Aaron Branch

30 years of combination experience. A District Chief with Houston Fire Department and Assistant Chief with Spring FD just outside Houston. Growing up without a father figure in his life Robert lived across from a fire station. The men within that station became bigger brothers to Robert at the age of 8. The examples of how they carried themselves as firefighters and men meant a great deal to Robert and the end result became who he is today. Mentorship and being a leader to others can go such a long way for individuals who need that guidance in their life and Robert is a prime example of this. I hope the listeners can tune into the message and absorb the information Robert speaks.

28 years of combination experience. 2nd generation Firefighter. Deputy Chief Of Operations with Lynchburg Fire Department in Virginia. From the young age of 2 Marques spoke the word Firetruck and that’s all he ever wanted to do. He was able to get into the Public safety field but wanted no part of having to do Law enforcement and Firefighting at the same time. The goal was always Fire. Once he was able to achieve that dream he had one goal, and that was to “Always Make Progress.” Marques spoke the truth and preached the truth when it came to Leadership and the difference between training and drilling. I hope you all enjoy this interview as much as I did.IG: Purposed_life

16 years of career experience. Apparatus Operator on Squad 18 with The Colony Fire Department in Texas. Growing up Bryce was involved in sports and had aspirations of possibly going professional until an injury sidelined that career track. Luckily for Bryce his quarterback had a father who was a Fire Chief and asked him if he wanted to attend fire school with him. Bryce figured why not and went. Once he got enrolled he fell in love with the job instantly and never looked back. During his career Bryce’s department suffered a Line of duty death (LODD). I would like the listeners to pay attention, digest and process Bryce’s experience and the discussions taking place in this interview. Bryce came on preaching the good word and I truly hope we all can self reflect from this interview. IG: campbellfire2

19 years of combination experience. Captain on Engine 35 A shift with the Town Of Apex Fire department. Aaron was also selected to speak at this past SAFRE conference in North Carolina where he presented a class on Prioritizing the Search. Aaron wasn’t thinking about the fire service when he was growing up. He had a friend who he met in his band class that told him he was going to join the local volunteer fire department. Once Aaron got on that began the start of his journey into the fire service as he fell in love with it and couldn’t imagine doing anything else. One of the things that stuck out to me was how Aaron mentioned he would always do what was asked of him but as he gained years of experience and maturity he realized he actually didn’t know as much as he thought he did. Aaron has a huge passion for search and when you hear why you’ll understand.IG: drake3288

8 years of career experience, 3rd generation Firefighter. A Engineer on Rescue 1 for Savannah Fire Department In Georgia. Tyler never had the career notions of becoming a Firefighter. She was always around sports and in college played D2 Basketball, transitioned to coaching and along the way obtained her masters degree in sports medicine. But Tyler felt like she wanted to do more. Her father mentioned joining the fire service and with that everything seemed to click in place and Tyler never looked back. Once in Tyler had mentors that helped shaped her viewpoint and mindset towards being a better version of herself. We all need to have someone in our lives to help push out that inner positive being within us to truly allow ourselves to leave the service better than we found it. IG:tylernicolebarrett

26 years of combination experience 3rd generation Firefighter. Captain on Engine 60 with Houston Fire Department, Logistics Tech with Spring Fire Department & Instructor with Fire Academy Online. From the moment John ran his first structure fire he was hooked and knew right then and there he wanted to go career. Hell if he even said to his partner on scene. Houston was always the goal and through hard work and determination John was able to get on. From there he took full advantage of being around the senior members of the department and took mental notes along the way as he climbed through the ranks to Company Officer. I loved our discussions we had and took full advantage of hearing some of the traditions with the Houston Fire Department.IG: jaydoubleyouinn

26 years of career experience. A retired Firefighter with Oakland Fire Department. Firefighting was far from Jason’s mind. He dropped out of high school early and didn’t really have a grasp of what was next for him. One day he watched Firefighters put out a dumpster fire and the Captain on scene asked him if he ever thought about the fire service. One thing led to another and Jason found his way starting with wild land then transitioned to Oakland. The thing about life is you truly and shouldn’t ever judge a book by its cover. Everybody is going through something you have no idea about. Jason’s faith is his foundation and I hope the listeners can truly tune into his story and reflect. IG: jasonsautel

25 years of combination experience. A Lieutenant with San Antonio Fire Department on Engine 4. Rich always had the notion he wanted to be a Firefighter. Pre backdraft the long coat, hip boots and jeans were always etched in his mind. When the time came for Rich to apply he had to go up against thousands. But with hard work and studying Rich’s dreams came true. I absolutely loved the conversation between Rich and I on this interview. One of the takeaways if you’re a Company Officer is you best believe others are watching everything you do. You can’t just talk about it you have to be about it. IG: alamocity_engine4

37 years of combination experience. A Retired Deputy Chief Of Operations with Thornton Fire Department in 2019. Previously retired Battalion Chief with South King Fire & Rescue who climbed through the ranks. Owner and founder of Redline Leadership LLC. Upon graduating high school Kevin didn’t really know his next move. His mother simply asked the question “Now what are you going to do?” And mentioned joining the local volunteer fire department. Kevin did just that and never looked back. Kevin’s mindset and perspective towards the fire service is so on point due to the fact that it wasn’t never about him. I truly hope the listeners can pick up the knowledge Kevin is dropping. I throughly enjoyed our conversation and hope you do as well.

21 years of combination experience. A Lieutenant/Medic with Montgomery County Fire-Rescue. At a young age Aaron joined his local volunteer fire department for community service hours towards graduation. What turned into just needing hours transformed into a love for the job due to the amount of work Aaron was able to establish under his belt. Law enforcement was the plan but that quickly went out the window. Aaron surrounded himself with individuals who most certainly loved and respected the job. And once he found out he could go career the rest was history.