Fit To Fight Fire: Lead Yourself

Episode 045 - Ben Shultz is a firefighter/paramedic with West Palm Beach Fire Rescue.  His 15-year career has taken him from southern California to Colorado to Florida, from rural to suburban to urban districts.  He has split his time riding the truck, engine, heavy rescue, squad, and medic.  Ben has been an instructor with Irons & Ladders and When Things Go Bad, and currently teaches with Fire By Trade.  His teaching opportunities have taken him to the Fire Nuggets Boise Firefighters Symposium, Mile High Firefighters Conference, FDIC, Fort Lauderdale Fire Expo, Orlando Fire Conference, Metro Atlanta Fire Fighter Conference, and Portland Firemanship Conference. We talk about Ben's "Every Second Counts" lecture and how he parallels the fire service to climbing and alpinism. Time is the enemy on the fire ground and Ben details how he reduces his time through basic skills improvement and by separating from the rig.