Does the fire service have an ego problem?

Matt, Brian, and Adam get into the difference between confidence and ego and what happens when rank, experience, reputation, and pride start getting in the way of good leadership.

Matt shares a story about reconnecting with a chief who knew him years ago when Matt was a young volunteer—and the first thing the chief did was apologize for how he treated younger firefighters back then. That kicks off a bigger conversation about self-awareness, owning your mistakes, and whether rank changes people or simply multiplies who they already are.

The guys talk about leading with love, praising in public and correcting in private, firehouse banter versus tearing people down, developing younger firefighters instead of waiting for them to fail, and why some departments mistake treating people poorly for maintaining a “standard.”

They also tackle the fire service’s social media culture. Are keyboard warriors and firefighter-bashing pages holding people accountable—or is some of it just ego hiding behind a screen?

Plus, Patreon updates, the September Prize Box, an incredible message from a listener, some classic firehouse stories, recruitment vs. retention, and a little Snail Mail to finish things off.

One question to think about after this episode:

Do you treat people the way you wanted to be treated when you were coming up—or are you becoming the firefighter you used to complain about?

Listen, follow, and share the episode with another firefighter.

🔥 The Cool Fireman Podcast

Train Clean, Fight Dirty | Ryan Conley of Carna Bunker Gear

Visit: Carna Bunker Gear

https://www.carnabunkergear.com/

This week, we’re joined by Ryan Conley from Carna Bunker Gear for a conversation about firefighter training, cancer prevention, fitness, and why we may need to rethink how often we train in our frontline turnout gear.

Ryan shares how his background as a firefighter, strength athlete, coach, and exercise physiology nerd eventually led to the creation of Carna Bunker Gear — training gear designed to give firefighters the weight and thermal challenges of bunker gear without unnecessarily training in contaminated frontline PPE.

We get into PFAS, PAHs, dirty gear, SCBAs, apparatus contamination, decon, thermal adaptation, firefighter fitness, and the cumulative exposures firefighters face throughout a 20–30 year career.

But the conversation goes beyond cancer.

How hard should you actually work out while you're on duty? Could crushing yourself during a workout make you a liability if the tones drop five minutes later? And has the fire service gone too far with “safety culture”… or are we finally getting smarter about risks we can actually control?

Adam also asks one of the biggest questions of the episode:

Was it worth it?

Despite the risks, injuries, sleepless nights, cancer concerns, and everything this career asks of us — for the families we showed up for on the worst days of their lives, the answer is still YES.

We also close this episode by recognizing the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, remembering the 343 firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice and those we have continued to lose in the years since.

Never Forget. 🇺🇸

Follow The Cool Fireman Podcast and join us as we continue the firehouse conversation.

Fire departments across the country are trying to figure out how to recruit the next generation of firefighters—but what if recruitment isn't the biggest problem?

What if we need to get better at keeping the people we already have?

This week, the guys get into recruitment vs. retention and what actually makes firefighters want to stay at—or leave—a department. Is it money? Benefits? Leadership? Morale? Call volume? Training opportunities? Station culture? Or is the schedule becoming one of the biggest deciding factors?

Adam makes a simple point that drives much of the conversation: take care of your people, and they'll recruit for you.

From there, things get heated.

We talk about departments spending big money recruiting new employees while veteran employees feel forgotten, firefighters leaving the profession altogether, leadership and accountability, lateral hiring, 24/72 vs. 48/96 schedules, mandatory overtime, burnout, and whether departments are willing to change fast enough to keep good people.

Then Doug takes the conversation somewhere bigger:

Why are we working ourselves to death?

Life is short. Money matters—but so do your family, friends, hobbies, and the life you're supposed to be living when you're not at the firehouse.

This one has some laughs, some arguments, some strong opinions, and a whole lot of firehouse conversation.

SPONSORS:

THE BURN BOX: theburnbox.com

UNKIES SEASONINGS: unkiesseasonings.com

🔥 QUESTION FOR YOU:
What matters MOST when choosing a fire department—and what would make you leave the one you're at?

Recruitment? Retention? Leadership? Pay? Schedule? Culture?

Let us know.

And if you've made it this far with us, join the crew on Patreon for behind-the-scenes content, the Turnout Drill, and your chance to win the monthly Patreon Prize Box.

The Cool Fireman Podcast — Firehouse Talk Without the HR Department.