Guys, I retired at 66 and joined a VFD. I an currently working on getting my Firefighter 1 certification hopefully in July. I have an intense drive to make my own community better. Great show. I'm forwarding this to my Chief.

I'm a PhD who builds R&D satellites by day, and runs fire and EMS calls as a volunteer by night. Loved the discussion about not Stove-piping education. Great episode. I'm one of those who is addicted to helping others, and there's no better way than the fire service

My husband who will be 68 in a few weeks, was an Air Force fire fighter. Served during the Vietnam era at Whiteman Air Force base. After he got out got a job at O’Hare airport in Chicago working as a civilian as a fire fighter at the Air tactical base that was on the airport grounds. Worked his way up to asst fire chief. Then President Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers, he took the test and got the job and moved to Indiana. There he also got on our local volunteer fire dept. Moved to Minnesota to be closer to family. Now retired and he is on our local volunteer fire dept for the last 9 years. Once a fire fighter, always a fire fighter. We are family!!!!

I was an Assistant Dive Chief for an all volunteer underwater recovery team. We has 139 members who all joined for a common reason, to bring closure to the family. Yes we have to have a sense of humor to deal with it. We even had a great repore with the media.

A friend of mine was a volunteer firefighter now he's a paid firefighter

My Navy firefighting training was super-cool. Ex-Navy personnel are a great source of people with firefighting skills, nearly everyone in the Navy learns that.

My claim to fame is that I am the oldest qualified firefighter (male or female) at the college I attended. I graduated at 57 1/2 years old. On the flip side, my son joined our Dept as a Cadet at 15 1/2. Had all the responsibilities but unfortunately could not be paid on call until he was 18. The volunteer Fire service is in NEED of people who can work as a Team. Most Fire Chiefs are glad to have that person in whatever capacity they can serve.

I love Jonathan’s perspective on finding or creating opportunity in your own community instead of leaving town. 😊

I joined my local FD at 17 yo. I spent 30 yrs. I did fire investigations, fire prevention, engineer, EMT and everything in between. I had someone ask me why I would go into a burning building or put myself in a hazardous environment. My answer was " because you won't". This was an individual that thinks that we just sit around the firehouse waiting for something bad to happen . Our closest hospital was a 45 minute drive. If we were called out we were gone for no less than 4 hours.

Thank you Mike for highlighting this subject. I was a volunteer for 30 years and with the exception of a few years in the 70's (yes the 70's) recruitment and retention has always been a big issue. At one point or another I've worked every job in the service, from washing floors and cleaning bathrooms, to Fire Chief but I feel strongly that the volunteer fire service always gave me back many times more than I ever put in....

First responders deserve all the attention to keep and remind people's attention to what they do thank you ALL 😊 😊

I have been a volunteer Fire Fighter for 30 years. I can absolutely resonate with all the topics discussed on this podcast. Mike Rowe, you're awesome; love all of your projects.

I haven't fought structure fires, but I was a wildland firefighter, hands down, the most rewarding thing I have ever done and if my health would allow, I'd still be doing it.

I was a volly for a number of years in a rural community and that’s how you got to know and help people you might not otherwise know

As a former Navy firefighter, if you volunteer you will find a life of brotherhood. A way of life to learn about your community and have the respect of doing a job that is fulfilling.

Thank you, rural Ohio has been missing for too long.

“Volunteerism has a selfish component…”, yeah, that’s why I am still a Scoutmaster for a Scouting America troop at the age of 63. I love hiking, camping and backpacking, and the Scouts gives me much greater opportunities to do that, than if I was not working with all our youth.

Wow what a great conversation on such an important topic. I’m a volunteer with Bandera Fire and Rescue in Texas. We serve about 13k residents in about 15 sq miles. We receive no tax monies to operate our department. We desperately need more volunteers which translates to fundraising monies. Keep up the conversation.

I had a bad accident a few years ago- hydroplaned , the rolled my car, ended upside down, had to cut out of my car- I was externally grateful to the firefighters who used the jaws of life to get me safely out of the car. Thank you again :)

How CAN we restore the concept and pride of Civic Duty? We've drifted so far apart now... Outstanding interviews with both Candace McDonald and Jonathan Dayton! 👍

M son has been volunteer fireman ( at ground zero 9/11) and an EMT/paramedic for over 20 years . He ,and many others , suffer PTSD BUT he and most others fight through that to provide care for we the public !!! Thank you Rob and Brook and others for your service and life changing work !

This young man gives me hope 🙏 😊

Shout out to Joe Polizotti, a Navy shipmate of mine who was Chief of the Saddlebrook, NJ Volunteer Fire Department.

Thank you Mike I volunteerism started after military when you see people in need and you depend on them every day carries over to your rest of your life. Best career move that any young person can make makes a better person a better parent and I pull up better America thank you for this program.

This is bringing back some good and bad memories. Was a volunteer after getting out of the Navy back in the day. It surely is a sister and brother hood. Being in northern California saw lots of wildland fires and plenty or medical aid calls to boot. Great job all.

I am now in my 60s but I’ve been involved in public safety/EMS for almost 30 years and having some health issues as of late, I still look for ways to serve! I applaud all who serve! Thanks for your spotlight Mike, you’re doing good!!👍🏽🇺🇸

I was a volly for 15 years in PA in a small dept that was in serviced for 50+ years. We responded to 150 calls a year with no EMS calls. All structure fires and MVAs. Our dept went bankrupt because the dept fell behind in taxes and we went under. We saved the government (state) $100,000 of thousands dollars in funding a fire department and the government wouldn’t help the department and we closed our doors. Now all the residents in our area have delayed response times waiting for the next closest department to respond. Senseless. We were all self funded and it didn’t cost the state “$0”. Makes me sick

I’ve never considered this, but you have me thinking. Thank you for bringing this potential to my attention!

As a retired smoke eater of 27 years I can recall a few highway calls that have stuck in my mind.

Former Volunteer firefighter from New Zealand, My Brigade was the only one in our wider area that was not only a firefighting brigade, but medical first response brigade, i spent a couple of years responding, all hours of the day and night.Many CPR responses and all. its real and the people that do it are legends

After retiring from the Coast Guard I was a volunteer firefighter for 12 years.

I work for a class 1 railroad, and in 21 years, you wouldn't believe what I've seen.

Love Firefighters. They are brave, and amazing first line in emergency situations. Especially in fires, and car accidents.

The department I was in had a guy lose his job because he got injured on a call due to him having to miss a weeks work. The only option he had then was to file workman’s comp. And they refused to pay anything because he was a volunteer. As a department we had to come up with money to get an insurance policy to cover our members or they would end up leaving. It got to the point that I left because I couldn’t afford to get injured because the insurance wasn’t going to pay enough to cover my bills. I do miss volunteering a lot

(former freight train conductor/current vol. firefighter) Walking onto the ballast of a train track is trespassing, it's private property of a multi billion dollar corporation. And not petty misdemeanor trespassing, it's like walking onto a military base level trespassing. The railroads have incredible gov't power. As the joke goes, there's 4 branches of gov't. Executive, judicial, legislative and railroad.

People are not just less competent behind the wheel. People are less competent full stop.

l , like the majority of firefighters in America , am a volunteer . At 54 , l don't have much left in me , but the 20 year olds in this country are made of weaker stuff. Soon there will be too few firefighters in this country

I can relate to the Candice story somewhat, when i was going through basic training with a Fire department, paid position, we were training some volunteer firefighters on how to carry someone down a ladded, we put up a 50' extension ladder, me Captain choose me to demonstrate how it was done. I was 5'10" tall, weighed 160 lbs, of corse bigger than Candice, but I'll never forget that he was so big that twoo or three fighters couldn't pick him up to put him out the window. Not sure i remember now how much he weighed, but it was well over 300 lbs. I barely was able to reach around him to take him down the ladder. Candice would know how I did it and the technique used. She did and is doing a great job. Now at 76, im not sure if physically i could do anything to help out.

Mike. All of us first responders are terrified we’re so short staffed. I believe that in part the reason is a generational gap. The youth of today have less motivation to work and even less to care for their fellow man. Call volumes are increasing exponentially and our modern medicine cant keep up with the demand. The medical system as a whole needs to be managed by medical professionals with experience and not corporations and big pharma.

WOW, almost 50, I was thinking like Mike around 30 and only just over 5 foot. Big cred to her.

Pretty please with sugar on top, I only have one request for an outstanding production: Fix the audio issues and disable the automatic noise gate. Having a microphone that constantly cuts out makes the show very difficult to listen to. If it means hiring an audio engineer to spend a few hours and mix the episode by hand, it will be well worth the time, effort, and money. I love the show and only want the best for you guys! :)

My dad first started his firefighting training in the Korean War then eventually became a captain for LAFD. If you start young and get your 25 years in you can retire with a great pension then move on to another career if you'd like or work a second job while on the department because of the shift patterns and retire in your fifties. Who wouldn't want that?

31 years with Dallas. My friends and family are all pushing me to start sharing the stories... I don't know. But a partner of mine and I were just sitting around at about 0300 and started just taking stock of what we did. We also talked about our families' and friends' understanding. He summed the life up in one word, "surreal". The things you do and see, even in my volunteering before going to Dallas are so far out of "normal" that sometimes it enters the absurd. Wouldn't change my life with Dallas for anything. Above all, the knowledge of having successfully saved someone in real trouble cannot be outdone by any other feeling.

My department had a train derailment 3 months before the E Palestine derailment, on the same tracks! Mostly hauling cars and containers, thankfully.

Thanks Mike, this is great awareness for all of us. Appreciate all the work from you and team, but especially of your guests! They are great examples of our American heroes.

Thanks Mike for sharing the unsung heros the firefighter 🚒

God bless all EMS personnel

I lived 10 miles away from where the Granite Mountain Hotshots died. The town was Yarnell, AZ. I saw the dry lightning strike late that afternoon and the breath went out of me. It was so close to our ranch and the wind was blowing towards us. I saw the local volunteer fire fighters from Skull Valley take off to answer the call. The fire started on a mt. side adjacent to a small neighborhood. It was so dry that it was just a tinder box. The town slowly rebuilt but has never fully recovered.

Always love your shows. Thank you.

I agree Mike about the calamaties regarding railroads. My Great grandfather died at a train station in 1902, when a train fell on him. I mean, really?! How does that happen? But from all the online genealogy websites, it did.

I think another contributing factor with the volunteer fire service is many volunteer firefighters used to work in small mom n pop shops that allowed them to leave job to respond. Corporate world isn't as inclined to allow that as mom n pop shops shutter up.

Thanks for introducing ppl to excellent role models.

Mike Rowe is the real deal. Bravo Brother.

There are many support positions needed also. There are Board positions, office support, budget committees needed, etc. Just stop in and ask!

I am a member of two volunteer fire departments, along with my family, and a full time job. We joined the department right after Covid started. My middle and youngest sons have both decided that they want to go into the fire department in some capacity, my oldest son is a travel nurse. I am incredibly proud to be a firefighter, I have always wanted to help people in some way and this was the best decision I’ve ever made. We need more volunteers, it is an essential resource for our communities.

I was an ambulance/ER guy in the army years ago. We got hit head on by a drunk on Ft. Lewis in the’70s. I also picked up another of our crews from an accident a few months earlier. The road was a scary place. Every run using lights and sirens was an adventure, whether we liked it or not.

Wow the exchange regarding the life vac device and the owner/inventor walking past photos of those saved by the device rolled through my body in the most exhilarating way. How completely fantastic!!

Candace you're my HERO 😊

Career firefighter here. Calls are skyrocketing because: aging entitled boomers, rapidly growing welfare class, rapidly growing idiot class who can’t fend for themselves. The type of calls we,get dispatched to is mind blowing.

I have a cousin who was a survivor of the kamikaze attack on the USS Bunker Hill in May of 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He in part helped save the ship and many fellow sailors by fighting the fires on board ship after the attack. He went on to become a firefighter in the city of Seattle retiring in 1972. He lived until the age of 97.

Big hug to grandma

I'm 35 year retired disabled e responder. And have the scars inside and out. The I don't care factor is off the chart now. Now for the recruiting problems, it's just folks try and find out this is not for me, or we would loose them for paying jobs. Even then burnout is high.

incredible episode! Thank you!

I joined the fire service in 1979 and retired at the rank of captain after 30 years. We had 2 young ladies on our department in the 1980s and they did a great job. One of them was a tiny thing. We had a tough time finding gear to fit her. The smallest boots we could find were six 9 mens. She left her shoes on and stuffed the toes with rags. I have been on both sides of a train wreck. We were first on scene of a guy who hit a black tank car on a dark road with no lights late at night. They train drug him down the tracks. He was alive when we put him into the ambulance. In the fall of 1986 the semi I was driving collided with a southbound Amtrak train. They were using the driver car that looked like the back of the train. I apparently thought it had gone through the intersection. It was coming at me at 65MPH through a small town. It clipped the rear of the tank trailer I was pulling. Dark humor is away to deal with the gruesome side. Young kids don't want to spend the time or the money to become a Volunteer FF.

John Denver sang it best: "Go Grandma!"

My Cousin, Committed Suicide, by Placing her car on the Tracks in a Road Crossing right as the Engine approached the wig-wags. She was 29 yrs old, mother of 3 young boys (no one was with her). She DID this to get Back at her Father, who was an Employee of thie Railroad, as an Investigator of Rail Accidents, & she KNEW that he was working that Day.... Her Dad, had been Sexually Abusing HER & her Sister ever Since they were 10 yrs old ! What a Horrible Loss. 😢 Can't go accross a Rail Crossing, without Thinking about Her.

When approaching crossings, Please use care. That train ain't whistling 'Cause it's scared. Burma Shave

She is right, anyone can do it. My local VFD came to a fire at my house and beer cans came out of the truck when they showed up. Not right, but they did a great job and professional.

VFD rely on an employment model that is going out, but may come back with work from home. Up until the 90’s in my small town, someone called for help, dispatch would start dialing people’s homes. Housewives would frantically run out and start ringing that fireball that was outside people’s houses. People would stop the tractors, welders, etc and run down to the fire station, or in one case drive the combine. I work an hour away now. Most people can’t get there in time. It’s a shame. The owner of my company will keep you on the clock for a call during working hours being a former volunteer. Maybe with work from home we can get more people in. Not me though, can’t drive a truck from home.

I recently joined my local VFD. Even at this early point in my journey I can tell that there are more calls overall, but most of them are for stuff that I personally wouldn’t necessarily call the fire brigade for. Some seem to view 911 (or, since I live in Europe, 112) as a 24h express agency for anything from locksmithing to janitor services to veterinary services. Locked yourself out? Burst pipe? Call the fire brigade. Cat is sick? Fire/EMS. I don’t even want to know what calls dispatch filters out and redirects to other channels. And even the younger ones in my unit (for perspective: I am in my early 40s) say about those who newly join „Well WE weren’t THAT slow, right?“ According to them, the „greenhorns“ don’t think on their feet and need explanations for things that others just go and do. And they love discussing and debating and calling into question things that were goddamn orders and not polite suggestions. Some are downright smartasses. They often need to be cut down to size. For my training courses I was told by some guys in my unit that are my age that a few of the instructors might be a lot younger than me, and that I should sit down, shut up, take notes and not try to be smarter than everyone else, because nobody likes a smartass holding up class. Even if I might have a point every now and then and / or have more life experience.

Great topic Mike! I'm not an expert by any means, however, when I call to make an appointment with my PCP, I 1st get the message; "If this is a life-threatening condition, please hangup and dial 911!". The definition of a life-threatening condition is wide open to individual, family & friends' "interpretation(s)". I live in a 55+ Senior Unassisted Community in Texas and many Seniors who are quick to hit the "911" buttons have figured out that Fire & Rescue/EMT's ONLY charge a huge, hefty fee to transport them to a nearby ER. Many Seniors are prone to falling down/falling out of their hospital beds in their apartments, and Fire & Rescue will respond to simply lift the individual back on the feet or into their beds that includes a lengthy review of their vitals before heading back to the fire station. Meanwhile, there may be an individual suffering a major heart attack or stroke and the aforementioned "abusers" needlessly tie up already strained lifesaving resources. Just some food for thought Mike and perhaps another topic for your future podcasts! Happy trails from Texas!

My mother says the worst dinners she ever ate were at rhe same table as her boyfriend who was a firefighter and her mother who is a nurse/EMT. 🤣

Rural areas have their manpower working 1-3 hours away 5-6 days a week. Loads of work places where I live (dependant on rural stations) don't hire volunteers that will leave suddenly. So we have retirerees or disabled working the calls.

Part of the problem is healthcare in general...especially in rural areas with a higher rate of families on welfare and medicaid. Medicaid requires an upfront fee or co-pay when you see a family dr or go to an urgent care center. But they don't require that fee if you go through the ER. And anyone who's been to ER more than once knows the wait is a lot shorter in the ER if you're being wheeled in by a medic than if you are a walk-in. So they're using 911 as a cheaper way to seek medical care. Also I think there's a lack of education regarding medicine in general. I was brought up in a family with medics and nurses, so I grew up knowing what constituted as an emergency and what did not and was taught to never abuse the 911 system. They also taught those things in elementary health class. Those lessons aren't being taught in school anymore. Some counties are circumventing the shortage of personnel by requiring their medics to also have fire training and their firefighters to also be an emt.

As a volunteer first responder/firefighter in a small town department that covers just 4 miles of a major interstate the level of car accident/ medical calls outweigh actual fire calls almost 10 to 1. You see things that cannot be unseen but it's balanced with the calls that have good outcomes.

Okay, I'm not a firefighter (and I don't play one on TV) But I am a truck driver with well over 3 million miles. And the car wreck issue is constant. FROM WHAT I SEE in my seat is, Too many people are under the DELUSION that the technology in their cars exempts them from the law of physics!!! There is so much technology in the modern car that it gives people a false sense of security. And number 2, at least seven out of 10 people driving by me are driving by me looking at their phone. When I first started driving back in the late '60s, the only thing in your car was a radio. But you were driving your car. You were paying attention to the road to what the car was doing. The modern car is so cush people think they're on their couch in their living room while they're rolling down the road at 80 mph. And on top of that, they're staring at their cell phone instead of watching the road. Because I see a lot a majority of the wrecks that I see. I can't figure out how they happened other than the person in the driver seat was just not paying attention but there they are plowed into a tree off the side of the road

About 70% of firefighters in North America are 'volunteer' firefighters. Only about 30% are paid professional fire services. I only learned this fact about 15 years ago.

In 2018 my bestfriends kid had his earbuds in and was walking the tracks and didn't even hear the train coming unfortunately the kid did not make it

I started on a small town volunteer fire department with no budget, our equipment was WAY out of date, and towns around us were more modern and better stuff. I got training when I could, but it was few and far between. I transitioned to a department in a town near by with a better department, got the training I needed, and found out I was an engineer(person who drives, runs, and maintains the truck). I found my niche and ran it till I couldn’t anymore. My Knees failed me long term. In my state it’s volunteer, call company(part time), or full time as the fire service is identified. I only did the first two. Was never full time, and to be honest, enjoyed it better than full time guys. They always had a more despondent attitude compared to volunteer or pt time guys who had a better outlook on the profession as a whole. Just a personal observation.

Back in the 70's worked a hobo vs train. The train won. EMS has always been a taxi service.

So many drivers are high, and on their phone…🤨

I can sort of relate with the east Palestine disaster. we had a grain train traveling east come off the rails and hit a oil train going west just on the edge of town. Next thing you know the oil cars are exploding. That very easily could have happened in town. Fortunately nobody was hurt.

Here in Canada, in rural Canada firefighters typically were farmers and business owners, now we have older CEOs of small companies and farming, they can no longer carry 200lb men down a ladder. The businesses that are left have smaller employee base, so losing someone for a day or a month effects the business negatively. But we also have an issue with many not being fit enough to join the fire department and not enough men who want to serve their community or risk their lives, we not only have an obesity epidemic we also have a low t epidemic. Can always spray the orchards and fields at night after the fire is out, but not all businesses are like that, although that is something to look at changing in rural areas.

Great show

I am a fire science major and when I tried to volunteer I had my life threatened. At one point if you were a female you had to be 6 ft tall or taller. I have never known a woman who was in the fire department who did not go through the same training as a professional firefighters

A take on the auto accidents. My daughter took a driving class and when riding with her I had many questions of the things she was doing. Like cutting a corner through a gas station, using the edge of the road to turn right, things like that. They aren't taught these things, not sure what they are taught. I hear from the younger drivers a lot. The car didn't put on the brakes. It didn't keep me in the lane. I use to really support the no phone thing, but have you seen these "entertainment radios" they are putting in these autos now, what's the difference?

When you talk about fire service, fire service is a big mixing bowl of all these different trades things that you have to know something about in order to be good at your job. I was right by trade and also electrician and those things help me dramatically when I moved through the Ring and finally became achieve by all the things that I had experienced, you have to know some chemistry. You have to know something about plumbing. You gotta know a little bit about everything consequently more rounded and it makes you better at your job at solving problems, firefighters solve problems EMS people solve problems and a lot of people if it’s outside their skill trail trade, they don’t know what to do. They threw their hands up and said oh my God what am I gonna do? I’ll call the fire department people forget that they people that are volunteers. They are just like they are only they have taken the time and the trouble to learn to do other things and solve problems.

Roadway accidents? They discontinued drivers Ed to save money. The kids learned so much more respect for that 2000lb weapon... They showed up and practiced so they could pass the course! Now their parents write a check for 250 to 600$ and the instructors sign off!

Self deletion by train is also on the rise the last 5 years

one question to ask is how forgiving are jobs if your a volunteer? bosses cant be happy or even some of your fellow workers if your skipping out half thru a shift. you might want to volunteer but after a discussion with your boss, you might not be able to. in short, whats in it for your boss besides a warm fuzzy that doesnt pay their bills?

I'd 100% volunteer, so long as I don't have to go up ladders. I'm terrified of heights, lol.

A better way to recruit new members and make them stay is available in the volunteer firefighter world. We simply aren't providing the challenge necessary to intrigue young adults to get involved. Making membership more challenging actually works. The gate has to be higher, stronger, more of a hurdle. Then young people choose to take the challenge.

An Amtrak station is near my home. You can hear the freight trains coming from quite a way off and they're moving about 35-40mph. The Acela is moving nearly 100 mph in our area, and you can barely hear it coming. Stay off the tracks.

Actually, a fireman was the bad guy in the movie "Backdraft".

That fire where 19 hotshots lost their lives was in northern Arizona. It was really terrible.

Wheaties needs to start a new poster series & I think you found the first two candidates.

State/city covid jab mandates didn't do the Fire Service 🔥 any favors! Danya

Candace, I totally know where you live. Grew up just north of you.

I won't go to doctors either, unless something is really wrong. Your health is your responsibility. Behave accordingly. If we learn anything from the last few years, that should be one of the top lessons.

Off subject but kind of not. The eye story had me laughing and reminded of the time DMV decided I needed to be re tested. The counter has many stations each with an eye chart hanging from the ceiling. I have a blind eye that has a mind of its own where it wants to look. The guy behind the counter points to the chart behind him and tells me to read it, as soon as I start he stops me and says this chart not that one. I nod and say ok and start again the same thing. Third time he’s slightly irritated, Sir I said this one! I looked at him and pointed to my blind eye are you looking at this eye I’m blind in that eye. The look of oh crap on his face,,, I laughed told him I messing with him. I passed the test and told him sorry for messing with you.