We Key the Mic for a Bond Measure Implementation

Author: Key the Mic Staff
Published: 12/21/2021
In our previous episode, Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue Chief John Oliver described a seemingly insurmountable task: finding money for the special district he serves to replace or upgrade 9 out of 10 fire stations! Chief Oliver and his team decided to take a new approach to requesting funding, which resulted in passing a $60M capital facilities bond with a 73% approval rating during the pandemic. In this follow-up episode, Chief Oliver talks about what his district needed to do after they passed the bond measure. He shares his experience working with a rating agency, tackling the debt sale and more including breaking ground on a new station.     read more

We Key the Mic for a Chief’s First 200 Days

Author: Key the Mic Staff
Published: 9/21/2021
“Take your time—although it’s often the hardest thing to do—to learn about your fire department,” recommends Boise Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer. As an experienced fire chief, he knows a thing or two about leading a fire department. Looking back over his 29-year career and first 200 days as Boise’s Fire Chief, he shares solid advice that will help set a new chief up for success. If you’ve wondered what skills a fire chief needs to succeed, tune in to this episode.     read more

We Key the Mic for Technology: How One Alaskan Community Improved Sudden Cardiac Arrest Outcomes

Author: Key the Mic Staff
Published: 7/20/2021
Fire Chief Douglas Schrage knew that a community-centered solution was needed to improve sudden cardiac arrest survival rates and response times in his remote Alaskan borough. Chief Schrage explains how he, with support from local fire chiefs and other community leaders, tackled the issue and made a significant impact on outcomes in the Fairbanks area. Tune in to hear how Fairbanks was able to educate citizens and pull together 11 mostly volunteer fire departments to successfully rollout PulsePoint, resulting in a sustainable program that has improved cardiac arrest survival rates.     read more

We Key the Mic for Innovative Training: CPR Through Comedy

Author: Key the Mic Staff
Published: 5/18/2021
Training through comedy? Yes. In 2019, Fire Department Chronicles (FDC) premiered Comedy CPR, a YouTube video for viewers to learn how to save people’s lives while laughing at the same time. It has 382,231 views! We recently caught up with FDC creator and star Jason Patton to talk about a new program he’s started. Jason’s a busy guy—he’s a full-time firefighter/paramedic and VP of Fire Department Coffee, a company run by active and retired firefighters. In March, Jason announced an audacious goal of training 22 MILLION people in CPR and other life-saving skills by the end of 2022. In this episode, Jason shares how he became a firefighter, developed his insanely popular FDC YouTube video series, and his plans for training people everywhere that "...CPR is a normal thing, 'Cause it is."     read more

We Key the Mic for Liquid CO2 Decontamination

Author: Key the Mic Staff
Published: 2/23/2021
Exposure to toxins while on the job is a certainty for firefighters. Rinsing turnout gear on-scene, using disinfecting wipes and showering, along with washing turnouts in detergent are all important steps to removing toxins that may adversely affect firefighter health. According to NFPA, traditional methods for washing turnout gear removes 15%-40% of carcinogens from turnouts. But what if there was a way to remove 99% of the toxins that get on firefighter gear? Now there is. Join us for a conversation with Mike Duyck, Vice President of Emergency Technical Decon (ETD). He’ll share the science behind liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) cleaning and how it removes 99% of the carcinogens left on turnouts, masks, helmets, SCBA and more.     read more