Veteran fire chief and emergency management instructor Paul Prevost joins the show from Canada to break down the critical lessons learned—and often ignored—from major disaster reports. From the tragic loss of firefighters in Baltimore and Georgia to the devastation of Jasper and the successes of the Francis Scott Key Bridge response, Paul explains why span of control, staffing, and rigorous training are the only things standing between safety and catastrophe.
In this episode, you'll learn about:
The Repetitive Nature of Tragedy: Why line-of-duty death reports often cite the same causes: lack of ICS, freelancing, and poor accountability.
The "Canada Plan": The dangerous mindset of "it can't happen here" and how it leaves communities vulnerable.
Jasper Wildfire Analysis: A critical look at the lack of mutual aid coordination during the recent devastating fire.
The Danger of Lithium-Ion: How modern hazards like EV fires in parking garages are outpacing current firefighting tactics.
Robots in the Fire Service: Why remote-controlled monitors and drones are inevitable—and necessary—tools for the future.
The Baltimore Turnaround: How the Baltimore City Fire Department transformed its incident command culture between two major events.
Engineering on the Margins: The hidden risks in modern buildings, from single-stairwell designs to sprinkler systems that can't keep up.
The Power of ICS: Why the Incident Command System is the "operating system" for managing chaos.