an hour a shift. So at some point in time, my crew needs to get their hour in. Uh we just decide to do it together.
SPEAKER_01No, that's awesome, man. And there's nothing better than shared sweat, shared shared sweat and uh shared misery might be the one thing that really uh and it doesn't always have to be misery.
SPEAKER_04So another cool thing that we have uh at one of our stations is a basketball goal. And we probably had just as much fun going shooting hoofs together. Uh and one or two of the people that I work with are really good, and the rest of us are are just trying, but we had a blast, a blast doing it.
SPEAKER_01Right on, right on. No, and when I say misery, it doesn't have to be miserable. Like uh coal plunges were a thing that caught on for a little bit. And and that that is a shared misery, but it's it's a it's a wonderful bonding experience. So without a doubt, that's the shared misery I'm talking about. Uh yeah, absolutely. Great question, Mr. Uh Captain Mike or Captain Rossi. Colin Cotter wants to know question. I love this question. If you were to go back to a three-year guy, where would you focus your effort and how would you shape your mindset towards leadership? I'm a three-year firefighter, still trying to shape my career as a new guy.
SPEAKER_04So I know Colin. I love Colin. He's a great dude, and he's doing all the right things. Um, to be honest, very early in my career, I didn't do a great job as a three-year guy. I didn't do a great job of seeking training outside. I was at a department whose tradition was was steeped, very high in that department. And uh they did things their way, and you kind of learned their way, and and that that was what it was. Um seeking outside knowledge in the fire service, whether that be a mentor, uh training, just visiting other departments, seeing how other people run, uh, keeps ideas fresh in your head, not saying that everything you see you're gonna agree with. Uh in fact, I would say there's a lot that you don't and you learn lessons from that too, right? Like, hey, they run it this way, and that's cool, it works for them, but I don't think it'll work for us. And then, and then just to uh to soak up everything, man. It goes by so fast.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Um it's it's and something you talk about a lot, but it seems like yesterday I was a three-year guy and and I'm 18 years on the job. So um just enjoy every minute of it because it goes by and just in a blink.
SPEAKER_01There's no doubt, man. That's that that is a true statement, man. You will uh be blown away by how you'll look back and go, where did the years go? I I still feel young. I don't understand. Wait a second, when did I become the old guy? That's right. Uh question cap. What, and this is from fireman Piv, Kyle Pivrawall. Great questions always coming from. He says, What are ways to build a culture around gear workouts and why they are needed for the naysayers or those that make the statement, I've never done an updown on the fire ground?
SPEAKER_04Yeah, you you'll you're gonna hear that a lot. Um I I bring it back to it's not about an up-down, it's it's not about whatever the movement is, a bear crawl, whatever. Sure, some of the stuff that we do in a gear workout is more fire ground related or fire ground relatable. Uh, the idea behind it is is fatigue, uh, is getting used to the heat stress. Um gear makes uh will humble anybody. Uh I tell people all the time I used to uh have a buddy who that I trained CrossFit with. Uh he made it to the games in 2019, stud of an athlete. Uh but you put gear on him, and we were in a whole different playing field. Whereas in CrossFit workouts where we were in PT clothes, there was no way I could keep up with anything that we did. 30 minutes in gear without being accustomed to the heat and the playing field as level. Um, to me, that speaks volumes. It means that you can be the fittest guy in the world. And if you're not used to wearing your gear, you're not used to the heat that that creates, you're not used to the mobility that it limits, uh, then you're not going to be efficient on the fire ground.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_04As far as building, as far as building a culture of that, uh, I'm gonna go back to what I said all night, and that's be the person, right? It's hard for your crew to argue as a company boss, and I don't know if this person's asking from that point of view, uh, about going out and getting in gear and doing some sort of gear work, whether whatever that may be, when you're the one out there doing it. Uh, a lot of times across the fire service, you don't see company bosses. They won't see their crew do it, they talk about their crew doing it, but you don't see them out there how they're doing it.
SPEAKER_01No, phenomenal, phenomenal. Set set the bar, be the bar, lead by example, stay humble. I think I think I'm catching the theme here. I really am. I'm loving it. I'm loving it. Great question, Kyle. Thank you for it. Great answer, Jason. Uh, that man, the questions are still coming in. So I'm gonna keep plowing through them as long as you uh, and if you want to get to something specific, work it in, or we'll swing back around. Bradley Ballincourt wants to know when you get a new firefighter to your company, what expectations do you give them?
SPEAKER_04Man, that's a great question. Um, I typically try to have an expectation meeting off the jump, uh, and that's expectations on the fire ground, expectations around the station, uh, whatever, whatever their role is. Um, as far as what I expect out of a new fireman is to learn the truck, to learn their equipment, and to learn what our job tasks will be. Uh, and like I said, we go over that day one. Um, I just transitioned back to the the truck company, uh, and that was day one of our shift at the the station we got moved to. Uh, it's a crew that I had already been working with, but we've been working on an engine. So once again, they already kind of knew my expectation as far as we're gonna get a workout in together, we're gonna spend time together. They knew those expectations, but we had expectation meeting day one on okay, this is how this truck company is gonna run. This is what I expect you to do when we pull up on the fire ground, this is what I expect us to do. Um, and then around the station, right? Like, hey, let's make sure we get get our task complete. Um, obviously, uh as and once again, I hate even using the the senior man analogy, but um because we all try to work together to accomplish those tasks, but um, those expectations are laid out day one to answer the question.
SPEAKER_01Beautiful. No, great question, Brad. And again, great answer, Jason. So I'm gonna I've got a theme, I've got a definite recurring thing going here. Uh Kevin Kate, C9N. He says, All right, serious question time. So we'll see. I always worry when fire when firefighters open up with that of like, is it or is it not? We'll find out. Having spent the time that you did at your old department, how do you make the tough decision to leave and go somewhere else after you have invested your time? So it is a serious question.
SPEAKER_04So it is a serious question. Uh, I'll tell you the decision wasn't easy. I spent 13 years at my other department. Um a lot of my best friends, uh, a lot of my my mentors are are still work there. Um, people that have driven me to become who I who I am. And some of those guys were there before me, and then and some of them came to work after me. Uh, and and they're the reason that that I am who I am. Um and I love my old department. Uh I started to look at um when the opportunity, when the opportunity came open, I should start with the fact that I really wasn't looking uh to leave. The opportunity came open, I looked into it. I like the culture, I like the thought of being able to serve my the community that I live in. Um I want to make a difference uh to be able to impact culture. Um and I felt like the best way that I could do that was the department that I moved to. Um they're a relatively new department, our patch, they're uh consolidation of three. So our our patch is only three years old, three or three and a half, four years old. Uh so the opportunities to impact culture were were pretty high because it's new, right? Right. The other departments had their own identity and were merging into one, and they were looking for fresh ideas. And uh I just felt like that my impact in the fire service was best served there. Not an easy decision though, at all.
SPEAKER_01No, and I'd be surprised. Yeah, if you said anything other than that, then I wonder what the story, you know, there had to be a different story if it was an easy decision to make, especially after 13 years, you said. So that's that's no small amount of time. Uh great question, great answer. Uh again, I'm gonna say something different on the next one, I promise. Here we go. Baked creature says, if you're the only one calling for change consistently, I've seen those members become white noise to the department and their words go unheard. How do you push constantly without becoming white noise?
SPEAKER_04Oh, that's a great question. Um, I think things in the fire service, a lot of times we feel like we're on an island by ourselves because we make ourselves on the island by ourselves. Um once again, I think that if you're the person who is leading by example, so let's say, for instance, that you want to see your cross lay change to a different load. Uh, and you start you start giving that pressure. One will go back to what I said earlier in the podcast, and that was 10% of the pressure 100% of the time. Uh, don't come in shock and all uh because very quickly you'll get frustrated and you'll feel like you're on an island. Uh I would say lead by example. So you want to see it change, come in in the mornings. Of course, if you're a firefighter clearest with your company boss, say, hey, I'd like to rack this crossway different, right? And then just start pulling it, right? And you may be the only person in the bay pulling, but I promise, at least in my experience, after the reps that you put in, eventually, your engineer or your company boss is gonna walk out there and they're gonna look at it. And if it is more efficient, it's gonna show, right? Uh, and and then then the the ball starts rolling, right? Or maybe it's a firefighter at shift change that notices that you're racking the hose back and he doesn't know why because you're gonna have a fire and you explain, like, hey, I'm trying a different load, they start asking questions. Well, now I can explain, and I can explain the why. Rather than just coming at it as we need to change this because XYZ and just applying all that pressure at one time. I think that you get more buy-in. And once you get the ball rolling and realize, like, hey, I'm not on the island by myself anymore. Uh, I've got, you know, all the firemen across all three shifts at this station are starting to believe that this is this is a better decision. Well, then that rolls uphill, and maybe the drivers start to buy in and say, hey, yeah, that we think we're and then eventually change happens. Uh, it can be super frustrating and it can take a long, long time. Um all you can do is is is control what you can control, apply the the pressure that that that is efficient, that's not too much pressure, uh, and then be patient. And being patient can be hard sometimes.
SPEAKER_01No doubt about it, man. It's a test of your patience, without a doubt. And I will do a shameless plug here for the scrap solo, number five. Rob Fisher was number five. He is vigilante number five, and he was scrap solo number five, but not the point. He talked about it on there, the 10 pounds of pressure 100% of the time, and how to prevent from becoming the white noise. The whole purpose is to keep it on the table. To keep it on the table. Because if you push too hard, you push it off the table and you become that white noise. And and anyway, I a shameless plug, go check it out because that's all he's talking about. So, in answer to that question, that is that is basically the whole solo. So, again, shameless plug, but it is on topic. Uh go ahead.
SPEAKER_04Touch on that just a little bit more. Uh yeah, I I do believe that you become white noise, but you also start to lose your credibility. No, people just they don't they don't stop listening to you about the one thing that you're trying to change. They start not believing you're credible for many things. Uh that you start becoming the person who is who is just the person who gripes all the time, right? Who's just a person who's unhappy about something in the powerhouse, right? And because you're frustrated, being unhappy becomes who you are. Uh so once again, keep that pressure at a at a manageable level, both for yourself and your organization, so you don't start to lose credibility and become white noise.
SPEAKER_01Man, no, that's good. That's a fantastic point. Fantastic point. Uh, I heard something from, I you know, I listened to Alex Ramosy quite a bit, but uh he said something about complainers. He said, if you complain, you're dead to me. Now he's very uh black and white and and probably harsher than I am on some things, but he was talking about complaining and how when you complain, it's just a waste of energy for you, the person you're complaining to. And not only that, the person you're complaining to loses respect for you. And I was sitting there listening to this going, holy smokes, is this true? And I mean, it hit me in the gut because I'm I'm good at complaining. You know what I'm saying? I'm I'm at it. Yeah. And but it made me really re-evaluate and say, I'm gonna try and complain less, you know? And I've I've really worked on it since hearing that. And and what you just said kind of paralleled that and it it just instantly took me back to that. Uh great, great point. Um Pat English. Yeah, I felt like I just asked Pat. But Pat English is saying, as someone who gets asked to teach as often as you do, at what point do you say no and take a couple of classes just to get a different perspective and some reps?
SPEAKER_04Um, that's uh another great question. And and as an instructor, I believe the only way that you stay credible is by by taking classes. Um it's hard to say no for me too, though. Uh I love opportunity, I love opportunity to share, and I have nothing groundbreaking to share. It's all something that somebody else has shared with me. I didn't invent anything. Um so it's hard to say no because I I do want to make an impact on the fire service and to leave it better than I found it. Um but I believe as an instructor, if we're not constantly learning and constantly taking classes ourselves, um then our our credibility starts going away quick. Everything in the fire service, though it it stays the same. Um I'll never forget. I'm gonna kind of tie back into my dad here. I lost my dad a couple years ago uh to job-related cancer. But one of the things that that he told me on his deathbed was that the things that are burning have changed, but fire has not changed. Um so that's something that stuck with me. Um and and I believe that he's right. Fire's fire, right? Um, but the way that we do things is consistently changing. And it's changing because we live in an age where technology allows us to have data at a at a rate that we've never been able to do before. So if you're not going out and taking classes and it's three or four years and you haven't been in a class yourself, then anything you're teaching is outdated. Um, whether it's right or wrong, there's been data that has been produced since the last time that you've even sat through a class. Um so I think that it's super important, super important for you to stay relevant and for you to keep your information accurate and stay on top of the latest tactics uh to commit that time, whether it's one, two, three, whatever classes a year that you're gonna commit to yourself. And that's a personal goal and whatever you decide personally, like, hey, this is what I'm gonna do, uh, to make sure that I'm still filling my cups so that I can I can continue to pour into others.
SPEAKER_01No, yeah. No, fantastic question. Sam Smith, Framer, wants to know how do you influence a new captain on your shift that came from a shift that put priority on station duties? My firefighters are starting to revolt. I am a senior captain also. So again, it's hard to tell without knowing the exact rank structure and everything else, but uh, I'll let you make up the details as you answer this question.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that uh if I if I'm understanding this question right, it sounds like he is uh an equal level captain.
SPEAKER_01That's the way I that's the way I read it. He can send more details if he if he's in the chat, but go ahead.
SPEAKER_04Um man, that's that that that can be tough and just a conversation. Um that that it can be a hard conversation to have. And uh for me, that would be just kind of pulling to the side and be like, hey man, I know that we have station duties that we have to do. Um, it's that way across the country in the fire service. Um maybe that you should you should sit and talk with your crew and and see where you want to align that in your day. Uh it can still be a priority, but if you set your schedule for the day, it doesn't have to be priority one. And then maybe ask him why he feels like it is priority one. Um as for most of the leaders in the fire service, the way that we run things is is done by somebody that influenced us. So maybe for whatever reason he had a chief officer or maybe a captain before him that said, Hey, we're gonna get our station duties done first thing in the morning so that we can have the rest of the day to train or whatever the case may be. Um it can be frustrating. Once again, you can only do so many station duties though. Uh so it do it what needs to be done, and then when you're you're done with that task, go and do the training that you want to do and and and influence. Uh, I would tell his crew to influence from the bottom up. Like just because he wants to focus on station duties, then maybe doesn't want to do anything after station duties doesn't mean that you can't go out and do the things you need to do. But as a as an equal level captain, uh that's that's just a conversation that I would have to have. And uh maybe just try to explain that his crew's frustrated and they feel like the priorities for their trucks in the wrong spot and that they'd like to see more training, and and then just kind of go from there and make it a conversation. Uh don't approach it aggressively because that approach won't work. Um don't tell them what he's doing's wrong. Uh try to listen, try to hear why he's doing what he's doing. Because once again, that typically there's a reason, uh, and maybe he has a valid reason. Uh, and then maybe you have to go to his crew and and kind of play middleman and be like, hey guys, listen, I understand you're frustrated, but this is the reason he's doing it. And if you understand the reason, then a lot of times that those things don't become as big a deal.
SPEAKER_01Right on. And and the big part, what I heard you say, is you got to put in some work to get to the solution. It's gonna take some work. It's not just uh it's not just a conversation or there's no easy answer. It takes work. And that's the part where most people don't want to, they want to skip the work. That's right, for sure. Logan Hinkle, Jason. There's so many questions, brother. They're still coming in, so you're crushing it. I hope you're enjoying yourself. It's rapid fire. Uh Jason, what's your view as a truck company captain on command-driven firegrounds versus SOG-driven firegrounds? How does it change a rookie's understanding of their job and their operational mindset?
SPEAKER_04Um, so I'm gonna answer that question the best I can. Sure. I believe in having a playbook, a known playbook, where everybody on the truck knows, hey, bread and butter fire, this should be this should be right to the to our playbook and right to our our most popular play that we do. This is what we do. This is all our else. Um my truck knows that that anything outside of that playbook is an audible. Um, whether that's an audible that that we know on the way there, or when we pull up in the front yard and we jump out of the truck and I look and say, like, hey, um, we're not gonna have a ventilation attempt here to go vertical. Let's let's go all in, whatever that may be. Um so I though I like it an SOG driven so that everybody understands the playbook. Um I also like command-driven because as people are seeing things and the the fireground is evolving, I think that we have to evolve and we have to be able to call all of them. Uh, it can be pure SOG driven, um, but having SOGs uh to kind of create our playbook, uh, I think is is not a bad idea.
SPEAKER_01Right on, right on. And I think, and then that's my own little spill on it, is that if if if it's a bread and butter, which you know, whatever people like that term, don't like that term, whatever, it's a mundane fire with no curveballs, then the SOG should be able to run it from beginning to end. Like that's what it should should be the expectation. But also with any SOG driven, is my expectation is we're gonna have to make a call along the way on almost every fire that's gonna be a little bit different than what the SOG is. And that's why the SOG is so important.
SPEAKER_04Exactly. And and they're, I mean, little things, right? Like uh my department's blessed, and there's a lot of we're getting a lot of help uh coming to us in a hurry. So the change between who's rolling up second due and who's rolling up third due and and who's getting that water supply may change because somebody turned one street early, right? And for an SOG to say, like, hey, second dude's gonna be, and you look at the map and say, all right, well, I'm gonna be second due, and then you pull up and there's another engine already there establishing water supply. Now I'm on the third. Um the SOGs are there, but it constantly has to evolve. And then they're constantly had the fire ground changes, and and I know why people get upset with a bread and butter fire, because it really is no bread and butter fire, they're all different. Uh, they may look bread and butter from the front yard, but they're all different. Uh so we have to have the opportunity to call an audible because I feel like we do we have to do it a lot.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you have to know the SOGs so that you can call the audible. Like, and that's that's that's the key, man. Like they're both they're both so important. They're both so important.
SPEAKER_03Yep.
SPEAKER_01Uh still me questions. I'm trying to prioritize here. I'm trying to triage these questions. Prioritize and execute.
SPEAKER_03I like it. I like it.
SPEAKER_01Oh no, I don't like that one. I'll just I'll just sit here and not let anybody know what I'm looking at. Steve Bausch coming at you says, Do you find it easier to get interest from others by starting with a question instead of a statement? Have we ever compared different hose loads versus we need to change our hose load?
SPEAKER_04Uh I I do. I do think that uh a question is is the best way to begin the ball rolling for change. Um once again, it's that approach of 10% pressure, right? The statement off the off the bat becomes more pressure. Uh and then it becomes a question of your current influence uh and your current credibility. Um if I make a statement, if for instance, when I laddered into my department, if I walked in and said, hey, I think the way that we run this crossway is dumb, and I think we should do this, uh versus saying, like, hey, why are we running a 250-foot crossway instead of a 200? Um, instantly those two statements polarize one way or the other. One is a question where they have the ability to explain, and maybe I need that explanation. I think a lot of times, uh, and like I said, I said earlier, I tell my guys all the time, we think we better, we're better than we are. Like we get this, it's this idea in our head that that we know, like, hey, it should be this. Right. So then when we approach and say, hey, this is the way that I think that it should be, without listening to the reason that it is what it is, uh, we miss a piece of that puzzle. And maybe just because originally we thought, like, hey, this was dumb, we should change it. Once I hear the reason, then maybe I don't feel that way anymore. And I'm like, hey, you know, like you actually thought this out, and I was wrong, and we should leave it the way it is.
SPEAKER_01No, that's great. And the open mind, again, tied to the humility is all I again, full circle. Uh, I love this one. Kevin Kate coming at you one more time says, follow up to my earlier question. If you ever get sick of Sam, will you marry me? So uh that's not gonna happen, right? Can't get sick of Sam. It's a great segue to Samantha and talking about your guys' journey together, Camera Worthy, of course, which is that's how I got introduced to the Worthy clan, so to speak, and uh her work on the book of search and things like that. But talk to me about the journey you guys have been on together.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, so uh she started taking pictures shortly after I took a truck company ops class uh in Spartanburg and Chance Craven came and took pictures, and this was like 2019. Uh he published those pictures for us when it was super cool. The pictures are great, chance kills it. He's one of our best friends. Uh she saw that and was like, hey, so people do that, like people just get to come to trainings and and take pictures of firemen. And I was like, I mean, I guess this seems to be what chance is doing. Uh so just conversations, and she's been interested in photography her whole life. It was influenced by her father who who enjoyed photography. Right on. And then and then she just uh she just started coming. And to hear her tell it, she's super humble and she's just a person with a camera, and but she's making just like chance and a ton of photographers uh across the country, they're making a difference, man, because they're documenting for our families and for our communities uh to see what we do and had experience and Sam has too with you never know what that picture you take, what kind of impact that'll be. You know, maybe that's the last picture of of somebody uh at the job. Uh once again, I know Chance had those experiences and then Sam did. My old department lost their deputy chief uh earlier at the end of last year, earlier this year. And uh she took one of the last pictures uh of him and his gear at an acquire burn that we did. Uh and that was hard. It was very impactful for her uh because that picture got used a lot, and uh which is the reason she does what it does, what she does. But uh yes, she started coming along with me. A lot of times she would ask for forgiveness, not permission, uh, and taking pictures and publishing them, and she charges nothing for for what she does. Um if people if conferences pick up hotel rooms or travel, that's great. But but she gets to come with me and take pictures and share them with with the fire service.
SPEAKER_01Um I don't know. And she was one of the three photographers who contributed their their libraries to the book of search. So, and you know, uh if you've seen the book of search, you've seen a lot of her work uh along with Jillian Stewart and Chris Mead, and just just great, uh awesome what they've done. And one I will say that one of my I don't have a lot of regrets in life. I'm a blessed person, but one of my regrets for my career is I wish I would have taken more pictures. I really do.
SPEAKER_04Uh looking back and that that that's that statement, uh, and it went around the fire service and it keeps going around, is take the picture. And and that is such, such a true statement. Uh and it all we can tie that into people that we've lost uh in the career over the years. Uh we can tie it into the fact that you blink in and it's 18 years in. Uh and I look back and like, man, like I so much that I don't have I'm blessed now uh because she does get to take so much, and and I have a ton of pictures now. Um and I take pictures of everything now. But there were a lot of time early in my career where we just didn't, right? And um, and and it it's a regret. Like, like take I would encourage everybody in the fire service, anybody listening, take the picture.
SPEAKER_01Everybody's got a nice, a nice camera in their pocket. They've got a nice camera in your pocket. Take the picture, take the picture. May not be as nice as Samantha's, but take the picture. Take the picture. That's right. Uh beautiful. We'll wrap it up with Whiskey Mike coming at you. Fun question. I like rapping with a fun question. Jason, with the strong mustache game that you have, are you peer pressuring others on your crew to grow one?
SPEAKER_04No. Uh, this this mustache, man. Um several years ago at my old department, there were a group of about five of us uh that were working the same shift. We got together and made this little side bet on who could grow a mustache and get their wife to let them keep it the longest. Uh that was in that was four years ago, five years ago. Uh, and I hadn't shaved mine yet. So uh, and now it's become a part of who I am. I don't pressure other people to do it. I get asked all the time for mustache advice. Man, I just let it grow. Let it grow. I can't stand for it to be in my mouth, so I do trim the hairs out of my mouth, but outside of that, I just leave it alone.
SPEAKER_01Um so it really was just a just a stubborn competition that started the whole thing. Who could be more stubborn?
SPEAKER_04Stubborn competition. I believe that there's actually two of us that that haven't shaved the whole time.
SPEAKER_01Really? That's awesome. Uh amazing. All right, with that takes us to one of my favorite questions I love to ask my guests, and that is book or books that you think firefighters should be reading. I love asking this question because I love to read. So I'm always looking for new books. So, what books? It doesn't have to be fire books, but what books do you think firefighters should be reading?
SPEAKER_04So I've I've got a list, and uh, I know this is I listen to scrap all the time, so I know this is a super common question. I don't know that I'm going to say anything that is not hard on the list.
SPEAKER_01100% fair because there are some good books on the list, and it's been the scrap's been around a while now, so it's it's getting long in the tooth. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_04Uh, there's a couple of firebooks and then a couple of non-fire books. The first one would be Reports from Engine Company 82. I love that book. I've read it a couple times.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_04Yep, yep. Got it in the house. Uh, another one was actually one that Ian suggested, and and it's super hard to find. And he was right, it was super hard to find, but that's 30 years on the line. Uh, great book. Um, the next one is from the salty rookie.
SPEAKER_01Now, which one's uh I don't want I'll let you keep going, but 30 years on the line, is that Boston or is that uh who who who wrote it? Uh or do you have any more information on it?
SPEAKER_04If I remember correctly, I it's it's been a little while since I read it. It's Boston.
SPEAKER_01Okay, I think so. I want to say it's the yeah, okay, okay, go ahead.
SPEAKER_04Um, the next one comes from the salty rookie, and that's the diary of a probie. She did a great job writing that book. Um I um I give it to my my my new people now uh so that they can uh reference it. Uh like I said, I think she did a great job with it. Um fire books on combat.
SPEAKER_01Uh I know that one's been talking about I I try to I try to say these diarrhea of a probate, Nicole O'Donnell, right? Yes. Okay, make it sure. Make it sure. I mean, I just want to say it out loud for the people listening. Go ahead.
SPEAKER_04Yes, sir. On Combat would be the next one. Uh that's a book that's been talked about a lot on the podcast. Uh, and then the last one that I put on my list is a new one. Uh, it's one that I just read, just came out in April, and that's Drownproof by Andy Stumpf. Uh yeah, yeah. Uh great book. Uh he he doesn't talk a lot about the things that happened in the seals, but a lot about mindset and kind of how he used what he learned mindset-wise uh in the seals to apply it to his life.
SPEAKER_01So beautiful, beautiful drownproof, drownproof by Stump. Okay. No, I love Stump's fire talk. I mean, that was one of my uh yeah, so uh absolutely uh which takes us. Is that all the books? I don't want to cut you off. That's that's that's for now. I was reading, I was reading that you were done, but I wanted to make sure I wanted to ask. But takes us to the five questions for firefighters. You are only the second person to answer this version of the five questions for firefighters, and you only got like one hour to prepare because I I I told you right before the show started, hey, I changed those last week. So the ones I emailed you are not the ones you get. So this is how I find out if people watch the scrap before. But long story short, are you the the the the questions uh have no right answers, only your opinion, and the points are arbitrary, passed out by me with the help of the YouTube audience. So, Jason Worthy, are you ready for the five questions for firefighters? Let's do it. Number one, you have a time machine, but it can only be used for one thing. You can go back in time and give your younger self a piece, a single piece of advice. What would that advice be?
SPEAKER_04Apply yourself. Um, as a student, uh especially throughout the school years, uh, and then and then even into college. And then then I would even argue early in my career in the fire service, just having the ability to do things and not necessarily applying my full self to it. Uh, that's something that as I matured, that I learned like, hey, like if if this is something that you do, you give it everything that you got. No half in, no half out, apply yourself.
SPEAKER_01Apply yourself. I love that. And I love it two-word, simple as it gets, apply yourself. And you can apply that uh mindset to any aspect of life, man. Yeah, a lot. Number two, it's job town. It's time you are in route and responding. The scene from backdraft with that tape goes into that cassette deck while they are while they are in route. What song are you playing to Jobtown?
SPEAKER_04Man, this I tried to prepare for the questions. Uh, this question was super tough. Music speaks to me, and I listen to every genre. Uh so as I was thinking about this, I bet I listened to 40 Job Town playlists on Spotify. Like, hey, what's going to be the one? Because there's so much. Like, I would listen to songs and I would be like, Yeah, I could bump that on the way to a fire. Um, the song that I went with is No Sleep Till Brooklyn by Beastie Boys.
SPEAKER_01Beastie Boys. No Sleep Till Brooklyn. Sam will give me the I we've had some Beastie Boys. I don't know if No Sleep Till Brooklyn has been on there or not. Sam is saying I can't. I would I Sam is saying nothing. I'm putting Sam on the spot. It's on there. Okay. I wasn't sure. I did not, I was not 100% sure. I want to say, well, not the point, but phenomenal song. It is on the playlist. Max points, question one, Beastie Boys, question two, max points easy. Number three, cold weekend at the station. Rig checks are done. Training is done. PT is done. I want to say basically, you're not being lazy. It's just a lazy day. So you're clicking through the TV in the day room, and that movie's on. No matter what point in the movie it is, you get there, no matter what channel it's on, what's that movie for you that you always finish no matter where it's at?
SPEAKER_04I'm going to give you two because I got to give you one for the fire service, and that's Backdraft. Uh if it's on, I'm watching it. I don't care how cliche that is. Um, and the next one's going to be The Guardian. Uh it's it's one of my uh all-time favorite movies. Uh a lot of similar aspects to the fire service, but two answers?
SPEAKER_01Two answers. All right, not maximum. Number four. Number four, what is the one habit that you believe separates average firefighters from exceptional firefighters?
SPEAKER_04Training. Um commitment to training, and that goes that can go as deep as we want it to go, whether that's training skills or training fitness training.
SPEAKER_01Training, one word. I like I like the succinctness of your answers because they are you you're you're one word, two word, done. Uh and and training is an easy max points. I haven't, I mean that I've only had two people answer this question so far. We'll see how the question does over time because I don't know if there's enough stuff there. I'm waiting to see. But so far we got two different answers, so I'm excited. Number five, and max points for training, always. I mean, that's easy. Easy. I mean that. Heavy fire, and I don't mean it like in a downplay it way. I mean it like that's a great answer. Number five, heavy fire, searchable space. Would you rather be assigned to the nozzle or first in on VES? I'm a truck company guy at heart, man. I'm gonna be VES. VES. I would be surprised with the truck company officer and everything else. And and you spent most of your time on a truck company. I would be surprised if it wasn't that. So there you go.
SPEAKER_04Real quick, funny story about that. So I took a class called the South Carolina Company Officer Academy. Uh, great class, something our state does that I think that they're doing a really good job of. They have a whole engine day, uh, and and Jonah comes down and and teaches the engine day. Um, there's pictures of me floating around, flowing a handline with the biggest smile that I think I've had in a long time on my face. Uh, so I do still love it. But if it's between the two, I'm still going to the truck company.
SPEAKER_01Right on, right on. And that officially makes it. And number five, max points. Number five, max points. And that officially, with those answers, puts number 358 in the books. Jason Worthy, thank you for being such a phenomenal guest. If someone wants to get a hold of you, what's the best way to get the info to reach out to you? Tell us.
SPEAKER_04Um, so I'm on social media, Jason Worthy on Facebook, uh, JG Worthy on Instagram. Uh, I'll put my phone number out right now. Um, 864-415-3085. Um, that's probably the easiest way to get in touch with me. Uh, Instagram, I respond pretty quick too.
SPEAKER_01So beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. And with that, we go to housekeeping, go to patreon.com slash the vigilantees. If you're not a vigilante, why not? It's where all the cool kids hang out. It is the like-minded souls, the discord, man, it's just it's popping off all the time. So many, it's such a great resource and such a great network with the best people. And that's that's all I need to say about it. One of the best parts about uh being a vigilante is you get the after party where we're gonna roast Jason after the show is over. We're gonna go in and roast him and his mustache. And that's coming up. And with all that being said, coming up next week on the scrap, Brandon Chapman, Gritfire training. Then, two weeks from today, a long time in the planning. Steve, I will I purchased Borowski. I'm gonna butcher his name no matter what, every time I try and say it. But it's gonna be getting into the weeds and a lot of nerdy stuff to talk about with Steve. And that's that's excited. All right, enough jabbering for me. Time for the after party. Sam is sending out the leak. Jason Worthy, thank you once again for sharing your evening with us and for being such a phenomenal guest.
SPEAKER_04Thank y'all. It was uh humbled to be here still, man. It was such a good opportunity. I had a blast.
SPEAKER_01You got it. You had it, you had rapid fire questions coming at you, brother. You handled it beautifully. Audience, you crushed it tonight. You make the scrap magical each and every week. The scrap would not exist without you. Thank you for tuning in live. I love you all. Remember, mutts don't scrap. I hope the tones stay silent unless it is burning. This job will never be safe. So stay smart out there. Thanks for listening to the weekly scrap. Please subscribe and please share. See you at the next episode.