!Please Remain Calm!

We come back after taking most of last year off & catch up on all kinds of stuff: Dannys pool, the economy, the good and bad of too much overtime, staffing crisises at both of our jobs, stacking PTO vs using it up, flunking a paramedic intern, open neck wounds, freezing on calls, what its like being a Fire Inspector, Grey's Anatomy, promoting vs being happy at work, missing your partner, real life Weekend at Bernies situations, the difference between co star, guest star, top of show guest star, & why it sucks to go back to co star, & finally, dog bites in unimaginable places. This is a good start to the new year.  

We're joined by LAFD Firefighter Dan Meier, who joined the department at the ripe age of 48. Dan is super interesting & has worked literally every firefighting job you can think of: US Forestry, Bureau of Land Management, Air Force, dispatcher, Airport firefighter, aircraft firefighting instructor, & even the airport police. Dan tells us about working as a dual firefighter/policeman at the Ontario Airport, where he would work single shifts split between being a firefighter and being a cop. He worked with the DEA. He tells us how to spot people flying with drugs, what its like to work undercover, running into Snoop Dogg, responding to helicopter crashes, eridicating drug crops, landfills full of weed, aircraft firefighting, landing gear malfunctions, sliding down the rear chute, why you shouldnt wear high heels on a flight, older rookies, & more. This episode lands successfully.

We're joined by LAFD Firefighter, fitness influencer, & business owner Crystal Reneau (@ketowithcrystal) who tells us what its like to be one of the "faces" of the LAFD after a year on the job. We learn what its like to be a rookie when everyone in your new station already knows who you are. How to hold a relationship together during your rookie year. How every new firefighter featured on the LAFD Instagram hears from Danny and learns about PRC. We hear how super hard firefighting is, & how you start and run your own business during all of this. 

We talk to LA County Firefighter Trevor Williams, inventor of the Williams Key, a very cool and effective forcible entry tool used by firefighters everywhere. We talk about how he came up with this tool, but we take a long and windy road to get there cuz Trevor is SUPER INTERESTING. He tells us about growing up in Zaire in a missionary family during a civil war & a genocide, then returning to the US at age 8 for a few years to ride bikes and go to the movies. Then at age 12 his family moves, to Haiti, where he lives until his senior year of high school when he moves to LA, while his family moves back to Haiti. He goes back to visit his family in Haiti a couple years later when, while hes visiting, a devastating earthquake destroys the country. Trevor tells us first hand what this was like, thinking his family had died, and staying for weeks to provide aid and search for victims. We eventually get to him inventing the Williams Key, we also get a cool story from Danny, who fought fire on the Venice beach boardwalk a couple days before. 

Our 100th episode features the guy who goes back the furthest in Danny's fire life, LAFD Engineer Don Nash. Don was Danny's explorer post advisor at station 63 when we were teenagers. In additon to telling us some Danny history, Don also works with the LAFD historical society & breaks down all kinds of stuff we never knew about the layout of the LAFD throughout the years, station segregation, why certain rules exist (why does everyone HAVE to eat together?). We also learn the history of the Paramedic service in LA, including the original ambulance guys before paramedics were invented. Don even tells us about an old area hospital neither of ever knew existed, along with some wild stories about ambulance days in the 80's, and learn what its like being a firefighter at LAX. We go back to before turnout pants & automatic doors on this one. 

Comedian and former Pediatric Oncology RN Taquita Love joins us for a deep conversation about healing thru laughter, the resilience of children and the lessons she learned working in a Childrens Hospital and then in the Pediatric wing of the biggest cancer hospital in LA. We talk about work/life balance, & how you realize whats really important. She also tells us how her family got her into medicine and nursing, and then into stand up comedy. Danny also explains what happened to the station 63 Instagram page & we talk about Ben's new comedy special he just filmed. 

We talk about where we've been the last few weeks, Danny pays respects to a friends wife who recently passed & talks about how the fire family comes together at times like these. Then we discuss the LA mayoral race & the endorsement of Danny's union and how that process does and does not work. Finally, we get into our side gigs as Danny talks a bit about being a tv actor & some recent big auditions, & Ben discusses his upcoming half hour comedy special & the process behind that. 

We answer questions from the listeners/viewers. We talk about burn out, working with other departments and agencies on incidents, switching from a smaller department to the LAFD, what to do with all of your new money, & how to keep traditions alive in the Fire Department. We talk about horses, special cookies, proving yourself, learning tricks, rolling turds, wagons, yelling out of necessity, real estate investing, & more. 

We have former professional boxer & current LAFD civilan staff, Luis Mora telling us how he blew out his bicep during an intense session punching a heavy bag. The blowout was so severe that Luis had to have a donor bicep transplanted into his arm. He tells us the story of his journey from the streets of Northeast LA, trying (not always succesfully) to stay out of gangs, which led him to boxing, where he found success & a way off the streets, sort of. We learn about the world of pro boxing, bad promoters, getting fights, getting knocked out, fighting thru injuries, & all the people who show up to watch fights. We learn what its like growing up when your dad is a "knucklehead" & all of your friends are too. We also learn how Luis worked for the LA Mayors office & City Hall, while fighting as a professional boxer at night (his nickname was "The Mayor"), you'll be surprised when you learn what his job was at City Hall too. Luis is super interesting & a fun guest who knocks out this interview.  

We talk about all of the partners a paramedic & EMT has in the private ambulance world, & how its different from the FD. From the people who are passing thru on the way to another job, on to the lifers, guys who never sleep, magicians on meth, regular people on meth, weird company owners on drugs, drinking off duty, caffeine abuse, insane diets, old timers,random stations, posting for hours, the owners adult children, & all of the cool people you meet as well. 

We talk about the workday of a paramedic in the Fire Department with a partner for 24 hours a day. Whats it like working and living with a partner all day & night & having to depend on them when things get serious. How do you manage different personalities, styles, & approaches to work. We give examples of when it goes good and bad. Sometimes you wind up with lasting friendships. What kind of bond do you build by going thru tragic experiences together? What if your partner is going thru a hard time on their own? We cover it all. 

We’re joined by Harbor UCLA Neurosurgery Nurse Practitioner Suzy Velasco, who tells us all about Neurosurgery in a huge trauma center. We talk brains, drains, & automobiles, 80 year olds falling down, husbands getting drunk on roofs, corkscrews & knives thru the skull, gangsters shooting each other in the high C Spine, football injuries, all of the conspiracy theories that pop up in our comments section, drilling holes in skulls, & changing paths in life. You’ll keep your head on straight after this one. 

Every 911 run starts with a caller, that caller is the first person on scene in most cases and the first rescuer as well. We talk to 2 bystander rescuers in a crazy incident from last week. Ripped from the headlines, actress Anne Heche crashed her speeding car into a house, with the car catching fire while the driver is trapped inside. Our guests, the Martin brothers (Beto & Fabian)witnessed the crash on their Venice CA street and sprang into action, helping the homeowner to evacuate and fighting back the flames and smoke to attempt to rescue the driver. This is a helluva story of neighbors stepping up to do the right thing and risk their own lives to help a stranger in need. We get all of the details and full rundown of this event first hand, and the thought process as you realize how much this incident changes for the worst so quickly. 

We break down Mass Casualty Incidents, what comprises one, how they look, & how to run one perfectly. We talk about how chaotic these incidents can be & why its so important to establish the MCI quickly and correctly, with a clear chain of command. We break down a recent MCI (bus crash) that we both worked on together, and the unique circumstances surrounding that MCI. We show you why although every MCI is really kind of weird and different, the job is always the same & must be done in the same order, for good reason. We talk about mutual aid, too many chiefs, too many jurisdictions, traffic, the news, and all of the other things that can go sideways. You also get perspective on how these incidents are run in a huge metro area like LA. Danny also breaks down some of the aftermath of a recent 4th of July drowning save.

Responding to a shooting is one of the routine calls that makes a paramedic feel like a paramedic. Getting a shooting victim to tell their story has been anything but routine. It takes bravery to survive a shooting & talk about it on our podcast, & we finally found a guest who was shot, a lot, & also likes to talk, a lot (he's a comedian). Elias Zepeda tells us how he was shot 11 times (at a quincenera) & THEN was shot again in the head a couple of years later. If you're thinking he just has bad luck, its more that he was doing exactly what people who get shot a lot do to get shot. He tells us all about what it was like to be shot each time, how he remembered the paramedics, surgery, recovery, and rehab. He talks about dying multiple times, going to prison, being in a huge gang, boxing, being bullied, gangbanging in a wheelchair, and why little dogs love him. We also talk about your state of mind while youre bleeding from gunshot wounds

We have LAFD Firefighter Paramedic Tyrone Hurst @firedepartmenthumor who tells us about his hilarious videos and characters based on LAFD archtypes that are super accurate and funny. Tyrone tells us how he came up with his characters: Captain Quarters, Bull Engineer, the Rookie, & Senior Firefighter. He tells us how low department morale, along with the exaggerated outside perception of LAFD firefighters led him to start making funny videos to help build up morale thru laughter, and show that his department is actually a fun place to work. We talk about guys who are hammers, salty, cool, old school, jokers, and sometimes thats all the same guy. Tyrone also gives insight on getting on the job, how long and hard it can be, & what it takes to make it.  

Comedian and actor Jon Kondelik tells us an incredible story of an incident that neither one of us had ever come across in our nearly 20 year paramedic careers. He had a unique chemical burn while leaving his hand in what he thought was a  latex plaster mold being used for special fx in a student film. The mold begins to burn his hand as it hardens into solid concrete, trapping his hand in what he describes as a "deep fryer". What follows is a scramble to try and free his hand with a hammer and a screwdriver. Jon explains how panic sets in & no one thinks to call 911. Jon winds up freeing his hand and spending weeks in a burn center where they try unsucessfully to save his fingers. Jon shares his whole emotional journey while recovering from this event & all he had to overcome mentally to get to where he is today. We also get an incredible story of Danny saving a drowning victim at a 4th of July pool party that took every last trick in the book to get a pulse back. 

Sometimes the same person has to call 911 and have paramedics respond to them multiple times in the same year. Or same month, or same week, or same day, or same night after midnight. These people are known as frequent flyers. If there was a 911 rewards card, these guys are racking up the miles. Danny explains the different types of frequent flyers, why some are legit, some are a pleasure to serve over and over, some are not really legit but are still a pleasure, & some push the upper limits of your frustration threshold. We explain how there's no way to really stop frivilous use of 911 for medical issues, how these patients are also known, and either welcomed or dreaded, by the local ER's as well, along with the possible effects and ramifications of taking people to the ER who don't really need 911. We also talk about what its like to almost get to sleep over and over all night long but not actually sleep at all. 

We hop into the time machine & go back 23 years (that can't be right?) to our fire academy days when we were young whiipersnappers trying to get on the job. We give you all the tips it takes to prepare yourself, and we talk about how far the right attitude will take you. We talk about the stuff we were bad at, & how we improved, how to study, how the instructors act, how to get over your fear of heights, what PT is like, how to get the most out of your academy, & most importantly: how to take the most EPIC class pic & risk burning the back of your head. We also get an LAFD drill tower story. Listen to how we did it & know that you can do it too, or remember your academy days with us. 

For the first time ever, we have a PhD, & a Harvard grad on our show. Dr Chelsea Shover is an epidemiologist who headed the Covid 19 Vaccination program for LA county's unhoused population. That means more Skid Row stories. Plus we get into her journey into epidemiology. What's it like to become an epidemiologist right before a global pandemic hits? How do you get some of the hardest to reach people to get vaccinated? We cover a bunch of other stuff too; getting hit by a car, a town with only one business, journalism, hosting a radio show in New Zealand, encampments, threats, gift cards, pilot programs, concussions, CBD water, & more