Fire Engineering Podcast

From playing basketball in Chicago firehouse bays to spending 26 years climbing the ranks in Birmingham, OJ Kolodziej built his career on discipline, technical execution, and self-investment. Starting out, the now-retired captain from the Birmingham (AL) Fire Department spent a year and a half floating between stations before securing a spot on heavy rescue and truck companies—a role that required both physical toughness and deep mental agility. Through years of forced entry, search operations, and technical rescues, Kolodziej learned that true truck work isn't just about swinging tools; it's about reading the building, understanding the exact purpose behind every tactic, and operating seamlessly as a unit. Now stepping into a new chapter as a firefighter-paramedic with the Cahaba Valley (AL) Fire District, he brings decades of leadership back to the ground level, offering a realistic look at transition, humility, and maintaining the highest standards of the fire service craft.

On this episode of the Women in Fire podcast, host Lisa Baker welcomes veteran lieutenant and assessment center SME Heidi Simon of the South Metro (CO) Fire Department. Simon walks through the in‑basket exercise used on firefighter promotional exams. She explains what an in‑basket looks like, the assessment dimensions (planning, multitasking, time management, problem solving, delegation, policy knowledge, verbal and written communication), and practical tactics: She emphasizes practice with real department issues, knowing local “hot topics” and policies, and the necessity of follow up.

Gary Ludwig, an expert EMS, fire, and 911 expert, joins the Politics and Tactics panel to discuss his role as an expert witness in an LODD case that had a multi-million-dollar verdict. They cover what went wrong at the Rock Falls, Illinois, incident.

Hosts Brian Brush and Anthony Kastros welcome guest Sean Duffy for this episode of Command Show. They open with a nod to the 25 years that have passed since September 11, 2001, and the 343 firefighters lost that day, talking about the ways 9/11 reshaped the fire service's mindset around risk, service, and search operations. The panel also explores how modern data from the Firefighter Rescue Survey and UL Research Institutes challenges older, more passive fireground assumptions. Duffy argues that firefighters shouldn't write off heavily involved spaces before evaluating survivability. The discussion highlights the importance of decentralized command, company-level decision making, and high standards for training to empower proactive firefighters. This podcast is brought to you by Tablet Command. www.tabletcommand.com/get-started-lp

Host Anthony Rowett welcomes Mickey Farrell, an FDNY lieutenant, and James Stallings, a captain in Mobile, Alabama, to break down size-up and hose stretching. The panel talks through practical, repeatable methods for single‑family homes, garden apartments, center‑hall buildings, and standpipe/vertical stretches. They also emphasize slowing down to see the big picture and simple drills that turn unknowns into knowns.