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Chief Bob Horton: ‘Wildfire is coming to a town near you’

The USFA’s new branch chief for wildfire policy urges listeners who consider themselves to be “structure fire only” to adjust their mindset – and their tactics

Attention, structural firefighters: Wildfire does impact your community. If you’re thinking, “Nope, not here,” then you might be confusing wildfire and wildland fire. This small difference in wording has a big impact, not only on training and tactics but also the funding and resources that go toward battling these fires. Chief Bob Horton, the USFA’s newly appointed branch chief for wildfire policy breaks down the terminology and explains how easy it is for any community in the United States to face a serious wildfire scenario. Plus, we dig into all of this:

  • The unique challenge of evacuations in wildfire events
  • New technology that can help fire service leaders
  • How to leverage insurance company changes
  • Why it all comes back to “constraints, tradeoffs and competing interests” – and making the best decisions for the community

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

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Previously on the Better Every Shift Podcast
The co-founder of HeartFit for Duty shares the common risk factors for cardiac and cancer challenges – and the simple exercise with the greatest impact