Chief Jacob Johnson interviews his lifelong friend Capt. Rusty Ryan, of the Pearland, TX, Fire Department, as they discuss general firehouse leadership and how that translate to leadership through disaster as Capt. Ryan lead search and rescue teams through the central Texas floods on July 4, 2025.

Peter Matthews talks with Fire Chief Doug Myers, from the Berrien Springs-Oronoko, MI, Fire Department, about commanding today’s fireground incidents. Myers led the development of the Scene Watcher App to help incident commanders track tasks and firefighters on scenes when command staff is limited.

Myers discusses the NIOSH 5, the five recurring factors that have been mentioned in the NIOSH LODD reports. Myers talks about the NIOSH 5 from the perspective of the incident commander and how they must manage the fireground with all five factors playing a part in their decision making.

In his region, with multiple fire departments assigned to fire incidents, Myers developed Scene Watcher to help the incident commanders manage assignments, track personnel and provide an overview of the incident from benchmarks and accountability.

Related links:

• Scene Watcher
• Connect with Doug Myers on LinkedIn
• Fire Studies: Volunteer Firefighting Strategies: Where We’ve Been. Where Are We Headed?

Chief Kristopher Blume joins Peter Matthews to reflect on what products and innovations he saw while attending the largest firefighter conference in the world, Interschutz, earlier this month in Germany. From robots and apparatus to PPE and training equipment, Blume explains the difference between Interschutz and shows in the U.S.

Blume explains how technology filled many of the exhibit halls at the week-long conference, displaying robotics, software and how the Europeans view the use artificial intelligence for the fire service now and in the future. Blume also saw a variety of PPE innovations, rigs and other equipment being used by firefighters in other countries.

In a variety of classrooms, Blume engaged in conversations with members of the fire service from around the world and shares what their priorities are while he also highlights some of the unique and awe-inspiring hands-on training that they offer.

Related links:

• Kristopher Blume Firehouse.com biography and articles
• Interschutz