WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.080 --> 00:00:02.640 Disclaimer. 2 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:04.799 We'd like to know before the start of this interview 3 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:07.280 that the opinions about to be expressed by the guest 4 00:00:07.599 --> 00:00:10.199 of tonight's Getting Salty Experience podcast are that of the 5 00:00:10.240 --> 00:00:13.519 guest and do not directly or necessarily reflect the views 6 00:00:14.000 --> 00:00:30.440 of the host of the Getting Salty Experience Podcast. 7 00:00:32.119 --> 00:00:34.719 You're listening to the Getting Salty Experience Podcast. 8 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:45.159 Hello, and a whole week ago. 9 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:54.039 Let me tell you something mean, Pete, Welcome to another episode. 10 00:00:55.880 --> 00:01:00.000 Laughing well, I'll come to another episode of Getting Salty Experience. 11 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:05.319 His brothers frozen? Is he frozen? He's frozen? 12 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:07.640 Man. 13 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:15.480 Let me tell you I'm joined by my brother be 14 00:01:16.040 --> 00:01:20.920 Pete Oakland and Jimmy's Super pissy Pants Snucker. 15 00:01:24.560 --> 00:01:27.920 Episode of the Getting Salty spears the only podcast brother 16 00:01:28.280 --> 00:01:31.200 that brings the firehouse kitchen table to you. 17 00:01:31.239 --> 00:01:36.319 Brother there is thanks for having me. 18 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:39.319 Oh my god, you guys are out of your mind. 19 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:43.599 That is something by Getting Salty Dogga. 20 00:01:43.400 --> 00:01:47.840 Maniacs, Craig bro Bro, drink. 21 00:01:47.640 --> 00:01:51.879 Your titos, subscribing and go to jobs. 22 00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:57.040 Brothers. Brother, this is the chief of past. 23 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:02.959 He'll be missed, Yes, he will be. 24 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:04.159 I'm talking about Pete. 25 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:11.199 No, let me tell you something I'll tell you. 26 00:02:13.599 --> 00:02:16.199 Welcome, welcome back on. So how is your little cruise? 27 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:19.159 That's good, it's good. I have no complaints. So actually 28 00:02:19.159 --> 00:02:21.159 I shouldn't say the's no complaints. The uh, this is 29 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:22.840 probably not a good time of year to get on 30 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:26.599 those big boats. The kids, a ton of kids, and 31 00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:29.120 the parents don't control them. There's no personal space. They 32 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:33.520 it was just a little overwhelming. But yeah, you thought 33 00:02:33.520 --> 00:02:35.080 about it a few times. I'll tell you. 34 00:02:35.159 --> 00:02:38.240 Yeah. Any we got a guy on tonight. 35 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:42.000 Man, because he's still in the back, he said, you 36 00:02:42.080 --> 00:02:42.280 put it. 37 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:43.840 He hold up his sign right now, says I'm. 38 00:02:43.680 --> 00:02:49.039 Out these guys professionals. 39 00:02:49.479 --> 00:02:51.479 Yeah, but you know, it's actually it's funny. This is 40 00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:53.240 the first for us. If you guys don't realize that 41 00:02:53.319 --> 00:02:55.560 what's that that we've actually told them with somebody that 42 00:02:55.919 --> 00:02:59.719 from an aviation person, an aviation this is a first 43 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:00.000 for us. 44 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:01.080 Yeah. 45 00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:03.039 Man, So he's he's we're honoring him. 46 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:07.159 He rode the backstep first in l A. He was 47 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:10.039 going to jobs like it's nobody's business. So he's, uh, 48 00:03:10.159 --> 00:03:11.360 he come a full circle. 49 00:03:11.400 --> 00:03:12.759 You know what I mean. It's like a circle. 50 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:14.479 That's a like a circle, a circle. 51 00:03:15.120 --> 00:03:17.199 You gotta play our you know what, I was gonna 52 00:03:17.240 --> 00:03:19.520 tell my the weed story with my mother, but we 53 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:22.319 will save that for next week. 54 00:03:23.639 --> 00:03:27.240 Crushed the chief that much. He already had to sit 55 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:28.159 through that last thing. 56 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:32.159 My god, he's like, oh my, he's gonna calling Chief 57 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:33.639 Downy right now. It's like what you get me into? 58 00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:37.000 Broh got him Dave Downey. 59 00:03:36.960 --> 00:03:38.919 Chief down Yeah, he's uh from that. He hooked me 60 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:39.400 up with him. 61 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:41.319 Oh this is your guest. 62 00:03:41.479 --> 00:03:43.919 Yeah, this is my guy. This is my guys, my guy. 63 00:03:44.400 --> 00:03:46.439 Thank you for contributing. I appreciate it. 64 00:03:46.759 --> 00:03:49.759 I'm trying. It's like a contributed for a first for us, 65 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:51.680 like a little that's good. 66 00:03:51.719 --> 00:03:52.759 I've been looking forward to it. 67 00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:55.759 Actually, yeah, God's playing the commercials so you can get 68 00:03:55.800 --> 00:03:56.479 him on all right. 69 00:03:56.520 --> 00:03:58.080 Are we gonna do the membership one? Now? You won't 70 00:03:58.120 --> 00:04:01.240 do it to the end to end a Actually, so 71 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:03.159 let's let's go to Arma Tough. First. Let's listen to 72 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:06.719 de Vins and AKA whoever's the system is here, we. 73 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:10.280 Go need a new floor for your fire station. Choose 74 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:13.479 an Armour Tough interlocking flooring system to cover your aging 75 00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:17.519 stained crack concrete or POxy floor around for nearly twenty 76 00:04:17.560 --> 00:04:19.680 years and proven to be the best choice in renovating 77 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:22.839 your station floors, covering nearly six hundred floors across the country. 78 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:26.360 Armour Tough is proudly made in America and comes with 79 00:04:26.439 --> 00:04:30.120 a lifetime warranty with floors that are usually installed in 80 00:04:30.240 --> 00:04:32.800 one or two days, depending on the size of your station, 81 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:36.399 and no disruption in the process to your station's operations. 82 00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:41.079 Our system is guaranteed from chipping, cracking, peeling, breaking or staining. 83 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:44.480 The tiles are stained resistant and impervious to chemicals or 84 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.160 volatiles that are used in the fire service. If you 85 00:04:47.279 --> 00:04:50.560 damage one tile, you can lift and replace without anyone knowing, 86 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:53.399 and once it's installed, your floor would be easy to 87 00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:57.000 clean with just soap and water. It's not only for 88 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:59.319 apparatus rooms. You can install an Armour Tough floor and 89 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:02.480 virtually new room and trus from the hundreds of colors 90 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:04.879 from the Designer series, or, if you like, from the 91 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:08.040 Utility series floor coverings. Are you in need of gear racks, 92 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:11.240 an extractor or gear dryers, Install an Armor Tough floor 93 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:13.519 in your apparatus bay and take full advantage of a 94 00:05:13.560 --> 00:05:16.560 deep discount, saving you thousands of dollars on any of 95 00:05:16.560 --> 00:05:20.439 the growth products line. Why install a breakable epoxy floor 96 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:22.920 that will need replacing in five to ten years when 97 00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:24.879 you could have a floor that will last a lifetime. 98 00:05:25.439 --> 00:05:27.759 The Armour Tough flooring system is half the price of 99 00:05:27.800 --> 00:05:31.439 epoxy and will last a lifetime without issue. More importantly, 100 00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:35.839 join the hundreds of career and volunteer departments nationwide who 101 00:05:35.839 --> 00:05:39.279 have chosen an Armor Tough interlacing tile floor. Call Vince 102 00:05:39.279 --> 00:05:41.639 today for a no obligation quote at nine oh eight, 103 00:05:41.959 --> 00:05:44.480 nine one, seven, seventy six, ninety seven. 104 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:49.240 Yeah, every roof just used in the chat. 105 00:05:50.079 --> 00:05:50.680 Did the dog? 106 00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:53.720 Yeah? Remember we assigned Indian voice. 107 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:57.199 When he want Yeah, that was wow because there's sobody 108 00:05:57.240 --> 00:06:01.240 in that he send me, send me more stuff with 109 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:02.959 the cup of joke tivid don love that guy. 110 00:06:03.519 --> 00:06:06.399 Love Budapest. He was from Budapest, right, and we assigned. 111 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:10.279 Will Oh yes, what are you talking about? 112 00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:15.160 Come up all right? 113 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:18.800 Here we go, Uh, here we go. New Jersey Fire Sorry. 114 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:23.000 Established in nineteen thirty and under the current ownership since 115 00:06:23.079 --> 00:06:26.920 nineteen eighty seven, the New Jersey Fire Equipment Company handles 116 00:06:26.920 --> 00:06:31.199 a complete line of fire department equipment and supplies. Headquartered 117 00:06:31.199 --> 00:06:34.720 in green Brook, the company operates full three M. Scott 118 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:39.120 Service facilities in Richfield Park and Tom's River staff by 119 00:06:39.279 --> 00:06:43.240 ten fully authorized Scott certified technicians with a fleet of 120 00:06:43.360 --> 00:06:47.439 six fully equipped service fans. All New Jersey Fire technicians 121 00:06:47.439 --> 00:06:51.800 and sales representatives are active or retired firefighters, officers or 122 00:06:51.879 --> 00:06:56.600 chief officers, career and volunteer. They understand the business and 123 00:06:56.680 --> 00:06:59.959 the importance of their work. New Jersey Fire has reports 124 00:07:00.120 --> 00:07:03.439 and it's Scott since Earl Scott entered the SCBA business 125 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:04.160 at the end of. 126 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:04.920 World War Two. 127 00:07:05.279 --> 00:07:08.759 Among other leading manufacturers represented by New Jersey Fire, Art 128 00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:14.160 Globe and firedex turnout gear, Mercedes Hose, task Force Tips 129 00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:21.720 and acron Brass, hi Genol firehooks, Arcticompressors, MSA, Carn's Helmets, Keemguardphone, 130 00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:27.439 Alkoholite and duo safety ladders, BA face shield Protectors, Truckman's 131 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:32.600 Choice saws, Groves, gear racks and washer driders, Supervac Fans, 132 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:38.079 RPI Streamlight, and many others. A New Jersey incorporated and 133 00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:41.000 based company. Sales and service are limited to the state 134 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:45.439 of New Jersey. Find us now at www dot NJFE 135 00:07:45.639 --> 00:07:46.519 dot com. 136 00:07:46.600 --> 00:07:47.920 That's www. 137 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:54.759 Dot NJFE dot com. 138 00:07:54.839 --> 00:07:56.879 Hi rough Now you can bring our steam guests in. 139 00:07:58.120 --> 00:07:59.360 All righty, don do you read anything? 140 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:00.480 Yes, twenty one. 141 00:08:00.519 --> 00:08:03.800 You want the ladies, you want the traditional that being 142 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:08.920 on him, you gotta go. I'm nderpants at the stage. 143 00:08:11.120 --> 00:08:12.800 All right, coming to the stage, l A f D. 144 00:08:12.959 --> 00:08:20.160 Chief Pilot, Scott Davidson, geta. 145 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:21.439 Get away for get away from. 146 00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:28.160 Than for having me before we dive into the early 147 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:29.399 days of Scott Davison. 148 00:08:29.399 --> 00:08:31.759 We gotta get the patriotic, do it, sir? 149 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:32.279 Here we go. 150 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:39.200 I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States 151 00:08:39.480 --> 00:08:43.759 of America and to the Republic, for which it stands, 152 00:08:44.600 --> 00:08:51.559 One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice. 153 00:08:51.480 --> 00:08:52.000 For all. 154 00:09:02.360 --> 00:09:03.039 Us. 155 00:09:03.559 --> 00:09:06.279 All right, chief, let's go get the way back machine. 156 00:09:06.320 --> 00:09:09.080 I'm too far back. You're not that old. Where'd you 157 00:09:09.080 --> 00:09:11.519 grow up? Where you're from? Give us a little family 158 00:09:11.519 --> 00:09:12.559 life in the early days. 159 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:16.919 Yeah, I'm I'm from the West Coast, so I'm on 160 00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:19.200 the other side of the world from you, guys. I 161 00:09:19.240 --> 00:09:21.480 grew up in Los Angeles in one of the suburbs, 162 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:23.919 and I actually got on the fire department young. I 163 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:26.440 was only twenty years old, so very fortunate. I was 164 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:29.320 involved in the Explorer program. I did volunteer work everything 165 00:09:29.360 --> 00:09:32.399 as degree in fire science, you know, a typical path 166 00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:34.879 at that time. And I got on the fire department 167 00:09:34.919 --> 00:09:36.399 nineteen ninety. He's a firefighter and. 168 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:38.399 Aman. 169 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:43.279 Yeah, so, man, that the story's funny, but it's shit's short. 170 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:45.799 My dad was an LA County sheriff. He came out 171 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:48.240 of Vietnam. Both my grandparents were in World War Two. 172 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:52.960 But I was in high school and around seventeen eighteen, 173 00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:54.159 trying to figure out what I was going to do 174 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:58.039 and taking SATs. All my friends were going to colleges, 175 00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:00.919 and I told my dad, hey, I'm thinking about going 176 00:10:00.919 --> 00:10:03.080 to some of these colleges that my friends are going to, 177 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:06.320 a preparatory loyal and merrymount of expensive schools. Of course, 178 00:10:06.360 --> 00:10:10.200 you know, I was living out of my my my expectations, 179 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:14.000 and his weren't in alignment. And he said, hey, that's good. 180 00:10:14.440 --> 00:10:17.799 You're going to make it on your own. And I panicked, 181 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:20.679 and I had some buddies that were going to this 182 00:10:20.759 --> 00:10:25.840 explorer thing when uh and I I kind of jumped 183 00:10:25.879 --> 00:10:28.919 on board and and uh so getting on the fire 184 00:10:28.960 --> 00:10:31.279 department was kind of a last ditch effort for me. 185 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.960 I was panicking, I needed survival, I needed a paycheck. 186 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.919 And so I never fantasized. I never looked at fire 187 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:40.559 trucks and fantasized about being a fireman, And man, was 188 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:43.360 it the best decision ever did So once I decided, 189 00:10:43.679 --> 00:10:45.919 you know that's what I wanted, I went full tilt 190 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:49.159 and got on young and and then the you know, 191 00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:52.039 the thing about La City Fire Department is and you know, 192 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:55.000 you say in the interview getting in there, the opportunity 193 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:58.279 is unlimited to what you can do, and I'm kind 194 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:00.519 of proof. I was just a snot notice kid and 195 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:03.399 I just wanted to be a rookie. I want to 196 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:06.279 be successful. And that was a time that was different, 197 00:11:06.399 --> 00:11:08.759 right we you know, the bloods and the crips weren't 198 00:11:08.759 --> 00:11:11.080 putting out rap music, they weren't killing each other, and 199 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:14.120 we were going to those incidents and every day it 200 00:11:14.159 --> 00:11:16.559 was putting a bulletproof vests on and going into neighborhoods 201 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:20.440 where it was just bad stuff happening, structure fires every day. 202 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:20.759 It was. 203 00:11:20.840 --> 00:11:23.279 It was crazy, and I was young. I was twenty 204 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:25.559 years old, and being exposed to all that was just 205 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:29.919 you know, overwhelming. So, you know, on my normal trajectory, 206 00:11:29.960 --> 00:11:32.279 I spent the first five or six years the fireman 207 00:11:32.399 --> 00:11:36.159 decided I wanted to start to promote. You know, a 208 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:39.159 normal process in the La City Fire Department is you 209 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:42.720 promote the engineer your apparatus operator first, then Captain one, 210 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:45.919 Captain two, Battanian, chief, on and on. So I took 211 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:48.320 that normal first step, became an engineer. I drove the 212 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:51.039 fire engine. I was successful with six years on and 213 00:11:51.080 --> 00:11:55.519 then after that I got a probation and La City 214 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:58.320 Fire Department had fire helicopters. We are, you know, in 215 00:11:58.360 --> 00:11:59.960 the area business. 216 00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:02.840 To she let's go back a little while you're a fineman. 217 00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:06.440 I don't really understand the whole thing with La County. 218 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:09.240 Is that a whole bunch of counties put together in 219 00:12:09.320 --> 00:12:10.320 one fire department. 220 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:11.159 How does that work? 221 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:14.879 Yeah, it's a good question. So La City sits within 222 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:18.039 La County. La City is about four hundred square miles. 223 00:12:18.159 --> 00:12:22.200 La County has four thousand square miles. So La City 224 00:12:22.320 --> 00:12:26.519 has everything in a metropolitan like New York has high 225 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:30.519 rise structure, fires, brush, everything, all the money sits in 226 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:34.039 La City. La County is predominantly urban interface, you know, 227 00:12:34.840 --> 00:12:39.799 large properties, wildland, desert. Yet La County Fire Department La 228 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:43.919 City Fire Department have about the same size fire department, 229 00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:50.879 same size personnel personnel, about the same amount of fire stations, helicopters. 230 00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:54.240 We are almost parallels. Just La County covers a much 231 00:12:54.320 --> 00:12:57.440 larger region around us, and then we have tons of 232 00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:01.519 small little municipalities and pities around us that have fire 233 00:13:01.519 --> 00:13:04.279 departments that we do mutual aid with. And you know, 234 00:13:04.440 --> 00:13:06.080 one of the things coming out of nine to eleven 235 00:13:06.279 --> 00:13:08.759 was it was a big learning curve for all of us. 236 00:13:08.799 --> 00:13:12.480 But what we learned how to do well was to 237 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:17.039 integrate with our partnering agencies, automatic aid, mutual aid, and 238 00:13:17.879 --> 00:13:20.159 basically just as simple as being able to talk to 239 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:22.720 each other, you know, having radio frequencies and you know, 240 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:25.039 just like on the fire engine, same thing in the helicopter. 241 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:28.919 You know, Hurricane Katrina, the helicopters they had whiteboards up 242 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:31.279 and they were scribbling notes to each other while they're 243 00:13:31.279 --> 00:13:32.879 flying next to each other and say, hey, go to 244 00:13:32.919 --> 00:13:35.879 this frequency. I mean, it was just silly. So you know, 245 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:39.519 everything has evolved. If anything good came out of nine 246 00:13:39.519 --> 00:13:44.639 to eleven for public safety and Katrina was our where 247 00:13:45.120 --> 00:13:50.879 our ability to communicate before and incident command. All of 248 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:56.360 those things are just at light speed, the evolutions. But yeah, 249 00:13:55.360 --> 00:13:59.519 My first twelve years was in the Fire Service before 250 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:02.000 I got into to the flying and Air operation from. 251 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.320 You know, it was it was we was signed to 252 00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:06.360 an engine? What engine were you assigned to? 253 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:08.919 When everything? I worked all over the city. So in 254 00:14:09.000 --> 00:14:12.120 my twelve years, you know, as a rookie, you rotate 255 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:14.440 through three different houses and three different parts of the city. 256 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:17.360 For me, south central Hollywood and one of the the 257 00:14:17.399 --> 00:14:20.039 San Fernanda Valley, which is one of the urban areas 258 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:24.120 or one of the more you know, affluent areas. And 259 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:27.440 then after that I had promoted, I had transferred to 260 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:29.879 several different stations. You spend a year or two in 261 00:14:29.919 --> 00:14:33.600 each station to get experience because the city and the 262 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.039 one hundred and four stations are so diverse. You know, 263 00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:39.320 you go from one station that's got high rise to 264 00:14:39.399 --> 00:14:42.960 another one Beverly Hills high rent district. Extreme the type 265 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:45.879 that you you know, you possibly are mindful when you 266 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:47.919 walk in somebody's house on an ems around about your 267 00:14:47.919 --> 00:14:50.720 bootprints because all are put. 268 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:58.879 The little yeah, all the. 269 00:14:57.440 --> 00:15:01.480 I can't even imagine that, you know, I'm sure in Manhattan, 270 00:15:01.559 --> 00:15:04.559 but in Manhattan, like you got listen, You're you're going 271 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:06.360 to a ten million dollar houses, right. 272 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:10.720 You're I mean we we clean our underneath our fire engines. 273 00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:12.360 So I was an engineer for six years. We go 274 00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:15.440 under our fire engines and clean them with my gloves 275 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:16.759 and rags for. 276 00:15:16.639 --> 00:15:20.919 As long you guys still have wooden ladders. 277 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:23.679 Right yeah, yeah, Oh my god. 278 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:25.360 I do. I do have a quick question before we 279 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:27.360 get too bus When you were driving, did your rig 280 00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:34.799 get narrow at the fancy you drove or any garbage 281 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:35.360 cans in the way? 282 00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:40.519 I don't know, shot bro, just like starbage cans. 283 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:42.519 Hey cheep. 284 00:15:42.600 --> 00:15:43.919 Let me ask you if we've had we've had one 285 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:46.639 of two guys from la on. If I remember, just 286 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:50.039 refresh my memory if you remember, like what how the 287 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.440 turnout is? Like how many what companies you get? If 288 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:54.679 for each type of if you had a regular fire 289 00:15:54.679 --> 00:15:56.080 and in an area, do you get in like two 290 00:15:56.240 --> 00:15:57.960 trucks and three engines or something like that. 291 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:59.480 I don't you remember anything. 292 00:15:59.679 --> 00:16:02.559 Well, So I've been out of the fire department, out 293 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:05.679 of the ground resource side of the fire department for 294 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:07.799 twenty five years. I've been in your operations. But I 295 00:16:07.840 --> 00:16:11.279 can tell you we are we are manpower heavy. We 296 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:14.559 overwhelm incidents. Yeah, I mean when I was downtown. I 297 00:16:14.639 --> 00:16:17.679 was a task force downtown. I spent a couple of 298 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:20.879 years and we would literally the alarm would come in 299 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:24.399 and within three minutes, three task forces would be nosed 300 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:27.360 to those of the incident. That's thirty firefighters and nine 301 00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:31.080 apparatus within minutes, and you're literally running each other over 302 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:32.879 with ladders to get to wherever you wanted to go. 303 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:33.519 Yeah. 304 00:16:33.559 --> 00:16:36.200 So in La City, I would say, our tactical advantage 305 00:16:36.279 --> 00:16:39.679 is just we overwhelmed the incident with man man. 306 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:41.200 That's what we do too. 307 00:16:41.360 --> 00:16:43.159 You beat it out with Yeah, we beat it. 308 00:16:43.159 --> 00:16:45.120 That's exactly what we always say. How many guys can 309 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:47.120 you fit in? If you were in the squad, which 310 00:16:47.159 --> 00:16:48.799 me and Kevin, how many guys can you fit in. 311 00:16:48.720 --> 00:16:50.039 A fire department? At least five? 312 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:57.440 So Mike Thomas is asking if the chief was were 313 00:16:57.440 --> 00:16:59.120 you working for the ninety two riots. 314 00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:00.600 Yeah? 315 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:02.159 Yeah, I was a rookie. So I got out in 316 00:17:02.240 --> 00:17:05.240 nineteen ninety so ninety two I only had two years 317 00:17:05.240 --> 00:17:07.559 on and uh, you know one of my one of 318 00:17:07.559 --> 00:17:12.079 my good buddies, who was a classmate, was in South 319 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:17.960 Central when after you know, the Rodney King extent, and 320 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:20.720 they just started to burn down everything, and and the 321 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:23.079 police at that time, you know, you had LAPDN La 322 00:17:23.119 --> 00:17:26.039 County Sheriff, two totally different ideologies at that time and 323 00:17:26.160 --> 00:17:29.799 how they managed. But for whatever reason, nothing was happening 324 00:17:29.880 --> 00:17:33.319 and they, you know, everybody was going nuts and burning everything. 325 00:17:33.400 --> 00:17:36.160 And my good buddy was and we both you know, 326 00:17:36.160 --> 00:17:38.000 we had two years on, so we're rookies. We're just 327 00:17:38.079 --> 00:17:40.920 riding the behind the apparress operator as the top man, 328 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:44.240 and there we were getting shot at. The fire department 329 00:17:44.279 --> 00:17:46.599 was getting shot at. But in this instance, the driver 330 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:48.839 got shot in the neck. They're going down the road 331 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:52.240 and my buddy Tom Carroll jumps over and grabs the 332 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:53.000 steering wheel. 333 00:17:53.079 --> 00:17:53.240 You know. 334 00:17:53.319 --> 00:17:55.880 Meanwhile the driver's got his old as neck with a 335 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:58.640 bullet in it, and he survived, thank god. But it 336 00:17:58.680 --> 00:18:01.720 was an unbelievable time for us, you know, the fire department, 337 00:18:02.079 --> 00:18:05.079 you know we have we don't know how to not 338 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:08.079 get it done. You know, in aviation I learned later 339 00:18:08.119 --> 00:18:09.880 and we'll probably talk about on the show. It's something 340 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:13.400 called mission I itis And for the fire department, en 341 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:16.880 firemen in general, all of us, when I say mission iis, 342 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:19.400 it means there's no solution other than get the job done. 343 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:22.000 I don't care what you do. Strap three ladders together, 344 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:23.720 be it here, will almost kill yourself and we'll give 345 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:26.000 you an a word for it. But the challenge when 346 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:28.920 I've taken that into aviation, or you take that mentality 347 00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:32.480 into a world of aviation professional aviation, where the NTSB 348 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:34.440 and the FA will show up at your accident sight. 349 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:38.240 It's a horrible difference. It's it's like the Grand Canyon 350 00:18:38.279 --> 00:18:43.119 of ideology differences. But you know, so the first part 351 00:18:43.119 --> 00:18:46.480 of my career was building that fireman heart, you know, like, 352 00:18:46.720 --> 00:18:49.960 you know, we kick down doors and we take names, 353 00:18:51.400 --> 00:18:53.799 and that's all I knew. And that's where you learn 354 00:18:53.799 --> 00:18:55.960 your creativity, right. You know, you're only giving a few 355 00:18:55.960 --> 00:18:58.440 tools as a rookie. They give you just the minimum 356 00:18:58.440 --> 00:19:01.079 to stay alive and to learn how to be told 357 00:19:01.079 --> 00:19:03.680 what to do and that you're stupid and worthless. And 358 00:19:03.720 --> 00:19:07.880 then you you evolve by this missionitis. You know, you 359 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:10.519 evolve by just getting or done and you just I 360 00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:11.839 mean a lot of it's on adrenaline. 361 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:12.000 You know. 362 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:13.599 After the fact, you come down and you're like, oh, 363 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:16.279 I can't believe I just did what we did. But 364 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:20.400 I was very blessed and fortunately the fire department was 365 00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:23.319 kind of an accident in that I was young and 366 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:25.880 didn't know what I wanted and you know, couldn't afford 367 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:27.480 to go to college, so I went to junior college. 368 00:19:27.599 --> 00:19:30.440 That's a pretty reoccurring theme on the show. We've had 369 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.519 two hundred and fifty six guests interviews, and I would 370 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:35.720 say that that's a reoccurring You know, either either you 371 00:19:35.759 --> 00:19:39.039 came from you know, your dad, your granddad was was 372 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:41.880 a fireman, and you followed in the footsteps. But if 373 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:44.839 it wasn't, it's almost always an accident. It's just you know, 374 00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:47.400 your next door neighbor, you know, guy six doors down 375 00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:49.599 just happens to give you an application that day your 376 00:19:49.599 --> 00:19:51.839 friend's going down and he don't make it, but you do, 377 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:55.160 and you know, just like that, right, yeah it happened, 378 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:56.119 you didn't make it. 379 00:19:56.200 --> 00:19:58.960 Yeah, yeah, yeah, got the lot of you hit the. 380 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:02.599 Lotto of life, right yeah, yeah, one hundred percent. You 381 00:20:02.599 --> 00:20:06.000 know you I can't tell you how many guys I've 382 00:20:06.039 --> 00:20:07.599 heard say, oh, I tried to get on a fire 383 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:10.359 department or And the reality is everybody that really puts 384 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:12.400 their back into it gets a job. And when I 385 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:14.480 mean puts their back in there, you you make a 386 00:20:14.559 --> 00:20:17.519 decision and you commit, and it's everything. It's it's the 387 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:20.599 college classes, it's the volunteer work, it's whatever you have 388 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:22.720 to do to know. And it may take years. It 389 00:20:22.759 --> 00:20:24.680 may take four or five, six, seven years to get on. 390 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:27.599 But I think the average age of a rookie in 391 00:20:27.720 --> 00:20:29.640 La City when I got on the Fire department was 392 00:20:29.640 --> 00:20:31.799 thirty one years old and I was twenty. So my 393 00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:33.920 classmates were guys that had already gone through a career 394 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:37.400 and realized they were unhappy, and you know, they you know, 395 00:20:37.680 --> 00:20:40.960 ship years. So yeah, we for me to be as 396 00:20:41.000 --> 00:20:43.440 young as I was to be, you know, to know 397 00:20:43.480 --> 00:20:45.799 what I want to do when after be successful. And 398 00:20:45.880 --> 00:20:48.759 at that time it was tough. I was competing at 399 00:20:48.759 --> 00:20:52.839 the written test with fifty thousand candidates fifty thousand for 400 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.119 you know, maybe three hundred jobs, so and I was 401 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:58.839 just young and the little guys next. 402 00:20:59.279 --> 00:21:01.920 Look I to show for a test one hundred. 403 00:21:02.359 --> 00:21:02.880 I just heard. 404 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:05.119 I just found out that just today I was playing 405 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:07.119 with a bunch of guys d the FDNY and he's 406 00:21:07.160 --> 00:21:09.920 at Provy School and he says they only got like 407 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:15.559 eight thousand guys to take the Like I know, I said, 408 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:17.559 I think we were thirty five thousand or something. 409 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:19.759 It's a it's a national crisis. And funny you say 410 00:21:19.759 --> 00:21:21.319 that we just did interviews today. I just did him 411 00:21:21.319 --> 00:21:24.240 so this morning and second round. I was lucky. I 412 00:21:24.279 --> 00:21:28.400 had forty guy. Remember forty something people applied. Really it 413 00:21:28.440 --> 00:21:30.759 was a short posting, but forty people applied. They're just 414 00:21:31.079 --> 00:21:33.759 the jobs are becoming scarce people and qualified people at 415 00:21:33.799 --> 00:21:36.519 the same time. Never met, never thinking about people that 416 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:39.200 aren't even applying. It's getting good qualified people at the 417 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:41.279 same time. But that's the whole other subject. 418 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:43.440 Yeah, yeah, yeah, you guys are you know, you may 419 00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:45.319 be subject. You guys are going to be behind us 420 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:48.680 political correctness for La City. You know, back when I 421 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.079 was a rookie, hazing and harassment were out of control 422 00:21:51.400 --> 00:21:54.240 and then we ran into i mean multiple back to 423 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:57.480 back really bad lawsuits from stuff that was just you know, 424 00:21:57.839 --> 00:22:02.319 of course inappropriate. So the evolution Forirly City and professionalism 425 00:22:02.359 --> 00:22:04.359 and getting away from the hazy harassment, which is hard 426 00:22:04.319 --> 00:22:06.279 when you put ten dudes together and most. 427 00:22:06.119 --> 00:22:06.240 Of the. 428 00:22:10.119 --> 00:22:14.880 Come on the process. I understand that guys went overboard, 429 00:22:14.920 --> 00:22:17.920 but it is part of the process. 430 00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:20.200 Sitting around. 431 00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:24.680 Yeah, but I'll tell you it's you know, gone to 432 00:22:24.720 --> 00:22:27.920 the point where it's just for us at least the hiring. 433 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:30.640 The last I heard was just it's a lottery system, 434 00:22:30.680 --> 00:22:33.680 and they, you know, once you meet all the prerequisites 435 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.599 that the city Council and the government office have established, 436 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:41.279 it's it's no longer trying to get the most qualified candidate, 437 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:45.039 regardless of what their background is, race, religion, blah blah blah. 438 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:47.720 So you know, I think everybody's facing the same thing 439 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:50.440 because when I know, when I got in the fire department, 440 00:22:50.480 --> 00:22:53.519 they were going after the best qualified candidates. It was 441 00:22:53.559 --> 00:22:56.759 a different fire department then. And you know, I don't 442 00:22:56.759 --> 00:22:58.519 know what's going to come of it and how we 443 00:22:58.559 --> 00:23:02.880 come out the back end on this, but yeah, absertions, yeah, 444 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:04.680 we were, we faced a lot of that stuff. I 445 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:07.599 think we're, for whatever reason, we're a lightning rod out here. 446 00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:09.039 You know, we're we're a little bit ahead of the 447 00:23:09.039 --> 00:23:11.480 curb and all the lawsuits and the and it's not 448 00:23:11.599 --> 00:23:13.440 just find anything that was gone when I was a rookie. 449 00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:15.119 I don't think there was a day that I was dry. 450 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:18.599 I got bucketed three three times, three times a day, 451 00:23:18.759 --> 00:23:20.839 and they'd wait until it changed my clothes and then 452 00:23:20.839 --> 00:23:23.319 I thought, I'll just walk around and got clothes and 453 00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:26.000 I'll teach them, and they bucket me again. So it was, 454 00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:29.200 you know, the hazing harassment. It wasn't because they like you. 455 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:30.599 You know, they say, ah, they like you if they're 456 00:23:30.599 --> 00:23:33.240 hazing it. Think, yeah, guys are mean. 457 00:23:35.160 --> 00:23:35.440 Together. 458 00:23:35.519 --> 00:23:36.640 And I want to Coops. 459 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:39.119 I just want to I want to, Well, we touched 460 00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:40.240 on it a little bit, but I want to get 461 00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:43.079 a little more deeper in that. What do you remember 462 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:46.720 as far as like how long the ninety two riots lasted? 463 00:23:46.720 --> 00:23:48.319 Do you remember any specific jobs? 464 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:49.720 I mean, you only had two years on the job, 465 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:51.640 Like some of that stuff has to stick out to you, like. 466 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:53.400 Holy Machael man, this is a crazy job. 467 00:23:53.440 --> 00:23:56.000 Am I gonna Has anything ever come you know, close 468 00:23:56.039 --> 00:23:56.799 to those days? 469 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:58.200 Like later on in your career. 470 00:23:58.720 --> 00:24:02.200 I tell you, I wish you know again. I got 471 00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:05.440 so many stories and they usually trigger on We'll say 472 00:24:05.480 --> 00:24:07.839 something like, hey remember when you when was the first 473 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:11.400 time you went on a stabbing or I will tell 474 00:24:11.440 --> 00:24:14.720 you that I've seen and done so much stuff I 475 00:24:14.759 --> 00:24:17.759 can't even I can't even believe it was in my lifetime. 476 00:24:18.160 --> 00:24:21.400 The the amount that we're exposed to his first responders 477 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:24.680 out there is just it's staggering and the diversity of it. 478 00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:27.279 Like I said, our communities are a mish mash of 479 00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:30.400 a little bit of everything. And you know, the riots 480 00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:34.359 were kind of a horrific time for us. And and 481 00:24:34.359 --> 00:24:37.440 and again, I'm a young white guy with short, flat 482 00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:39.319 top hair, and I'm on an engine with three other 483 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:42.200 white guys and we're going into South Central and and'll, 484 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:46.200 I have no free disposition or no prejudice, and all 485 00:24:46.200 --> 00:24:47.400 we want to do is help. And all I got 486 00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:50.759 is little ms box and some gloves on. And they still, 487 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:53.799 you know, immediately hate you. And you know, I can't 488 00:24:53.799 --> 00:24:55.720 tell you how many times I've been in the incidents 489 00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:59.440 around gang members or you know, with a gang member 490 00:24:59.480 --> 00:25:02.680 that shot and their buddies are screaming and yelling, I'm 491 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:04.799 gonna fucking kill you if you don't get to take 492 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:06.920 care of my buddy. It's just it was such an 493 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:13.640 unbelievable time. And you know, we've again, we've never seen 494 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:16.000 anything like it. Again. We see a lot of civil 495 00:25:16.079 --> 00:25:18.519 unrest and a lot of you know, little things, but 496 00:25:18.559 --> 00:25:23.440 that was, you know, that was that was pretty big. Yeah. 497 00:25:23.480 --> 00:25:26.160 So and again, I'm twenty two years old and it's 498 00:25:26.279 --> 00:25:28.519 just you just can't even fathom, you know, the. 499 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:32.680 Things I forget. Do you remember was it weeks? 500 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:33.160 No? 501 00:25:33.160 --> 00:25:35.400 No, no, it was a day. So really the worst 502 00:25:35.400 --> 00:25:38.079 of the riots went on for the first twenty four 503 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:41.559 hours after the verdict. Remember the verdicts were the officers, 504 00:25:41.599 --> 00:25:44.920 and once they found them innocent, that's when all hell 505 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:48.359 broke loose. And you know, the six officers you know 506 00:25:48.440 --> 00:25:52.160 that were on that video beating Rodney came were found innocent, 507 00:25:52.200 --> 00:25:57.440 which you know, now those are different times, but that's 508 00:25:57.480 --> 00:26:00.519 when everything broke loose. And then Reginald Any that was 509 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:01.759 the day remember. 510 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:03.559 That they started the kid out of the truck, right 511 00:26:03.599 --> 00:26:05.160 that was the day. 512 00:26:04.960 --> 00:26:07.039 That I had started, you know, and Reginald Denny was 513 00:26:07.079 --> 00:26:11.319 down in South Central an intersection and police weren't responding. 514 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:15.519 Everybody was in tactical alert. The fire department was still responding. 515 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:17.839 That's where we ended up. A lot of our crews 516 00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:20.720 got in trouble. My friends, you know, had the experience 517 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:24.160 of the driver getting shot. We had, you know, another 518 00:26:24.200 --> 00:26:26.960 experience where a task force you know guys game members 519 00:26:27.039 --> 00:26:29.640 came up and just riddled the apparatus with bullets and 520 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:31.960 told them to walk away and they all ten of 521 00:26:31.960 --> 00:26:34.000 them walked away from their engines while they're in the 522 00:26:34.039 --> 00:26:37.279 middle of putting a fire out at a drugstore and market. 523 00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:41.000 So the I think the only thing that's kept the 524 00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:44.920 fire department safe is that, you know, we don't have guns. 525 00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:47.759 We're not technically a threat, you know, and they may 526 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:50.960 not like us because of whatever whatever our background is, 527 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:53.839 but you know, I don't think we ever were seen 528 00:26:53.839 --> 00:26:55.440 as a threat, and that's what made us comfortable to 529 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:58.359 go in and engage. And again remember mission itis. I mean, 530 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:01.799 we there was no you put a bullet of bulletproof 531 00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:04.680 vests on. In the early part of my career, you 532 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:07.279 wear a bulletproo vest under your turnout coat on almost everything, 533 00:27:07.599 --> 00:27:09.359 you know, depending on what incident you went to. So 534 00:27:09.759 --> 00:27:11.160 you know, on top of all the stuff we wear 535 00:27:11.160 --> 00:27:13.000 in the turnout coat to bring the apparatus, the high 536 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:15.119 rise hose pack, you know, put a bulletproof vests on 537 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:18.960 underneath that thing. Man, Yeah, it starts adding up, but 538 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:22.200 it's also yeah, you think about the psychology of that. 539 00:27:22.279 --> 00:27:25.000 You're like, what am in the wrong job? I got 540 00:27:25.079 --> 00:27:27.559 to wear a bulletroof vest. I'm gonna maybe get shot. 541 00:27:27.680 --> 00:27:30.519 I'm just going to put a fire out. So we've 542 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:33.240 we've definitely seen a lot, been to a lot of 543 00:27:33.240 --> 00:27:36.279 tragic events, a lot of just you know, over the years. 544 00:27:36.559 --> 00:27:38.240 Did you live in the city when you were working 545 00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:38.799 in the city. 546 00:27:39.640 --> 00:27:43.039 Yeah, so at the time, all LA f D members 547 00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:44.680 had to live in the city when you got hired. 548 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:47.119 And then it wasn't until I had two or three 549 00:27:47.200 --> 00:27:48.920 years on that I purchased the house in one of 550 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:51.039 the suburbs just outside of the city. But I was 551 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:52.799 born and raised in La City. So I grew up 552 00:27:52.839 --> 00:27:55.279 in La City, and at least for the first couple 553 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:57.640 of years of rookie I was, I was in La City. 554 00:27:58.640 --> 00:28:01.880 How did the movie stars treat you guys when you 555 00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:03.039 worked in those areas? 556 00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:06.519 Phenomenal? Yeah, phenomenal and just like I'm sure everywhere out 557 00:28:06.519 --> 00:28:08.480 by you guys, you know, the public was phenomenal. They 558 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:11.640 loved us. We just got treated so well. And sometimes 559 00:28:11.680 --> 00:28:13.839 that make sure, you know, you got to keep your 560 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:16.759 egg egoing check. You think, you start thinking real highly 561 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:20.640 of yourself. And remember, you know, what was that silly movie. 562 00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:22.839 When you Gotti sitting in the face you know, yeah. 563 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:26.920 Well I think you know. Backdraft came out in nineteen ninety, 564 00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:29.640 which you know that didn't do any harm to most 565 00:28:29.640 --> 00:28:29.880 of us. 566 00:28:29.960 --> 00:28:33.039 Yeah, right, you roll the halls now. 567 00:28:36.119 --> 00:28:36.880 So we have. 568 00:28:37.279 --> 00:28:39.279 I'm not saying we didn't take advantage, but. 569 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:42.559 All right, uh he did. 570 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:49.599 All right, yeah, yeah it was uh you were married yet, right, yeah, 571 00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:52.759 I'm now I've been I have a girlfriend that I've 572 00:28:52.799 --> 00:28:55.160 been with for probably if we've been together for going 573 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:56.880 on thirteen years, fourteen years. 574 00:28:57.240 --> 00:28:57.440 Nice. 575 00:28:57.480 --> 00:29:00.079 You know that you were saying that reaping the. 576 00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:01.440 Well I say all the time. 577 00:29:01.519 --> 00:29:05.640 Chief like, I don't know how Manhattan is another You know, 578 00:29:05.960 --> 00:29:08.680 the city's five burrows, right, so Brooklyn and Bronx and 579 00:29:08.759 --> 00:29:12.960 Queens Staten Island. But if we call the city Manhattan, right, 580 00:29:13.039 --> 00:29:15.960 it's not the five Borrows, even though they're all part 581 00:29:15.960 --> 00:29:18.119 of the city. But if you worked in the city 582 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:22.440 in Manhattan, I mean every run you go on, I 583 00:29:22.440 --> 00:29:24.119 mean I could never work there just because of the 584 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:26.799 traffic and you never get anywhere type of thing. But 585 00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:30.880 I mean, and forget it, those guys, if you were 586 00:29:30.960 --> 00:29:33.079 single out there, you could just it's every day and 587 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:35.039 then after work, if you was hanging out in between 588 00:29:35.039 --> 00:29:36.759 tours or something like that, forget about it. 589 00:29:36.880 --> 00:29:37.720 It's just crazy. 590 00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:39.680 I had a ritual when I was on sixty seventh 591 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:43.079 and less. Get up early, brush the teeth, fixed the hair, 592 00:29:43.480 --> 00:29:45.880 get a little chair out, open the door and sit 593 00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:47.440 there with a chair to be like this, good morning, 594 00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:49.839 good morning, good morning, good morning. 595 00:29:50.960 --> 00:29:52.240 It was insane, bro. 596 00:29:52.799 --> 00:29:55.920 Yeah, listen, we've all spent many hours on the apron 597 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:58.920 right washing the rigs, and you know, trust me, it 598 00:29:58.960 --> 00:30:01.640 happens on the West coast, East coast washing the rigs. 599 00:30:03.519 --> 00:30:09.119 We're all, hey, no, what was. 600 00:30:09.119 --> 00:30:11.319 That picture of the fuego that you put up there? Guns? 601 00:30:11.960 --> 00:30:13.279 Which was the random picture? 602 00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:13.559 Oh? 603 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:15.480 That was from the riots. While you guys were chatting, 604 00:30:15.480 --> 00:30:18.000 that was It was just one of the riot pics. 605 00:30:18.400 --> 00:30:25.160 I thought that was Scott of the motorcycle but shirtless Scott, 606 00:30:24.920 --> 00:30:28.559 a little warmer, we showed up in the battalion truck. 607 00:30:28.599 --> 00:30:30.680 He just took it for a right anyway, Well, you 608 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:32.319 guys were chatting, Have. 609 00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:34.799 We have we got any Scott's pictures? 610 00:30:35.079 --> 00:30:37.240 No? No, no yet No, just their helicopter stuff. So 611 00:30:37.240 --> 00:30:40.440 when we get but I have a before we get 612 00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:42.519 to the helicopter stuff, I have a video that I 613 00:30:42.519 --> 00:30:44.680 want to share that's gonna lead us into uh getting 614 00:30:44.680 --> 00:30:47.200 body pumped up for the hell, you wan't do it 615 00:30:47.200 --> 00:30:48.599 over there. I don't want to cut us off. 616 00:30:48.759 --> 00:30:50.359 There is anything else about the. 617 00:30:51.720 --> 00:30:53.119 Right in the back step that you want to talk 618 00:30:53.160 --> 00:30:56.400 about before we transitioned to helicopter days. 619 00:30:56.599 --> 00:30:59.079 No, you know, I I I got it. I mean 620 00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:01.559 I could have stayed a fireman and in the field 621 00:31:01.599 --> 00:31:03.799 and had an amazing career, and just I was in 622 00:31:03.799 --> 00:31:05.559 love with being a fireman. I was in love with 623 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:08.480 being an engineer. You know, it was I didn't think 624 00:31:08.480 --> 00:31:10.960 it could get any better. Of course, you know, flying 625 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:14.240 in my career that transitioned into the air operations section 626 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:17.799 was spectacular, but I really was in love with being 627 00:31:17.799 --> 00:31:20.359 a fireman. And it started out just because I was 628 00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:22.559 panicked and I needed a job. I needed a paycheck, 629 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:26.720 and man, I just kept pinching myself. It was even 630 00:31:26.759 --> 00:31:29.440 my friends to this day, I look back and everybody 631 00:31:29.480 --> 00:31:34.000 I can recommend it to was It was an amazing brotherhood, 632 00:31:34.079 --> 00:31:38.799 an amazing experience, amazing culture, amazing everything that we learn 633 00:31:38.920 --> 00:31:42.400 as firemen, you know, the values we have, the friendships 634 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:45.519 they stay forever. You know, I have thirty five plus years. 635 00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:48.079 All of my best friends are still firemen that I've 636 00:31:48.119 --> 00:31:51.000 known for thirty plus years. These you know, loyalty and 637 00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:54.160 all of these things that we get, and then you know, 638 00:31:54.240 --> 00:31:57.279 you know, the big sacrifice, which is being willing to 639 00:31:57.640 --> 00:32:00.160 you know, standing up the way of a bullet for 640 00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:03.079 your friends. All of those things came from the fire service. 641 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:06.519 And whether it's in LAFD or you know, a New 642 00:32:06.599 --> 00:32:09.599 York fire department and everything in between, it's the same. 643 00:32:09.640 --> 00:32:11.839 It's we all have that unique thing in common. And 644 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:15.119 some of my funest stories are when I was you know, adope, 645 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:17.319 little fireman and the stuff we used to see. But 646 00:32:18.000 --> 00:32:20.240 oh my god, it gets a lot more flamboyant with 647 00:32:20.279 --> 00:32:21.079 the helicopters. 648 00:32:21.119 --> 00:32:23.599 It's next year, but that's a shape to it. 649 00:32:23.640 --> 00:32:26.640 Wait, just before we segue into into the helicopter video, 650 00:32:26.839 --> 00:32:29.720 were you already flying like as a fireman? Were you 651 00:32:29.759 --> 00:32:32.160 doing something on the side, Like how did that even? 652 00:32:32.279 --> 00:32:34.480 Were you doing any practice at all at this point? 653 00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:37.400 It's a good question. I learned how to fly fixed 654 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:39.279 wing when I was a kid. I was fifteen and 655 00:32:39.319 --> 00:32:41.279 a half years old, and I learned how to start flying. 656 00:32:41.799 --> 00:32:44.799 And you know, my dad, I just wanted a dirt bike, 657 00:32:44.839 --> 00:32:46.920 that's all I wanted. My dad said, oh, buy a 658 00:32:46.920 --> 00:32:48.759 dirt bike if you learned how to fly. It was 659 00:32:48.759 --> 00:32:50.880 a summer and a summer of my I was fifteen 660 00:32:50.920 --> 00:32:53.920 years old, going on sixteen, and so I learned how 661 00:32:53.960 --> 00:32:55.599 to fly, and all I wanted was a dirt bike. 662 00:32:55.599 --> 00:32:58.319 I didn't I didn't care about flying. So I flew, 663 00:32:58.680 --> 00:33:01.599 you know, finished that and then gave it up. Didn't 664 00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:03.759 fly again. And it wasn't until I was twenty six 665 00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:06.920 years old, and after I promoted engineer. I was looking 666 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:08.240 up at a picture. I was in the front office 667 00:33:08.240 --> 00:33:10.160 of our fire station. I just got off probation as 668 00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:11.559 an engineer, and I'm like, fuck, what am I going 669 00:33:11.599 --> 00:33:13.519 to do now? And I looked up and I saw 670 00:33:13.559 --> 00:33:16.000 the picture of our LAFD helicopters. I'm like, son of 671 00:33:16.039 --> 00:33:18.759 a gun, that's what I want to do. And man, 672 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:22.279 it just right there in that moment, everything pivoted and 673 00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:26.440 it was all air aircraft. I went out and got 674 00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:30.279 all my licenses, private license, commercial flight instructor. I got 675 00:33:30.279 --> 00:33:32.279 a job as a flight instructor to local flight school. 676 00:33:32.279 --> 00:33:34.720 I started building hours for us to get into operations. 677 00:33:34.759 --> 00:33:38.640 As a competitive process and for me specifically, I competed 678 00:33:38.680 --> 00:33:42.440 with thirteen other pilots for one job, and I was 679 00:33:42.480 --> 00:33:44.319 fortunate enough to get the job when I was when 680 00:33:44.319 --> 00:33:48.039 I got into operations. But yeah, so I actually it 681 00:33:48.079 --> 00:33:51.279 was whether that flying fixed wing helped or not, I'm 682 00:33:51.319 --> 00:33:54.079 not sure it Definitely, I had enough of a taste 683 00:33:54.119 --> 00:33:56.240 of it that I knew, but i'd never flown a 684 00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:59.680 helicopter before, you know, before I decided what to do, 685 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:03.839 and uh, yeah, it's it's the same story with everything 686 00:34:03.839 --> 00:34:05.599 in the fire service. You know, whether it's the swift 687 00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:07.839 water rescue, urban search and rescue, whether you want to 688 00:34:07.880 --> 00:34:10.920 be the fire chief. Everything is attainable, and it's just 689 00:34:11.000 --> 00:34:13.840 about the discipline of putting your mind to it and 690 00:34:14.039 --> 00:34:15.920 you know, putting the throttle down and going. 691 00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:19.920 So yeah, for sure, All right, Stewart John, which one 692 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:21.599 do you want? Do you think is best? The airborne 693 00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:23.679 one or the little advertisement one you sent me for 694 00:34:23.679 --> 00:34:24.440 it's a couple of minutes. 695 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:26.079 I'll leave it up to you. Yeah, I sent you 696 00:34:26.119 --> 00:34:28.159 some good videos, some good stuff, so I'll leave it 697 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:28.519 up to you. 698 00:34:28.800 --> 00:34:30.440 All right, We'll do the The airb one is a 699 00:34:30.440 --> 00:34:33.320 little bit longer, but we'll do that. We'll do that one, uh, 700 00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:34.760 and then we'll get the other one. What what do 701 00:34:34.800 --> 00:34:35.159 you got? 702 00:34:35.559 --> 00:34:37.480 Oh? I was gonna say the Airborne task Force. One 703 00:34:37.519 --> 00:34:40.239 is specific to our high Rise Rescue and Airborne Task Force. 704 00:34:40.519 --> 00:34:43.639 The other one is more of a capture little everything. 705 00:34:44.079 --> 00:34:44.679 We'll do the other one. 706 00:34:45.159 --> 00:34:49.840 Yeah Instagrammy gotcha instagrammy. Yeah we're you know, we're from 707 00:34:49.880 --> 00:34:50.559 Hollywood at here. 708 00:34:50.880 --> 00:34:55.079 Yeah, here we go. Can you hear it? 709 00:34:55.079 --> 00:34:55.400 Okay? 710 00:34:55.679 --> 00:35:44.280 Yeah said. 711 00:35:55.559 --> 00:35:56.599 If you can say? 712 00:35:57.320 --> 00:35:58.199 Canst stupid? 713 00:35:58.519 --> 00:35:59.800 You want whatever? 714 00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:04.440 They believe you that the Judd somebot. Nobody needs to tell. 715 00:36:04.280 --> 00:36:06.079 You what is rap all wrong? 716 00:36:06.480 --> 00:36:16.559 They don't need to tell you. 717 00:36:17.320 --> 00:36:23.199 Well you too that world. 718 00:36:24.440 --> 00:36:34.800 Welcome to about world. Well to my world. 719 00:36:38.480 --> 00:36:41.639 You can't say, can't just do what they want? 720 00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:42.480 What they have? 721 00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:47.159 They hipers and. 722 00:36:46.079 --> 00:36:48.719 He needs to tell you what is wrath are wrong? 723 00:36:49.119 --> 00:36:57.760 They don't need to tell you anything. Welcome to my world. 724 00:36:57.760 --> 00:36:59.559 I am cool. 725 00:37:01.239 --> 00:37:03.079 See, I'll tell you what. Even for down here in 726 00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:05.280 South Florida where the helicopter comes in, it's still a 727 00:37:05.280 --> 00:37:09.800 fan favorite. Fly people to the hospital. Well for the county. 728 00:37:10.039 --> 00:37:13.960 We don't have one, right yeah, aviation, the cops have one. 729 00:37:14.159 --> 00:37:15.760 Yeah, but we have to borrow this. 730 00:37:16.480 --> 00:37:17.840 We don't borrow ship they do it. 731 00:37:21.239 --> 00:37:23.960 Dude, you just came to me. Brad Pitt with a 732 00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:25.599 beard right there, Brook at them. 733 00:37:25.679 --> 00:37:29.239 Oh yeah, look at that. 734 00:37:28.119 --> 00:37:30.280 Looks like who's the guy from Gladiator? He looks like 735 00:37:30.280 --> 00:37:31.239 the guy from Gladiator. 736 00:37:31.760 --> 00:37:40.119 Nice, you keep it, girlfriend. I went to South Korea 737 00:37:40.480 --> 00:37:43.199 last month. I spoke at a conference for a bunch 738 00:37:43.239 --> 00:37:46.000 of the search and rescue pilots and firefighting pilots down there, 739 00:37:46.280 --> 00:37:48.400 and of course they don't speak English. I don't speak 740 00:37:48.400 --> 00:37:51.760 in East South Korean or Japanese. And we went out to 741 00:37:51.800 --> 00:37:54.519 dinner afterwards, and of course drinking is our culture. Everything 742 00:37:54.559 --> 00:37:57.000 is rice wine. I mean, I don't think anybody had anything, 743 00:37:57.039 --> 00:37:59.519 but and I'm a lightweight one drinking, you can take 744 00:37:59.519 --> 00:38:02.320 advantage of me. And man, they're about six string sin 745 00:38:02.400 --> 00:38:04.960 in this one little South Korean guy walks up and 746 00:38:04.960 --> 00:38:06.880 he with hearts in his eyes. He stare at me 747 00:38:06.880 --> 00:38:10.039 and he goes, you look just like Brad Pitt. And 748 00:38:10.079 --> 00:38:13.400 I look at the host and I'm like, I gotta 749 00:38:13.400 --> 00:38:15.840 get out of here because if this is not going well. 750 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:17.360 Are you sure you didn't go? What? 751 00:38:17.760 --> 00:38:19.199 Did we just become best friends? 752 00:38:19.280 --> 00:38:19.519 Yep? 753 00:38:21.840 --> 00:38:24.639 Yeah? 754 00:38:25.599 --> 00:38:27.719 What did we just become best friends? Yep? 755 00:38:31.159 --> 00:38:31.400 Yeah? 756 00:38:32.239 --> 00:38:33.639 He wanted to love you long time? 757 00:38:34.719 --> 00:38:37.079 Like when I was watching that video, what's it like 758 00:38:37.920 --> 00:38:40.119 when you're coming in and you see like that whole 759 00:38:40.639 --> 00:38:44.079 mountain on fire, and like that's got to be a 760 00:38:44.079 --> 00:38:46.360 pretty good like that's just like turning the corner, like 761 00:38:46.360 --> 00:38:47.559 like seeing fire out the window. 762 00:38:47.639 --> 00:38:49.039 Is that the same type of rush you get? 763 00:38:49.199 --> 00:38:50.679 It's exact, it's exact. 764 00:38:50.800 --> 00:38:50.960 You know. 765 00:38:51.079 --> 00:38:53.840 We and and for us brush fire seasons four or 766 00:38:53.840 --> 00:38:57.199 five months. I mean we we go on average thousand 767 00:38:57.280 --> 00:39:00.360 brush fires a year, sometimes five six brush fires that day. 768 00:39:01.079 --> 00:39:03.480 And we get into the busy season. We're hustling, you know, 769 00:39:03.519 --> 00:39:07.320 three hundred hoist rescues a year. We're just we're hustling. 770 00:39:06.960 --> 00:39:11.039 And every hundred what's a hoys stresscue? Three hundred rescues 771 00:39:11.360 --> 00:39:14.039 you mean picking people up out of Holy. 772 00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:16.559 Ship YEP, day and night. So we're twenty four to seven. 773 00:39:16.599 --> 00:39:20.039 We have five pilots on duty around the clock. We're 774 00:39:20.039 --> 00:39:22.239 one of the few agencies US in Early County Fire 775 00:39:22.239 --> 00:39:25.840 Department that run our operations, our air operations around the 776 00:39:25.840 --> 00:39:29.599 clock twenty four to seven. That's for aerial firefighting and 777 00:39:29.800 --> 00:39:32.679 hoisting and air ambulance. You know, we do a bunch 778 00:39:32.679 --> 00:39:35.880 of stuff. VIP transport, we work with LAPD, We transport 779 00:39:35.920 --> 00:39:39.480 the SWAT teams and the bomb squad guys. So we 780 00:39:39.840 --> 00:39:42.519 can move a lot of people really fast, and we 781 00:39:42.559 --> 00:39:46.000 respond rapidly. Our biggest tactical advantage is how quick we 782 00:39:46.039 --> 00:39:49.800 respond and keep the fire small. And you're just you're right, 783 00:39:49.840 --> 00:39:53.239 lou man. It's every fire is exciting. There's nothing like it. 784 00:39:53.280 --> 00:39:56.239 The challenge is you're running at redline. You're at the 785 00:39:56.280 --> 00:39:59.199 maximum capability. What the helicopter can do, what you can do, 786 00:39:59.599 --> 00:40:01.920 and the a fleet, you know, make a difference. We 787 00:40:02.000 --> 00:40:05.159 work and integrate with the ground crews. So our objective 788 00:40:05.280 --> 00:40:07.639 is to keep them moving, you know, anchor, flank and pinch, 789 00:40:07.679 --> 00:40:10.119 which is a tactic everybody knows from brush fire fighting. 790 00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:13.320 Our job is to stay out in front of those 791 00:40:13.360 --> 00:40:16.760 crews and then keep them safe. And it is just 792 00:40:17.039 --> 00:40:19.280 you know, it's most of the time you feel like 793 00:40:19.280 --> 00:40:22.239 a kid. It's a video game. But there's ends of 794 00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:25.840 thousands of hours that lead to that skill to either. 795 00:40:25.920 --> 00:40:28.320 But when you're in the seat, oh my god. Sometimes 796 00:40:28.360 --> 00:40:30.679 you know, those the helicopters are twenty million dollars. It's 797 00:40:30.719 --> 00:40:37.639 just like there are Their complexity is unparalleled. You know, 798 00:40:37.639 --> 00:40:41.599 it takes an airline transport pilot rating to fly these aircraft. 799 00:40:41.639 --> 00:40:43.000 And we were talking about earlier in the show. That 800 00:40:43.079 --> 00:40:45.360 is the highest rating the FA gives. It's the same 801 00:40:45.800 --> 00:40:48.440 rating that all the captains that fly all the commercial 802 00:40:48.440 --> 00:40:53.199 airlines United Delta American have, So our pilots are of 803 00:40:53.239 --> 00:40:56.320 that caliber and quality in knowing how to operate the 804 00:40:56.360 --> 00:40:59.960 aircraft safely underneath the FA's rules and regulations. And then 805 00:41:00.119 --> 00:41:02.639 we take the aircraft and we use it in a 806 00:41:02.679 --> 00:41:04.559 way that the manufacturer's never intended. 807 00:41:04.639 --> 00:41:04.800 You know. 808 00:41:04.840 --> 00:41:07.599 We go into these hostile environments and try to do 809 00:41:07.679 --> 00:41:10.199 good and we don't ever get in the smoke or 810 00:41:10.199 --> 00:41:14.519 heat because aerodynamically heat is bad. Blades do not fly 811 00:41:14.679 --> 00:41:17.360 in hot air. So what you're seeing is us working 812 00:41:17.400 --> 00:41:21.079 the perimeters of the fire. We're tactically staying out in 813 00:41:21.159 --> 00:41:23.280 good air and trying to get our water into the 814 00:41:23.280 --> 00:41:26.840 bad air. But it's just and and just knowing that 815 00:41:26.880 --> 00:41:28.760 you're at the limit of what the helicopter could do 816 00:41:28.880 --> 00:41:32.079 max gross weight air speed, you're low in altitude, you 817 00:41:32.159 --> 00:41:34.320 got fifty mili hour winds, up and down drafts, you're 818 00:41:34.320 --> 00:41:36.519 getting thrown all over. And then to pull the trigger 819 00:41:36.559 --> 00:41:37.719 at the right time and release. 820 00:41:37.480 --> 00:41:40.480 Your I'm just gonna say cheap, that's all that comes 821 00:41:40.480 --> 00:41:43.000 with timing, Like I see these guys, right, they're coming 822 00:41:43.039 --> 00:41:44.320 and coming and coming, and all of a sudden the 823 00:41:44.360 --> 00:41:47.280 water comes out, and you know that's all timing. 824 00:41:47.519 --> 00:41:50.320 Yeah, it's it's and it's a you know, it's proficiency 825 00:41:50.559 --> 00:41:52.440 the guys. When you see all the guys out here, 826 00:41:52.440 --> 00:41:54.480 and that's I think the West Coast has, you know, 827 00:41:54.559 --> 00:41:58.639 the predominantly the most amount of aerial firefighting helicopters. You say, 828 00:41:58.719 --> 00:42:00.880 these guys are good, they're profession and whether it's US 829 00:42:00.960 --> 00:42:03.679 or at like County Fire or Venture County, Orange County, 830 00:42:03.679 --> 00:42:06.519 We've we've got quite a few agencies that have aerial 831 00:42:06.559 --> 00:42:09.880 firefighting helicopters, and you know, they're all experts at what 832 00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:12.800 they do and they take it very serious, very professional. 833 00:42:12.840 --> 00:42:14.320 But you know, later in the show we'll kind of 834 00:42:14.320 --> 00:42:16.639 get into the challenges. You know, like we were talking 835 00:42:16.639 --> 00:42:19.199 about the mission itis. You know, firemen just get the 836 00:42:19.280 --> 00:42:22.039 job done with do anything. But that's the worst thing 837 00:42:22.079 --> 00:42:25.079 for the NTSB and FAA. You know, they they just 838 00:42:25.119 --> 00:42:28.079 don't understand that ideology. So you know, how how we 839 00:42:28.159 --> 00:42:31.360 marry those two things and stay safe and and you know, 840 00:42:31.519 --> 00:42:34.519 minimize risk. And that's what everything's been for us at 841 00:42:34.519 --> 00:42:38.159 our operations. It's really it's walking that fine line. And 842 00:42:38.239 --> 00:42:39.880 at our operations what we learned to say, and you 843 00:42:39.880 --> 00:42:42.159 guys all have to cover your ears. We learn how 844 00:42:42.199 --> 00:42:44.760 to say no, there are some things we can't do, 845 00:42:45.440 --> 00:42:47.559 not because I can't be a hero and go fly 846 00:42:47.639 --> 00:42:50.079 the helicopter in harms way to you know, do a 847 00:42:50.079 --> 00:42:54.760 hero drop. It's that no means there's limits that if 848 00:42:54.800 --> 00:42:57.960 we go beyond and something happens, the liability goes off 849 00:42:57.960 --> 00:43:00.239 the chart. The NTSBN FA show up and they start 850 00:43:00.280 --> 00:43:03.719 asking questions and what the FAA determines that is. There's 851 00:43:03.760 --> 00:43:06.480 a term for it. It's called careless and reckless. Can 852 00:43:06.480 --> 00:43:09.360 you imagine as a fireman doing your job and saving 853 00:43:09.400 --> 00:43:12.599 some lady on the fifth balcony with four ladders dropped together, 854 00:43:13.000 --> 00:43:14.760 and after it was all done, they brought you up 855 00:43:14.800 --> 00:43:16.400 on charges for careless. 856 00:43:16.000 --> 00:43:18.719 And reckless for God's sakes. 857 00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:22.159 Yeah, So the f is a whole different you know, 858 00:43:22.199 --> 00:43:25.079 it's a whole different beast. And we operate in government aviation. 859 00:43:25.800 --> 00:43:29.719 We're unregulated. And for you guys to understand what that means, 860 00:43:30.159 --> 00:43:33.599 everybody that flies in the federal air space, all civilian 861 00:43:33.639 --> 00:43:37.679 aviation is regulated by the FA. There's a federal aviation regulations, 862 00:43:38.199 --> 00:43:43.039 but government, police and fire across America are unregulated. The 863 00:43:43.119 --> 00:43:45.480 FAA actually has a term for it. They leave us 864 00:43:45.519 --> 00:43:50.119 to self regulate. We were talking about dopey immateur fireman 865 00:43:50.159 --> 00:43:52.480 and a fire station. Leave it up to us to 866 00:43:52.519 --> 00:43:54.920 self regulars. 867 00:43:56.800 --> 00:43:59.760 Keep up a remote somewhere. How how are we going 868 00:43:59.760 --> 00:44:01.679 to get twenty nine dollars helicopter. 869 00:44:01.719 --> 00:44:02.559 It's like, give me one. 870 00:44:02.480 --> 00:44:05.079 Hundred million dollars in helicopters and tell me to self regulate. 871 00:44:05.440 --> 00:44:09.199 So for us, you know, we have you know, it's 872 00:44:09.239 --> 00:44:12.880 been an amazing jury. We had a fatality crash under 873 00:44:12.920 --> 00:44:14.840 your ambulance back in nineteen ninety eight, so it was 874 00:44:14.920 --> 00:44:17.599 right before I got to your operations. A tail roader 875 00:44:17.679 --> 00:44:19.840 came off of the helicopter we were transporting a twelve 876 00:44:19.920 --> 00:44:22.199 year old girl, and we had several of our crew 877 00:44:22.199 --> 00:44:24.480 members perished in the accident. The twelve year old girl 878 00:44:24.519 --> 00:44:27.480 perish in the accident, and we had quite a few 879 00:44:27.480 --> 00:44:29.480 audits that were done at the time, and they kind 880 00:44:29.519 --> 00:44:31.719 of gave us a roadmap that you guys are you know, 881 00:44:31.840 --> 00:44:35.800 mission itis. You guys have no policies and procedures, and 882 00:44:35.920 --> 00:44:38.239 it took a bit for us to get traction, And 883 00:44:38.280 --> 00:44:40.199 when I became the chiepile on in twenty eleven, we 884 00:44:40.239 --> 00:44:43.519 really went back and focused on our business model and said, 885 00:44:43.559 --> 00:44:46.440 you know, in aviation they say it's not if it's 886 00:44:46.519 --> 00:44:48.840 when you're gonna have an accident. You know, it's inevitable. 887 00:44:48.840 --> 00:44:51.320 We're in a high risk environment where people are gonna 888 00:44:51.320 --> 00:44:55.239 get hurt. But there's no reason we can't act professional 889 00:44:55.639 --> 00:44:57.880 and be doing it the way the FA expects us 890 00:44:57.920 --> 00:45:00.000 to do it. So if something does happen and they 891 00:45:00.079 --> 00:45:02.480 come and investigate, they can go they were doing it 892 00:45:02.559 --> 00:45:05.880 right and they were professional and everything we would expect, 893 00:45:05.920 --> 00:45:09.280 and things just went wrong. So yeah, for me and 894 00:45:09.360 --> 00:45:11.599 my you know when I pivoted and got into helicopters 895 00:45:11.639 --> 00:45:15.039 because it was just fun and it really evolved into 896 00:45:15.079 --> 00:45:17.480 something more. And you know the fire department in general, 897 00:45:17.559 --> 00:45:20.119 being a fireman gives us all purpose. Right, we have 898 00:45:20.199 --> 00:45:22.119 this just unbelievable sense of purpose. 899 00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:22.760 We do good. 900 00:45:22.840 --> 00:45:25.480 We do good for people. There's nothing like looking somebody 901 00:45:25.480 --> 00:45:27.239 in the eye after you've done something for them, and 902 00:45:27.280 --> 00:45:30.760 there's just there's there's this feedback you get and you're like, man, 903 00:45:31.119 --> 00:45:33.880 I did that. That feels really good. And that's my 904 00:45:33.960 --> 00:45:36.199 whole career and like you guys, I'm sure it's your career, 905 00:45:36.239 --> 00:45:38.760 but the helicopters has just magnified it. I mean I've 906 00:45:38.760 --> 00:45:40.960 been and then being the chief pilot, it gave me 907 00:45:41.000 --> 00:45:44.079 the opportunity to really kind of lead the ship and 908 00:45:44.239 --> 00:45:47.239 take my team with me and say, hey, we're going 909 00:45:47.280 --> 00:45:49.599 to set the standard. This is this is where we 910 00:45:49.639 --> 00:45:51.559 need to be and still still do a good job 911 00:45:51.960 --> 00:45:55.599 and still effect change. But yeah, so's it's been an 912 00:45:55.599 --> 00:45:56.360 amazing journey. 913 00:45:56.519 --> 00:46:02.239 You do take me through you're quarters and you get 914 00:46:02.239 --> 00:46:06.719 a call for a forest fire or whatever. You get 915 00:46:06.719 --> 00:46:08.920 a fire, you know, now what happens? Like do you 916 00:46:08.960 --> 00:46:11.400 wait for somebody to confirm that? Does it get confirmed? 917 00:46:11.440 --> 00:46:13.639 And then you go like how does that work? 918 00:46:14.119 --> 00:46:16.760 That's a good question. The air operations for La City 919 00:46:16.760 --> 00:46:19.119 Fire Department were all based at Vani's airports, so all 920 00:46:19.119 --> 00:46:22.320 seven helicopters, all the pilots are based at one fire station. 921 00:46:23.760 --> 00:46:27.679 When the when the dispatch comes in Metro our dispatch 922 00:46:27.679 --> 00:46:30.119 center basically wrings us down and goes bupa up above 923 00:46:30.159 --> 00:46:33.320 brush fire bubba bup a hoist train craft you railment. 924 00:46:33.800 --> 00:46:36.280 If it's an incident, we get dispatched. No different than 925 00:46:36.280 --> 00:46:40.280 a fire engine and the city does the way that 926 00:46:40.440 --> 00:46:43.480 logistically it goes down the process. We in the mornings 927 00:46:43.480 --> 00:46:45.840 when we come on duty, just like every fire station 928 00:46:45.920 --> 00:46:47.800 you do do you do relief, you change over, you 929 00:46:47.880 --> 00:46:51.400 check your rigs. We pre flight our aircraft. The crew 930 00:46:51.519 --> 00:46:54.800 summer crew are assigned to specific aircraft. The air ambulance crew, 931 00:46:54.800 --> 00:46:57.800 the Hoyst crew is assigned to one specific helicopter with 932 00:46:57.880 --> 00:47:00.960 a pilot for that day. That's part of our risk assessment, 933 00:47:01.280 --> 00:47:04.880 you know, managing like a mission like this comes in 934 00:47:04.920 --> 00:47:07.159 one of the line pilots will be up for and 935 00:47:07.239 --> 00:47:10.719 let's say it's a transport of LAPD SWAT team. And 936 00:47:10.760 --> 00:47:13.519 what you see here in the picture is we practice 937 00:47:13.599 --> 00:47:16.119 not just for transporting at a normal heliport, but we 938 00:47:16.440 --> 00:47:18.960 practice for taking off and landing off site where there 939 00:47:18.960 --> 00:47:21.679 is no landing. So you see the pilot hovering on 940 00:47:21.679 --> 00:47:24.679 one wheel there and loading the hes hovering. So the 941 00:47:24.679 --> 00:47:29.360 whole intent is rooftop insertion or landing somewhere where it 942 00:47:29.440 --> 00:47:32.679 cannot support the way to the helicopter. The helicopter's weigh 943 00:47:32.760 --> 00:47:37.159 just over fifteen thousand pounds, So we practice and train 944 00:47:37.519 --> 00:47:41.559 as if so these SWAT teams, all of LAPD's members 945 00:47:41.599 --> 00:47:44.079 are certified and they do an annual training and we 946 00:47:44.119 --> 00:47:46.519 do you know, we integrate in with their training, so 947 00:47:46.559 --> 00:47:48.360 we do pick up and drop offs as part of 948 00:47:48.400 --> 00:47:52.360 their exercise and you know, getting them comfortable getting into 949 00:47:52.400 --> 00:47:55.079 and out of the aircraft. What you see is the 950 00:47:55.079 --> 00:47:58.199 AW one thirty nine. It's made by Leonardo. It's we 951 00:47:58.280 --> 00:48:02.000 have five. It's our primary mission aircraft. It's what we 952 00:48:02.119 --> 00:48:06.800 hoist and firefight and air ambulance. Each aircraft can do everything, 953 00:48:06.840 --> 00:48:09.199 but we'll configure them different for the day. You know, 954 00:48:09.239 --> 00:48:11.440 if it's brush season, all of them have water tanks on. 955 00:48:11.559 --> 00:48:14.239 If it's the winter time, we'll take the water tanks off. 956 00:48:14.280 --> 00:48:16.679 They've all got the hoists on and they're set up 957 00:48:16.679 --> 00:48:19.480 for our ambulance and they can all be quickly converted 958 00:48:19.480 --> 00:48:22.440 to take two critical patients at one time. We've had 959 00:48:22.639 --> 00:48:26.639 mass casualty incidents. And for you guys, remember it was 960 00:48:26.719 --> 00:48:29.480 about two thousand and eight. Two trains ran into each 961 00:48:29.519 --> 00:48:32.119 other out here in California. A guy, the conductor was 962 00:48:32.119 --> 00:48:35.000 texting a twelve year old boy. He ran into a 963 00:48:35.039 --> 00:48:38.000 metro rail that was full of passing. So in this 964 00:48:38.119 --> 00:48:39.800 day and age, the fact that two trains can run 965 00:48:39.840 --> 00:48:42.360 into each other is staggering. But it was within about 966 00:48:42.400 --> 00:48:45.000 three miles of our base, so we were the first. 967 00:48:45.039 --> 00:48:48.519 We were the first the second an engine had just 968 00:48:48.599 --> 00:48:51.119 arrived ahead of us. We landed next to the train crash, 969 00:48:51.199 --> 00:48:53.000 and I was a copilot that day. I got out. 970 00:48:53.079 --> 00:48:56.400 It was just like you see in these ems videos, 971 00:48:56.400 --> 00:48:58.760 you know, the training videos were the walking wounded. I 972 00:48:58.840 --> 00:49:01.000 got out and I took our bolt cutters and I 973 00:49:01.039 --> 00:49:03.079 cut through the fence and I opened up the fence 974 00:49:03.559 --> 00:49:07.000 and there was a melee of trains upside down and 975 00:49:07.079 --> 00:49:10.679 half burning, and people laying on the train, laying on 976 00:49:10.719 --> 00:49:13.960 the tracks, walking around, bloody, disoriented. It was the most 977 00:49:13.960 --> 00:49:16.719 surreal scene. And like we were talking about earlier, you know, 978 00:49:16.760 --> 00:49:18.440 about the riots. I mean, I have so many of 979 00:49:18.440 --> 00:49:21.519 these memories that in that moment I can picture everything. 980 00:49:21.559 --> 00:49:27.119 It's it's like it happened yesterday. But we we basically 981 00:49:27.239 --> 00:49:31.159 launch when Metro dispatches us to circle around. Sorry lou 982 00:49:31.199 --> 00:49:34.559 along way, You're you're good. The We're just like a 983 00:49:34.559 --> 00:49:38.119 normal fire station. So we launch no different. So we're 984 00:49:38.159 --> 00:49:41.119 tactically ready. We do all our pre flighting, we brief 985 00:49:41.159 --> 00:49:43.400 we do risk assessments. The crews know their jobs, they 986 00:49:43.400 --> 00:49:46.159 know their positions. It's just like a fire engine. We 987 00:49:46.280 --> 00:49:47.840 just wait for the run to come in and in 988 00:49:47.840 --> 00:49:49.440 the middle of the day we're out doing training. We 989 00:49:49.519 --> 00:49:51.679 take our crews in the aircraft, so we're on the 990 00:49:51.719 --> 00:49:53.639 air like you guys probably I don't know what you 991 00:49:53.679 --> 00:49:56.239 call it, but you're out doing your business of the day, shopping, 992 00:49:56.320 --> 00:49:57.039 doing that kind of stuff. 993 00:49:58.679 --> 00:50:00.840 Yeah, none, that does building. 994 00:50:03.239 --> 00:50:05.320 How many guys are on that crew? You have a pilot, 995 00:50:05.360 --> 00:50:06.280 a co pilot. 996 00:50:06.039 --> 00:50:09.400 And yep, we have. So there's five pilots full time 997 00:50:09.559 --> 00:50:14.000 and two flight paramedics assigned air operations twenty four to seven, 998 00:50:14.119 --> 00:50:16.960 and a second crew of paramedics that is on a 999 00:50:17.039 --> 00:50:20.159 rescue that comes over to fill in behind. So we 1000 00:50:20.320 --> 00:50:22.800 in all we have four paramedics flight paramedics working per 1001 00:50:22.880 --> 00:50:26.280 day with five pilots. And then for me, I was 1002 00:50:26.320 --> 00:50:29.440 in a special duty position, you know, working the desk 1003 00:50:29.559 --> 00:50:32.800 Monday through Friday and then just filling in doing check 1004 00:50:32.880 --> 00:50:35.880 rides and like we said earlier, filling in for overtime 1005 00:50:37.039 --> 00:50:37.440 over time. 1006 00:50:37.480 --> 00:50:40.039 So when you're picking up water, it's a cable with 1007 00:50:40.119 --> 00:50:40.840 a bucket, is that? 1008 00:50:40.880 --> 00:50:41.000 What? 1009 00:50:41.119 --> 00:50:42.199 How you guys do that with that? 1010 00:50:42.639 --> 00:50:44.639 No, for us, we use water tanks. So if you 1011 00:50:44.639 --> 00:50:46.360 look into the helicopter, we have a four hundred and 1012 00:50:46.360 --> 00:50:50.039 fifty gallon tank attached. And there was reasoning. Yep, if 1013 00:50:50.039 --> 00:50:52.800 you look underneath, they're real underneath that box, that white 1014 00:50:52.840 --> 00:50:55.199 box between the wheels, that's a four hundred and fifty 1015 00:50:55.199 --> 00:50:59.039 gallon water tank. And we do that because of the 1016 00:50:59.119 --> 00:51:04.159 urban environment wires. We fight fire date one night, so 1017 00:51:04.199 --> 00:51:07.320 we're yeah, we're in really hostile terrain. Like this is 1018 00:51:07.320 --> 00:51:10.440 a great example, this picture. We look at the homes 1019 00:51:10.440 --> 00:51:13.440 behind and we're down in canyons. We're telephone wires and 1020 00:51:14.320 --> 00:51:17.039 the danger of trying to run a buff a bucket, 1021 00:51:17.079 --> 00:51:18.840 a band they called a Bambi bucket, or a cable 1022 00:51:18.840 --> 00:51:22.199 one hundred right. This allows us tactically to get down 1023 00:51:22.360 --> 00:51:24.840 very close and like we were talking about, insert the 1024 00:51:24.880 --> 00:51:29.280 water and get out. So it gives us really good maneuverability, 1025 00:51:29.400 --> 00:51:33.679 good accuracy. It allows us to make rapid trips. We 1026 00:51:33.960 --> 00:51:36.559 we set up improvised helispots, so we have about twenty 1027 00:51:36.559 --> 00:51:40.360 six there's a perfect perfect picture there. We set up 1028 00:51:40.400 --> 00:51:43.239 these improvised helospots throughout the city. They're all pre identified, 1029 00:51:43.559 --> 00:51:47.000 wellout hose. It only takes a minute to fill the helicopter. 1030 00:51:47.119 --> 00:51:48.840 It's going to ask you that chief, how long does 1031 00:51:48.880 --> 00:51:50.159 it take to refill that yep? 1032 00:51:50.280 --> 00:51:52.599 Two and a half. We're pumping a two and probably 1033 00:51:52.599 --> 00:51:54.480 one hundred psi and a two and a half inch hose, 1034 00:51:54.519 --> 00:51:58.119 so open butt. So we put one hundred four hundred 1035 00:51:58.119 --> 00:51:59.760 fifty gallons into that thing in about a minute and 1036 00:51:59.760 --> 00:52:01.880 we're to go. So the guys that what you see 1037 00:52:01.880 --> 00:52:05.079 in orange there are hell attack they're firefighters. Also, they're certified. 1038 00:52:05.599 --> 00:52:07.639 They're from the fire station right next to us. They 1039 00:52:08.079 --> 00:52:12.440 are indoctrinated and trained and certified in all of our operations. 1040 00:52:12.440 --> 00:52:14.880 So they support us for everything. Every brush fire goes, 1041 00:52:15.119 --> 00:52:18.639 they go with us and they run operations. We do 1042 00:52:18.760 --> 00:52:21.559 hot fueling. Now this picture, you'll see the aircraft's running. 1043 00:52:21.679 --> 00:52:24.280 We're actually taking water on board and we're hot fueling. 1044 00:52:24.320 --> 00:52:26.280 And what that means is we're pumping jed a into 1045 00:52:26.320 --> 00:52:28.280 the side. You can see the hose going up into 1046 00:52:28.280 --> 00:52:30.920 the side there, So we're hot fueling. The aircraft's running, 1047 00:52:31.360 --> 00:52:33.679 filling up with water. All that takes a couple of minutes. 1048 00:52:33.920 --> 00:52:36.119 They unplug and then we're off to the off to 1049 00:52:36.159 --> 00:52:37.480 the races. 1050 00:52:38.159 --> 00:52:40.000 So you guys are like when you're doing these type 1051 00:52:40.039 --> 00:52:43.800 this type of operation, yeah, obviously something like this. Are 1052 00:52:43.840 --> 00:52:46.039 the helicopters talking to each other? 1053 00:52:46.159 --> 00:52:50.159 Are you like? How does that? Absolutely talking to each other? 1054 00:52:50.480 --> 00:52:51.960 And that fire Most of these pictures I gave you 1055 00:52:52.000 --> 00:52:54.000 guys are from the Palisades fires. So this was the 1056 00:52:54.000 --> 00:52:57.360 most recent fire that we had down and kind of 1057 00:52:57.400 --> 00:52:58.519 on the border of Malibu. 1058 00:52:58.519 --> 00:53:00.360 And we have that video too from that fire. 1059 00:53:00.440 --> 00:53:05.199 Right cute, lou I forgot your question. 1060 00:53:06.559 --> 00:53:06.880 Each other? 1061 00:53:08.000 --> 00:53:10.159 Oh yeah, yeah, talking to each other. So you know, 1062 00:53:11.280 --> 00:53:15.639 everything with the aircraft is very coordinated. It's almost so. 1063 00:53:15.800 --> 00:53:18.159 We have a command and control helicopter. Usually I would 1064 00:53:18.199 --> 00:53:20.639 be in it or one of our lead pilots basically 1065 00:53:20.679 --> 00:53:24.000 running air traffic control and running tactically the helicopters in 1066 00:53:24.039 --> 00:53:26.719 and out of the drop zone, coordinating with the retardant 1067 00:53:26.760 --> 00:53:31.199 dropping planes. The airspace is very controlled. Everybody has an assignment, 1068 00:53:31.199 --> 00:53:33.559 everybody's talking to each other. Everybody knows where they are. 1069 00:53:33.800 --> 00:53:36.440 We set up what we call fence lines and barriers 1070 00:53:36.440 --> 00:53:39.039 so you don't cross over into somebody else's airspace. We 1071 00:53:39.079 --> 00:53:42.519 have traffic patterns coming in, we have common terminology, so 1072 00:53:42.679 --> 00:53:45.639 it is even though it looks chaotic, it is extremely 1073 00:53:45.719 --> 00:53:49.039 disciplined and everybody knows where everybody is, so that you 1074 00:53:49.039 --> 00:53:52.840 don't have that, you know, freak chance of running into 1075 00:53:52.840 --> 00:53:53.199 each other. 1076 00:53:53.639 --> 00:53:54.119 Chief is that. 1077 00:53:59.320 --> 00:54:01.960 The How does that play into the fixed wing craft 1078 00:54:02.159 --> 00:54:03.559 You guys are all on the same page kind of 1079 00:54:03.599 --> 00:54:05.320 the things. I know, obviously a big operation. You have 1080 00:54:05.480 --> 00:54:08.360 just been beside your helicopters. You have to fixed wing aircraft. 1081 00:54:08.360 --> 00:54:10.360 And I've seen some of these guys get some close calls. 1082 00:54:10.400 --> 00:54:12.599 I'm like, oh shit, you know, watching some videos and whatnot. 1083 00:54:12.679 --> 00:54:15.119 Yeah, So we have automatic aid and mutual aid and 1084 00:54:15.400 --> 00:54:17.360 that comes in the form of other agencies that have 1085 00:54:17.400 --> 00:54:19.440 helicopters that come in to meet with us. So Ala 1086 00:54:19.480 --> 00:54:22.760 City in La County Fire Department, helicopters are always working 1087 00:54:22.760 --> 00:54:24.480 with each other. We're always going to each other as fires. 1088 00:54:24.880 --> 00:54:26.559 But when the fire gets a little big and gets 1089 00:54:26.599 --> 00:54:28.519 a little out of control where we can't manage it, 1090 00:54:28.599 --> 00:54:31.039 we start bringing in retard and dropping aircraft. Now that's 1091 00:54:31.079 --> 00:54:35.400 managed by the state or the FEDS US for Service Califire, 1092 00:54:35.679 --> 00:54:37.960 and that's when it gets real expensive. But as far 1093 00:54:37.960 --> 00:54:41.159 as the coordination piece goes, they bring their own management piece. 1094 00:54:41.159 --> 00:54:43.960 It's called Air Attack Air Tactical Group Supervisor who then 1095 00:54:44.039 --> 00:54:48.079 works with HELCO Helicopter Command. Those two controlling agencies are 1096 00:54:48.079 --> 00:54:51.599 the ones they're quarterbacking all of the movement of the 1097 00:54:51.599 --> 00:54:54.480 helicopters in the fixed wing. And typically when a big 1098 00:54:54.519 --> 00:54:56.519 fixed wing like you see these we call them v lats, 1099 00:54:56.639 --> 00:55:00.960 very large air tankers DC tens, these Monster seven we're 1100 00:55:01.039 --> 00:55:03.440 using to drop the card. When they bring one of 1101 00:55:03.440 --> 00:55:05.679 those in, they'll move helicopters from one side of the 1102 00:55:05.679 --> 00:55:07.760 fire to the other side of the fire while the 1103 00:55:07.800 --> 00:55:10.480 seven forty seven is dropping retardant and as soon as 1104 00:55:10.480 --> 00:55:13.559 he's done, the helicopters move back in. So the helicopters 1105 00:55:13.559 --> 00:55:17.880 are really reinforcing the retardant line. Holding the retard line. 1106 00:55:18.360 --> 00:55:21.679 The retardant is how you really control the big fires. 1107 00:55:22.199 --> 00:55:26.519 It's very expensive and you know, the water will suppress 1108 00:55:26.559 --> 00:55:28.159 it for a minute, but the retardant will hold it. 1109 00:55:28.239 --> 00:55:30.400 So it's a it's a collaboration between those two. But 1110 00:55:30.679 --> 00:55:34.880 again it's like we mentioned earlier, what we're doing very 1111 00:55:34.920 --> 00:55:39.360 well on the West coast is the automatic aid, mutual aid, 1112 00:55:39.360 --> 00:55:46.480 the collaboration, Yeah, working together. Yeah, So they're they're you know, 1113 00:55:46.639 --> 00:55:49.480 and the fixed wing that are retardant droppers come in 1114 00:55:49.519 --> 00:55:52.920 all shapes and sizes. They're using big commercial jets. 1115 00:55:53.079 --> 00:55:55.480 You know, the guy turn it on a dime, that's 1116 00:55:55.480 --> 00:55:56.159 for sure. 1117 00:55:57.519 --> 00:56:00.679 Don't have utility. But you know most of those pile 1118 00:56:00.760 --> 00:56:03.679 you know, the typical American Airlines pilot isn't trained to 1119 00:56:03.760 --> 00:56:06.800 fly fifty feet off the ground and right. You know, 1120 00:56:07.000 --> 00:56:09.079 they're very disciplined. They do a takeoff and a landing 1121 00:56:09.119 --> 00:56:12.159 and so so these guys there's a DC ten and 1122 00:56:12.599 --> 00:56:15.119 but they found that these big planes can carry a 1123 00:56:15.159 --> 00:56:18.480 lot of retardants, so they can do a lot of good, 1124 00:56:18.480 --> 00:56:20.039 but they can also do a lot of damage. We've 1125 00:56:20.039 --> 00:56:22.800 had a lot of firemen that have been hurt because 1126 00:56:22.800 --> 00:56:25.800 they've been hit by retardant. Some of the bigger helicopters 1127 00:56:25.880 --> 00:56:27.039 up to and including killed. 1128 00:56:27.079 --> 00:56:28.880 You know, I was going to actually ask that that's 1129 00:56:28.880 --> 00:56:30.599 got if they're trying to get close to the fire 1130 00:56:30.639 --> 00:56:32.400 and you're you guys are on the edge there, it's 1131 00:56:32.440 --> 00:56:34.079 got to be really yeah. 1132 00:56:34.119 --> 00:56:36.440 We a couple of years ago we had a really 1133 00:56:36.440 --> 00:56:38.880 bad year. We had a couple of firemen, a captain 1134 00:56:38.920 --> 00:56:41.599 and a couple of guys killed in different incidents. And 1135 00:56:41.800 --> 00:56:44.519 they were byproducts like the water drop hits a tree 1136 00:56:44.559 --> 00:56:47.199 breaks a limb, the limb hits the head or a 1137 00:56:47.280 --> 00:56:49.880 rock gets you know, Jarred Lewis goes down the hill 1138 00:56:49.920 --> 00:56:52.800 and takes out a fireman. So you know that working 1139 00:56:52.800 --> 00:56:57.199 in close proximity is important for us for tactics and strategy. 1140 00:56:57.280 --> 00:57:00.760 But it's something everybody's aware of. A lot is done 1141 00:57:01.079 --> 00:57:05.599 to make sure the management dropping around people is you know, 1142 00:57:05.920 --> 00:57:06.719 managed well. 1143 00:57:06.920 --> 00:57:09.599 But you know what I want to ask you too cheap. 1144 00:57:09.599 --> 00:57:12.719 When I was looking at some of the video, like 1145 00:57:12.760 --> 00:57:14.679 you were saying that you don't There's got to be 1146 00:57:14.679 --> 00:57:17.880 times when you're flying, like where your visibility gets taken 1147 00:57:17.880 --> 00:57:20.679 out by smoke, right, Like, does that happen a lot? 1148 00:57:20.760 --> 00:57:22.719 Or you try and stay out of that most of the. 1149 00:57:22.679 --> 00:57:25.199 Time, Yeah, one hundred percent. So there's two types of 1150 00:57:25.239 --> 00:57:27.599 flying and it doesn't matter about firefighting. It's called visual 1151 00:57:27.599 --> 00:57:30.559 flight rules and instrument flight rules. So visual flight rules 1152 00:57:30.599 --> 00:57:32.960 means you have to maintain visual reference with the ground 1153 00:57:33.159 --> 00:57:35.119 at all times. You can't go in the clouds, you 1154 00:57:35.159 --> 00:57:38.239 can't do smoke, you can't do anything. Instrument flight rules 1155 00:57:38.280 --> 00:57:40.000 allows you to go into the clouds. It's under the 1156 00:57:40.000 --> 00:57:44.119 control of the FAA. Now for firefighting, we absolutely do 1157 00:57:44.239 --> 00:57:46.960 not get into the smoke or clot or heat, and 1158 00:57:47.199 --> 00:57:50.440 mostly because of the products of combustion being dangerous to 1159 00:57:50.519 --> 00:57:53.840 the turbine, engines and the blades, but mostly to the 1160 00:57:53.880 --> 00:57:55.760 pilot because if you can't see anything and you're in 1161 00:57:55.760 --> 00:57:58.559 the smoke, so yeah, no, the answer is no. There 1162 00:57:58.599 --> 00:58:00.960 may be a wisp of smoke, you know, you're into 1163 00:58:01.000 --> 00:58:03.719 that area, and sometimes you get the light smoker it's 1164 00:58:04.039 --> 00:58:07.079 but never to the point where you've lost visibility or 1165 00:58:08.760 --> 00:58:11.760 and we really train our guys to work discipline away 1166 00:58:11.800 --> 00:58:13.559 from the smoke and the heat. You know, how to 1167 00:58:13.599 --> 00:58:16.159 effectively put a twenty million dollars helicopter as close as 1168 00:58:16.199 --> 00:58:18.119 you can to the fire line, drop your water, but 1169 00:58:18.239 --> 00:58:20.760 still leave yourself. We call it an escape route, you know, 1170 00:58:21.360 --> 00:58:24.559 for search and rescue or firefighting pilot, everything is about 1171 00:58:24.559 --> 00:58:26.840 your escape route. Everything is about preparing to lose your 1172 00:58:26.880 --> 00:58:29.840 engine or both engines, or a tail rotor. And we 1173 00:58:29.880 --> 00:58:33.039 send our guys to simulator training every year. We practice 1174 00:58:33.079 --> 00:58:36.119 and train it. We spend probably seventy five percent of 1175 00:58:36.119 --> 00:58:39.320 our resources and flight hours in training a loan and 1176 00:58:39.400 --> 00:58:43.239 preparing for emergencies that will probably never happen. But a 1177 00:58:43.239 --> 00:58:45.199 lot of things can go wrong with these things. Lots 1178 00:58:45.199 --> 00:58:49.480 of redundant systems, but our guys are prepared and trained 1179 00:58:49.519 --> 00:58:52.000 for all of those eventualities. Same thing when we're hoisting, 1180 00:58:52.039 --> 00:58:54.639 you know, we're using quite a bit of the helicopter's 1181 00:58:54.679 --> 00:58:57.280 capability to hoist. And if you lose an engine, mostly 1182 00:58:57.360 --> 00:59:00.159 helicopters cannot sustain flight, which means you've got to do 1183 00:59:00.239 --> 00:59:03.199 something fast and to an including sharing the cable if 1184 00:59:03.239 --> 00:59:04.920 you've got a live body on it, or taking them 1185 00:59:04.960 --> 00:59:08.199 with you, losing a tail rotor. All those things we 1186 00:59:08.400 --> 00:59:12.480 practice inside and out in the simulator. We have these 1187 00:59:12.559 --> 00:59:15.639 huge were called Level D simulators are up on hydraulic rams. 1188 00:59:15.960 --> 00:59:18.599 They are the it's like you're sitting in the actual aircraft. 1189 00:59:18.639 --> 00:59:25.599 They're very expensive, absolutely yep, full visuals. You think you're 1190 00:59:25.639 --> 00:59:27.719 in that you think you're in the real helicopter, and 1191 00:59:27.760 --> 00:59:29.800 the simulator instructor in the back is setting up all 1192 00:59:29.880 --> 00:59:32.000 kinds of scenarios while you're on a mission and all 1193 00:59:32.039 --> 00:59:34.159 of a sudden you're engine I mean it really fails. 1194 00:59:34.199 --> 00:59:36.840 You have a fire, you're pulling fire handles, you're you're 1195 00:59:36.880 --> 00:59:39.920 managing a tail rotor failure, you're landing without a tail rotor. 1196 00:59:40.800 --> 00:59:44.480 All of those things have increased safety and especially the 1197 00:59:44.480 --> 00:59:48.679 helicopters community. It's one of the things Kobe Bryant's accident, 1198 00:59:48.679 --> 00:59:50.880 his pilot did not have. He was a very highly 1199 00:59:50.920 --> 00:59:55.079 trained skilled pilot, but didn't have any real simulator training. 1200 00:59:55.559 --> 00:59:58.719 You know that it's possible that accident never would have happened. 1201 00:59:58.719 --> 01:00:01.360 We call it invert and mediological conditions. But he went 1202 01:00:01.400 --> 01:00:04.159 into the clouds and lost control immediately. And that's another 1203 01:00:04.199 --> 01:00:05.880 reason we don't go in the smoke because if you 1204 01:00:06.000 --> 01:00:07.559 go going to smoke, or you go in a cloud 1205 01:00:07.639 --> 01:00:11.360 under visual, you have a high likelihood of not surviving. 1206 01:00:11.480 --> 01:00:14.679 Very quickly. Kobe Bryant's pilot lost control of the aircraft 1207 01:00:14.920 --> 01:00:19.119 within seconds. He was and because you have, you guys, 1208 01:00:19.320 --> 01:00:21.239 a little bit of medical background. You've got your your 1209 01:00:21.239 --> 01:00:23.559 three canals in your ear, the vegetable canals, and there's 1210 01:00:23.559 --> 01:00:26.400 fluid moving around in there. Our stability is based on 1211 01:00:26.519 --> 01:00:29.519 ninety percent visual. We look around and our equiliter is good. 1212 01:00:29.800 --> 01:00:31.840 But if you take your eyes away and you count 1213 01:00:31.920 --> 01:00:34.119 on that fluid in your ears, if I spin you 1214 01:00:34.159 --> 01:00:35.559 in a chair, you guys ever seen that thing where 1215 01:00:35.599 --> 01:00:39.360 you blind? Yeah, and it takes seconds and they eject 1216 01:00:39.440 --> 01:00:41.760 that the chair. So The same thing happens to a 1217 01:00:41.760 --> 01:00:44.760 pilot that gets in the clouds because the aircraft, you know, 1218 01:00:44.840 --> 01:00:47.199 depending on how it moves around get out of trim, 1219 01:00:47.239 --> 01:00:50.440 the fluid moves and it starts your brain stop. 1220 01:00:50.239 --> 01:00:52.079 If they say something like you have to I think 1221 01:00:52.119 --> 01:00:54.719 what happened with John F. Kennedy Jr. Like, like when 1222 01:00:54.719 --> 01:00:58.760 you're flying Horion, right, what But you have to trust 1223 01:00:59.599 --> 01:01:02.280 what you're seeing, even though your mind is telling you 1224 01:01:02.320 --> 01:01:04.760 that you're upside down or your left or you're right, like, 1225 01:01:04.800 --> 01:01:05.239 you have. 1226 01:01:05.199 --> 01:01:08.000 To trust the trust your instruments, instruments. 1227 01:01:08.000 --> 01:01:10.239 That's right, That's basic. So what we do is in 1228 01:01:10.280 --> 01:01:12.559 all of our pilots are are instrument flight rated, so 1229 01:01:12.599 --> 01:01:15.039 they're all i FR. But you you as a pilot, 1230 01:01:15.039 --> 01:01:17.119 as a good pilot, you trust your instruments and you 1231 01:01:17.159 --> 01:01:19.440 fight that. And that's part of the similar training. You 1232 01:01:19.480 --> 01:01:21.760 have to fight it, right, I mean some of these 1233 01:01:21.960 --> 01:01:25.639 false belief you will actually think you're spinning backwards. Your 1234 01:01:25.639 --> 01:01:27.719 inner ear will tell you you're actually in a barrel roll, 1235 01:01:28.079 --> 01:01:30.239 and you fight that by looking at the instruments and 1236 01:01:30.280 --> 01:01:34.800 going my airspin, altimeter, my HS, everything is telling me 1237 01:01:34.880 --> 01:01:38.000 I'm okay, and you're literally sweating. I mean, your body 1238 01:01:38.079 --> 01:01:40.679 is fighting you to say we're out of control. And 1239 01:01:40.719 --> 01:01:44.400 you were trained as pilots, uh to fly on our instruments. 1240 01:01:44.400 --> 01:01:46.599 So did you ever have that O shit moment? 1241 01:01:47.039 --> 01:01:48.719 Yeah? I've had. 1242 01:01:49.599 --> 01:01:51.519 You know, I've had a lot of moments in the helicopter, 1243 01:01:51.639 --> 01:01:54.639 mostly firefighting at night in the wind. You know where 1244 01:01:55.440 --> 01:01:58.360 you just go, oh man, this is what we call it. 1245 01:01:58.440 --> 01:02:00.960 You know, we we have some real good we have 1246 01:02:01.039 --> 01:02:04.119 something just culture. Yeah, so this is night aerial fire fighting. 1247 01:02:05.400 --> 01:02:07.639 You know, we run on night vision goggles and sometimes 1248 01:02:07.679 --> 01:02:10.000 we're aided and not aided, and when we're when we're firefighting, 1249 01:02:10.039 --> 01:02:13.440 but you know, it's it's an instinctual thing. And you 1250 01:02:13.480 --> 01:02:15.320 know when the first guy goes and this just doesn't 1251 01:02:15.360 --> 01:02:18.079 feel good or you know, this doesn't feel right, you know, 1252 01:02:18.119 --> 01:02:21.400 we communicate that to the rest or the command pilot. Well, 1253 01:02:21.440 --> 01:02:23.840 like the night of the Palisades fire, they were clocking 1254 01:02:23.960 --> 01:02:27.960 one hundred one hour winds. Now that there's yeah, there 1255 01:02:28.320 --> 01:02:31.199 are are Santana conditions are typically thirty to fifty miles 1256 01:02:31.199 --> 01:02:33.599 an hour. So are you know our normal business model 1257 01:02:33.679 --> 01:02:36.119 is to fly these aircraft and thirty to fifty mile 1258 01:02:36.079 --> 01:02:39.119 on our winds and do good work. But it's you know, 1259 01:02:39.159 --> 01:02:40.840 it's like going and it's going down the freeway at 1260 01:02:40.880 --> 01:02:42.400 fifty miles an hour and throw a glass of water 1261 01:02:42.440 --> 01:02:45.639 out and try to hit the bush. So we learn 1262 01:02:45.760 --> 01:02:48.039 how to tactically use our air. 1263 01:02:51.559 --> 01:02:56.679 Little over that you're not timing. 1264 01:02:57.119 --> 01:02:58.159 And I can do that now. 1265 01:02:58.280 --> 01:03:01.679 That's why I believe it took me thirty years to 1266 01:03:01.679 --> 01:03:02.440 get there, but I got that. 1267 01:03:04.039 --> 01:03:06.920 So the uh, you know, the night of the Palisades, 1268 01:03:06.920 --> 01:03:09.320 the first night, Now we don't we don't shut down airspace. 1269 01:03:09.360 --> 01:03:12.880 We don't usually land air draft. I mean, we usually 1270 01:03:12.880 --> 01:03:14.760 can do some good. There's been a couple of instances 1271 01:03:14.800 --> 01:03:16.800 where the guys are just like, this is, we're not 1272 01:03:16.800 --> 01:03:19.000 doing any good. Let's go back to the base. Let's regroup. 1273 01:03:19.599 --> 01:03:23.159 But the night of the Palisades, my replacement who took 1274 01:03:23.199 --> 01:03:25.519 my job as chief pilot, was running as the helicopter 1275 01:03:25.519 --> 01:03:29.079 command pilot and they were clocking hunter them on our winds. 1276 01:03:29.119 --> 01:03:30.320 And what I mean by that is they'd come to 1277 01:03:30.360 --> 01:03:32.760 a hover over a fixed position and his airspeed indicator 1278 01:03:32.800 --> 01:03:34.719 right one hundred miles an hour. Now, when you're in 1279 01:03:34.719 --> 01:03:36.639 a laminar flow, when you're in clean air, it's not 1280 01:03:36.679 --> 01:03:39.119 a big deal. But when you start getting into the turbulence. 1281 01:03:39.199 --> 01:03:40.639 You know, when you get close to the ground, the 1282 01:03:40.679 --> 01:03:43.360 air does the same thing that water does, it tur 1283 01:03:43.559 --> 01:03:46.760 you know, you get the turbulence from the friction of 1284 01:03:46.800 --> 01:03:49.559 the earth. And some of the pictures are going to show. 1285 01:03:49.559 --> 01:03:52.760 I think there's a couple videos, but that night, I 1286 01:03:52.800 --> 01:03:55.119 think a couple guys that you know, gone down to 1287 01:03:55.119 --> 01:03:56.960 do water drops and go ooh, that's that was a 1288 01:03:56.960 --> 01:03:59.440 little that was a little sketchy. And you start hearing 1289 01:03:59.519 --> 01:04:02.159 very profect, high skilled pilots saying stuff like, well, that 1290 01:04:02.239 --> 01:04:05.480 was that was close. And my replacement, you know, we 1291 01:04:05.519 --> 01:04:07.119 had a great conversation after him, he goes, hey, I 1292 01:04:07.440 --> 01:04:09.159 just knew the moment I started to hear the guys 1293 01:04:09.239 --> 01:04:11.960 say stuff like, hey, that was that was a little close. 1294 01:04:11.960 --> 01:04:13.880 I don't know if I did any good there, And 1295 01:04:14.039 --> 01:04:16.679 he felt it was appropriate to shut the airspace down 1296 01:04:16.719 --> 01:04:18.639 and he sent everybody home. And that was probably midnight 1297 01:04:18.679 --> 01:04:21.880 the first night. So all the helicopters landed that first night, 1298 01:04:22.119 --> 01:04:23.800 and then at six in the morning they woke up, 1299 01:04:23.840 --> 01:04:25.760 the winds died down a little bit, and they all 1300 01:04:25.800 --> 01:04:26.480 went back to work. 1301 01:04:26.519 --> 01:04:28.119 But that was my next question today, have to pull 1302 01:04:28.199 --> 01:04:30.000 the plug on you like if if they feel like 1303 01:04:30.039 --> 01:04:31.280 it's not good. 1304 01:04:31.239 --> 01:04:33.119 Well, so we're the ones that are in control of that. 1305 01:04:33.199 --> 01:04:36.320 So the pilots now, most of the ground companies, the chiefs, 1306 01:04:36.360 --> 01:04:38.280 you know, every all the chief officers, the INCID commander, 1307 01:04:38.400 --> 01:04:40.760 you know, they're they're they're looking for our guidance. They're 1308 01:04:40.800 --> 01:04:43.719 basically they're they're wanting us to say, hey, this is 1309 01:04:43.760 --> 01:04:46.159 what your capabilities are. And what is amazing about our 1310 01:04:46.199 --> 01:04:49.079 culture there is they're just great about when we say 1311 01:04:49.119 --> 01:04:50.559 this is what we can do and what we can't do. 1312 01:04:50.920 --> 01:04:53.239 They're on board. There's no come on, you got to 1313 01:04:53.239 --> 01:04:54.800 get out here. You know, we got guys in there. 1314 01:04:54.840 --> 01:04:56.880 You got to do this. Yeah, you've really done a 1315 01:04:56.880 --> 01:04:59.840 good job of training the new chief officers and changing 1316 01:04:59.840 --> 01:05:02.559 the culture in the mindset that you know, these aircraft 1317 01:05:02.559 --> 01:05:04.800 are amazing, but there's some things we just can't do 1318 01:05:04.920 --> 01:05:07.400 with them. And we we don't want to go until 1319 01:05:07.400 --> 01:05:09.119 we crash, you know, we don't want to We don't 1320 01:05:09.119 --> 01:05:11.960 want to go until right. Yeah, And when I got 1321 01:05:11.960 --> 01:05:14.840 through operations, that's what it was. You literally took off 1322 01:05:14.920 --> 01:05:17.239 on a mission until you couldn't go any farther and 1323 01:05:17.239 --> 01:05:18.840 you go, oh, I guess we got to go back. 1324 01:05:19.800 --> 01:05:20.800 We didn't know how to say no. 1325 01:05:20.960 --> 01:05:22.559 So you're your own safety chief. 1326 01:05:22.719 --> 01:05:26.960 Basically, we you basically check yourself and self regulated. 1327 01:05:27.000 --> 01:05:29.280 Baby, do what tell you want? 1328 01:05:29.480 --> 01:05:31.400 Be self regulated? And I'll tell you what scares me 1329 01:05:31.400 --> 01:05:33.840 the most. This is this is why we self regulate. 1330 01:05:33.920 --> 01:05:36.559 This is why in twenty eleven I became the chief pilot. 1331 01:05:36.960 --> 01:05:40.719 I was terrified about the NTSBNFA showing up to an 1332 01:05:40.840 --> 01:05:43.320 accident where we had a fatality, God forbid, with a 1333 01:05:43.360 --> 01:05:46.920 patient or any of our crew members, or god forbid, civilians, 1334 01:05:46.920 --> 01:05:49.159 innocent civilians that we crash into. Because everything we fly 1335 01:05:49.280 --> 01:05:52.519 over is urban urban interface. It's a school yard, it's 1336 01:05:52.559 --> 01:05:55.920 a pie rise building. I was scared to death of 1337 01:05:55.920 --> 01:05:58.679 what that would look like. And you know, we we 1338 01:05:58.800 --> 01:06:01.519 had to be prepared. And I spent the next fifteen 1339 01:06:01.599 --> 01:06:04.440 years of my career preparing for our next accident. And 1340 01:06:04.440 --> 01:06:09.079 by that meaning, we introduced policies and procedures, we introduced standardization, 1341 01:06:09.199 --> 01:06:11.960 and we brought in something called safety management systems. And 1342 01:06:12.360 --> 01:06:14.199 if you guys haven't heard about it, it's something that's 1343 01:06:14.320 --> 01:06:18.000 going to be integrated into every fire service at some 1344 01:06:18.079 --> 01:06:20.400 point before we're all dead. But there's something in it 1345 01:06:20.440 --> 01:06:22.480 called the just culture. And what that is is it's 1346 01:06:22.800 --> 01:06:25.519 your freedom to say, hey, I messed up, I fucked up, 1347 01:06:25.559 --> 01:06:27.559 and this is what I did, and let everybody know. 1348 01:06:27.800 --> 01:06:30.480 And in some cases you may have caused damage, but 1349 01:06:30.519 --> 01:06:32.679 there may be a lesson for everybody else in that 1350 01:06:33.239 --> 01:06:37.239 and Aviation Civil Aviation has done an amazing job with that 1351 01:06:37.599 --> 01:06:41.119 safety management system and just culture. You know, we adopted 1352 01:06:41.119 --> 01:06:43.719 and embraced it and manned my people there. I mean, 1353 01:06:43.760 --> 01:06:45.599 I just I was in love with them when I left. 1354 01:06:45.639 --> 01:06:48.320 They were just such a great bunch of decision makers, 1355 01:06:48.760 --> 01:06:50.840 you know, guys that were just I was so proud 1356 01:06:50.960 --> 01:06:52.760 no mission you know, it wasn't I didn't feel like 1357 01:06:52.800 --> 01:06:55.039 there was one cowboy pilot or a mission itis or 1358 01:06:55.079 --> 01:06:58.480 any of that stuff. I really, I'm you know, very 1359 01:06:58.519 --> 01:07:00.159 proud of Leaven, Like we were talking about it, I 1360 01:07:00.239 --> 01:07:02.239 feel like I'm left on top. I'm so proud of 1361 01:07:02.239 --> 01:07:05.039 the way, you know, we all grew that place together. 1362 01:07:05.119 --> 01:07:07.239 And so now I just get a you know, going 1363 01:07:07.639 --> 01:07:10.280 podcasts and brag the. 1364 01:07:10.280 --> 01:07:14.960 Two idiots three idiots. Yeah. True. 1365 01:07:15.039 --> 01:07:18.199 You something well while you were talking before, and you said, 1366 01:07:18.639 --> 01:07:22.480 you know, when you showed the swat guys, uh with 1367 01:07:22.760 --> 01:07:24.559 the two wheels down. 1368 01:07:24.360 --> 01:07:25.000 And the one up. 1369 01:07:25.800 --> 01:07:29.039 It made me think of something I've watched a few 1370 01:07:29.760 --> 01:07:31.519 I don't know what, you know, I get to see 1371 01:07:31.519 --> 01:07:33.760 a lot of this on social media and it's probably 1372 01:07:33.800 --> 01:07:37.440 older ones obviously, but it seemed to me like anytime 1373 01:07:37.480 --> 01:07:40.480 a helicopter was closer to the ground, like like I've 1374 01:07:40.480 --> 01:07:44.480 seen him on like hikers might maybe or skiers or 1375 01:07:44.519 --> 01:07:48.320 something where they're they're getting close to the ground, something happens, 1376 01:07:48.639 --> 01:07:50.960 like you were saying, maybe like there's this downdraft and 1377 01:07:50.960 --> 01:07:55.000 all of a sudden, the helicopter will be sitting perfect 1378 01:07:55.159 --> 01:07:56.639 and then all of a sudden it will like do 1379 01:07:56.840 --> 01:07:59.800 like this incredible like jar to the right and the 1380 01:08:00.239 --> 01:08:03.480 will hit the ground and basically like open Is that 1381 01:08:03.599 --> 01:08:05.199 is that from being too close to the ground or 1382 01:08:05.239 --> 01:08:06.880 something swell or something like that. 1383 01:08:07.039 --> 01:08:10.400 Yeah, there's so what you're probably just talking about is 1384 01:08:10.519 --> 01:08:13.679 it's an anomaly called brownout and it's or it can 1385 01:08:13.719 --> 01:08:15.280 be a white out if it's in snow. When a 1386 01:08:15.320 --> 01:08:17.800 helicopter gets close to the ground and you have loose 1387 01:08:17.840 --> 01:08:20.600 soil or dust or snow, it can pick up and 1388 01:08:21.000 --> 01:08:23.119 the vortices I'll do it tight, but the vortices on 1389 01:08:23.159 --> 01:08:27.279 a helicopter blade readjust into themselves. So what happens is 1390 01:08:27.319 --> 01:08:29.640 that dust comes back and re ingest in any enghols 1391 01:08:30.039 --> 01:08:32.920 the helicopter. And remember what we're talking about VFR, it's 1392 01:08:32.960 --> 01:08:35.479 like going in a cloud. The pilot immediately loses visual 1393 01:08:35.600 --> 01:08:38.560 reference with the ground and it matter of seconds loses 1394 01:08:38.560 --> 01:08:39.439 control of the helicopter. 1395 01:08:39.439 --> 01:08:41.000 And that's why you see that what's happening. 1396 01:08:41.720 --> 01:08:45.680 That's exactly. So there's training and disciplines and how to 1397 01:08:45.800 --> 01:08:48.039 land in those types of environments, you know, getting in 1398 01:08:48.079 --> 01:08:52.159 with purpose and landing before the brown out establishes. Of 1399 01:08:52.199 --> 01:08:54.119 course we don't have to deal with white out by us. 1400 01:08:54.159 --> 01:08:55.800 There's just dust and dirt. 1401 01:08:56.199 --> 01:08:58.399 But yeah, it's better to have a hoist at that 1402 01:08:58.439 --> 01:09:00.960 point than to get that ghost maybe something right. 1403 01:09:00.960 --> 01:09:02.960 Obviously, a lot of. 1404 01:09:02.920 --> 01:09:06.720 Times we can't actually land because of the conditions of 1405 01:09:06.760 --> 01:09:09.119 the ground, and we choose to hoist, so we'll insert 1406 01:09:09.199 --> 01:09:13.640 our flight paramedics, our rescue technicians will basically package the 1407 01:09:13.680 --> 01:09:16.439 patient and then hoist everybody out of that location because 1408 01:09:16.439 --> 01:09:18.319 it's untenable to land in. 1409 01:09:19.079 --> 01:09:23.720 We had on Rob O'Neil, the Navy's heel who shot 1410 01:09:23.760 --> 01:09:26.560 Osama bin Laden, and he was talking about that that 1411 01:09:26.720 --> 01:09:28.880 one of the helicopters they didn't account. 1412 01:09:28.600 --> 01:09:30.720 For I guess just the height of the wall or something. 1413 01:09:31.159 --> 01:09:33.119 And then it was a downdraft from the other helicopter 1414 01:09:33.119 --> 01:09:35.079 when it was hovering. Of course the other wall was 1415 01:09:35.439 --> 01:09:36.680 I think it had something to do with the other 1416 01:09:36.680 --> 01:09:38.920 helicopter when they were coming in. I just watched that 1417 01:09:38.960 --> 01:09:41.680 Osama movie, right, we watched the same thing. Maybe that's 1418 01:09:41.720 --> 01:09:43.119 what it was. I don't know if it was the wall. 1419 01:09:44.199 --> 01:09:46.079 Yeah, it could be either one of those. The wall 1420 01:09:46.119 --> 01:09:49.720 is another scenario with the helicopters aerodynamically aroblematic for us, 1421 01:09:50.119 --> 01:09:52.319 so it's one of his dust. The second is when 1422 01:09:52.319 --> 01:09:55.319 you get into structures and you're landing between structures, it 1423 01:09:55.960 --> 01:10:00.199 causes that vorticy to develop and get worse and you 1424 01:10:00.239 --> 01:10:03.439 actually start losing lyft you Actually the helicopter won't fly 1425 01:10:03.600 --> 01:10:07.239 because it's re ingesting its own vortices and mostly because 1426 01:10:07.279 --> 01:10:10.439 the walls that are next to it are causing it. 1427 01:10:10.600 --> 01:10:13.279 I don't know what happened in his case, but more likely. 1428 01:10:13.600 --> 01:10:15.079 I think you're right, Coops. I think that's what it was. 1429 01:10:15.159 --> 01:10:17.439 It had to do with exactly what you're explaining, right. 1430 01:10:17.479 --> 01:10:19.239 There was something to do with though that was unique 1431 01:10:19.239 --> 01:10:20.800 to see here to learn. 1432 01:10:20.880 --> 01:10:22.479 Really, what do you think about those cheap What do 1433 01:10:22.560 --> 01:10:25.239 you think about those guys in Alaska? They're doing the 1434 01:10:25.279 --> 01:10:28.880 same thing right obviously, like search and rescue up there. 1435 01:10:29.119 --> 01:10:31.079 They go for hundreds of miles, they jump out in 1436 01:10:31.119 --> 01:10:33.399 the ice cold water when it's blown fifty one hundred 1437 01:10:33.399 --> 01:10:34.960 miles an hour, right, same exact thing. 1438 01:10:35.199 --> 01:10:38.439 Crazy, Yes, you know, gosh, there's a coast guard mostly 1439 01:10:38.479 --> 01:10:41.600 I think. Yeah, Canada has an amazing search and rescue. 1440 01:10:41.640 --> 01:10:43.479 Same thing. Those guys they fill up with fuel and 1441 01:10:43.479 --> 01:10:45.279 they'll fly for an hour and a half two hours 1442 01:10:45.279 --> 01:10:47.640 to the rescue site out in the middle of nowhere 1443 01:10:47.720 --> 01:10:50.560 to do a rescue and then come back. It's there's 1444 01:10:51.039 --> 01:10:53.359 certain parts of the world that are amazing. Guys that 1445 01:10:53.399 --> 01:10:56.680 are going into the North Atlantic, you know, yeah, that's crazy. 1446 01:10:56.720 --> 01:11:00.079 I mean just stuff that's just wicked. We are, you know, 1447 01:11:00.279 --> 01:11:03.720 as crazy as our missions are, all the aerial firefighting, hoisting, 1448 01:11:03.720 --> 01:11:07.159 and you know, we're in a pretty safe area. If 1449 01:11:07.159 --> 01:11:09.239 you have a problem with helicopter, you can almost land anywhere. 1450 01:11:09.279 --> 01:11:09.439 You know. 1451 01:11:09.479 --> 01:11:12.560 We train our we call them precautionary landings, but we 1452 01:11:12.640 --> 01:11:14.159 train our guys to put her put it down in 1453 01:11:14.199 --> 01:11:16.399 a park on a freeway. I don't care land anywhere. 1454 01:11:16.560 --> 01:11:18.840 Don't keep flying to try to go to an airport 1455 01:11:18.920 --> 01:11:21.399 if the helicopters coming apart. But when you're in the 1456 01:11:21.399 --> 01:11:23.800 North Atlantic or when you're in the area, of course 1457 01:11:23.840 --> 01:11:26.560 and you can't land, and yeah, so that there are 1458 01:11:26.600 --> 01:11:31.000 some amazing people out there, mostly military Coast Guard that 1459 01:11:31.079 --> 01:11:35.079 kind of stuff. Alaska, Canada proof. I mean for Ireland, 1460 01:11:35.119 --> 01:11:36.960 it's you know, I've come across a lot of neat 1461 01:11:37.000 --> 01:11:40.920 people over my career and doing some some really neat 1462 01:11:40.920 --> 01:11:42.319 stuff with helicopters. 1463 01:11:42.720 --> 01:11:45.640 And you said you haven't flown since you retired, right. 1464 01:11:46.079 --> 01:11:48.239 Yeah, no, I just retired on Marstory first, but I 1465 01:11:48.279 --> 01:11:51.119 haven't flown, so I don't know. You know, I got 1466 01:11:51.199 --> 01:11:52.079 my Uh, you're. 1467 01:11:51.920 --> 01:11:54.359 Gonna have to get the grease out and start oiling 1468 01:11:54.439 --> 01:11:59.840 up the tin man here, you know, a little stiff, 1469 01:12:00.039 --> 01:12:00.800 always getting. 1470 01:12:00.560 --> 01:12:04.119 A little My girlfriend she's got me out digging holes 1471 01:12:04.119 --> 01:12:08.359 and planting flowers. I am working harder now than I 1472 01:12:08.359 --> 01:12:12.439 ever worked. I told her I got to go back 1473 01:12:12.439 --> 01:12:13.239 to work to get a break. 1474 01:12:14.720 --> 01:12:17.319 You know who I am helicopters. 1475 01:12:19.560 --> 01:12:24.399 Scott Scott Scott, I was. I used to be the 1476 01:12:24.520 --> 01:12:26.800 chief pilot in the L A F T. Now I'm just. 1477 01:12:28.560 --> 01:12:30.880 Exactly that's what it sounds like. 1478 01:12:32.920 --> 01:12:35.199 I have I have that video to the little short 1479 01:12:35.520 --> 01:12:38.079 air drop out of the hoistline rescue and then you 1480 01:12:38.119 --> 01:12:42.119 sent me another one, so I don't know how really 1481 01:12:42.159 --> 01:12:50.079 quick before you go, yeah, I got hand brought my chiru. 1482 01:13:08.239 --> 01:13:12.720 Ohs are right there, bulls are bro bulls eye right. 1483 01:13:12.840 --> 01:13:14.720 So so that's where you that's a great example. You know, 1484 01:13:14.800 --> 01:13:17.119 they got thirty forty mili hour winds, The fire is 1485 01:13:17.239 --> 01:13:20.000 moving fast, it's in light fuels, flashy fuels. That just 1486 01:13:20.159 --> 01:13:23.359 that's what kills firemen. But you know, our our ground 1487 01:13:23.399 --> 01:13:25.720 cruis are trained to anchor, flanking, pinch. They run out 1488 01:13:25.760 --> 01:13:28.680 there with hose, they start running wetline and where we 1489 01:13:28.840 --> 01:13:31.079 can you know, tactically the helicopter comes in and you 1490 01:13:31.159 --> 01:13:34.560 get one opportunity every you know, thirty seconds and if 1491 01:13:34.600 --> 01:13:36.399 you can use the wind to your advantage. And look 1492 01:13:36.560 --> 01:13:38.000 look what he did. He did a lot of great, 1493 01:13:38.600 --> 01:13:40.000 great good with just a little bit of water. 1494 01:13:40.119 --> 01:13:45.479 So the window got there's a cigarette, but I got 1495 01:13:45.920 --> 01:13:46.239 the bitch. 1496 01:13:50.319 --> 01:13:52.520 We'll get it right and you away otherwise out there. 1497 01:13:58.159 --> 01:14:00.800 Now, well, you guys say it was the. 1498 01:14:04.079 --> 01:14:21.439 Nots and months got the look if you uh, if 1499 01:14:21.479 --> 01:14:22.720 you keep it there for a minute gone. So the 1500 01:14:23.119 --> 01:14:25.399 one of the things that we have in la is 1501 01:14:25.840 --> 01:14:29.279 we have about four hundred miles linear miles of flood 1502 01:14:29.279 --> 01:14:32.079 control channels and they are dry all the time. So 1503 01:14:32.199 --> 01:14:34.560 of course the kids and homeless and everybody plays in 1504 01:14:34.600 --> 01:14:36.439 them all year. The homeless live in them, and then 1505 01:14:36.479 --> 01:14:38.680 we get one big rainstorm and boom they fill up, 1506 01:14:38.720 --> 01:14:41.159 you know, twenty mile an hour water. And during the 1507 01:14:41.239 --> 01:14:44.159 course of my entire career, our swift thoughter rescue program 1508 01:14:44.359 --> 01:14:48.720 started back in nineteen ninety because we lost there was 1509 01:14:48.760 --> 01:14:51.399 a young boy that was swept away and the l 1510 01:14:51.439 --> 01:14:53.560 a f D had no way to get him out 1511 01:14:53.560 --> 01:14:55.319 of the river. And I was working that day. I 1512 01:14:55.399 --> 01:14:57.319 was in the West Valley and I was a rookie, 1513 01:14:57.800 --> 01:15:00.640 and uh, you know, we had some weird pictures of 1514 01:15:00.840 --> 01:15:02.800 guys that were just you know, mission it us. We 1515 01:15:02.840 --> 01:15:05.399 had a battalion chief who took a rope around his waist, 1516 01:15:05.439 --> 01:15:07.640 tied a knot or anything that he was ready to 1517 01:15:07.720 --> 01:15:11.560 jump in and the boy, the little boy ended up dying. Well, 1518 01:15:11.720 --> 01:15:14.479 his family sued the fire department, but all they asked 1519 01:15:14.560 --> 01:15:18.119 for was training and equipment to be able to affect 1520 01:15:18.159 --> 01:15:20.359 the rescues in this two scenario. So it was amazing. 1521 01:15:20.439 --> 01:15:22.119 His name was Adam Vishoff. I mean to this day, 1522 01:15:22.199 --> 01:15:25.199 thirty five years I later, I remember, so I was 1523 01:15:25.239 --> 01:15:27.600 again fortunate enough in that time I joined. One of 1524 01:15:27.640 --> 01:15:29.399 the guys at my station was joining and we joined 1525 01:15:29.439 --> 01:15:31.079 the Soapwater Rescue team. We went out and got the 1526 01:15:31.159 --> 01:15:34.640 training for land based rescue. When I got to air operations, 1527 01:15:34.760 --> 01:15:36.720 you know, we started and before I even got there, 1528 01:15:36.840 --> 01:15:40.279 they started, you know, doing affecting rescues with the helicopter 1529 01:15:40.439 --> 01:15:42.920 and over the years we've perfected. And what you just 1530 01:15:43.039 --> 01:15:46.760 saw was we took you know, a helicopter with a 1531 01:15:46.840 --> 01:15:50.239 rescuer that was just waiting above the water, and as 1532 01:15:50.239 --> 01:15:52.279 soon as the victim came down the river at fifteen 1533 01:15:52.359 --> 01:15:55.399 miles an hour, they dropped the rescuer and the helicopter 1534 01:15:55.560 --> 01:15:58.680 takes off and paces the same speed as the water. 1535 01:15:59.000 --> 01:16:02.439 The post operators haunting the pilot so he's conning him 1536 01:16:02.520 --> 01:16:05.159 to stay with the scree to the liver while the 1537 01:16:05.279 --> 01:16:08.880 rescuer is making a quick capture. It all happens in seconds, 1538 01:16:09.000 --> 01:16:09.560 just like he saw. 1539 01:16:09.760 --> 01:16:11.720 Because if you stay there and you drop him he 1540 01:16:12.119 --> 01:16:14.399 guy's going to go past him, you know, if he 1541 01:16:14.439 --> 01:16:15.199 doesn't grab him. 1542 01:16:15.600 --> 01:16:17.560 Yeah, So swift water rescues are a big deal. LA 1543 01:16:17.640 --> 01:16:20.199 County Fire Department, doesn't We do quite a bit. We 1544 01:16:20.319 --> 01:16:23.600 probably do. We affect several swift fotter rescues every year. 1545 01:16:24.079 --> 01:16:25.840 You know, the guys just make it look easy, but 1546 01:16:25.960 --> 01:16:26.800 it is extreme. 1547 01:16:27.119 --> 01:16:29.479 How are you how are you coordinating that? Obviously as 1548 01:16:29.520 --> 01:16:31.920 a pilot, you can't. You're facing the wrong way obviously, 1549 01:16:31.960 --> 01:16:34.520 and you can't see anything. Are you listening to the 1550 01:16:34.600 --> 01:16:35.880 guy who's peeking out the window? 1551 01:16:35.960 --> 01:16:36.720 Is that what's happening? 1552 01:16:37.000 --> 01:16:38.920 That's exactly right. You have a crew chief that's running 1553 01:16:38.960 --> 01:16:41.319 the hoist cable and then you've got a safety member 1554 01:16:41.399 --> 01:16:43.159 next to him in the door, and then the rescuers 1555 01:16:43.159 --> 01:16:45.319 out on the hook. So the pilot is putting the 1556 01:16:45.359 --> 01:16:48.079 crew in position downstream waiting for the victims. So they've 1557 01:16:48.079 --> 01:16:51.039 already identified the victim, they know the victim's coming. They'll 1558 01:16:51.119 --> 01:16:55.239 set up downstream a couple hundred yards quickly lower a rescuer, 1559 01:16:55.359 --> 01:16:58.039 and the pilot is in position and waiting for the 1560 01:16:58.119 --> 01:17:00.760 command from the hoist operator to start his movement. So 1561 01:17:01.239 --> 01:17:05.000 we have discipline, six different commands and as soon as 1562 01:17:05.039 --> 01:17:07.479 the rescuer is dropped in the water, the hoystoperator says, 1563 01:17:07.479 --> 01:17:10.319 start your pace, Increase your pace, increase your pace. Pace 1564 01:17:10.439 --> 01:17:13.279 is good, Hold your pace. He's making the capture. He's 1565 01:17:13.319 --> 01:17:15.479 giving me the okay sign. Pace is good. I'm taking 1566 01:17:15.520 --> 01:17:17.600 on weight and that's it. He brings him out of 1567 01:17:17.600 --> 01:17:19.039 the water. As soon as out of the water, slow 1568 01:17:19.039 --> 01:17:20.920 your pace to a stop. The pilot comes to a 1569 01:17:20.960 --> 01:17:23.159 stop and then they bring him up into the cabin 1570 01:17:24.000 --> 01:17:26.479 and it's a two minute ride to a trauma center. 1571 01:17:26.640 --> 01:17:28.720 So we've had a lot of great success with the 1572 01:17:28.760 --> 01:17:31.800 swift water rescue stuff, and. 1573 01:17:33.000 --> 01:17:35.560 I got a brake storm for a new TV series 1574 01:17:35.680 --> 01:17:37.840 problem this guy could star and the Brad. 1575 01:17:38.000 --> 01:17:38.439 Looking like. 1576 01:17:42.039 --> 01:17:43.640 There's no way that guy doesn't look. 1577 01:17:43.560 --> 01:17:45.880 Like You guys are doing great for my ego. 1578 01:17:46.000 --> 01:17:57.840 I love it. Yes, damn, that's Russell crow To. But you. 1579 01:18:00.279 --> 01:18:02.159 Chat, who does you look like? Russell crawl? 1580 01:18:04.199 --> 01:18:05.039 Come on now, come on. 1581 01:18:05.199 --> 01:18:07.560 The little Asian guy thought it was Brad Bitt want. 1582 01:18:08.439 --> 01:18:09.720 I would have come on your show earlier if I 1583 01:18:09.760 --> 01:18:10.560 knew it was gonna go like this. 1584 01:18:10.760 --> 01:18:15.960 You guys are doing great. Keep it in. What's the 1585 01:18:16.000 --> 01:18:18.800 contingency if that this victim gets past you, you have 1586 01:18:18.840 --> 01:18:20.800 a ground swift water unit ready to go or is 1587 01:18:20.800 --> 01:18:21.800 it all based on you guys? 1588 01:18:22.000 --> 01:18:24.479 Yeah, great question, man, You get me fired up. So 1589 01:18:24.760 --> 01:18:27.239 we when we launched on a swift Wotter rescue, we 1590 01:18:27.399 --> 01:18:29.920 launched two swift Wotter rescue helicopters in a command and 1591 01:18:29.960 --> 01:18:33.079 control aircraft. The primary aircraft goes to the rescue site, 1592 01:18:33.119 --> 01:18:35.399 which is what you just saw. The secondary hoist aircraft 1593 01:18:35.439 --> 01:18:37.840 goes downstream and sets up. We have a second rescue 1594 01:18:37.880 --> 01:18:40.600 or downstream ready to go. So that second helicopter if 1595 01:18:40.640 --> 01:18:43.640 the first helicopter fails, the second helicopter is two three 1596 01:18:43.720 --> 01:18:47.359 hundred yards downstream ready to affect the backup rescue or 1597 01:18:47.640 --> 01:18:50.239 if something goes wrong with the first helicopter, they're there 1598 01:18:50.319 --> 01:18:52.680 to affect a rescue of that first helicopter. So we 1599 01:18:52.800 --> 01:18:56.920 have that redundant leap frog capability with those two rescue helicopters. 1600 01:18:57.560 --> 01:18:59.760 On swift water days, we staff up so we have 1601 01:19:00.039 --> 01:19:02.960 to rescue swift water helicopters ready to go. They run 1602 01:19:03.000 --> 01:19:06.039 in tandem every dispatch. They go together, they don't go 1603 01:19:06.079 --> 01:19:08.039 out by themselves. And then they have a command and 1604 01:19:08.079 --> 01:19:11.479 control aircraft that works with the incident commander takes a 1605 01:19:11.520 --> 01:19:14.000 lot of the radio chatter off, right because you guys, 1606 01:19:14.039 --> 01:19:16.079 know you've been to an incident. Sometimes it's just it's 1607 01:19:16.159 --> 01:19:20.039 too much. You're overwhelmed by all the ridiculous chatter. We 1608 01:19:20.079 --> 01:19:21.920 don't want the hoist pilot or the Hoyst crew to 1609 01:19:21.960 --> 01:19:25.239 hear all that stuff. So the command pilot, the helicopter 1610 01:19:25.319 --> 01:19:28.720 command and the different aircraft, he's managing all the radio 1611 01:19:28.760 --> 01:19:31.680 traffic with the incident commander. That way, the search and rescue, 1612 01:19:31.720 --> 01:19:35.479 that Hoyst aircraft has a very clean environment to operative. 1613 01:19:35.560 --> 01:19:37.479 They don't hear a whole bunch of screaming and yelling 1614 01:19:37.600 --> 01:19:40.319 and you know, tactics and strategy stuff they don't need 1615 01:19:40.359 --> 01:19:43.039 to use. So that's where we you know, we start 1616 01:19:43.079 --> 01:19:46.159 minimizing risk and liability. We have redundancy with the second 1617 01:19:46.239 --> 01:19:48.279 poised aircraft ready to go, and then we have a 1618 01:19:48.319 --> 01:19:51.199 command and control aircraft that's you know, relieving them of 1619 01:19:51.279 --> 01:19:52.239 all the radio traffic. 1620 01:19:55.239 --> 01:19:56.520 Jat said Sean Connery. 1621 01:19:56.920 --> 01:20:02.560 Sean, Yeah, couple of Russell crows in that. Yeah, there's 1622 01:20:02.560 --> 01:20:05.399 a couple of Russell crows in that. Do you feel 1623 01:20:05.479 --> 01:20:07.239 like like when you get the run, like if that 1624 01:20:07.479 --> 01:20:11.239 was a kid in the water, and you guys get 1625 01:20:11.279 --> 01:20:15.359 the call from from sitting at the kitchen table to 1626 01:20:15.920 --> 01:20:19.159 hovering over the you know, if it's close by. So 1627 01:20:19.319 --> 01:20:22.520 let's say, how well, how long are we talking? Are 1628 01:20:22.560 --> 01:20:24.720 we talking ten minutes? We talk at five minutes, we 1629 01:20:24.800 --> 01:20:26.520 talked at twenty minutes, Like what are you thinking? 1630 01:20:26.680 --> 01:20:26.920 Oh? 1631 01:20:27.039 --> 01:20:27.520 Great question. 1632 01:20:27.840 --> 01:20:29.920 So you remember, when our guys get to work, they 1633 01:20:30.600 --> 01:20:34.479 basically do relief. They do all their pre flighting. We 1634 01:20:35.000 --> 01:20:38.079 call it leaving the aircraft in a precock position, so 1635 01:20:38.199 --> 01:20:40.119 the pilot will go through all of his safety checks 1636 01:20:40.199 --> 01:20:42.840 or run fuel, says some checks, hydraulic checks, so he'll 1637 01:20:42.840 --> 01:20:45.319 spend an hour with the aircraft pre flighting in but 1638 01:20:45.439 --> 01:20:47.960 he leaves everything in a precock position, meaning all he's 1639 01:20:47.960 --> 01:20:49.840 got to do is flip the switch and hit the button, 1640 01:20:50.359 --> 01:20:52.600 so that aircraft is now ready alert. We call it 1641 01:20:52.640 --> 01:20:55.760 alert ready. When the alarm goes off, it takes and 1642 01:20:55.800 --> 01:20:58.279 all of our aircraft are hangared. So as soon as 1643 01:20:58.319 --> 01:21:01.199 alarm goes off, everybody comes out. Ground crew come out 1644 01:21:01.239 --> 01:21:04.119 to the tug. They start towing the aircraft out on 1645 01:21:04.159 --> 01:21:07.239 the line. The crew starts suiting up the rescuers, putting 1646 01:21:07.239 --> 01:21:09.199 on his dry suit. The pilot's getting all the briefing, 1647 01:21:09.319 --> 01:21:12.720 mission briefing on where the incident is. It takes from 1648 01:21:12.760 --> 01:21:14.680 the time of alarm to the time the aircraft is 1649 01:21:14.680 --> 01:21:17.720 airborne seven minutes, and of that seven minutes, it takes 1650 01:21:17.720 --> 01:21:19.840 about four minutes to start both engines and get up 1651 01:21:19.840 --> 01:21:22.239 to one hundred percent get our clearance from air traffic control, 1652 01:21:22.640 --> 01:21:25.520 So about seven minutes were airborne in the valley, which 1653 01:21:25.600 --> 01:21:27.079 is the north part of the city. It's only a 1654 01:21:27.119 --> 01:21:29.279 four minute flight to any part of the city. So 1655 01:21:29.760 --> 01:21:32.079 what that rescue you just saw that channel was in 1656 01:21:32.159 --> 01:21:35.039 the north northeast corner of the valley. It would have 1657 01:21:35.079 --> 01:21:37.119 been around the eleven to twelve minute mark that they 1658 01:21:37.119 --> 01:21:39.800 were on station ready to go, and that's probably six 1659 01:21:39.920 --> 01:21:44.239 miles from air operations. The farthest reaches of the city. 1660 01:21:44.359 --> 01:21:47.760 It's probably eleven minute flight. Our aircraft do about one 1661 01:21:47.840 --> 01:21:50.439 hundred and seventy miles an hour, so they bugy once 1662 01:21:50.479 --> 01:21:53.239 they get up and they move pretty fast, so we 1663 01:21:53.279 --> 01:21:55.680 can get around the city. But one of our tactical 1664 01:21:55.720 --> 01:21:58.840 advantages is that quick deployment, you know, having everything the 1665 01:21:58.920 --> 01:22:02.000 risk assessment's done, the aircraft pre flight and precock ready 1666 01:22:02.000 --> 01:22:04.399 to go, all systems checks done. All the crew has 1667 01:22:04.439 --> 01:22:06.800 to do is get in, start it and go. It 1668 01:22:06.880 --> 01:22:11.199 goes very quick. To put in perspective, to put it 1669 01:22:11.239 --> 01:22:14.239 in perspective, the Coast Guard Coast Guartation l A, and 1670 01:22:14.319 --> 01:22:16.840 they're they're very professional. They do all the off water 1671 01:22:16.920 --> 01:22:20.119 stuff and off water ocean stuff. Scares me. That's you know, 1672 01:22:20.199 --> 01:22:23.720 that's some some really brave stuff. But the Coast Guard, 1673 01:22:23.720 --> 01:22:26.800 they're alert aircraft. It takes thirty minutes to launch out 1674 01:22:26.800 --> 01:22:30.159 of face in LA. So they're just you know, the military, 1675 01:22:30.279 --> 01:22:32.560 so they're just not set up for that alert, you know, 1676 01:22:32.840 --> 01:22:36.640 that fire department alert. You know, moments mattered. Thirty minutes 1677 01:22:36.680 --> 01:22:39.840 later that the rescue's over, the victims either drowned or right, 1678 01:22:40.039 --> 01:22:43.720 you know, he's downstream in the ocean somewhere. Yeah, minutes, 1679 01:22:43.800 --> 01:22:46.439 minutes matter, So we try to try to condense that 1680 01:22:46.680 --> 01:22:49.279 time and yet still be as safe as possible so 1681 01:22:49.399 --> 01:22:52.479 that we're you know, we're we're we're not reckless. 1682 01:22:53.680 --> 01:22:54.920 What was your least favorite run? 1683 01:22:56.319 --> 01:22:57.560 Oh man, that's a good question. 1684 01:22:58.159 --> 01:23:02.560 My least favorite run was man well man on man 1685 01:23:02.680 --> 01:23:07.600 under a train or man. So I hated manholes. Yeah, 1686 01:23:07.720 --> 01:23:09.159 because you don't have to check all the you know, 1687 01:23:09.399 --> 01:23:10.399 apartments and everything. 1688 01:23:10.800 --> 01:23:13.119 Yeah, you know, the worst for me, And still to 1689 01:23:13.199 --> 01:23:15.000 this day, it's the kids. It's anything to do with 1690 01:23:15.079 --> 01:23:16.920 the kids. You know, in the valley, the summer's out 1691 01:23:16.960 --> 01:23:19.520 there of the pools, drownings and traffic acts and ship 1692 01:23:19.520 --> 01:23:22.560 I've got. I got so many nightmare stories and you know, 1693 01:23:22.720 --> 01:23:24.520 like you guys know, thirty five years later and I 1694 01:23:24.600 --> 01:23:26.840 can still feel that day I held a baby and 1695 01:23:26.880 --> 01:23:29.199 the blood was going down my arm. It's just that 1696 01:23:29.279 --> 01:23:31.760 ship just stays with you. And and sometimes, you know, 1697 01:23:31.840 --> 01:23:33.960 I work with my girlfriend on this a lot because 1698 01:23:34.000 --> 01:23:36.720 I as a fireman, you conmpartmentalize that stuff. You know, 1699 01:23:36.800 --> 01:23:38.800 you just feel like it's another day of work. And 1700 01:23:39.039 --> 01:23:42.039 you don't even realize how we lose empathy, you know, 1701 01:23:42.119 --> 01:23:46.239 we we just lose ourselves. We're just we're soulless, emotionless creatures. 1702 01:23:46.760 --> 01:23:49.600 And mostly because of everything that we've seen and and 1703 01:23:50.159 --> 01:23:52.520 you know what human can go through that ship and 1704 01:23:52.640 --> 01:23:55.039 see that, you know, body parts and burned and that, 1705 01:23:55.439 --> 01:23:57.399 and it's not seeing a bird body, it's smelling a 1706 01:23:57.439 --> 01:23:59.920 bird body. My you know, my first experience was the 1707 01:24:00.079 --> 01:24:02.800 smell of a burned body. But the kids to answer question, 1708 01:24:02.920 --> 01:24:04.800 the kid by far as the kids, I've seen a 1709 01:24:04.840 --> 01:24:07.039 lot of bad stuff, but anything to do with those. 1710 01:24:06.960 --> 01:24:08.640 You know, I'm a cold, hot at bastard. I don't 1711 01:24:08.680 --> 01:24:10.800 care about it, I see. I mean, I don't. Even 1712 01:24:10.920 --> 01:24:12.439 My wife's like, what's the matter with you? I'm like, 1713 01:24:12.479 --> 01:24:13.479 I don't know. It just doesn't. 1714 01:24:14.520 --> 01:24:18.199 Yeah, the man under a train, especially in the subway. 1715 01:24:18.840 --> 01:24:22.520 In the summer, blood everywhere, all the electric gone humming, 1716 01:24:22.600 --> 01:24:23.520 like right next to your. 1717 01:24:25.000 --> 01:24:25.279 Trash. 1718 01:24:25.319 --> 01:24:28.800 Except for special operations, we're on the track with a 1719 01:24:30.119 --> 01:24:30.800 block of gear. 1720 01:24:31.119 --> 01:24:31.279 You know. 1721 01:24:31.800 --> 01:24:35.000 No, Yeah, you get a guy who just tried to 1722 01:24:35.079 --> 01:24:38.159 kill himself. You know you're trying to save him. You know, 1723 01:24:38.279 --> 01:24:40.319 like you know you're in like this fall, you know, 1724 01:24:40.479 --> 01:24:43.239 like this blood everywhere. You know you're trying to save 1725 01:24:43.359 --> 01:24:46.720 him for a guy who tried to you know, you know, 1726 01:24:47.600 --> 01:24:48.680 you know, I'll tell. 1727 01:24:48.600 --> 01:24:50.119 You a funny story because it just came to when 1728 01:24:50.119 --> 01:24:51.680 you're asking the worst story. I was young, I was 1729 01:24:51.680 --> 01:24:53.319 probably four or five years on it. I was on 1730 01:24:53.399 --> 01:24:56.119 the rescue. We all rotate truck, rescue engine, and we 1731 01:24:56.159 --> 01:24:58.560 went to I was working a part of Hollywood, and uh, 1732 01:24:58.920 --> 01:25:00.520 we went on this whole guy was a and he 1733 01:25:00.640 --> 01:25:03.199 was in his bathroom and he tried to stab himself. 1734 01:25:03.279 --> 01:25:05.279 He'd had a couple of years old, he's probably eighty five, 1735 01:25:05.359 --> 01:25:08.520 probably terminal cancer. It was kind of sad. But he 1736 01:25:08.600 --> 01:25:11.000 finally he lets us in the bathroom and he's you know, 1737 01:25:11.119 --> 01:25:13.199 he's got a wife, beat her shirt, white shirt on. 1738 01:25:13.239 --> 01:25:15.600 It's all bloody and the blood's kind of coagulated because 1739 01:25:15.640 --> 01:25:17.680 he's been there for a while. And he you know, 1740 01:25:17.760 --> 01:25:19.680 he poked himself enough to bleed, but not enough to 1741 01:25:19.720 --> 01:25:23.039 hit his caroated already, and uh, he just kept sitting 1742 01:25:23.079 --> 01:25:26.239 way no, no, he failed at that right, So, but 1743 01:25:26.319 --> 01:25:28.720 he wanted to die. I want to die, you know, 1744 01:25:28.760 --> 01:25:31.720 I'm finding I'm done. I'm done. And and uh you 1745 01:25:31.800 --> 01:25:34.479 are you guys familiar with Cedars Hospital or you so 1746 01:25:34.680 --> 01:25:37.680 some of our big trauma centers UCLA and uh USC 1747 01:25:37.880 --> 01:25:40.119 we got all these big college hospitals, trauma centers, and 1748 01:25:40.159 --> 01:25:42.319 we have one called Cedars, which is one of the primary, 1749 01:25:42.720 --> 01:25:47.199 you know, leading centers for everything. And but some of 1750 01:25:47.239 --> 01:25:49.520 the people, some of the communities, the cultures didn't like 1751 01:25:49.640 --> 01:25:52.399 Cedars Hospital. So we're you know, we're sitting there with 1752 01:25:52.520 --> 01:25:53.680 him and we finally get in the door. You know, 1753 01:25:53.720 --> 01:25:55.520 he's he's live, he's we're gonna take in the hospital. 1754 01:25:55.560 --> 01:25:58.000 He's not successful. He's poking himself and he's pissed. He's 1755 01:25:58.079 --> 01:26:00.920 kind of fighting us, and and he's like, I want 1756 01:26:00.960 --> 01:26:02.800 to leave me alone. I want to die, you know, 1757 01:26:02.880 --> 01:26:05.119 I just I want to end it. And and then 1758 01:26:05.319 --> 01:26:07.760 I look at my partner and I just confirmed them. 1759 01:26:07.800 --> 01:26:10.199 I go, we're going to Cedars, right, and my partner yeah, 1760 01:26:10.199 --> 01:26:11.800 and the guy, the old man goes. 1761 01:26:11.920 --> 01:26:13.199 Don't take me to Cedars. 1762 01:26:13.199 --> 01:26:14.479 They're gonna kill you there. 1763 01:26:16.199 --> 01:26:18.079 What you wanted anyway? 1764 01:26:18.199 --> 01:26:19.800 Bro, you don't even make this. 1765 01:26:19.960 --> 01:26:22.920 Shut up, dude, yeah, make up? You know, so I 1766 01:26:23.239 --> 01:26:26.960 don't bring me there millions oh million? 1767 01:26:27.279 --> 01:26:29.880 You know, remember thirty five years ago HIV, I mean 1768 01:26:29.920 --> 01:26:32.560 ship you have an exposure of blood. We go through 1769 01:26:32.600 --> 01:26:35.520 the whole post six month exposure and it was so scary. 1770 01:26:35.600 --> 01:26:38.000 There's just yeah, different times. 1771 01:26:38.119 --> 01:26:40.399 But did you get any of those pictures? 1772 01:26:40.439 --> 01:26:42.479 I said, oh yeah, I was. I text you to 1773 01:26:42.560 --> 01:26:43.640 let you know a load. Which one do you want 1774 01:26:43.680 --> 01:26:44.000 to pull up? 1775 01:26:44.199 --> 01:26:46.800 You don't know what's his name? One seventeen sent it 1776 01:26:46.920 --> 01:26:50.479 to me. These are I think FDNY helicopters. 1777 01:26:50.560 --> 01:26:53.800 No, I don't see the picture of the helicopter or 1778 01:26:53.840 --> 01:26:55.720 there's obviously there's only five of them, and they're all 1779 01:26:55.840 --> 01:26:57.760 just is this one. I don't know if they might 1780 01:26:57.840 --> 01:27:00.640 recognize as a beautiful I can't really. 1781 01:27:00.520 --> 01:27:03.399 Take what did he send me? Send me something? 1782 01:27:03.640 --> 01:27:04.680 I don't have a helicopter? 1783 01:27:06.159 --> 01:27:08.760 Got what's his name? From one seventeen? Who is the truck? 1784 01:27:08.800 --> 01:27:09.600 He one seventeen? 1785 01:27:10.079 --> 01:27:14.439 Like a barge explosion in Great Kills BFI a corps 1786 01:27:14.840 --> 01:27:19.079 so from one of you guys from yeah, y, but 1787 01:27:19.159 --> 01:27:22.199 it's from VF. I'm assuming that's what do you call that? BFI? 1788 01:27:22.399 --> 01:27:22.720 Is uh? 1789 01:27:23.439 --> 01:27:24.279 Fire investigation? 1790 01:27:26.159 --> 01:27:27.680 Yeah, he was a Marshall. 1791 01:27:27.800 --> 01:27:31.039 Yeah, yeah, King, Okay, yeah, King, that's so that's that 1792 01:27:31.159 --> 01:27:34.720 must be King there. That was his crew. We got 1793 01:27:35.319 --> 01:27:37.920 a little bit of a oh that's the barge. It's 1794 01:27:37.960 --> 01:27:40.520 like explosion. That's the Bardger Staten. 1795 01:27:40.279 --> 01:27:41.359 Italy or something over there. 1796 01:27:44.760 --> 01:27:46.520 These are great. I mean, I still think that the 1797 01:27:47.079 --> 01:27:49.239 man goes all with these helicopters. It's still it's a 1798 01:27:49.279 --> 01:27:50.439 fan favorite. Doesn't get old. 1799 01:27:51.399 --> 01:27:55.479 I would say the NYPD, Uh, yeah, they're they make 1800 01:27:55.520 --> 01:27:57.760 a lot of grabs with that. Like there's a lot 1801 01:27:57.800 --> 01:28:00.199 of people in the riverage by us, and now they 1802 01:28:00.239 --> 01:28:02.600 don't they don't. I mean, I'm sure they hoist, but 1803 01:28:02.760 --> 01:28:06.119 I've seen the guys jump out grab them and then 1804 01:28:06.159 --> 01:28:07.840 they you know, I don't know what they do after that, 1805 01:28:08.000 --> 01:28:09.199 but that's like their main thing. 1806 01:28:09.279 --> 01:28:10.960 Without being connected, I don't know what they do. 1807 01:28:11.319 --> 01:28:13.319 Most of the time that the Harbor Patrol has boats 1808 01:28:13.319 --> 01:28:16.119 there too, so I think they're just trying to grab 1809 01:28:16.199 --> 01:28:19.119 them to stay afloat, and then they'll have the boats 1810 01:28:19.119 --> 01:28:22.279 and everybody, you know, New York's is harbor patrol everywhere. 1811 01:28:22.319 --> 01:28:25.079 For the most part, FDNY has a lot of boats. 1812 01:28:26.520 --> 01:28:27.039 What do we got. 1813 01:28:27.840 --> 01:28:29.399 I was just waiting for a loaded up another one. 1814 01:28:29.479 --> 01:28:30.880 But when I have to share a screen, it takes 1815 01:28:30.880 --> 01:28:32.199 a second. But if you want to watch, it's only 1816 01:28:32.199 --> 01:28:34.199 a minute. Yeah, there we go. 1817 01:29:38.880 --> 01:29:40.600 I'll give you the background in that. We get a 1818 01:29:40.680 --> 01:29:42.119 lot of hoist rescues in the city. 1819 01:29:42.399 --> 01:29:44.439 It's another Saturday, by the way, it's just another Saturday. 1820 01:29:44.880 --> 01:29:45.520 Crowd watch it. 1821 01:29:46.159 --> 01:29:49.399 And in this case, the it was a construction site. 1822 01:29:49.439 --> 01:29:51.479 The roof had collapsed. They had a cherry picker inside 1823 01:29:51.520 --> 01:29:53.760 the building. The roof collapse. The two guys in the 1824 01:29:53.840 --> 01:29:56.359 cherry picker. The roof collapsed on the cherry picker and 1825 01:29:56.439 --> 01:29:58.600 cut some of the hydraulic lines. So They had been 1826 01:29:58.720 --> 01:30:00.600 in that thing for about thirty minut and the ground 1827 01:30:00.640 --> 01:30:02.600 companies didn't know. They had no way to get them out. 1828 01:30:02.640 --> 01:30:04.520 They couldn't get close to them. They were afraid if 1829 01:30:04.520 --> 01:30:06.880 they start taking the gear off, the hydraulics would have 1830 01:30:06.880 --> 01:30:09.239 failed and they dropped. So yeah, they called in and 1831 01:30:09.520 --> 01:30:11.520 what you saw in the capture is that's exactly what 1832 01:30:11.600 --> 01:30:13.279 we do. The same thing with the swoft on rescue. 1833 01:30:13.680 --> 01:30:17.159 It's a you know, a surgical placement, a quick capture 1834 01:30:17.159 --> 01:30:19.560 strap within seconds and then pull them out. So they 1835 01:30:19.600 --> 01:30:22.439 pulled those two guys out, but we get crane rescues, 1836 01:30:22.600 --> 01:30:24.600 you know. You know maybe in New York same way. 1837 01:30:24.800 --> 01:30:27.399 You know who the crane operators are in LA there 1838 01:30:27.720 --> 01:30:31.319 because it's the highest paying job, the most sent senior 1839 01:30:31.479 --> 01:30:34.199 ten yured guys. The sixty year old guy is a 1840 01:30:34.239 --> 01:30:35.800 crane operator. You know how they get to the top 1841 01:30:35.880 --> 01:30:40.439 of the crane. They got to climb whatever fifty flights 1842 01:30:40.479 --> 01:30:43.079 of stairs a ladder to get up there. And then 1843 01:30:43.079 --> 01:30:44.159 what do they do when they get up there? 1844 01:30:44.439 --> 01:30:47.159 They have a heart attack. So I can't tell you. 1845 01:30:47.199 --> 01:30:49.560 How many we've pulled. I don't know my career, A 1846 01:30:49.680 --> 01:30:53.399 dozen guys really heart attacks hoisted them off the top 1847 01:30:53.439 --> 01:30:55.720 of a crane, because no urban search and rescue in 1848 01:30:55.720 --> 01:30:57.880 the city has got a four hundred foot you know, 1849 01:30:58.079 --> 01:31:00.319 ballet line that they can belay a guy off of cream. 1850 01:31:00.880 --> 01:31:04.680 So tactically there's you know, some it's weird in an 1851 01:31:04.760 --> 01:31:08.399 urban environment, you know, the necessity for the helicopters or 1852 01:31:08.439 --> 01:31:09.880 how we've been able to put them to use. 1853 01:31:09.960 --> 01:31:15.239 So is that rope, sorry, the rope is four hundred feet? 1854 01:31:15.279 --> 01:31:15.880 Is that your backs? 1855 01:31:17.640 --> 01:31:19.880 No, I we don't even have so our guys wouldn't 1856 01:31:19.920 --> 01:31:21.479 even try it. I think our you know, and I 1857 01:31:21.520 --> 01:31:23.439 don't know what our urban search and rescue teams, you know. 1858 01:31:23.520 --> 01:31:25.319 I know that the rigs at one point when I 1859 01:31:25.520 --> 01:31:28.359 was driving a fire engein our our ballet line and 1860 01:31:28.399 --> 01:31:30.760 mainlines were I think one hundred and seventy feet or 1861 01:31:30.760 --> 01:31:33.199 two hundred feet two feet two. 1862 01:31:34.399 --> 01:31:36.319 Yeah, the helicopter you don't have it. What's the length 1863 01:31:36.359 --> 01:31:38.039 of the oh, I'm sorry, hoistline? 1864 01:31:38.399 --> 01:31:41.800 Yeah, our our hoist on the on the helicopters, so 1865 01:31:42.000 --> 01:31:45.000 most of our hoist happened around one hundred feet plus 1866 01:31:45.039 --> 01:31:46.760 or minus ninety to one hundred and fifty feet. 1867 01:31:47.239 --> 01:31:48.760 The full length of the cable is. 1868 01:31:50.359 --> 01:31:52.119 It's eluding you right now. I don't know why I 1869 01:31:52.119 --> 01:31:53.840 can't remember that number. It's over two hundred feet, but 1870 01:31:54.039 --> 01:31:57.399 the uh, rarely do you hoist that high? We really 1871 01:31:57.560 --> 01:31:59.239 like you saw the sot futter of rescue hoist was 1872 01:31:59.239 --> 01:32:01.920 about thirty feet. Our typical hoist in the mountain district 1873 01:32:01.960 --> 01:32:03.680 is about one hundred feet. You get up to a 1874 01:32:03.760 --> 01:32:06.039 certain point and the crew has a difficult time with 1875 01:32:06.199 --> 01:32:10.279 vertical reference and seeing, especially at night, where the rescuer 1876 01:32:10.399 --> 01:32:12.560 is and if they've made the capture. And I don't 1877 01:32:12.560 --> 01:32:15.159 know if you see. We have also radios where the 1878 01:32:15.199 --> 01:32:17.720 guys can just talk without key and the mic, and 1879 01:32:17.800 --> 01:32:20.279 a secondary backup is the head movement, which says I'm okay, 1880 01:32:20.279 --> 01:32:21.039 I'm ready for left. 1881 01:32:21.399 --> 01:32:21.960 So we've got. 1882 01:32:21.920 --> 01:32:26.439 Redundancy in not only physical commands or hand commands, but 1883 01:32:27.399 --> 01:32:28.399 if the radios fail. 1884 01:32:28.600 --> 01:32:30.680 So it has a good question in the chat chief. 1885 01:32:30.720 --> 01:32:34.000 He says, with a crew of five you have or 1886 01:32:34.239 --> 01:32:36.399 four or five, how many extra people can you just 1887 01:32:36.920 --> 01:32:38.039 on the Yeah? 1888 01:32:38.800 --> 01:32:40.199 How many extra people can we put in the what 1889 01:32:40.800 --> 01:32:41.439 on the choppa? 1890 01:32:41.880 --> 01:32:41.920 Like? 1891 01:32:44.079 --> 01:32:48.159 Interesting? So, yeah, our hoist crew is combined. There's three 1892 01:32:48.800 --> 01:32:52.319 a hoist operator, to rescue, paramedics, flight paramedics in the back, 1893 01:32:52.399 --> 01:32:55.119 the three crewmen, and depending on the type of hoist 1894 01:32:55.239 --> 01:32:57.159 or mission, there'll be a single pilot or two pilots, 1895 01:32:57.199 --> 01:32:59.399 so we can have about a five person crew. The 1896 01:32:59.560 --> 01:33:03.119 aircraw have are capable of taking up to twelve passengers 1897 01:33:03.199 --> 01:33:05.119 in the back, but we've got to configure with seats. 1898 01:33:05.640 --> 01:33:09.439 Our typical configuration for air amens and firefighting only has 1899 01:33:09.600 --> 01:33:12.800 five seats in the back. So to answer the question exactly, 1900 01:33:13.079 --> 01:33:15.479 we could technically pay two more take two more people 1901 01:33:15.680 --> 01:33:18.159 in seats with seat belts, plus the patient in the 1902 01:33:18.279 --> 01:33:21.880 litter system. We don't fly around with anybody not builted in. 1903 01:33:23.760 --> 01:33:25.520 Everybody's got to be in a seat belt or in 1904 01:33:25.560 --> 01:33:28.319 a harness that's clipped into a part of the ceiling. 1905 01:33:28.479 --> 01:33:32.119 So and then for hoisting, weight becomes an issue because 1906 01:33:32.399 --> 01:33:34.479 we're hovering out of ground. Effect is taking a ton 1907 01:33:34.560 --> 01:33:37.000 of power. The aircraft's working really hard, so we want 1908 01:33:37.000 --> 01:33:40.039 to stay as light as possible. So everybody is essential 1909 01:33:40.079 --> 01:33:42.760 to the mission. Every single crew has a purpose. We 1910 01:33:42.840 --> 01:33:44.600 don't like to take around extra people. 1911 01:33:44.359 --> 01:33:45.079 If we don't have to. 1912 01:33:45.279 --> 01:33:47.479 So that's that's what If I'm not just saying, oh, 1913 01:33:47.479 --> 01:33:49.039 correct me if I'm wrong that when you guys are 1914 01:33:49.079 --> 01:33:50.760 hovering and you go to do your lift, that's the 1915 01:33:51.039 --> 01:33:53.800 helicopter is operating and max power just about. That's why 1916 01:33:53.880 --> 01:33:55.880 normally I see helicopters take off into the wind because 1917 01:33:55.880 --> 01:33:57.760 people always ask why you have to have that kind 1918 01:33:57.800 --> 01:34:00.720 of a runway if you will, because it's that power 1919 01:34:00.800 --> 01:34:02.359 for the helicopter. It does a direct lift. 1920 01:34:02.640 --> 01:34:04.560 Yeah, that's that's a aerodynamic magic. 1921 01:34:05.079 --> 01:34:05.479 I love it. 1922 01:34:05.600 --> 01:34:06.000 Excellent. 1923 01:34:06.319 --> 01:34:09.159 You're exactly right. Hovering out of ground effect is the 1924 01:34:09.399 --> 01:34:11.760 hardest for a helicopter to do. It takes the most 1925 01:34:11.800 --> 01:34:13.840 amount of power. You're in the most danger, you have 1926 01:34:13.920 --> 01:34:16.119 the least amount of escape routes and option the most 1927 01:34:16.279 --> 01:34:19.760 danger the most. We call it translational left. But as 1928 01:34:19.840 --> 01:34:24.359 the helicopter takes off it the more air speed you get, 1929 01:34:24.439 --> 01:34:26.159 the more air is rammed into the top of the 1930 01:34:26.239 --> 01:34:29.720 rotor system and it becomes more efficient. It's translational lift. 1931 01:34:29.800 --> 01:34:32.199 So the aircraft, the helicopter wants to go fast and 1932 01:34:32.319 --> 01:34:34.520 be moving like an airplane. We have a lot of options. 1933 01:34:34.720 --> 01:34:37.000 We can tea, we can do a lot of things, 1934 01:34:37.520 --> 01:34:39.359 but the second you hover out of ground effect, we 1935 01:34:39.399 --> 01:34:40.159 start running out of. 1936 01:34:40.800 --> 01:34:43.600 Quick So when people are when the helicopters are just 1937 01:34:43.680 --> 01:34:47.159 standing still. That's the most dangerous, correct, Yeah, it's the 1938 01:34:47.199 --> 01:34:49.079 most dangerous. You have the least amount of options if 1939 01:34:49.119 --> 01:34:50.119 you lose your engines or you. 1940 01:34:50.119 --> 01:34:52.159 Lose a tail roader, if you're moving, if you're doing 1941 01:34:52.199 --> 01:34:54.920 one hundred knotsor one hundred and fifty miles an hour, you've. 1942 01:34:54.840 --> 01:34:56.960 Got a lot ofis now that you say that, every 1943 01:34:57.000 --> 01:35:00.199 time I ever see a helicopter knock on wood, it's 1944 01:35:00.319 --> 01:35:02.960 usually standing still and then all of a sudden something happens, 1945 01:35:03.039 --> 01:35:04.560 like it looks like it jerks out of the way 1946 01:35:04.680 --> 01:35:06.000 or something like something happens. 1947 01:35:06.239 --> 01:35:09.560 Actually, the only so you'll see the news media, however, 1948 01:35:09.600 --> 01:35:10.439 out of Groz they do it. 1949 01:35:10.640 --> 01:35:12.520 Forever, they do it. I'm like, see them do it. 1950 01:35:12.560 --> 01:35:15.159 Because they're those guys are risking their lives to get 1951 01:35:15.199 --> 01:35:17.000 the shot. You know, they'll they'll set up for the camera, 1952 01:35:17.159 --> 01:35:19.520 that's they're doing everything for the camera shot, and then 1953 01:35:19.640 --> 01:35:22.560 hoist pilots you know, or we call it external load 1954 01:35:22.640 --> 01:35:24.960 or sling pilots, guys that are lifting you know, heavy 1955 01:35:25.000 --> 01:35:27.520 loads underneath the helicopter. That that's where they're at the 1956 01:35:27.600 --> 01:35:29.640 most risk. That's where the helicopter. 1957 01:35:29.600 --> 01:35:31.520 We've had a lot of helicopter crashes in New York, 1958 01:35:31.600 --> 01:35:35.279 even crazy lately in my in my time, I've bet 1959 01:35:35.359 --> 01:35:36.159 the two or three of them. 1960 01:35:37.079 --> 01:35:38.960 Yeah, yeah, we had the one here. I'm just going 1961 01:35:39.039 --> 01:35:40.600 to share your talking about it. If you guys remember 1962 01:35:41.000 --> 01:35:43.920 the Greening video. But our our air rescue down here 1963 01:35:44.000 --> 01:35:44.760 crash last year. 1964 01:35:45.119 --> 01:35:47.479 I went to a into a building, right to a house, 1965 01:35:47.960 --> 01:35:48.319 went to. 1966 01:35:48.560 --> 01:35:51.640 Uh right here, Well he looks like he's smoking there. 1967 01:35:52.479 --> 01:35:54.159 Well, he was on fire. And I think that was 1968 01:35:54.439 --> 01:35:56.560 you know, Scott was talking about earlier. She was talking 1969 01:35:56.560 --> 01:35:59.960 about it earlier. Where they they didn't from what I understood, 1970 01:36:00.000 --> 01:36:01.640 I don't have all the details. They didn't realize that. 1971 01:36:01.840 --> 01:36:03.479 They realized something came on and the alarms came on. 1972 01:36:03.600 --> 01:36:05.239 So they saw that they weren't that far from the airport. 1973 01:36:05.479 --> 01:36:08.239 So get back to the get back to the airport. 1974 01:36:08.479 --> 01:36:11.039 And as you can see in this picture, the tail 1975 01:36:11.119 --> 01:36:13.880 roader snapped at the I guess the fuselage if that's 1976 01:36:14.000 --> 01:36:16.680 my terminology is correct. It just spun and then it 1977 01:36:16.840 --> 01:36:18.439 just dropped here. But you know that this is what 1978 01:36:18.560 --> 01:36:22.239 it looked like obviously, but since then they had too 1979 01:36:22.279 --> 01:36:26.359 But it's just you talk about that, uh, responsibilities of policies. 1980 01:36:26.439 --> 01:36:29.239 They're the problem. You mentioned it earlier about landing right 1981 01:36:29.279 --> 01:36:31.680 away and get down. I don't part of them. What 1982 01:36:31.720 --> 01:36:33.960 I'm understanding is they didn't know that there was an 1983 01:36:33.960 --> 01:36:37.239 actual fire and there which contributed to the weakening of 1984 01:36:37.279 --> 01:36:39.119 the craft and crashing it. I believe, but I want 1985 01:36:39.119 --> 01:36:39.439 to miss it. 1986 01:36:39.600 --> 01:36:42.560 Yeah, it's tough, you know, it's not normal in helicopter 1987 01:36:42.640 --> 01:36:45.199 community to you know, all pilots are trained go back 1988 01:36:45.199 --> 01:36:46.720 to the airport and go back to you know, big 1989 01:36:47.000 --> 01:36:50.680 safe landing or we specifically train our pilots. Anything goes. 1990 01:36:50.800 --> 01:36:52.960 I don't care what if they feel like something wrong 1991 01:36:53.079 --> 01:36:55.279 land because we can be on the ground in fifteen 1992 01:36:55.319 --> 01:36:58.199 to twenty seconds. We're thirty seconds later. You may have 1993 01:36:58.279 --> 01:37:00.600 something like this where you know, the tail boom components 1994 01:37:00.640 --> 01:37:02.520 caught on fire and then you start losing control of 1995 01:37:02.520 --> 01:37:05.960 the aircraft. But it's not second guessing those guys. But 1996 01:37:06.199 --> 01:37:09.960 for us, you know, our ideology about having an escape 1997 01:37:10.000 --> 01:37:13.239 route and preparing for the eventuality of something bad to happen. 1998 01:37:13.720 --> 01:37:15.880 You've got seconds to get on the ground, and if 1999 01:37:15.920 --> 01:37:18.800 you're over land, there's always somewhere to land a helicopter. 2000 01:37:19.119 --> 01:37:21.840 I mean, we can at rotate and part of our training, 2001 01:37:22.279 --> 01:37:25.039 we spend we have two small helicopters there are Bell 2002 01:37:25.199 --> 01:37:27.920 five oh fives or training helicopters. We spend a very 2003 01:37:28.000 --> 01:37:30.600 large amount of time doing what's called autootative training, which 2004 01:37:30.640 --> 01:37:32.319 is you turn the engine out, you basically roll the 2005 01:37:32.319 --> 01:37:36.680 engine idol and you you descend into a target at 2006 01:37:36.800 --> 01:37:39.880 will and then land without your engine and your engine 2007 01:37:39.920 --> 01:37:42.720 is uncoupled, kind of like a ten speed bike. So 2008 01:37:42.840 --> 01:37:46.479 we practice that that behavior pattern so that we know 2009 01:37:46.600 --> 01:37:49.640 how to get down fast and land so that you know, 2010 01:37:49.960 --> 01:37:53.439 we hopefully avert that type of a disaster where you know, 2011 01:37:53.520 --> 01:37:56.479 you try to fly too long with the aircraft coming apart, 2012 01:37:57.479 --> 01:37:58.680 it doesn't work. 2013 01:37:58.600 --> 01:38:02.760 Out well, so well, fortunately lost. Sorry, good buddy, Not 2014 01:38:02.880 --> 01:38:04.720 good buddy. I was going to say that they were 2015 01:38:04.760 --> 01:38:06.960 saying that this house actually the two guys walked away 2016 01:38:06.960 --> 01:38:10.479 from it and two people parish the captain Terry Jackson 2017 01:38:10.680 --> 01:38:13.199 was the captain from the fire department, and the resident 2018 01:38:13.239 --> 01:38:14.680 inside the house here. But they were saying that this 2019 01:38:14.760 --> 01:38:17.319 house actually helped a little bit cact like a cushion 2020 01:38:17.439 --> 01:38:19.760 when the helicopter landed on almost like an or trampoline 2021 01:38:19.800 --> 01:38:22.319 kind of a thing. Or again that kind of helped, 2022 01:38:22.359 --> 01:38:23.560 that's all. Just going to make a mention of that. 2023 01:38:23.600 --> 01:38:24.840 I got a little side tracked from that. 2024 01:38:25.319 --> 01:38:28.399 So what makes you want to hang it up after 2025 01:38:28.479 --> 01:38:29.279 thirty five years? 2026 01:38:30.439 --> 01:38:33.640 You know, it's so a lot of things. I think, 2027 01:38:33.760 --> 01:38:37.359 you know, one thing I'm acutely aware of as the 2028 01:38:37.399 --> 01:38:39.920 actual aarial study. The longer we stay on the fire department, 2029 01:38:40.000 --> 01:38:42.840 the shorter our lifespan is. You know, we've got the 2030 01:38:42.880 --> 01:38:44.880 first part of my career thirty five years ago breathing 2031 01:38:44.920 --> 01:38:47.000 out brass. We didn't wear them as much as we 2032 01:38:47.039 --> 01:38:50.119 should have. There's a lot of bad stuff that's probably 2033 01:38:50.119 --> 01:38:52.920 floating around in my bloodstream. So you know, part of 2034 01:38:53.000 --> 01:38:54.960 me was if I could get out young and get 2035 01:38:55.000 --> 01:38:58.680 as many good years, you know, hopefully really a long 2036 01:38:58.800 --> 01:39:02.880 time because I literally could be at work and work 2037 01:39:02.920 --> 01:39:03.800 for another thirty years. 2038 01:39:03.840 --> 01:39:04.479 I just loved it. 2039 01:39:04.560 --> 01:39:07.640 I didn't, you know, I left my passion, I left 2040 01:39:07.680 --> 01:39:10.079 what I loved. But I was maxed out on our 2041 01:39:10.119 --> 01:39:12.279 service pension. You know, our service pension out here is 2042 01:39:12.399 --> 01:39:16.560 thirty three years to get your maximum service pension. And 2043 01:39:16.680 --> 01:39:18.560 then I was, you know, I'm young, and I just thought, 2044 01:39:18.600 --> 01:39:20.600 you know, this is it was the hardest decision I've 2045 01:39:20.640 --> 01:39:22.680 ever made, but I still think it was the right one. 2046 01:39:22.880 --> 01:39:25.960 I'm really pleased. Like I said, I went out on top. 2047 01:39:26.479 --> 01:39:29.960 And I also you know, I retired, I lost ten pounds, 2048 01:39:29.960 --> 01:39:32.640 I'm eating better, you know, the stress, the anxiety. 2049 01:39:32.279 --> 01:39:37.479 Sleep better. I just went and flowers, beautiful everything. 2050 01:39:38.479 --> 01:39:39.399 I don't think I knew. 2051 01:39:39.640 --> 01:39:42.560 It's the old lady's chasing you around the house all 2052 01:39:42.560 --> 01:39:42.960 the time. 2053 01:39:43.079 --> 01:39:45.880 Now, so that's just chasing you around. That's what's weight 2054 01:39:45.960 --> 01:39:47.520 bro chasing around the house. 2055 01:39:47.840 --> 01:39:50.159 Because you know he's got all those movie offers. 2056 01:39:50.199 --> 01:39:53.079 You know, I want to say, the vote is in. 2057 01:39:53.600 --> 01:39:58.439 We got seven Russell Crows one, Sean Connery zero, Brad Pitt's. 2058 01:40:01.720 --> 01:40:03.600 The man himself. Who do you think you look like? 2059 01:40:04.119 --> 01:40:04.159 No? 2060 01:40:04.359 --> 01:40:07.640 I listen, you know. 2061 01:40:09.479 --> 01:40:11.439 We can't get any better than this guy. Man, it 2062 01:40:11.520 --> 01:40:12.760 might be the coolest guy even. 2063 01:40:13.039 --> 01:40:23.479 Like no, no, no, wait, let me tell you, Sam, 2064 01:40:23.560 --> 01:40:25.159 you're that's good stuff. Man. It's a good time to 2065 01:40:25.199 --> 01:40:26.520 bring it up anyway. 2066 01:40:26.239 --> 01:40:28.840 Where we are, Okay, I think it might be that time. 2067 01:40:29.640 --> 01:40:32.920 It might be if you give me like three here 2068 01:40:32.960 --> 01:40:35.119 we go. All right, it's tired. Are you ready? Are 2069 01:40:35.119 --> 01:40:35.720 you ready? Scott? 2070 01:40:35.920 --> 01:40:36.399 I'm ready? 2071 01:40:36.640 --> 01:40:37.239 All right, here we go. 2072 01:40:37.479 --> 01:40:41.000 It's time for the old. 2073 01:40:43.600 --> 01:40:45.520 Now we'll say what it really close? 2074 01:40:45.600 --> 01:40:47.399 Oh, here we go, Hey, Brian, how you all right? 2075 01:40:47.479 --> 01:40:51.920 Russell Crowe take it away too, you know, I so 2076 01:40:52.039 --> 01:40:52.960 I did. Uh. 2077 01:40:53.279 --> 01:40:55.640 You know, I thought about it when Gonzo mentioned the 2078 01:40:56.159 --> 01:40:57.920 old school tip of the day, and I thought, you know, 2079 01:40:58.239 --> 01:41:00.199 I'm full of a lot of advice and be us 2080 01:41:00.239 --> 01:41:03.039 and I'll talk anybody's ear off on what to do. 2081 01:41:03.159 --> 01:41:06.319 I'm good at that. But I think what I'll leave 2082 01:41:06.359 --> 01:41:09.279 everybody with. It's you know, it's a phrase that I 2083 01:41:09.479 --> 01:41:12.039 heard when I was a young firefighter from kind of 2084 01:41:12.079 --> 01:41:14.720 a legend on the fire Department, and they ended up 2085 01:41:14.800 --> 01:41:18.079 placarding the front of our training center downtown with it. 2086 01:41:18.199 --> 01:41:19.920 So every time you walk in the doors, you see 2087 01:41:19.920 --> 01:41:23.560 it above the doors and it's train as if your 2088 01:41:23.600 --> 01:41:26.760 life depends on it. And for me, it was you know, 2089 01:41:26.880 --> 01:41:31.560 it encompasses everything. It encompasses professionalism, it encompasses preparing for 2090 01:41:31.680 --> 01:41:35.199 that moment when you'll fall back on your training you 2091 01:41:35.239 --> 01:41:38.560 won't rise to the occasion. So for me, that's, you know, 2092 01:41:38.760 --> 01:41:41.119 train as if your life depends on it. For all 2093 01:41:41.199 --> 01:41:43.039 of our brothers and sisters out there in the fire 2094 01:41:43.119 --> 01:41:45.800 service across the country, you know, too many people I 2095 01:41:45.840 --> 01:41:48.520 think get complacent. They get to those slow assignments and 2096 01:41:48.640 --> 01:41:52.159 they you know, they hang it up and cruise. But 2097 01:41:53.560 --> 01:41:55.000 every day, all the way to the end of my 2098 01:41:55.119 --> 01:41:58.920 thirty fifth year, I was out training and practicing emergencies 2099 01:41:59.000 --> 01:42:02.319 and being prepared for that moment that an engine failed. 2100 01:42:02.680 --> 01:42:06.479 I think I'm probably the most highly trained helicopter pilot 2101 01:42:06.479 --> 01:42:08.840 in the world on emergency landings with engine failures, and 2102 01:42:08.880 --> 01:42:12.279 I never experienced an engine failure, so that I'm proud 2103 01:42:12.319 --> 01:42:14.920 to say I left ready for something to go wrong, 2104 01:42:15.119 --> 01:42:17.600 but it never went wrong. So training as if your 2105 01:42:17.640 --> 01:42:21.239 life depends on it, that's gonna be mildki old school ticket. 2106 01:42:21.880 --> 01:42:23.039 I like it, like it. 2107 01:42:23.840 --> 01:42:26.039 I like God. I have a question. 2108 01:42:26.159 --> 01:42:31.479 You could pick another guest, get us another one. 2109 01:42:32.039 --> 01:42:34.039 I have. I have another question, though this is gonna 2110 01:42:34.039 --> 01:42:38.399 be This is a retirement question, now, Scott. We normally asked, 2111 01:42:38.640 --> 01:42:40.359 I'm not there yet, so I haven't had the dream yet, 2112 01:42:40.359 --> 01:42:42.039 But we normally ask have you had the dream yet? 2113 01:42:42.159 --> 01:42:44.039 In your case, it's going to be a I don't 2114 01:42:44.039 --> 01:42:46.279 know what You're dream is going to be like, and 2115 01:42:46.359 --> 01:42:48.039 the dream is do you wake up you can't find 2116 01:42:48.079 --> 01:42:49.239 your gear and your clase. Is it going to come 2117 01:42:49.279 --> 01:42:51.640 out in the helicopter's going to be gone wherever supposed 2118 01:42:51.640 --> 01:42:52.960 to fly. I wonder what your dream is going to be. 2119 01:42:53.079 --> 01:42:55.439 Like, well, Ship, you know it's funny you said, because 2120 01:42:55.439 --> 01:42:59.119 I I had I had several mornings, you know that 2121 01:42:59.239 --> 01:43:01.039 I woke up and I was late to work, or 2122 01:43:01.359 --> 01:43:02.920 the first thing I went to grab is my email, Like, 2123 01:43:02.960 --> 01:43:05.479 oh shit, I got checked my email, and it's taken 2124 01:43:05.600 --> 01:43:09.239 me some time to set my phone down and and 2125 01:43:09.399 --> 01:43:12.000 to not have those I'm like, Ship, I don't have 2126 01:43:12.079 --> 01:43:16.439 to be anywhere, you know, I mean the last racing 2127 01:43:16.560 --> 01:43:18.960 from one meeting to the nest and juggling budgets and 2128 01:43:19.039 --> 01:43:22.279 buying this and convincing city council members, and I'm like, 2129 01:43:22.359 --> 01:43:23.720 oh my god, I don't have to be anywhere. And 2130 01:43:23.800 --> 01:43:27.039 then I can just say that my beautiful partner comes 2131 01:43:27.079 --> 01:43:29.039 in and tells me to start digging holes in the backyard. 2132 01:43:32.079 --> 01:43:35.239 So let's Scott bullshit you he had to have excavated 2133 01:43:35.239 --> 01:43:38.399 out there today, was digging with it was all working controls. 2134 01:43:40.560 --> 01:43:43.640 I got a little just take off, like what's going on? 2135 01:43:48.279 --> 01:43:50.399 You wouldn't believe the things I've run into with that thing. 2136 01:43:50.520 --> 01:43:54.720 You know, you think I would be precision surgical with 2137 01:43:54.800 --> 01:43:57.199 that thing, and I've already knocked over a broken cup. 2138 01:43:57.239 --> 01:43:59.720 I would say it takes about a year before you 2139 01:44:00.079 --> 01:44:02.680 you get comfortable, because it kind of still feels like 2140 01:44:02.680 --> 01:44:05.600 you're on vacation sometimes or whatever. Like it's about a 2141 01:44:05.680 --> 01:44:08.760 year before you start. And and like you said, we 2142 01:44:08.840 --> 01:44:11.000 said in the pre show, like, you know, you got 2143 01:44:11.119 --> 01:44:13.199 to do this stuff while you can. You know, if 2144 01:44:13.199 --> 01:44:14.800 you want to go see the pyramids, you're not doing 2145 01:44:14.840 --> 01:44:17.159 that when you're seventy five. You know, like you can, 2146 01:44:17.720 --> 01:44:20.119 but it's better to do it now. And uh, and 2147 01:44:20.239 --> 01:44:21.239 do that stuff while you can. 2148 01:44:21.359 --> 01:44:23.119 You know, well what's on the bucket list. You got 2149 01:44:23.239 --> 01:44:24.760 some on the bucket list, so. 2150 01:44:24.960 --> 01:44:27.479 You know what we're developing it. We were we were 2151 01:44:27.479 --> 01:44:29.720 talking about going to Africa on Safari and the South 2152 01:44:29.800 --> 01:44:31.880 Korea thing popped up. I never would have gone to 2153 01:44:31.920 --> 01:44:35.279 South Korea or Japan, and we ended up laying over 2154 01:44:35.359 --> 01:44:37.000 for a week in Japan, a week in South Korea, 2155 01:44:37.039 --> 01:44:39.239 and it was amazing. I mean, I never would have 2156 01:44:39.239 --> 01:44:41.680 gone to Asia on my own. I'm just not one 2157 01:44:41.760 --> 01:44:44.399 to leave America. I'm like, I feel safe here. I'm 2158 01:44:44.439 --> 01:44:45.439 not I'm not leaving. 2159 01:44:45.760 --> 01:44:48.479 Communicate like, yeah, all the kind of thing. 2160 01:44:48.880 --> 01:44:52.199 So I think that my you know, my beautiful partner 2161 01:44:52.239 --> 01:44:54.439 and I are going to spend some time doing you know, 2162 01:44:54.560 --> 01:44:57.239 some adventures like that. Traveling is something I haven't done 2163 01:44:57.239 --> 01:44:59.920 a lot of. You know, it's a typical fireman. It's 2164 01:45:00.039 --> 01:45:03.119 ski boat trips and houseboat trips and you know, snow 2165 01:45:03.239 --> 01:45:06.720 ski trips and all the shorties. But you know, the 2166 01:45:07.319 --> 01:45:09.720 big thing is slowing down and enjoying all the friends 2167 01:45:09.760 --> 01:45:13.319 and family. Because for many years, I like you guys 2168 01:45:13.359 --> 01:45:15.840 may be the same. I missed every I for thirty 2169 01:45:15.880 --> 01:45:19.079 five years. I worked every everything, giving every holiday. You 2170 01:45:19.119 --> 01:45:21.319 know where I was in the fire station, so everybody 2171 01:45:21.399 --> 01:45:22.880 got used to come to the fire station to see 2172 01:45:22.920 --> 01:45:23.640 me on the holidays. 2173 01:45:23.680 --> 01:45:25.039 So you know, it's kind of new. 2174 01:45:25.079 --> 01:45:27.159 Now we're having all the holidays at home with all 2175 01:45:27.199 --> 01:45:31.199 the family. And so I'm excited and I'm I'm really blessed. 2176 01:45:31.239 --> 01:45:34.600 I'm young, I'm healthy, and I had an amazing career 2177 01:45:34.760 --> 01:45:37.000 and you know, just like opportunities like this, you know, 2178 01:45:37.479 --> 01:45:39.640 chance to share my story with some really great people, 2179 01:45:39.720 --> 01:45:42.560 and uh, the community as a whole in the fire 2180 01:45:42.680 --> 01:45:45.359 service is unparalleled. It's you know, I can I could 2181 01:45:45.359 --> 01:45:46.680 show up in New York and you guys have probably 2182 01:45:46.680 --> 01:45:47.520 put me up in a bedroom. 2183 01:45:47.840 --> 01:45:49.039 Hell yeah, same thing. 2184 01:45:49.079 --> 01:45:50.720 You guys show up in Montana next year. 2185 01:45:50.720 --> 01:45:51.560 You're coming on a boat. 2186 01:45:51.960 --> 01:45:53.520 Yeah, we got a boat, right, Yeah, hell yeah, you 2187 01:45:53.520 --> 01:45:54.359 gotta come to the city. 2188 01:45:54.520 --> 01:45:56.479 All all our guests come on a boat. Right, We 2189 01:45:56.560 --> 01:45:58.239 go around the Statue of Liberty, we go on. 2190 01:46:00.199 --> 01:46:02.479 Well, listen, you know Dave Downey took me on Miami 2191 01:46:02.600 --> 01:46:05.159 Dads fireboat around Miami. So you got some work to do. 2192 01:46:07.199 --> 01:46:08.279 To the scene we have. 2193 01:46:08.399 --> 01:46:11.239 You don't have to Brooklyn Bridge and Power and coming. 2194 01:46:11.359 --> 01:46:13.920 Well, it was Miami in the summer, and we went 2195 01:46:14.000 --> 01:46:16.479 down some corridor where every girl is in a bikini. 2196 01:46:17.119 --> 01:46:18.359 All right, so he's got to speak. 2197 01:46:19.079 --> 01:46:24.560 Yeah, that's visual. That's a Florida. Actually, we're saying California 2198 01:46:24.640 --> 01:46:25.199 is very similar. 2199 01:46:25.239 --> 01:46:26.640 If you're going to be in New York from the 2200 01:46:26.680 --> 01:46:29.119 water August. Second, we're going on this year. If you 2201 01:46:29.159 --> 01:46:31.319 want to, If you could make it this year, you're welcome. 2202 01:46:32.199 --> 01:46:33.159 Second, you and your lady. 2203 01:46:33.560 --> 01:46:35.439 Yeah, man, we'll take you guys up on it. 2204 01:46:35.720 --> 01:46:36.039 Neither was. 2205 01:46:36.319 --> 01:46:38.640 She spent time in Boston, so she's got a little boss. 2206 01:46:39.520 --> 01:46:43.279 Yeah. Wow, Dragon in New York wicked smart. 2207 01:46:43.319 --> 01:46:46.319 Oh, No, Rhode Island we gotta do the oldest full 2208 01:46:46.359 --> 01:46:47.199 health and safety tip. 2209 01:46:47.359 --> 01:46:47.960 Yes, here we go. 2210 01:46:49.319 --> 01:46:51.640 The First Responder Center for Excellence is a not for 2211 01:46:51.720 --> 01:46:55.239 profit organization dedicated to protecting their lives and livelihoods of 2212 01:46:55.439 --> 01:46:58.960 first responders. Their education and research initiatives aimed to bring 2213 01:46:59.039 --> 01:47:03.159 greater awareness and understanding the challenges to the health, safety 2214 01:47:03.279 --> 01:47:06.439 and well being of firefighters, EMS, personnel, and other first 2215 01:47:06.479 --> 01:47:09.640 responders too. They are an affiliate of the National Fallen 2216 01:47:09.800 --> 01:47:11.079 Firefighter Foundation. 2217 01:47:12.600 --> 01:47:14.159 And I'm going to use a tip that our guest 2218 01:47:14.239 --> 01:47:17.399 gave us tonight. Back then, they didn't use mass hardly ever, right, 2219 01:47:17.760 --> 01:47:20.199 and he retired early because why because he wants to 2220 01:47:20.399 --> 01:47:21.479 enjoy his retirement. 2221 01:47:22.039 --> 01:47:23.239 So please the. 2222 01:47:23.279 --> 01:47:26.720 Whole not wearing masks, not washing up, So it's out 2223 01:47:26.760 --> 01:47:28.840 the window now, bro, take care of yourself, take care 2224 01:47:28.880 --> 01:47:30.880 of your lungs, take care of your health so you 2225 01:47:30.920 --> 01:47:35.920 can live a long retirement on a fixed income. 2226 01:47:36.520 --> 01:47:40.239 Beautiful, wonderful. What we got next week, Ruffy. 2227 01:47:40.600 --> 01:47:43.439 We got chief boys next weekend, Chief boys. 2228 01:47:43.479 --> 01:47:45.920 And we also have I will fill you in on 2229 01:47:46.119 --> 01:47:50.000 how Ellie Coobler, eighty six years old started her week career. 2230 01:47:52.159 --> 01:47:53.960 My mother, what can go wrong? 2231 01:47:54.079 --> 01:47:56.000 She dabbled with, we what could go wrong. 2232 01:47:56.800 --> 01:48:02.239 Help you have a video? Should Scott. 2233 01:48:03.560 --> 01:48:03.880 Problem? 2234 01:48:04.720 --> 01:48:08.039 Wonderful job, great Korea, great stories learned. 2235 01:48:09.800 --> 01:48:10.600 Yeah, a lot of stuff. 2236 01:48:10.600 --> 01:48:13.720 I was interested and did. Okay, he can stay another week. 2237 01:48:13.720 --> 01:48:15.600 I'm ready. I can go fly helicopter. No, let's go. 2238 01:48:15.760 --> 01:48:18.359 Yeah, yeah, thanks for having guys. 2239 01:48:18.479 --> 01:48:18.680 Yeah. 2240 01:48:18.680 --> 01:48:20.760 I really appreciate it and I had a good time. 2241 01:48:20.800 --> 01:48:22.760 It's good. Good to spending some time with you guys. 2242 01:48:23.239 --> 01:48:25.199 And you can go get us another guest now, gonz 2243 01:48:25.279 --> 01:48:26.760 you did such a fun, wonderful job. 2244 01:48:27.239 --> 01:48:29.840 It was fun. We'll talk about after the show. But anyway, 2245 01:48:31.640 --> 01:48:33.119 a couple of shoutouts, you guys have any I just 2246 01:48:33.159 --> 01:48:34.279 have those two firefighters that. 2247 01:48:35.800 --> 01:48:36.239 Go ahead. 2248 01:48:37.359 --> 01:48:39.840 I'm just gonna make mention. I'm gonna screw his name up, 2249 01:48:39.880 --> 01:48:43.520 but from Tawilada forty one was it? Yeah? Forty one? Yes, 2250 01:48:44.439 --> 01:48:49.319 I can't pronounce his name, Matthew the co Geo Cochia. 2251 01:48:49.600 --> 01:48:51.119 Forgive me if I'm pronouncing it wrong. He was killed 2252 01:48:51.119 --> 01:48:54.880 in a motorcycle accident on the FDR just the other day. 2253 01:48:56.039 --> 01:49:00.279 Condolences to his family, and we had a firefight from 2254 01:49:00.319 --> 01:49:03.119 Saint Lucie County. We passed away all the job. His 2255 01:49:03.319 --> 01:49:08.640 name is Saint Lucie County Fire Jarias Hodge. He had 2256 01:49:09.079 --> 01:49:11.319 some illness. I'm not really sure. That's very vague in 2257 01:49:11.359 --> 01:49:13.479 the story. He went home from work now feeling so 2258 01:49:13.560 --> 01:49:17.159 good and ended up passing away. So I believe they're 2259 01:49:17.159 --> 01:49:18.840 gonna they're gonna consider that a lot of duty death 2260 01:49:18.880 --> 01:49:22.680 for him. That's by you, Yeah, Saint Lucie County, just 2261 01:49:22.760 --> 01:49:25.399 about an hour or so in both of me, excuse. 2262 01:49:25.039 --> 01:49:26.720 Me, that's a line of duty. We're gonna give him 2263 01:49:26.720 --> 01:49:40.800 the five belts. Brother too young, too young, my. 2264 01:49:40.880 --> 01:49:43.840 Friend too young, and another shout out, my last shout, 2265 01:49:43.840 --> 01:49:46.000 I'll be the chief Dave Downey for hooking us up 2266 01:49:46.039 --> 01:49:48.079 with Scott, hooking me up, getting him in here. A 2267 01:49:48.079 --> 01:49:49.920 little kudos to Chief. I know he said he was 2268 01:49:49.920 --> 01:49:53.199 watching earlier. I don't know if he caught that Scott. Yeah, 2269 01:49:53.239 --> 01:49:55.039 they thought he was a Chief Downy from FDM. I 2270 01:49:55.119 --> 01:49:56.239 but I'm sure he gets that all the time. 2271 01:49:56.760 --> 01:49:58.439 That guy comes on our show. We're gonna make a 2272 01:49:58.479 --> 01:50:02.159 lot of money because was he's talking to us beyond 2273 01:50:02.199 --> 01:50:02.560 the grave. 2274 01:50:02.640 --> 01:50:04.000 That guy, Oh that guy. 2275 01:50:04.119 --> 01:50:11.039 So yeah, alright, guys, until next week. I was gonna 2276 01:50:11.199 --> 01:50:13.000 I won't even talk about the membership, just go sign 2277 01:50:13.079 --> 01:50:13.760 up for the membership. 2278 01:50:13.920 --> 01:50:15.199 We'll talk about We'll get it out there a little, 2279 01:50:15.239 --> 01:50:17.079 get it on Instagram. We'll get it guys. Yeah, we 2280 01:50:17.159 --> 01:50:19.800 had another new member today, so it's stats. 2281 01:50:20.159 --> 01:50:21.800 What I say, Stay low and go. 2282 01:50:22.680 --> 01:50:25.039 Thanks again, Chief. We'll see it the big one. Everybody 2283 01:50:25.119 --> 01:50:25.640 take care. 2284 01:50:25.760 --> 01:50:27.880 All right, Thanks again, Scott. Remember we're rolling heavy down 2285 01:50:27.880 --> 01:50:31.680 the South Florida. As I like to say, stay salty, 2286 01:50:31.760 --> 01:50:32.920 my friend. Have a good night.