Podcasts about firefighters

Mike opens The Restaurant Show with updates from around Colorado Springs, including Berry’s Basket Cafe, the International Association of Fire Fighters memorial and a recent visit to the new Guadalajara Mexican Buffet on South Academy. That buffet sparks a much bigger conversation about restaurant reviews, social media criticism and why diners can have wildly different expectations about food, price and value. Mike and the crew break down the buffet’s Mexican dishes, military discount, service and overall experience while discussing the difference between sharing a recommendation and acting as a traditional restaurant critic. He also looks at how social media algorithms encourage outrage, why negative comments can overwhelm otherwise simple restaurant posts and how businesses should respond when customers complain publicly. The hour mixes Colorado Springs dining, restaurant industry insight, customer service and marketing into a spirited discussion about how people decide where to eat in the social media era.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A paramedic testified that Ashley Flynn had no pulse by 2:42 a.m. Later, a Tipp City police drone went into the air around the Flynn home — and Officer Hunter Bradburn told jurors what its thermal camera detected moving.Firefighter and paramedic Alex Huels testified that he responded to the Flynn residence and entered the bedroom where Ashley was located.Huels said Ashley was lying on her left side in the bed. A towel was positioned over her head, and he testified that he removed it during his assessment.According to Huels, Ashley had a penetrating head wound, was unmoving, and had no detectable pulse. He testified that his assessment concluded at approximately 2:42 a.m.Officer Hunter Bradburn later testified about documenting the property with a police drone.Bradburn said he took aerial photographs of the Flynn home. During cross-examination, he testified that the drone was deployed at approximately 3:56 a.m. and described the deployment as occurring more than an hour and a half after the incident.Bradburn said the only moving heat signatures he observed at that point were animals.The time gap is important context for jurors evaluating that evidence. Bradburn was describing what the drone detected when it was operating, not what its cameras could establish about the property earlier in the night.Caleb Flynn has pleaded not guilty in the death of his wife, Ashley Flynn. Prosecutors allege he killed Ashley and staged their home to look like the scene of a burglary. His defense says Ashley was killed during a real home invasion and investigators eventually rushed toward Caleb as their suspect.Listen Anywhere You Get Podcasts: https://pod.link/1655749292 Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video? Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod?sub_confirmation=1 Join Our SubStack For AD-FREE ADVANCE EPISODES & EXTRAS!: https://hiddenkillers.substack.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/ Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpodThis publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.#CalebFlynn #AshleyFlynn #TrueCrimeToday #CalebFlynnTrial #AlexHuels #HunterBradburn #DroneFootage #TippCityPolice #OhioTrial #TrueCrime

On this show, more voices from “Turning the Tide: 9/11, 25 Years Later,” a conference of scholars, scientists, firefighters and a myriad of others who dispute the official narrative of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. The conference in New York City occurred as the United States nears the seven-month mark in an illegal war of aggression against the people of Iran, the most recent war targeting West Asia and Africa, in the so-called war on terror launched after the 9/11 attacks, which were blamed on 19 Muslim alleged hijackers armed with box cutters. For this second show featuring voices from the conference, we hear from two people in the firefighter community who were at ground zero of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, including Bill Manning, a leading journalist in the fire service trade press, and Chris Gioia, retired volunteer firefighter and fire chief. Gioia is also a fire commissioner for his Long Island community, of Franklin Square and Munson, where he led the commission to vote for a new federal investigation into the attacks on the World Trade Center. The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people's voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank you. The show is made possible only by our volunteer energy, our resolve to keep the people's voices on the air, and by support from our listeners. In this new era of fake corporate news, we have to be and support our own media! Please click here or click on the Support-Donate tab on this website to subscribe for as little as $3 a month. We are so grateful for this small but growing amount of monthly crowdsource funding on Patreon. PATREON NOW HAS A ONE-TIME, ANNUAL DONATION FUNCTION! You can also give a one-time or recurring donation on PayPal. Thank

00:00:00 – The Pope Must Die DVD hunt 00:05:00 – Alex Jones clips of the week 00:09:55 – Nashville Christmas bomber's reptilian worldview 00:36:48 – Trump calls the AI takeover a hoax 00:41:46 – China warns AI threatens party rule 00:46:23 – Anthropic staff mourn retired Claude 00:51:22 – AI recruiter accepts total gibberish 00:53:43 – People named Al get mistaken for AI 01:02:25 – Garbage trucks scan homes for code violations 01:07:22 – Tucker Carlson claims Trump buried Epstein files 01:11:05 – Costco rations motor oil amid refinery crisis 01:16:05 – Liberland draws hundreds of thousands of applicants 01:21:04 – UK village votes to secede over asylum plan 01:25:59 – Pentagon changes UFO disclosure rules 01:30:28 – Americans weigh the impact of alien disclosure 01:35:19 – Zoo advertises a child predator tour 01:39:14 – Netflix revives the Stanford Prison Experiment 01:49:04 – Firefighters finish mowing a sick man's lawn 01:53:53 – End-of-show wrap-up Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research ▀▄▀▄▀ CONTACT LINKS ▀▄▀▄▀ ► Phone: 614-388-9109 ► Skype: ourbigdumbmouth ► Website: http://obdmpod.com ► Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/obdmpod ► Full Videos at Odysee: https://odysee.com/@obdm:0 ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/obdmpod ► Instagram: obdmpod ► Email: ourbigdumbmouth at gmail ► RSS: http://ourbigdumbmouth.libsyn.com/rss ► iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/our-big-dumb-mouth/id261189509?mt=2  

An off-duty firefighter was on his way to spend the day with his brothers when he heard the news that a plane had just hit the World Trade Center. What he chose to do next became one of the most enduring stories of that entire day.Sponsored and Produced by The Conspiracy PodcastYour Host, Eric RacheffTo Donate to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, please visit www.t2t.orgDirect Channel Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3YsZkbstxMfUHHk4zb9tDirect Channel Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9-11-stories/id6811119815

“Stop talking. Give me reps.” That's the message from the What Firefighters Want survey report focused on training. Captain Lisa Burton joins Zam and Janelle to break down the survey findings, including the fact that motivation isn't the issue; it's securing training that respects firefighters' time and prepares them for the job. The discussion gets into checkbox drills, instructor qualifications, measurable objectives, micro-training, realistic scenarios and the challenge of fitting meaningful development into already packed schedules. This episode of the Better Every Shift podcast is sponsored by FirstNet, Built with AT&T. The only wireless network built with — and for — firefighters like you. Learn more at FirstNet.com. Enjoying the show? Email editor@firerescue1.com for feedback. 

Now for some time, I'd say this would be over a number of years, I've been receiving texts from firefighters who are extremely unhappy with the way their organisation is being run. It hasn't just been over this latest pay dispute and the strikes. This has been ongoing for a couple of years now. There haven't been outright accusations per se, but a deep-seated uneasiness, and in some cases anger, about the way FENZ is running the organisation and the way they're treating firefighters. Now a scathing report has confirmed what they have been saying. The board is under fire and under threat of removal, and questions are being asked as to whether FENZ is capable of buying its own fire trucks, sourcing its own materials. Brooke van Velden, the Minister for Fire and Emergency, says she has absolutely no confidence in the chief executive Kerry Gregory, nor indeed of the board. National MP Tim Costley, who's the deputy chair of the Governance and Administration Committee, said the report into FENZ lays bare years of failings. For example, FENZ bought 30 new fire trucks in 2019. Well, that's good, isn't it? That's what the firefighters have been striking for. Well, yes, they're still not being used. They're almost obsolete before they've put a tyre on the road. Costley says the evidence shows FENZ has not been able to deliver. They've consistently had delays, they've consistently had issues with the trucks, and it looks like they have a culture of changing the design halfway through the process regularly, which would be a bit tricky for the manufacturers. Ladder trucks that FENZ bought have also suffered significant delays. Despite a final inspection in July 2025, they're still sitting with the original manufacturers, not yet delivered to FENZ and far from being put into operational use, which puts the firefighters at risk. They don't have the equipment they need to do the job. How the hell can you have 30 new trucks that were bought seven years ago that are still not being used? The pay disputes are ongoing. Every time I go past my Birkenhead fire station between just after midday when I finish work and there they are, standing on the side of the road, placards and horns tooting. Yesterday Brooke van Velden said she had no confidence in the CEO of FENZ or its board, specifically because of a serious breach of the no surprises clause as she told Mike Hosking this morning. BvV: There's always been issues with Fire and Emergency. We've always known that. Lots of historic issues, payroll, the fleet procurement, asset management. But at least when I've known about it, I've been able to actively hold them accountable to their plans and processes and we have actually seen some progress. This was active withholding of information and I think it reeks of people thinking they're above the law. MH: Indeed, what is it about FENZ because as you say it's been going on for years in various different guises. What is it about FENZ in and of itself that's so uniquely hopeless? BvV: Well, I've asked my officials specifically that question, which is is it because it is a Crown entity so at arm's length from government ministers that they are essentially a law unto themselves. And so I've asked for some immediate advice on whether or not there does need to be a better change to the law to allow for better accountability. Is it the fact that it is a Crown entity that is leading to these widespread cultural issues at play? Why are they not under the purview of the Crown? Make them like the Police, have a Fire Commissioner. Ensure that their funding is steady and reliable and within the budget, not dependent on people paying insurance levies. Because at the moment that's how a significant amount of their operational budget is raised: through levies. And when people cut back on their insurance when times are tough, hello, like right now, then that is felt by FENZ. If they were like the Police, then their budget would be assured. They'd always want more, of course, but at least surely to God they'd get trucks on the road and ladder trucks that could be used by the firefighters. And what is it about public servants that they don't understand their very titles? They serve the public. No, they appear to be serving themselves or they appear to be so hopeless they don't know how to do the job properly. We've seen that with immigration and an ongoing case in immigration. We've seen that now with the board and chair of FENZ. Is the job beyond them? Is it so big that they don't know what they're doing? Are they just not being, for want of a better word, are they not being ridden properly? When you're a minister you have to be on top of your department. Given that this isn't a government department per se, would it be better to have them under a good minister? But then the department is only as good as its minister. When you've got weak ministers, you've got lazy ministers, then the public servants know they can get away with anything. Well, I'm not going to call them public servants because a lot of them are not. Some of them are, a lot of them are not. I'll call them bureaucrats. They know they can run rings around their new minister and they do so. So you'd need to have a minister who is on top of their portfolio to get any kind of better outcome than we've seen so far. I imagine too that for those firefighters who've been sending in the texts, this will be vindication for you. I mean, there'll be no great joy in it because you still haven't got the equipment you need. It's still all that money has been invested with little to show for it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on The Weekly Scrap... Chief Mike Salzano!Talking firefighting, training, engine company operations, and leadership, there's plenty to get into on this episode.Mike brings nearly three decades of experience in the fire service, with much of his career spent in engine companies. Today, he serves as a Battalion Chief with Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue and continues to share that experience through training and teaching.He's the owner of FS Training & Consulting, founder of the Fort Lauderdale Fire Expo, and has spent years teaching Engine Company Operations, including the MEGA — Make Engines Great Again class.We cover a lot including engine company operations, the basics, first-line deployment, preparing for when things don't go according to plan, leadership, and training. There was a lot of directions we could of taken this one, and with Mike's experience and passion for the job, we had no shortage of things to discuss.Mike was last on Episode 196, where we talked respect, leadership, developing others, communication, size-up, and plenty more. If you haven't heard that Scrap, go back and give it a listen before Episode 373.And of course the live audience brought the heat!!!!

A two-time Grammy-nominated music professional, retired firefighter/EMT, cancer survivor, author, and first responder advocate shares what happens when the helper becomes the one who needs help. Spotify / Apple Podcasts Description: What happens when a man who spent more than two decades running toward emergencies suddenly finds himself facing one of his own? On this episode of the ToosDay Crüe, we sit down with David Dachinger—retired Fire Lieutenant and EMT, Stage IV cancer survivor, two-time Grammy Award nominee, bestselling author, peer coach, and host of Responder Resilience. David's story spans worlds that rarely collide. Before entering the fire service, he built a career in the music industry, working behind the scenes with artists including Celine Dion, Roberta Flack, Usher, and The Isley Brothers. Later, he found his way into firefighting, eventually serving more than 21 years in emergency services and rising into leadership. Then life changed again. A lump discovered during a routine haircut led to a diagnosis of Stage IV cancer. David was forced to step away from the job, undergo chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, and confront the reality that the person who had always helped others was now the one fighting to survive. In this deeply personal conversation, David opens up about the culture of first responders, the emotional weight carried home after difficult calls, the long-standing belief that “silence equals strength,” and why asking for help can actually make someone a stronger firefighter, leader, spouse, parent, and human being. He also shares how cancer reshaped his definition of a bad day, why retirement can create a loss of identity and purpose for first responders, and how trauma—when addressed instead of buried—can become the beginning of growth rather than the end of the story. This episode explores: • First responder mental health and accumulated trauma • Firefighter burnout, sleep disruption, withdrawal, and emotional triggers • The impact emergency-service careers can have on marriages and families • Peer support and why seeking help is not weakness • Life after the badge and the struggle to replace purpose, identity, and brotherhood • David's Stage IV cancer diagnosis and recovery journey • Post-traumatic growth and turning adversity into service • Lessons from David's work with 22Zero • The mission behind Responder Resilience • Leadership, compassion, mentorship, and resilience • Why the hardest step may simply be making the first call for help David's message to first responders is clear: you were a human being before you ever put on the badge—and you still deserve the same care, compassion, and support you give everyone else. If you are a firefighter, EMT, paramedic, law enforcement officer, dispatcher, veteran, spouse, family member, cancer survivor, or anyone carrying more than the people around you realize, this conversation is worth hearing. Connect with David Dachinger & Responder Resilience: Website: https://www.respondertv.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/ Connect with The Misfit Nation: https://www.themisfitnation.com If this episode speaks to you, follow the show, share it with someone who needs the message, and help us keep these conversations moving forward. Be humble. Stay hungry. Keep hustling. We are MisfitNation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lot of people talk about “finding purpose” after the military. Dana Corriveau (https://www.mantlechallenge.org/events) actually had to fight for it. Dana served eight years in the United States Air Force in Security Forces, deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and came home with the kind of accelerated maturity that doesn't always fit neatly back into small-town life. Later, he builds a new career as a firefighter in Connecticut, but the deeper battle hits off the job: a divorce, a season of spiritual darkness, and the uncomfortable work of owning his choices instead of blaming everyone else. We talk through what veteran transition really feels like when the tribe is gone and your identity is in flux. Dana shares how faith shifted from “I know who Jesus is” to “I'm following Christ,” why a study Bible and real conviction mattered, and the practical tools he reaches for when life is on the edge, including fasting, prayer, and rebuilding discipline when lust and pornography have rewired the way you think. If you care about veteran mental health, marriage under pressure, and the long road back to integrity, this conversation goes there without pretending it's simple. Then we get into Mantle Challenge, the mission Dana founded to support members of the Air Force Special Warfare community and their families. He tells the story of “Operation Hike for the House,” a 114-mile prayer hike on the Connecticut stretch of the New England Trail that included exhaustion, cramps, and more than one bear encounter. We also share details for the upcoming free fundraising event on September 26 and 27 at Windsor Locks High School, plus why the invitation is broad: come as you are, whether you're strong, struggling, curious about faith, or just ready to support a community that has carried a heavy load. If this story moves you, subscribe, share the episode with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations. What part of Dana's journey hits closest to home for you?Support the showElsa's AMAZON STORE Elsa's FAITH & FREEDOM MERCH STOREElsa's BOOKSElsa Kurt: You may know her for her uncanny, viral Kamala Harris impressions & conservative comedy skits, but she's also a lifelong Patriot & longtime Police Wife. She has channeled her fierce love and passion for God, family, country, and those who serve as the creator, Executive Producer & Host of the Elsa Kurt Show with Clay Novak. Her show discusses today's topics & news from a middle class/blue collar family & conservative perspective. The vocal LEOW's career began as a multi-genre author who has penned over 25 books, including twelve contemporary women's novels. Clay Novak: Clay Novak was commissioned in 1995 as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry and served as an officer for twenty four years in Mechanized Infantry, Airborne Infantry, and Cavalry units .  He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2019. Clay is a graduate of the U.S. Army Ranger School and is a Master Rated Parachutist, serving for more tha...

Train Clean, Fight Dirty | Ryan Conley of Carna Bunker GearVisit: Carna Bunker Gearhttps://www.carnabunkergear.com/This week, we're joined by Ryan Conley from Carna Bunker Gear for a conversation about firefighter training, cancer prevention, fitness, and why we may need to rethink how often we train in our frontline turnout gear.Ryan shares how his background as a firefighter, strength athlete, coach, and exercise physiology nerd eventually led to the creation of Carna Bunker Gear — training gear designed to give firefighters the weight and thermal challenges of bunker gear without unnecessarily training in contaminated frontline PPE.We get into PFAS, PAHs, dirty gear, SCBAs, apparatus contamination, decon, thermal adaptation, firefighter fitness, and the cumulative exposures firefighters face throughout a 20–30 year career.But the conversation goes beyond cancer.How hard should you actually work out while you're on duty? Could crushing yourself during a workout make you a liability if the tones drop five minutes later? And has the fire service gone too far with “safety culture”… or are we finally getting smarter about risks we can actually control?Adam also asks one of the biggest questions of the episode:Was it worth it?Despite the risks, injuries, sleepless nights, cancer concerns, and everything this career asks of us — for the families we showed up for on the worst days of their lives, the answer is still YES.We also close this episode by recognizing the 25th anniversary of September 11, 2001, remembering the 343 firefighters who made the ultimate sacrifice and those we have continued to lose in the years since.Never Forget.

On 8 September 2025, DeKalb County Fire Rescue crews responded to a commercial warehouse fire in Georgia and quickly discovered that the building was not what it first appeared to be. Inside the 14,000-square-foot Type II-B warehouse was an unpermitted film studio made up of temporary rooms, props, furniture, plastics and foam materials, creating a complex internal maze and a very different risk profile from the exterior. As crews operated inside, they were also dealing with an unreliable water supply, multiple garage doors being opened, worsening fire conditions and an eventual transition from offensive to defensive operations. During the withdrawal, one firefighter became disorientated and a Mayday was called. Firefighters went back in to locate him, but during that rescue effort Master Firefighter Preston Fant became separated from his crew and called a second Mayday. He was later found approximately 20 feet inside the building and ultimately died from inhalation of smoke and products of combustion. In this debrief, we work through the incident chronologically and examine building intelligence, fire behaviour, ventilation, water supply, command, crew integrity, Mayday operations, task saturation and psychological safety. Access all episodes, documents, GIVEAWAYS & debriefs HEREPodcast Apparel, Hoodies, Flags, Mugs HERE Please check out our Partners supporting this episode areWilliam Wood Watches - Discount code FFPODCAST gives the user 10% off full range on websitePBI high-performance fabrics GORE-TEX Professional ClothingMSA The Safety CompanyJAFCODELTA FIRESend us Fan MailSupport the show***The views expressed in this episode are those of the individual speakers. Our partners are not responsible for the content of this episode and does not warrant its accuracy or completeness.***Please support the podcast and its future by clicking HERE and joining our Patreon Crew

Send us Fan MailPromoted rank gives you authority, but it doesn't make you a leader and your crew knows the difference fast. We get real about what actually builds an elite, high-performing fire company: the daily behaviors, the awkward conversations, and the tactical habits that shape station culture when nobody is trying to “sound like leadership.” If the kitchen table is where the tone gets set, we talk about how to stop feeding cynicism and start modeling the standard your people will mirror.We walk through five pillars of fire service leadership you can apply on your very next shift. That starts with leading by example through fitness, craft mastery, and the humility to own mistakes out loud. Then we tighten up precision communication with better size-ups, actionable face-to-face assignments, and closed-loop feedback. We also break down tailgate talks: short, focused debriefs that make honest feedback normal instead of scary, so execution gets faster and safer when the tones drop.From there, we move into mentorship and succession planning so your crew isn't dependent on one person. We cover delegating real responsibility, developing future officers early, and protecting passion from burnout. We also push into operational innovation, from modern fire dynamics and lightweight construction realities to tools and workflows that reduce risk, including decontamination practices that support long-term health. Finally, we define psychological safety in plain terms and explain why trust and mental health advocacy are not “soft,” they are survival.Subscribe, share this with your department, and leave a review if it helps. Which of the five pillars are you going to level up first? The Energy DrinkFounded by Firefighters. Fuel for EveryoneDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showContact AFSO21's Weekend Wrap-up Podcast - Email us at podcast@afso21.comAs always, keep supporting your local fire and emergency services, stay safe, and keep on listening!

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Hour 1 (9.11) Twenty-five years on, the names were read aloud again — 184 at the Pentagon, all 2,977 in Lower Manhattan. Tim's got the whole day, plus a nursing home burning in Glendale. 6:05 — Fire tears through a nursing home on West Mountain Street in Glendale, near Brand Park. Firefighters contained the blaze to the building; residents and a staff member were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, and the cause is still unknown. Then to the 25th anniversary of 9/11: ceremonies at ground zero in New York and across the country. President Trump spoke at the Pentagon, where the names and photos of all 184 people killed there were presented. 6:20 — Nineteen al-Qaeda hijackers, four commercial airliners, three targets, one morning. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, and American foreign policy and national security were rewritten in a day. 6:35 —9.11 Memorial. A massive flag unfurled down the Pentagon wall in the rain at sunrise; the same thing first responders did on September 12, 2001. It's an emotional hour. It should be. A 6:50 — The Rams got embarrassed 27-7 by the 49ers in Melbourne. They didn't land until about 28 hours before kickoff while San Francisco had been in the country all week. A crowd of 100,021 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground watched the heaviest Super Bowl favorite in over a decade to fly 15 hours each way and spend under 40 hours on the ground. Kyren Williams' 5-yard run in the second quarter was the only time they scored all day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hour 2 (9.11) Twenty-five years on, the names were read aloud again — 184 at the Pentagon, all 2,977 in Lower Manhattan. Tim's got the whole day, plus a nursing home burning in Glendale. 6:05 — Fire tears through a nursing home on West Mountain Street in Glendale, near Brand Park. Firefighters contained the blaze to the building; residents and a staff member were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, and the cause is still unknown. Then to the 25th anniversary of 9/11: ceremonies at ground zero in New York and across the country. President Trump spoke at the Pentagon, where the names and photos of all 184 people killed there were presented. 6:20 — Nineteen al-Qaeda hijackers, four commercial airliners, three targets, one morning. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, and American foreign policy and national security were rewritten in a day. 6:35 —9.11 Memorial. A massive flag unfurled down the Pentagon wall in the rain at sunrise; the same thing first responders did on September 12, 2001. It's an emotional hour. It should be. 6:50 — The Rams got embarrassed 27-7 by the 49ers in Melbourne. They didn't land until about 28 hours before kickoff while San Francisco had been in the country all week. A crowd of 100,021 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground watched the heaviest Super Bowl favorite in over a decade to fly 15 hours each way and spend under 40 hours on the ground. Kyren Williams' 5-yard run in the second quarter was the only time they scored all day. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Originally recorded July 8, 2026.WEEKEND REDUX (REPLAY)Special guest: Tim BrownHost: Matt9/11 firefighter and American hero Tim Brown joins The DUM Show to share his firsthand perspective on service, survival, remembrance, and the lasting lessons of September 11.This is the full original show, presented as an archival replay—not a new live broadcast. Dates, announcements, fundraising references, and calls to participate refer to the original July 8 program.The Don't Unfriend Me Show is a live conservative news and political commentary podcast hosted by Matt and Olivia Speer. Every weeknight, we break down the biggest stories in politics, government, culture, immigration, free speech, the economy, and current events with live audience interaction and open phone calls.Call In Live: (276) 200-2105Watch and Listen:https://thedumshow.comhttps://linktapgo.com/thedumshowLIVE Monday through Friday, 7:00–9:00 PM Eastern.#TheDUMShow #DontUnfriendMe #WeekendRedux #Replay #September11 #TimBrown #FDNY #FirstResponders #NeverForgetBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-dum-show--6012883/support.

Listeners call in to pay tribute to the first responders and other people who put themselves in harm's way to save others on 9/11.Photo: A victim of the World Trade Center attack is tended to by paramedics Septemeber 11, 2001 en route to the hospital in New York City. (Photo by Carolyn Schaefer/Getty Images) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thomas E. Franklin, former Bergen Record photographer, reflects on September 11, 2001, recounting his journey into Ground Zero and the split-second decisions that led to one of the most recognizable images in American history. He joins Mike Kelly, a columnist for The Record in New Jersey and USA TODAY, to share what he saw and why the photograph still resonates decades later.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. Episode transcript available here. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On 11 September 2001, firefighter Jay Jonas and his crew were sent into New York's North Tower after a hijacked plane crashed into the World Trade Center.As they climbed the stairs searching for people who needed help, the South Tower collapsed.Realising their rescue mission could no longer continue, the firefighters turned around and began making their way down.On their descent they came across a woman, Josephine Harris."She was crying. She was in distress. And I said, 'Alright, bring her with us.'"The firefighters took her with them, but she could not move at their pace."We made it to the fourth floor and Josephine Harris falls to the floor. And she starts yelling at us, leave me, get away from me, don't touch me, leave me alone."Moments later, the North Tower collapsed.Buried beneath the rubble, Jay, his crew and Josephine somehow survived. He tells Rowan Bridge how stopping to help Josephine slowed their escape from the tower. But the place where they were forced to stop turned out to be exactly where they needed to be when the building collapsed."By her making a stand on the fourth floor, that put us in the exact right spot. And we lived."Witness History is a short BBC World Service podcast about history that takes you inside big moments from the past through first-hand testimony and archive. Each weekday, in around nine minutes, we revisit one moment that helped shape the world and hear it through the voice of someone who was there. Scientists, artists, campaigners, soldiers, leaders and everyday people tell their true stories.When you subscribe to Witness History, you'll be taken inside turning points in world affairs from West Africa's fight back against Boko Haram in 2015 to the behind-closed-doors talks that led to the US-Cuba “thaw” and the surprise announcement of restored relations. You'll discover what it was like to experience disasters and how people recovered from them, including the Tabasco floods in Mexico, Portugal's worst train disaster, and the huge clean-up after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. You'll explore culture and ideas too: Sweden's Expedition Robinson, often credited as the first modern reality TV game show; the friendship between The Beatles' George Harrison and Indian sitarist Ravi Shankar; and the night a tiger attack brought Las Vegas superstars Siegfried and Roy's show to a sudden end. And if you're curious about inventions, we'll tell you how air fryers, BlackBerry, YouTube, Alexa, GPS, superglue, the shopping cart (shopping trolley) and bubble tea were created.If you're new to Witness History, the appeal is simple: real voices, one strong true story, and a fresh way to understand today through events from history – all in the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea or a walk around the block. Join millions of BBC World Service podcast listeners around the globe and enjoy the insight, context and detail Witness History will bring you.(Photo: Jay Jonas. Credit: Getty Images)

September 11, 2001, changed Bob Ellis's life, just as it changed mine. Bob was working at the Pentagon that morning and had walked out of the building only minutes before Flight 77 struck the area where his meeting had taken place. You will hear how he immediately became part of the response, helping organize emergency supplies and support for those working at the Pentagon. We also compare our experiences from two different locations that day, Bob at the Pentagon and me at the World Trade Center with my guide dog Roselle. Twenty-five years later, our conversation is about more than remembering 9/11. It is about leadership, teamwork, service, controlling fear, and deciding what we do with the life we have been given. I believe Bob's story offers lessons we can all use when the unexpected happens. Highlights: 05:29-Bob shares how his early life and military support career shaped his path. 23:53-He recalls realizing the first World Trade Center strike was not an accident. 32:59-Bob describes being just 300 yards away when the Pentagon was hit. 37:00-He explains how he helped organize emergency relief supplies within hours. 1:03:54-Michael reflects on survival, fear, and the responsibility to move forward. 1:06:55-Bob shares the lasting life lessons he took from September 11. About the Guest: Bob Ellis is the Vice President, American Logistics Association responsible for Exchange, MWR, Food Service Operations. The native of Fort Walton Beach, Florida began his career with AAFES in 1972. From 1972 through 1984, he held retail management positions as a Branch Manager, and Operations Manager Main Store. In 1985, Ellis began a string of assignments as an Exchange General Manager trainee at Fort Belvoir, VA, and Exchange General Manager, Fort Hamilton, NY and Carlisle Barrack PA, (Army War College). Assignments as Area Retail Manager and General Manager at the former Japan Area Exchange ran from 1989-1992. In 1992, Ellis was transferred to Travis AFB in California as Retail Manager, Main Store. In 1994, Ellis was selected for the General Manager's position at Travis and spent three years assisting in the design and new construction effort of the largest retail Main Store ever constructed by AAFES. From 1997 to 2002, Ellis held the position of Director of AAFES' Washington Office, serving as the principal representative of the Commander, AAFES to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Departments of the Army and the Air Force, Congressional offices and industry representatives. Notable among his accomplishments, Ellis was instrumental in spearheading AAFES support to the Pentagon after the attacks of September 11th. Within 48 hours of the event, AAFES established a mobile exchange in the shadow of the impact site to support rescue workers and investigators with critical need and personal comfort items. After Washington, Ellis moved to AAFES Headquarters' in Dallas to assume the Vice President Specialty and Consumables position. In this role, Ellis was responsible for the SD-C Category Team Managers/Buyers. In August 2003, Ellis took his a position as Vice President of Corporate Planning and Communications where he managed the development of AAFES long range and contingency planning programs, oversight of corporate public affairs and ensured compliance with Department of Defense policy guidance with the goal of preserving and protecting the exchange benefit for soldiers and airmen and their families around the globe. Bob joined the ALA on 31 July 2006 where he continues to serve a role in military resale supporting Exchange, MWR, and Food Service, operations still serving military resale over 51 years continuous service. Ways to connect with Bob**:** You can find more benefits how Branded Riches can help you build your Brand, Product, Business, and Yourself at https://www.BrandedRiches.com   Connect:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/neryk-davydov Branded Riches Audiobook by Neryk Davydov https://www.audible.com/pd/Branded-Riches-Audiobook/B0GCP9MMRB Branded Riches Book https://www.amazon.com/Branded-Riches-Increase-Income-Irresistible/dp/1987753836 $5 Free Gift for Creating A New Ovato Wallet    www.ovatoCoin.com  About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog. Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards. https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/ Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below! Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can subscribe in your favorite podcast app. You can also support our podcast through our tip jar https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/unstoppable-mindset . Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Transcription Notes: Michael Hingson  00:00 Everyone, I am Michael Hingson, the host of Unstoppable Mindset. You've heard my voice for the last 471 episodes, but I'm calling you all out today and asking you to listen to this because we're going to make a special announcement now regarding the next four episodes, starting with 472. We're going to help commemorate the historic events of September 11, 2001. Yes, they're definitely historic, although not necessarily the most positive things that have ever happened. But as many of you may know, I was in the World Trade Center working on September 11, 2001, on the 78th floor of Tower One, and escaped with my guide dog. I've delivered a speech about that, which we put in the first episode of this podcast series back in August of 2021. But this Friday, episode 472 is going to have an updated speech that I delivered just a few years ago at the Marshfield, Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival. That festival is a yearly event celebrating different kinds of things that have happened in American history, and I was invited to come and speak, which I did. I'm going to put that speech up for you as episode 472. I think you'll find it enlightening. It'll teach you something about blindness and blind people. It'll tell you my story, and it'll give you some inspiration that I hope you will find helpful. Next Tuesday, september 8, Michelle Abraham is going to interview me. Michelle is with Amplify You, the company that does all of our back office stuff and helps me with the editing and other things regarding the podcast. Michelle owns her own podcast, and she is going to interview me about September 11th and other kinds of things relating to what I've learned and things that have happened over the past 25 years. She's also going to be putting this up on her podcast Amplify You, so you can find us in a lot of different places. On September 11th, I'm going to chat with Bob Ellis. Bob was in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and had literally just walked out the door of the Pentagon when the plane crashed into the Pentagon and did the things and the damage that it did, and of course generated all the things that occurred at the Pentagon. On the 15th of September, I'm going to come back and have a conversation with all of you about lessons that I've learned over the past 25 years, and just reminisce a little bit about all of that. While the podcast is occurring on September 11th, I will be actually in Kilgore, Texas, doing a speech about September 11th. So lots of things going on, I hope you listen to these episodes. I hope that you'll tell everyone that you can about them. I really enjoy all of the support that you've given us over the years, and we're going to continue to do things with Unstoppable Mindset. And of course, as always, if you'd like to come on or know anyone who would, please let us know. We're always looking for guests. Thanks very much. We'll see you on Friday with the first of these four episodes. What if the biggest thing holding you back isn't what's in front of you, but rather what you believe? Welcome to Unstoppable Mindset, where inclusion, diversity, and the unexpected meet. I'm your host, Michael Hingston, speaker, author, and advocate for inclusion and possibilities. This podcast explores how the beliefs we carry shape the way we live, lead, and connect with others. Each week, I talk with people who challenge assumptions, face adversity head-on, and show what's possible when we choose curiosity over fear. Together, we focus on mindset, resilience, and the small shifts that lead to meaningful change. Let's get started. Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of Unstoppable Mindset. You are listening to us today, or at least I'm assuming you're listening just when this came out. But whenever you're listening, it is today, September 11th, 2026, which is needless to say, a special day. If you have kept up with my podcast from the beginning, you know that I worked in the World Trade Center on September 11th, and ever since then I've been a public speaker, traveling the world, talking about trust, teamwork, leadership, the human-animal bond, and a variety of things. But recently, I met Bob Ellis. Michael Hingson  04:40 Now, Bob, as it turns out, on September 11th worked at the Pentagon, and I have not ever really had the opportunity to talk with someone who was at the Pentagon, especially on September 11th. But we get to chat about that today, and Bob knows our rules, which are basically. He sent me a series of questions that he wants to cover, but we are doing this as a conversation, so we'll probably talk about a lot of the things that he specifically sent. But we can go any old way that Bob wants to go, so that's what we'll we'll make this really fun. And I'm really looking forward to having the opportunity to talk with Bob. So again, welcome to September 11th, and Bob, I want to welcome you to Unstoppable Mindset. We're really glad you're here, Bob Ellis  05:28 Michael. Thank you for inviting me. I know you you've inquired several times, and I've debated it, and and I was just holding it for the right time, and this is the right time-the 25th anniversary of the event. Michael Hingson  05:40 Yeah, it is, and and and as as we've said, if you find anybody who needs a a speaker to come in and speak, let me know. But but for now, we get to chat about you and and hear your story, which I think is the important thing. I think we'll probably talk about both of our stories in the course of the day, no doubt about it. But I really am glad that you are here and that you are able to to talk with us today and and and talk about things. So let's start the way I love to start with people. Let's start at the beginning. Tell me kind of about the early Bob growing up and so on. Let's start with that. Bob Ellis  06:17 Well, I I grew up in let's say grew up until I was four years old. I lived. I was born in Pensacola, Florida. Lived in the Panhandle. Mother and father got divorced, and we moved to Norfolk, Virginia. And it was just my my mother and I until I was 14 years old. And I found out about my dad and found some letters from him and insisted to go see him. And so, between 14 and 15, I made a couple of unauthorized attempts to to make my way to Florida. On the third attempt, I made it, and it was quite a surprise for my father. Ended up living with him and being my closest friend up until I had he had grandkids, we had kids, and so I lived and grew up in the Destin, Fort Worth, Fort Walton area. Went to work, and this is where the story begins. I went to work at Eglin Air Force Base as a as a janitor in a gas station for the Army Air Force Exchange Service, so that I could continue to play high school football and practice, was a great job. It was an opportunity to work with the military, be around the military, and I took great pride in that feeling that that that that while I I wanted to go into the air force and I wanted to fly jets, that opportunity just never presented itself because the Vietnam War was going on and they were banking pilots instead of taking pilots. Anyway, I I ended up staying with the Army Air Force Exchange Service for 34 years. I moved all over the world. I've seen the every AOR and every combat scenario since the Vietnam War. Not in the Vietnam War, but I was in the refugee program, helping with the resettlement back in 1972, 1973. Spent the rest of my career going wherever they sent me, and and and that was from Tokyo, Japan, to to Tuli, Greenland, to California, and ultimately to to Texas. Michael Hingson  08:30 I remember during the Vietnam War, someone called me one day. I was a student at UC Irvine, and there was a refugee camp fairly close to the university, and someone said, and someone said, "There's a blind young man at the sent at the refugee center, and we should go see him. And so we we bought a transistor radio for him and went out to visit with him and spent some time with him, and I never got to see him after that. But I hope I hope he did well. He he seemed like he was doing okay, but he was a little bit lost, needless to say, because it's a whole bunch of people. There are no a lot of people who knew much about blindness and blind people, but I would presume he did reasonably okay. I hope so, but that was the only time I specifically had an involvement with him or anyone at the refugee camps. Later, when I met my wife Karen, she lived, I think, a door down, and she and her parents lived a door down from a Vietnamese couple, and he was a tailor and actually made her wedding dress, which was kind of cool, and so we got to spend a fair amount of time with the Voo's, which was was good, but what's. Interesting for me now, with with now being well so many years later. In November, I will be going to do a speech in Hanoi, so I'm really looking forward to to going over there and and experiencing it. At least it'll be a little bit cooler then than it probably is now. So we'll see, but it'll be it'll be pretty enjoyable to go and again see a different a different part of the world, and I I think we'll be fine. At least that's that's that's the plan. Bob Ellis  10:34 That that that that tour that I had at Eglin Air Force Base with the refugees, will come back to to to 911 2001 and the experiences that I had at that refugee camp replicated in the Pentagon park and lot there in 911. So we'll get to that. I'll explain it further. Michael Hingson  10:56 Yeah, I'm sure it was a a great a great lesson. Where did you do college, or did you Bob Ellis  11:03 went to went to Duke University and the University and the University of Maryland? Michael Hingson  11:10 Okay. Well, at Bob Ellis  11:12 least much of it was correspondence as well, only because I was deployed for for so many years back to back, 17 moves in 34 years. Michael Hingson  11:22 Wow, Duke University. At least you didn't go to one of those other schools in North Carolina. Boy, talk about talk about rivalries and basketball. What a what a group down there. Bob Ellis  11:35 Oh, I know, I know. Michael Hingson  11:38 I once spoke in Kentucky, and the Wildcats were in the NCAA championship that year, and I was asked to speak at an event on the night of the championship. But I was told I had to end by 630. I could not go one second past 630 because the gym I was speaking in was going to clear out. Well, I ended in time so that at 630, what they said was absolutely true. That gym cleared out. Everybody went home to watch the game. Bob Ellis  12:09 That's that's sports. Michael Hingson  12:11 Not sports. It is, but it's okay. I I learned a lot down there and got to meet a number of people, and so it was it was a lot of fun to to do it, and then years later I was in North Carolina when NC State and UNC were playing to see who was going to go into the championship. So again, pretty interesting world, and and sports ruled everything then, so it's okay. It Bob Ellis  12:43 hasn't it hasn't changed at all because my my my daughter I got her graduate studies done at NC State, and it hasn't changed a bit. It's just I'll bet it's just crazy as it's when was 20 3040 years ago, Michael Hingson  12:58 and it shall ever be, won't it? Bob Ellis  13:01 Yeah, yeah. Her undergraduate degree was at University of Texas. This was my son's, and she went on to NC State, and and he went on to medical school in in Houston. Michael Hingson  13:16 Okay. Well, UC Irvine, when I was there, had the championship water polo team, but that's what we had. But they started basketball while I was there, although it wasn't anything huge. But a couple of years ago, they made it to the Sweet 16, and that was kind of fun for UC Irvine. One of these days, it'll go all the way. Bob Ellis  13:40 Yep. Michael Hingson  13:41 Well, anyway, so you you went to college, and and what did you major in? Bob Ellis  13:45 Political science. Michael Hingson  13:47 Okay, political science Bob Ellis  13:48 and business management. With a with my two aspirations, I wanted to. I really wanted to major in in aviation science, but that that wasn't offered. So that's political science and business science, business law. Michael Hingson  14:06 But you were working for the Army Air Force Exchange Service. What is that exactly? Bob Ellis  14:11 Yeah, it's a it's it's it's a non-appropriated funded Service provided all goods. I think of it as the the Walmart or the Target of of the civilian sector, except the Army Air Force Exchange Service has stored everything from stores, every business that you can think of therein, from stores to convenience stores to gas stations to beauty shops and barber shops to dining facilities, franchise Burger Kings, anything that a soldier and his family needs at the base or overseas or in the combat arena, where we were there with it, providing it. It's been a great career. Michael Hingson  14:59 Did you? Do you have any involvement with, especially here in the U.S. the the Randolph Sheppard programs, the blind vending stand operations at any of the facilities? Bob Ellis  15:09 Yep, sure did many many times. We're still working with it. There's there's some issues present right now under the Randolph Shepherd that they're looking at. I don't know what what's going to change, but yes, sir, we were very, very close to that. Michael Hingson  15:24 Yeah, I know there. The current government's looking at it; they want to scale a lot of it back, which would, I think, not be a good thing. I think there's a lot of reasons to keep it, but we'll see. We'll see. We'll see how it goes. But I, the closest I ever came to dealing with anything from AAES was I was invited to speak once at an organizational meeting of the National Property Managers Association in the military. Are you familiar with that? Bob Ellis  15:56 I am. Yes. Michael Hingson  15:57 And when I was asked to come, the Speakers Bureau didn't do a good research job because they told me, "Oh, it's the people who rent apartments and all that. When I got down to the to the event, I will say that the National Property Managers Association certainly serves a nice breakfast. But anyway, the conversation just didn't seem like what I what I was expecting. So I asked somebody, and they told me that the organization was the organization that had complete jurisdiction over anything physical that the government owned, and Bob Ellis  16:30 absolutely Michael Hingson  16:31 that that changed my grass. Sorry, Bob Ellis  16:34 right down to the grass, right down to the grass and the concrete. Michael Hingson  16:37 There you go. Well, it also changed my speech in 10 minutes, but it was fun. They invited me back the next year, so that was good. But it's it's fun when you're you're planning to do a particular speech, and suddenly it turns out it's got to change. It's good to have the flexibility to do that. But I'm I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it, and hopefully we'll have opportunities to do it again, but you have served a lot of different kinds of of services within AAES, and and I assume that's all worked out pretty well. Bob Ellis  17:14 That that worked out very well. Yep, I had I started at the bottom and and climbed as close to the top as I possibly could, but Michael Hingson  17:23 you eventually got the the highest medal that was available for civilians when you retired or after you retired. Bob Ellis  17:31 No, the highest award that I ever received was from my man over the Pentagon 911 support program, which was a nice medoris civilian award. Michael Hingson  17:46 Okay, where is your favorite place to live in the world? Or is that really easy to say? I mean, you've been all over the place and seen a lot of different kinds of places. Don't know how much you got to two of them, but anyway, Bob Ellis  18:00 it wasn't the two places that I that I went overseas, which was Japan and Greenland. Those were the longest tours of my life. Beautiful country in Japan, and and great facilities and support in tuning Greenland. But I would I would guess throughout the United States, I had a great assignment at the Army War College, and I had a great assignment at Travis Air Force Base here in Michael Hingson  18:26 California. Yeah, Bob Ellis  18:28 yeah. Michael Hingson  18:30 I've spoken. Bob Ellis  18:30 My son was born in Japan. He's dual citizen as a result on the Air Force Base, and my daughter was born in California. So it was a great time, mainly because the kids were younger and and and and we were in great climate areas. Michael Hingson  18:48 When people ask me what my favorite place in the United States is, I say everywhere. I I just enjoy meeting people wherever I go in the U.S. It's so many different cultures and customs and ways of doing things. It is so fun to to see all the different places and see how they are. People ask what I like, where I like outside the U.S. And so far, it's been New Zealand. I would say is probably the best, but Japan has to be up there too. I've really enjoyed being in Japan. I've been there a couple times, and I thoroughly enjoyed Bob Ellis  19:23 it. I, I had, I think the most the the greatest thing about the assignments was some of the people I I got to to meet in in my in my tours. One of them would be the Crown Prince of of Thailand, who who is now the king of Thailand, King Rama, got to meet him when he was a pilot, and supported him when when I was at Yokota Air Base, and multiple other celebrities. I I had the opportunity as a kid to attend the funeral. For Douglas MacArthur, and and his his memorial was right across the street in North Virginia from where my mother worked. And 20 years later, I had the opportunity to to meet mrs. Mcarthur, Jean MacArthur, at Gracie Mansion in New York, and I I I wrote protocol. I when it came time for her to to meet me and meet meet her, I got down on one knee and I held her hand and I said, "I want to tell you a little story, ma'am. And she said, "Well, certainly, absolutely. And I told her the story how when the general had died in in 1964, I was required by my my mother to go to the funeral, and the most fascinating person I'd ever seen in my life was herself, and she just got she just turned red. Well, long story short, I was at an army command at Fort Hamilton. The next day, the the group the the installation commander called me over to his office, very angry, but he wanted me to know that I was going to be the first civilian aide for the old lady, which was mrs. Mcarthur, and he had to take one of his lieutenants off. And I got to know the family and and the Mcarthurs as a result of that. So lots of opportunities, just absolutely amazing. 911, and we'll get to it. I got to meet President Bush momentarily, but I I got to meet him and have a short conversation. Michael Hingson  21:32 I got to meet him in 2005. We went to the Oval Office, and we were supposed to have a two minute photo op, but he kept wanting to interact. We ended up talking for about 15 minutes. He kept the Italian ambassador or prime minister waiting, but it was a was a great conversation. I very much enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with him. Bob Ellis  21:53 Yeah, he was remarkable. Michael Hingson  21:54 Yeah, in in so many ways. If Speaker 1  22:00 you enjoy Unstoppable Mindset and would like to help us continue bringing these conversations to you each week, we've created a way for you to support the show. Your contribution helps us cover production costs and continue sharing stories, insights, and ideas that inspire people to live with purpose and possibility. If supporting the podcast feels right for you, you'll find the link in the show notes. Thank you for being part of the Unstoppable Mindset Community. Michael Hingson  22:33 So that's that's pretty cool. So as you were going around to all these different places, what would you say you were learning. Bob Ellis  22:41 I was learning business. I was learning relationships. I was learning marketing. Pretty much anything that you wanted to do as a general manager or a vice president, the exchanges let you do it. You know, until you got too far gone, and they they reel you back in. But I love being able to run multiple businesses on the installation, and and be accountable for them, and run them at a profit, and and at the end of the day, do great things for military families. Michael Hingson  23:16 Wow! So you um, you you've you've had a lot of challenges and and had to learn a lot of different things. Needless to say, but I would would think that you've you've been able to to keep a lot of that and use it. And you know we've referred to September 11 th, and so let's let's get to around that time. The first thing I would ask, and people have asked me, but you're in a better position in theory than I. Did you have any inkling that something like September 11th was going to happen? Bob Ellis  23:53 Well, actually, September 11th was was happening. I left for work about 4:30 in the morning. I lived out in the suburbs in Centerville, Virginia, and it was one of those days that you just wished you didn't have to go to work. It was the as the sun was coming up, it had a little cold breeze to it. The skies were blue. It was just one of those days that you just wanted to sit out in the yard and and relax or go bicycling, whatever. But I did my duty and I drove in to the Washington D.C. area and reported to my office on time, which was right around 5o'clock. My staff showed up around six and some at seven, and my secretary came in, and I don't know exactly what time it was, but it was shortly after, right around 9o'clock in Eastern Time, when the first airplane had hit the the trade center. Michael Hingson  24:49 Yeah, Bob Ellis  24:49 846-940-6846, Yes, right, 846. Yeah, and and so I I went in to look at the. The the television monitor standing there it was just her and I at the time and and and I said that's not an accident and she says how do you know that I said look at the skies that was an airliner they were talking about it was a little small private aviation well I'm a pilot I've been a pilot for 40 years 41 years I knew exactly, you know, that that where it was, what it was doing, and that wasn't a it wasn't an accident. And and my inkling was is that I was in a in rented space in Arlington, Virginia, because we had been moved out because the wedge that got attacked was the one that was still under construction. My office had not been completed there, and and I had a meeting in that wedge at 9o'clock that morning. And my secretary said to me, "You know, Bob, the Pentagon is next. And I paused for a minute and I looked at her and I said, "How in the world could you even imagine that, you know that that that's a fortress? Who would be crazy enough to attack the Pentagon? And she says, I I just I don't want you to go over, you know, just just just do it by phone, which I I probably could have done. And I said, No, I'm I'm going to go over there. If they're going if they're going to attack the Pentagon, I'm going to go down with it, and that was kind of my philosophy. So, in the back of my mind, seeing that airplane hit the Trade Center and her telling me that certainly made me wonder if it wasn't a possibility. Michael Hingson  26:33 So, you didn't. You don't think that anyone, and I've never heard of any such, but that anyone had any advance notice? There wasn't chatter. There wasn't anything that made people suspect what might be getting ready to happen. Bob Ellis  26:47 No, I I I think that is the the worst our country has ever been off guard. It reminds me of you know the the attack on Hawaii and that you know in in Pearl Harbor. We were completely unprepared, and I thought we were completely unprepared on 911. And in fact, after the attack, I knew we were unprepared when I saw the two jets fly over with no armament on the wings. So no, I don't think anybody had any idea. Michael Hingson  27:18 Well, the other side of it, and I've talked about this in in some talks I've given. I talk a lot about trust and teamwork, and like it or not, one of the things that I observe is you had 19 terrorists who functioned well enough as a team that they didn't talk about it. They didn't let anything come out. So no matter how much armament or whatever we might have had, I'm not sure whether we could have predicted that on September 11th, what occurred was going to happen. Bob Ellis  27:49 You know, all the indicators were there. You know, those those 19 trained at private airports, and they and during their training, it was it was reported multiple times that all they were interested in was taking off, not landing. I mean, first clue, you know. Okay. Why would you just be interested? He's taking off an airplane, and and I always found that very curious, and I'd heard it several times. That should have set alarm bells off. Should have. It didn't. Apparently, it did. Michael Hingson  28:20 Good point, and you know the the thing is though that, as as you pointed out, who would have thought that anybody would attack the Pentagon, the fortress that it was? Who Bob Ellis  28:33 yeah, Michael Hingson  28:33 who would have thought? So again, you can only go by what you got, and so nobody, I think, would have ever imagined that. Well, of course, the first plane hit the World Trade Center, and at first, people didn't really know what happened because there were really not very many people who who saw it. In fact, we only have the few photos that were taken by the French photographers who were there for something else, but then a little after nine, the second plane hit, and that changed the dynamic and changed the perspective a lot. Although a bunch of people who started seeing it on TV thought it was just a movie, and it wasn't true, but the second plane hitting changed the attitudes. I think for most people, and that's when people knew something was going on. Bob Ellis  29:24 Yeah, I didn't know anything about the second trade center. I had left my office in Crystal City, and I had headed to the Pentagon. And the meeting, the meeting that I had was with the Army Personnel Chief and several other folks. And as it turned out, that is exactly the window that the airplane flew into. That was ground zero for the for the for the target for the airplane going in just above the first floor for the Pentagon. So I didn't know anything. I was I was trapped at that point. I was trapped. Couldn't go um. Wouldn't go um. Didn't want to go um. And I had lived in New York City for five years, and I was my biggest. I was always impressed by the New York City Fire Department. I mean, they're they're just walking heroes if you've ever seen them. I mean, they were like they were like giants when you got next to them, and that they would they were just superhumans. And I always wondered upon the top floors how in the world you would get a fire put out at the top of the World Trade Center, and and I did not know until two days later when I made it home. That was my first question to my family: How did they get the the fire out at the top of the World Trade Center? And I and and it was repeated to me centers, and I said, What are you talking about? Centers in my family, and they said, "Bob, the World Trade Centers are gone. I said, "I don't understand. How could they be gone? And that was that. That was you know two days later that I found out about that. It was quite a shock to me to learn what it actually while I was on on the Pentagon mission. Michael Hingson  30:58 Well, when the first plane hit. Well, in the second plane, the firefighters were going up the stairs carrying all their equipment, and I had had had known about that and asked people, "Well, why are you or would you be carrying equipment? Because I met I I didn't meet the FDNY people ahead of the World Trade Center attacks, but I did meet with other people to learn about emergency preparedness and so on because I felt as the leader of an office, it was my job to know because I wasn't going to be able to read signs, and I love information, so I was trying to learn all I could, and they told me that where would if you if you had equipment stored in the in the towers, then people would go to it. Firefighters would go to it and get the the equipment. What floor do you put it on? Because no matter what floor you put it on, what if the fire broke out one floor below? You know, you can't get to the equipment. So the only way they could get up the stairs to fight the fires was to carry all of the equipment with them, yep, yep. Not enough is said about those guys in history. No, and I met a number of them coming up the stairs as we were going down, and they wanted to escort me down, and I didn't want them to do that because I knew they were a team, and I I pushed back pretty hard and said, no, you guys go up and we'll go down unless we can help you fight the fires, and they said no. The reason they eventually let me go down without any assistance was I had a friend with me who could see, and I said, "Look, David can see. Don't worry about us. And David and they turned to David and they said, "You're with him. And David said, "Yeah, leave him alone. He's fine. So we went on down, and they went up. I don't know whether the people we interacted with made it down or perished up above. It was about 10 after 10 after nine or so when we got to the 30th floor where we met them. So it was another hour and almost 20 minutes before the tower collapsed, but I don't know where the firefighters were, or how many people from the groups that we interacted with perished, or if they all made it out. I don't know, but Bob Ellis  33:12 yep, I I memorized all those numbers. You know, 189 between the airplane and the Pentagon, 200 injured, but 189. 189 total were 64 on the airplane, 125 in the Pentagon, and I'll never forget those numbers. Yeah, I'll never forget the time. I looked at my watch at 9:17, and and I have to tell you that on 9/11, I always sit very quietly until I get past 917, not 937. I'm sorry, 937. Michael Hingson  33:48 So Bob Ellis  33:48 in the morning. Michael Hingson  33:49 So, how close were you to where the plane came into the Pentagon? Bob Ellis  33:56 About 300 yards. When when it was clear that the meeting wasn't going to happen because the air traffic control system had been shut down. They released us to go back to our our offices, and I was going out the front door. I left about 930. It was supposed to start at nine 930. The generals said we'll just reconvene, and and I agreed. And from his office on on the south portico, I was walking out the front door. Literally, I heard the engines spool up. I had been in the AOR in rail combat munitions, and and I've heard cruise missiles, and and I could hear this one spinning up, and I thought it was a cruise missile, and so when it hit when it hit the building, it was just it was just a horrendous sound. But my first impression was to run to it to see what happened, what what what caused that, and there was nothing there. It was just four or five cars burning and smoke billowing out of the building. And and the the rest turned into a you know a rescue and a a recovery. Michael Hingson  35:08 AOR is what Bob Ellis  35:10 the area of responsibility. Michael Hingson  35:13 Okay, area of responsibility. Okay, Bob Ellis  35:16 yeah, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, wherever we are, it's it's N A O R, and that's your A O R. That's state. That's where you are. So that that's where I encountered first first and only live person coming out of the building, and which was a which was a really big surprise. But I knew that there was something that I I had to do, and and one of the things was to, if he needed assistance, getting him assistance. And there were several people. He was he was he was burned third degree burns over his whole body. He lived. I said one prayer was for him. And as it turned out, he became a a great ambassador. Turned out to be a great friend, and is actually back in the Pentagon to this day, just steps away from his old office as a civilian, went went back on a presidential appointment. Michael Hingson  36:09 So, you mentioned the general a while ago. Was did he survive? Bob Ellis  36:15 No, he was the he was the highest ranking person that we lost in in the entire encounter, and it was the entire office was just instantly vaporized. So he did not survive. Michael Hingson  36:33 Well, so you heard the engines revving up, and you went after you heard the explosion and so on. You went over to see what was going on, and then what did you do? Because it certainly had to be a major surprise and a shock by any standard. Bob Ellis  36:49 Yeah, I went that side of the building, saw the hole in the building, kind of convinced myself it was a cruise missile, but I never heard such a loud engine noise. As it turned out, it was it was two big engines off of a 757 200, and so I immediately tried to figure out you know what can I do? What should I do? Should I even be here? And that's when I saw the colonel coming out of the building, and I was able to walk with him and four others over to the the road, the Washington Boulevard that goes around the Pentagon, and and I sat down on the telephone pole, a light pole that the airplane hit going in. Now I'm a pilot, and and I have to tell you to take an airplane going at Mach point eight seven, and hit a target, hit the building, and not hitting the ground was just absolutely amazing to me. So as they got the colonel into an SUV and and and got him out of the the scene, I sat there. Just it was almost like a movie I was watching. The triage was being set up. The Pentagon was burning. The emergency services units were starting to show up, and we had very intermittent phone capability. And I had I had a a friend, my my the commander that I worked for in Dallas at the time. This secretary's husband was a bodyguard for Secretary Rumsfeld, and and Secretary Rumsfeld was actually carrying litter patients, carrying people out of the debris area and out of the offices. He was actually helping people, and he he realized that something needed to be done. So he gave Jerry a note, a piece of paper. We called them snowflakes, but it was a tablet, and he had listed what needed to be done and what needed to be done now. And Jerry found me sitting over there and gave me that that piece of paper, and it had everything listed on it. He wanted a a tactical field operation in place. He wanted it now, not yesterday. He wanted something in the interim, and it was to provide emergency relief supplies. So I I sat down on that telephone pole and I called our our local dist not local our largest distribution center in the world was down in Newport News, and I got the director on the phone and I said, I have an official order from you coming from the Secretary of Defense, and and don't override, don't just just follow my instructions until we can get to the commander at AFIS headquarters, and so I gave him the list. I just gave him the full list of things that we needed to get rolling, and I called another gentleman that was just across the river, the American Logistics Association, which owned all of the brokers and manufacturers, and I gave him a list of stuff that we needed now, like Gatorade boots. the The surface was over 2000 degrees, and the emergency service boots were melting almost upon contact. So I had I had 1000s, hundreds of 1000s of dollars of equipment. And supplies coming in, and we set up the USO tent, put everything in the USO tent. We raided all the stores in the in the Washington D.C. area. I was able to contact the region manager, and I told him, you know, what we needed to take it off the shelf, put it in the back seat of the cars, don't account for it, and get it to me. And that's what we did the entire first night was setting up the USO trailer, and the next morning I had two tactical field tractor trailers coming up the ramp just as the sun was coming up, and they were loaded with supplies, and that's what stayed in place for the next two months. Over $2 million worth of merchandise, emergency recovery type merchandise, everything from linens to the towels to eye wash, and and and we had to actually have some special boots made out of leather for the dogs because the dogs' feet were so it was it was quite an operation. We ended up well running within within 24 hours of the attack, Michael Hingson  41:04 why is it that you are able to stay pretty focused through all of this? Bob Ellis  41:08 I you know I you know I I've often asked that question. I wanted to go home. Alls I could think of is my kids, my wife. What what are they doing? What are they thinking? They're watching this on the news, and I had I had drifted over to which my car was very close, and it was taped off. The parking lot was taped off. It was a crime scene. There was no going anywhere. There was no transportation. If I wanted to walk 40 miles, I guess I could have, but because I couldn't go anywhere, I had to do something there on the scene, so that's that's that's what I did, and and it wasn't until the next day when the phone started working again, our two star in Dallas was able to get through to me on on my BlackBerry, and he wanted to know what the situation was, and and and I told him, and and he said, what what are we going to do? And I explained to him what we had done already, and he says, "How did you do all of that? I said, "I picked up the phone and I told him I was working for Secretary Rumsfeld, and this is the order. And and he says, "How are we going to pay for all of this? I said, "Sir, this is our finest hour. We're not. We're going to donate. These are all donating goods, and and it really was an interesting. I I just I just don't know. I was compelled. He he he ordered me on that second day to go home, and and I said I had no way to go home. And he said go to the motor pool. I'm going to call the motor pool. He had been the commander of the Air Force One Squadron, so he had a lot of connections in Washington, and he he got me a car, and I went home long enough to change clothes and and and to come back out. So it was it was just out of adrenaline, I think. Somebody had to do something, and and everything that I've told you here today is not written anywhere in history. I own every bit of what happened in in in that story, other than some of the people that were working there. Michael Hingson  43:07 What phone did you use that first day? You said you're you're it was the second day or the next day that you're phoned. So how were you able to communicate? Bob Ellis  43:17 We had Blackberries, and and until the networks got completely overrun, we were able to use it. And and so by the second third day, we we had pretty consistent communication, because the the the commander called me back that same morning, and and he said, you know, he said, how come you haven't been home? And I explained to him, and he says, "Will you do me one favor? And I said, "I would. He said, "Will you go back into the building? Said, "Sir, the building's on fire. He says, "Well, well, you get in the front, and I'm looking at it. He was looking at it on television, and the military clothing store was in the very front, within 100 feet, probably of that door that I went out of. And he says, "Would you see if our people survive, and if the store itself survived? It was sitting near the the area. I went in the store. I went into the building, into the burning building, and was able to look in the door, and I could see that the the room was full of smoke, and the door was locked. So I told him I would assume that our people made it out, alive and okay. And they say that was a, and they did, and they absolutely did. And in fact, everybody that that that that had any kind of supervisory capability around the Beltway, they volunteered to come over and work for me and and operating that facility for 2024 hours a day, seven days a week. Wow! So and not and not to shorten the the question, I wasn't there, but because of what I was doing in the in the Pentagon, my old homestead was at Fort Hamilton. Fort Hamilton picked up the same thing and went over to the Trade Center area, and they gave them a place to put a mobile. Food truck, and they brought supplies in and pretty much supported the firefighters and the and the and the police there. So so we had quite an operation going for a long time. Michael Hingson  45:11 Yeah, and and needed to, but it was interesting and commendable that in both places people were able to focus, and were able to carry out missions. I know at the World Trade Center when the two towers collapsed. Of course, it was it was unexpected, but we know now, of course, why they collapsed. It wasn't that the planes hit; it's that they were they were full of what 36,000 pounds of jet fuel each, and that exploding jet fuel is what damaged the infrastructure of the buildings to cause them to be able to collapse. But as well as at the Pentagon, but very quickly people were able to start to move and deal with issues and put procedures in place that were able to, I'm sure, keep more people from perishing and keep kept more people being able to focus throughout the whole the whole sequence of events. It it certainly was very scary, but it is something that that people like you were able to do. I know for me, the reason I was able to focus was because I had learned what to do in an emergency at the World Trade Center. I spent time with people and I learned how the whole building was structured, so I knew when the building tipped, why it tipped, and and things like that. You Bob Ellis  46:40 felt it. You you felt it. Michael Hingson  46:43 Oh yeah. Oh my god. We moved probably at least 20 feet, and then it came back, and oh my Speaker 2  46:48 god, it Michael Hingson  46:48 got vertical again. It got vertical again, and then a few seconds later, it dropped about six feet because the expansion joints went back to their normal configuration. But Bob Ellis  46:59 we uh we we knew from 937 till about 5o'clock that evening there would be no more survivors. It was over, and and and the dogs were getting depressed because they were they were they were not cadaver dogs. They were recovery dogs, and they were used to fight. And we we actually had ceremonies for the dogs every day, where we sewed flags onto their collars, and they had special water and special food. So they played a big, big role in morale, mine especially. Michael Hingson  47:33 And at the same time, I know people had to do drills to keep the dogs focused because they weren't able to find people, as you said, so they had to do things to give them something to find to keep them happy, which was was so important. Bob Ellis  47:50 Yeah, that we had two two tractor trailers lined up. It was just just two 300 feet from where you went into the damaged area of the Pentagon, and those dogs and their handlers would get up underneath those trailers and sleep, and they would play with the dogs. We actually had some carpets brought out, tarps brought out, and that's kind of where that was kind of their headquarters during 911. We had to make it up as we went along, and and the other interesting part of this story is in 1972 at the at the refugee camp, I was sleeping in the back of a van because there was just no way to go home. It was too it was too far to drive home to turn around and come back at 8o'clock the next morning, and I heard somebody knocking at the door, and and and I and I opened up the door, and it was a military colonel in uniform, and there was a civilian standing there with him. And he says, "Are you part of this operation? And I said, "Yes, sir, I am. He said, "Who are you with? And I said, "The Army Air Force Exchange Service. And and he says, "You're not provided any other facilities. This, I said, that was my choice. And as it turned out, I was speaking to Secretary Rumsfeld during his first administration as Secretary of Defense, and it was interesting that when he found out that what I did in in that program, I won the Indo Indo China Award for service, and then of course you you move ahead to to 2001, and we we knew each other. I had briefed him several times, and we we knew each other in the Pentagon. And that day, he knew that I would know what to do for the support role, and that's why he sent the letter up. And as it turned out, when he retired and and left the Pentagon, he was on a book tour, and and the the general secretary and myself got an invite to come to the book tour with him and and have lunch with him. And he handed me a book and he said, "I want you to have this, but I don't want you to open it up until you, Bob. I don't want you to open it up till you get home. I don't want you to give it to your wife. And and it was like this. Sure, I'm not not a problem, and so I got I got home. You know, this is this is 10 years later, and handed the book to her, and I said, "Open it up. I'm not wasn't allowed, and there's a nice thank you page on the front from Secretary Rums for allowing him to use me on 9/11, and you just you just that's the best reward that I could have ever ever expected. A guy that I just idolized to do that. Michael Hingson  50:26 When you got home, so you weren't able to talk to your wife before you got home, or did you ever get communication so you could call her? Bob Ellis  50:33 No, I didn't. I when I finally got the phone back up and running and got in the car. I had lost the battery, so I said, "I'm gonna be home in in an hour. I'll just be there. But General Wax called up, and she answered the phone. She went. She went sometime during that day and pulled the kids out of the private school, brought them home. She could see my car. It was a yellow SUV, and she could see it in the South parking lot in the news choppers going around. She said that was my car where my spot was, and General Wax got her on the phone and she and and she answered the phone and he said this is C J Wax and she thought that was the call. She thought that was it, and she alls I could do was drop to my knees and and and C J said and it's it's okay. I've ordered him to come home. He's all right. He's running. He's running a a program for us for for recovery. And if he's not there, he should be there shortly. And then by the time I got there, I got to the front step. I'm asking the question about the World Trade Center, how they got the fire out, and I was ordered that I could not go in the house because I smelled like smoke. So, so two minutes before that, I was the most important person in the world, and and then all of a sudden, I was I was back to Bob, and I wasn't going to wear that that suit in the house to to smoke it. So anyway, that's that's how she found out. He he called her up. I asked him. I think I asked him if he would get in touch with her at our last conversation, and he did. Michael Hingson  52:06 Soon after both towers collapsed, like a minute or so later, I called and got through to my wife Karen. I had talked with her before we left our office, and then when we got downstairs, I couldn't get through to her because the circuits were busy, and it was obvious that everyone we learned later was saying goodbye to loved ones, and so the circuits were busy. So after both towers collapsed, I was able to get through to her, and as I tell people, there were tears on both sides of the phone at the when that conversation started, but she was the first one who told us how two aircraft had been crashed into the World Trade Center towers, one to the Pentagon, and at that time, the fourth one was apparently still missing over Pennsylvania, and of course, then it crashed at Shanksville. Bob Ellis  52:52 I love it. Michael Hingson  52:54 Yeah, but we, you know, we talked, so she knew I was okay. Then a friend of ours, Tom Painter, who had been a friend of Karen's at high school out in California, but Tom, over the years, had ended up moving to New Jersey. He came down to stay with her, not knowing until he arrived whether I was in the office that day or out with a customer or what was going on. And of course, then she told him, and so he drove her to the train station to pick me up. When, when I got back out to Westfield, we went home. And you talk about with with dogs. We got in the house, and I took Roselle's harness off because I was going to take her out, and she would have none of it. She ran off, grabbed her favorite tug bone and started playing tug of war with my retired guide dog Linny, and I talked to the veterinarians at Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael the next day, and they said, "Did anything threaten her? And I said, "No, not directly. And they said, "That's why she ran off because it was over. Nothing threatened her. Bob Ellis  53:58 Comfortable. Michael Hingson  53:59 She, they don't. Dogs don't do what if like we do, and so she was comfortable. She was happy. She wanted to play, and then then she did go out. But by the same token, the the whole point was that she was able to deal with with all of it and was able to to focus. Then we got her outside and and came back in, and she ate and and all that. But the the the thing is that she focused all day, and and she did a a wonderful job. And the reason that she focused and did so well was mainly because I worked at keeping her focus by telling her every chance I got. You're a good girl. What a good dog! Good dog. You're doing a great job. Keep going. I did that all the way down the stairs in the World Trade Center, and I was very deliberate about that because I knew she had to sense the fear and what was going on, and I wanted her to know that I was okay and I was going to be there for. Her, which is of course what teamwork and support is all about. You understand that very well. You you proved it in so many ways. I kept working with Roselle and kept her focused, and you know it all it all really went well. I still think one of the most relevant things for me in the World Trade Center. I went down the stairs with a guy named David Frank. David was from our corporate office in California, and David and I were going to be conducting sales seminars that day, teaching some resellers how to sell our products. And we got down to about the 50th floor, so David was there to talk about the the pricing and so on. I was going to do the majority of the presentation because I was going to be their technical contact, anyway, and we got to about the 50th floor, going down, and suddenly David said, "Mike, we're going to die. We're not going to make it out of here. And as I tell people, since I got a teaching credential, I had learned all about the secrets of how to yell at students. So I just said, "Stop it, David. If Roselle and I can go down these stairs, so can you. And he then immediately said that I brought him out of his spunk, and he told me that later as well. But what he told me was that he wanted to walk a floor below me on the stairs and shout up to me everything that he was seeing. He had to take his mind off of what was going on, and so he asked if I cared, and I said, "No, go ahead. That's what you need to do. That's fine. So I got like down to the 48th floor, and he yelled, "47th floor, Mike. All's clear here. Going on down. So we went down several floors that way. Eventually, I got to 45, and he was 44th floor. This is where the Port Authority cafeteria is not stopping. And the reason I mention it is because I think what David did is one of the unsung things that is so important from September 11th. He kept shouting up to me everything that he saw, but the reality is, anyone in the sound of his voice heard that there was someone who was okay going down the stairs, and he had to keep panic out of people's senses for so many individuals, because they just heard him, Mike, 43rd floor, all's good here. Going on down the stairs, all the way down the stairs. He had to have been able to keep so many people focused because he was able to keep his mind off of what was going on by shouting to me, and I think that that's so important, and so I'm. I always tell that story. I've been telling it for many years now because I want people to know what he did to keep so many people focused going down the stairs, and he had to have done that. Bob Ellis  57:31 Well, you know, I have. That's that's the first I've heard that, and and and and I read everything that I followed your story very closely, as well as the colonel who I was so close to, but there there are a couple of stories that are just never mentioned, not talked about, and one of them where we had to do every day. There was an update that the military gave the families an update as to what is happening, what was found, what was recovered, what to expect, and they would bring the kids in to listen to these brutal military briefings. I mean, just you know, these were these were soldiers, these were these were combat folks, and this is the way they briefed. And the therapy dogs were brought in, and there wasn't but about a dozen of them, and I will never forget not only the kids on the floor with the arms around those dogs, but some of the adults were as well. And I thought, what what a moment! That was the most touching moment of my entire life witnessing that. I mean, I could have done without it, but it was it was a very special moment. And then the the other thing that the world doesn't know about is on the second day, I got a I got a phone call from Secretary Rumsfeld's office that the VA was completely out of coffin flags. We had nothing in inventory to to cover the remains or the caskets for burial, and what could I do? And and right right from the Pentagon parking lot, I I called one of the buyers that bought American flags in Dallas, and then I asked her who do you get flags from, and she says it's American Flag Company. I'll give them credit for that, and and I said you need you need to get their entire inventory. We need to get it flown in, whatever expenses cover it, and get them here. The Pentagon doesn't have them, and New York doesn't have them. And those flags came in. They were they were there about that midnight that that that night. Now boxed up, thrown in the bag box, whatever tape they were bound, but everybody that came out later, you know, the recoveries as we got deeper into the debris, that had a had a flag that that came that came from us in the as well as at the Pentagon, and they put two very big special flags in there. I mean, like you see flying over a car dealer. And they hung that on the side of the Pentagon. And if you look at any of the any of the news willers of that time, it was on day two that flag was hanging that that came in with the rest of the other flags. So it was it was quite impressive. You never know what the next moment was going to bring you on you know from my side and and and can I meet the challenge? That was what I constantly worry about. How could I let any of this down? And I've got to do something. And and we were making it up as we went along. Michael Hingson  1:00:33 Yeah, that's all you could do. And so when I go back to Bob Ellis  1:00:37 to to this to this day, you know, we go back. They've got 184 markers. I don't know how many people attend it, but it's it's right in that zone, right outside the building, in that grassy area where they they they've made that memorial. And 184 people, to include I think two infants, are are memorialized there forever, which is very touching. It was a that was a hard place to go back to. Still was New York City when I went to it because I'd never I had never been 20 years 20 years yet 18 years before I ever went to to New York City to see the recovery there. I've never I've not been to the to the to the Pennsylvania field. I plan to go. I want to go. Just hadn't been convenient to get there, but but if I do that, I will have seen all all the sites. Michael Hingson  1:01:26 Yeah, I haven't been to Pennsylvania either. In 2017, I did make it to the World Trade Center Museum. In well, so we moved out of Westfield, and I moved back to California in late January, beginning of February of 2002, to work for Guide Dogs for the Blind and and speak from there. And traveled around and speak. Karen was there for a couple more months selling our home, and then she came out. But in May of 2002, Roselle was going to be honored by Hart's Mountain, the pet food and pet supply company. So, so we went back to New York, and while we were there, I met one of the police officers with with one of the service with one of the rescue dogs that that had been around the World Trade Center, and he arranged for us to get in a vehicle and drive down into the pit that was where the World Trade Center was, and they had built an artificial, well, a temporary road, and they were bringing things up, but we got to go down to what would have been the seventh sublevel, the bottom of the tower, and it was just a for me just imagining it standing in that dirt area in a hole seven stories deep and remembering what what it was like, and then in 2017 I went to the World Trade Center Museum and got to spend a little bit of time there, and of course everything had been rebuilt. The reflecting pool was there, and so on. But it was nothing like what I remembered from having been in the World Trade Center, and I walked around with someone who was able to be aware and describe what was where we were and what was above us, or what part of the building we were in as we walked through the complex. But of course, it was totally different. So it was it was such a strange feeling to experience all of that. But we did it, you know. And so now I've been to the museum, and actually there is a there's an animal exhibit in the basement, and Roselle's collar is is part of that exhibit. We donated that to oh Bob Ellis  1:03:50 really, oh really, oh God, I I was I was thinking that when I asked you that question earlier today, and I was thinking about that that has got to be remarkable, you know that that that's what touched me so much at the period. That the fact that the two of you were such a team, and I read everything that newspapers printed and watched. I guess there was some there was some CBS specials and so forth too, where you were interviewed, and it was it was just it was just absolutely amazing. Michael Hingson  1:04:21 Well, it is. you know, it is a an awe-inspiring sort of thing. And you know, people always say, you know, don't you feel guilty about surviving when so many people didn't? And and I said, no, I I didn't have any control over that. But what I do have control over is having been a survivor. What am I going to do about it? It's my responsibility to decide how I'm going to deal with moving forward after something like that. And of course, the opportunity opened to travel and speak, and so I've been doing it ever since. And I believe my job is. Is to educate people about what happened on September 11th, and let them know t

Over the past decade Phil Dennison has led the development of multiple applications of remote sensing and GIS to improve firefighter safety.

CBS News correspondent in New York on 9/11 Carol Marin joins Bob Sirott to discuss her memories from that day, remembering the firefighter and police officer who saved her that day and why it’s important to continue educating younger generations about 9/11. She also talks about what it’s like to relive those memories on this […]

A quarter of a century ago, we lost the lives of nearly 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia on September 11, 2001. Nineteen al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked and crashed four commercial airplanes into the World Trade Center (WTC), the Pentagon, and a field near Shanksville, PA. Since that day, several thousand have tragically died from 9/11-related illnesses, with tens of thousands today still battling those illnesses.One of those survivors and firefighters is here today to share his 9/11 story.Joe Torrillo, a retired 25-year FDNY lieutenant from Brooklyn, spent the first fifteen years of his firefighting career at Engine Company #10 directly across the South Tower of the WTC. By the Grace of God, he survived the collapse of the South Tower and then the North Tower, resulting in life-long injuries. Hear how Joe reflects on 9/11 as we remember those we lost 25 years ago.Please visit Joe's website to learn more about his work: joetorrillo.comSupport the showVisit georgewashingtoninstitute.org to sign up for our e-mail list! The site is the one-stop shop of all things Friends & Fellow Citizens and George Washington Institute!JOIN as a Patreon supporter and receive a FREE Friends & Fellow Citizens mug at the $25 membership level!IMPORTANT NOTE/DISCLAIMER: All views expressed by the host are presented in his personal capacity and do not officially represent the views of any affiliated organizations. All views presented by guests are solely those of the interviewees themselves and may or may not represent the views of their affiliated organizations, the host, Friends & Fellow Citizens, and/or The George Washington Institute.

Firefighters from the New York City Fire Department flew out to New Zealand to do the Sky Tower walk today to commemorate the 343 firefighters who were killed 25 years ago on September 11th, 2001. New York firefighter Dave Morkal was on ground zero that day, and he joined Andrew Dickens to discuss. "As soon as we got there it was work is on. This is what we have to do. We have to save as many people as we can." LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the week of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Paul Rieckhoff broadcasts from Lower Manhattan with the memorial lights going up over his shoulder — and a fresh wound reopened. A new report confirms what first responders, Stuyvesant students, and downtown families have said for a quarter century: city leaders knew the air was toxic and told the public it was safe anyway. They prioritized reopening the New York Stock Exchange over the health of the kids, the cops, and the firefighters. Paul's message is blunt: outrage and sadness get old. We need an action plan. If people lied about a public health catastrophe, they should go to jail — no matter who they are.This is a Media Blitz episode, he takes on Trump's prime-time convention flop — scheduled up against NFL kickoff, the US Open, and September baseball — and breaks down why Trump's sub-20% approval with independents is the real battleground of 2026. He connects the anniversary to Ukraine, where civilians live through a 9/11 every single day under Putin's bombs, and calls out the fantasy that a war criminal can be negotiated with as a peace partner. Rigorous, personal, and unflinching — this is what independent analysis sounds like when the person delivering it actually lived it.-WATCH full video of this episode here.-Millions of American veterans are being locked out of primary elections in the country they served. See what we're doing to change that.-Visit Kalshi and trade on anything. Use code INDEPENDENT to get $25 when you trade $25.-Head to cozyearth.com and use the code AMERICANS for an exclusive 20% off.-Join Noble Mobile today and get a $100 bonus when you use code PAUL and stay a member for 2 months!-Join IVA and help us get independent veterans elected to office.-Learn more about Paul's work to elect a new generation of independent leaders with Independent Veterans of America.-Learn more about American Veterans for Ukraine here.-Remember Independent is an Attitude.-Learn more about The Headstrong Project for Veterans, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and Department of Veterans Affairs resources in your area. Seeking support is not a sign of weakness. It's a show of strength. If you or a loved one are in immediate crisis, dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255.Connect with Independent Americans:Subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and all podcast platformsRead more at SubstackSupport ad-free episodes at Patreon Connect: Instagram • X/Twitter • BlueSky • Facebook Follow on social: @PaulRieckhoff on X, Instagram, Threads, and Bluesky-Join the movement. Hook into our exclusive Patreon community of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power. -And get cool IA and Righteous hats, t-shirts and other merch now in time for the new year. Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led Righteous Media. And now part of the BLEAV network! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

If your team keeps bringing you problems instead of solutions, the pattern started with you, not them. In this episode of The Game Changing Attorney Podcast, Michael and Jessica Mogill tackle three listener questions that all trace back to the same root problem: staying stuck in reactive mode. From training a team to solve its own problems to enforcing adherence to a process everyone claims to support, this episode unpacks why solving fires as they come keeps a firm from ever building the systems that prevent them. Here's what you'll learn: Why solving every problem for your team keeps them from solving any problem on their own How one four-word question shifts a team from asking to thinking What it actually takes to enforce adherence to a process your team already has Your team's problem-solving muscle only grows if you stop doing the lifting for them. (00:00:00) Introduction (00:05:39) Why your team hands you problems (00:06:32) The four-word question that fixes it (00:10:10) The intake leak that keeps returning (00:13:51) Firefighter ego vs. proactive leadership (00:15:44) Lay the groundwork now ---- Links & Resources: Dyson CameraJet ---- Learn what sustainable growth can look like for your firm at crispcoach.com. ---- Do you love this podcast and want to see more game changing content? Subscribe to our YouTube channel. ---- Past guests on The Game Changing Attorney Podcast include David Goggins, John Morgan, Alex Hormozi, Randi McGinn, Kim Scott, Chris Voss, Kevin O'Leary, Laura Wasser, John Maxwell, Mark Lanier, Robert Greene, and many more. ---- If you enjoyed this episode, you may also like: 456. AMMA - Why It's Your Fault If Your Team Isn't Performing 423. AMMA - How to Actually Scale Your Standards 187. Dan Martell - Buy Back Your Time: Get Unstuck, Reclaim Your Freedom, and Build Your Empire

In this episode, Dan Lennon shares his journey from firefighting to real estate investing, focusing on fire-damaged properties and helping first responders build wealth. Discover practical tips, mindset shifts, and how to leverage your background for success in real estate. Dan shares his unique approach to real estate investing, fire flips, and balancing a career as a firefighter with real estate ambitions. Discover practical advice for beginners and insights into building trust and systems for success.   Professional Real Estate Investors - How we can help you: Investor Fuel Mastermind: Learn more about the Investor Fuel Mastermind, including 100% deal financing, massive discounts from vendors and sponsors you're already using, our world class community of over 150 members, and SO much more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/apply   Investor Machine Marketing Partnership: Are you looking for consistent, high quality lead generation? Investor Machine is America's #1 lead generation service professional investors. Investor Machine provides true 'white glove' support to help you build the perfect marketing plan, then we'll execute it for you…talking and working together on an ongoing basis to help you hit YOUR goals! Learn more here: http://www.investormachine.com   Coaching with Mike Hambright: Interested in 1 on 1 coaching with Mike Hambright? Mike coaches entrepreneurs looking to level up, build coaching or service based businesses (Mike runs multiple 7 and 8 figure a year businesses), building a coaching program and more. Learn more here: https://investorfuel.com/coachingwithmike   Attend a Vacation/Mastermind Retreat with Mike Hambright: Interested in joining a "mini-mastermind" with Mike and his private clients on an upcoming "Retreat", either at locations like Cabo San Lucas, Napa, Park City ski trip, Yellowstone, or even at Mike's East Texas "Big H Ranch"? Learn more here: http://www.investorfuel.com/retreat   Property Insurance: Join the largest and most investor friendly property insurance provider in 2 minutes. Free to join, and insure all your flips and rentals within minutes! There is NO easier insurance provider on the planet (turn insurance on or off in 1 minute without talking to anyone!), and there's no 15-30% agent mark up through this platform! Register here: https://myinvestorinsurance.com/   New Real Estate Investors - How we can work together: Investor Fuel Club (Coaching and Deal Partner Community): Looking to kickstart your real estate investing career? Join our one of a kind Coaching Community, Investor Fuel Club, where you'll get trained by some of the best real estate investors in America, and partner with them on deals! You don't need $ for deals…we'll partner with you and hold your hand along the way! Learn More here: http://www.investorfuel.com/club   —--------------------

The New York Police and Fire Departments have their own GAA clubs, and face off this Saturday.Detective Kevin Farrell from the 45 detective squad in the Bronx joined Dave to give him the lowdown of the charity match!

Firefighters from Grosse Pointe Woods battled a fire at the Lochmoor Club for more than 12 hours. The clubhouse has been destroyed. WWJ's Chris Fillar and Jackie Paige have your Thursday morning news. (Photo credit: WWJ's Luke Sloan)

Send us Fan MailThe hardest part of first responder mental health is not admitting trauma exists, it is admitting it counts when it happens to you. In part 2 of the interview, Steve Bisson sits down with Dana DeLorenzo to talk about the pressure points that quietly push police officers, dispatchers, and other first responders toward PTSD, burnout, and early retirement, especially when the culture still rewards silence. We get specific about what women in law enforcement deal with that often gets minimized: microaggressions, sexualized comments, assumptions about competence or sexuality, and the exhausting expectation to “prove yourself” while staying unbothered. Dana shares how those daily stressors combine with operational trauma and how the “good old boys club” can turn support into scrutiny, making it harder to report problems or ask for help early. From there, we zoom out to systems that shape wellness, including dispatch and the tradeoffs of regionalization. We talk about why local knowledge matters, why “How are you?” has to be a real question, and how leaders can prevent crisis by normalizing confidential care, vetted clinicians, and routine wellness visits. We also confront a fear many don't say out loud: if getting help means losing your gun, your overtime, or your livelihood, people will wait until they're in real danger. To Reach Dana, go to her LinkedIn account at this address: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-delorenzo-84916a379?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_androidYou can email her at: mailto:ddelorenzo@firstrespondersix.comIf you care about police mental health, first responder wellness, suicide prevention, and building a healthier culture from the inside, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with someone who leads a shift, and leave a review so more first responders can find the support they deserve.Freed.ai: We'll Do Your SOAP Notes!Freed AI converts conversations into SOAP note.Use code Steve50 for $50 off the 1st month!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showYouTube Channel For The Podcast

This week on The Weekly Scrap... Chief Michael Terpak!I've been looking forward to getting Mike back on the show, and we made it happen.If you haven't listened to his first appearance on Episode 87, now's a good time to go back, give it a listen.Mike Terpak has built an impressive career in the fire service and continues to share his knowledge and experience with others.45 years in the fire service, 36 years with the Jersey City Fire Department, retiring as a Deputy Chief and City-Wide Tour Commander, author of six best-selling fire service books, instructor, educator, and retired adjunct professor in Fire Science.He has spent decades studying the job, teaching it, writing about it, and continuing to give back to firefighters — both those new to the job and those looking to promote.We talk fireground operations, knowing the basics, knowing your own backyard before worrying about someone else's, high-rise firefighting, and some of those fundamentals of the job that simply never change.We also get into the promotional side of the fire service. Mike has spent years helping firefighters and fire officers prepare for that next step and has written extensively on both fireground operations and the promotional process.With Mike's experience, knowledge, and perspective, I have a feeling we'll have no shortage of things to discuss.And of course, LIVE audience brought the questions.

This is the noon All Local for Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Now that new 9/11 documents have been released FDNY firefighters will push for more health care... Two workers injured in a partial collapse of a Bronx building... Momo crawl is back this Sunday full 437 Wed, 09 Sep 2026 09:45:52 +0000 w1zIYzEluGinHmN1r9pWTxto6Hmm2gaL news 1010 WINS ALL LOCAL news Now that new 9/11 documents have been released FDNY firefighters will push for more health care... Two workers injured in a partial collapse of a Bronx building... Momo crawl is back this Sunday The podcast is hyper-focused on local news, issues and events in the New York City area. This podcast's purpose is to give New Yorkers New York news about their neighborhoods and shine a light on the issues happening in their backyard. 2024 © 2021 Audacy, Inc.

This September 11th marks the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Firefighter Michael Donovan served at Ground Zero that day. He lost many friends and colleagues.On Vermont Edition: Captain Michael Donovan of Ludlow. His new memoir commemorates the 25th anniversary from a firefighter's perspective.Plus, a member of Vermont's Nepali community is trying to support his friends and family from afar. They're recovering physically and emotionally from the recent devastating floods. We'll share ways for you to help.Broadcast live on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.

Headlines for September 08, 2026; “Toxic Nightmare”: 25 Years After 9/11, Juan González on His Predictions of Worker Illness & Death; Firefighter, EMT, Stuyvesant High School Student Describe 9/11 Exposure & Long Fight for Healthcare; “People I Flew with All the Time”: Flight Attendant Union Head Sara Nelson Remembers 9/11 Victims; 25 Years After 9/11: Cover-Up of Air Quality Risk Proved to Be “Death Sentence” for Thousands

More than 95,000 people have signed a petition asking the organizers of the 25th anniversary ceremony at Ground Zero to reconsider whether Zohran Mamdani, the first Muslim mayor of New York City, should attend. Liz Miller's answer has traveled further than most: "Mayor Mamdani is not a terrorist." Elizabeth Miller (Liz) was six when her father, FDNY firefighter Douglas Miller of Rescue 5, went into the South Tower and did not come home. Today she is the project director of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a group of 9/11 family members who have spent more than two decades being called naive, unpatriotic, and worse for opposing torture, the death penalty, and the wars fought in their loved ones' names. In this episode of Immigrantly's 9/11 at 25 series, Saadia Khan talks with Liz about the letter she wrote to President Bush at age 11, her six trips to Guantánamo Bay to observe the 9/11 military commission, her friendship with a former detainee who was held for 14 years and never charged, and why she does not believe the trial will happen on the date the judge just set. They also talk about the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, where Liz once worked, and what it leaves out of the national story: the surveillance, the hate crimes, and the wars that followed. Two people with very different reasons to dread the first eleven days of September, and a conversation about who is allowed to grieve, who is expected to, and who gets called a hero. You can connect with Saadia on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@itssaadiak⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Email:saadia@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Host & Producer: Saadia Khan I Content Writer: Saadia Khan I Editorial review: Shei Yu I Sound Designer & Editor: Lou Raskin I Immigrantly Theme Music: Simon Hutchinson | Other Music: Epidemic Sound Immigrantly Podcast is an Immigrantly Media Production. For advertising inquiries, contact us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠info@immigrantlypod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT (Belong On Your Own Terms) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠is the next step. It's our new app, designed to help you think through identity, culture, ambition, relationships, and the stories we carry with guided reflections, prompts, and frameworks developed over years of conversations on this show. It's thoughtful. It's challenging. And honestly, it's the kind of space many of us wish existed earlier in our lives. If you're ready to go deeper than the podcast, subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BOYOT⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and start the journey. Don't forget to subscribe to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Immigrantly Uninterrupted⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for insightful podcasts. Follow us on social media for updates and behind-the-scenes content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special live episode, retired NYC firefighter Niels Jorgensen shares his firsthand account of serving at Ground Zero on 9/11. Niels reflects on the courage of first responders, the loss of nearly 3,000 innocent lives, and his own battle with a rare leukemia caused by toxin exposure during the recovery efforts. Recorded in front of a live audience, this conversation also honors our local Fountain Inn fire, police, and EMS departments, who attended in their Class A uniforms. You'll hear powerful stories of sacrifice, resilience, and faith — and why remembering 9/11 matters for the next generation. Watch the full interview on YouTube to see Niels and our local heroes. A link to Alan Jackson's Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning music video (referenced in the episode) is included in the show notes. Niels 20th anniversary of 9/11 20 for 20 Podcast Video Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning? Join us at The Flourish Retreat on Kiawah Island, October 15-18 I'd love for you to become part of the Building Strong Homes Community by signing up for my weekly newsletter You can also click to sign up to become part of my free Facebook community. Watch on YouTube Inside Ground Zero: A 9/11 Firefighter's Story of Courage, Loss and Faith with Niels Jorgensen

NASA airborne data provide key information to help wildland firefighters.

In Episode 293 of The Chazz Palminteri Show, I speak with retired FDNY firefighter John Sorrentino, who experienced September 11th firsthand and worked alongside Pete Davidson's father, Scott Davidson. John shares his memories of the morning of 9/11, traveling from Brooklyn to Ground Zero, learning that members of his firehouse were missing, and spending hours searching the pile. He remembers the eight firefighters from his company who were killed and discusses the long-term health effects and personal losses that followed. John also talks about his friendship with Scott Davidson and his unique experience working with Pete Davidson and Judd Apatow on The King of Staten Island, where he played Captain Palazzo and served as a consultant to ensure the firefighting scenes were authentic. It's a powerful conversation about 9/11, brotherhood, friendship, healing, and bringing the stories of the fallen to future generations.

I dive into the concept of firefighting in your business, get to the bottom of who is at fault for many of the fires taking up your time and energy, and offer solutions so you can stop being a part-time firefighter IN your business and get back to working ON your business. What You'll Discover In This Episode: ✔ The Types Of Fires You're Often Putting Out In Your Business ✔ Why & How They're Are Happening ✔ Who Is At Fault For Many Of Them ✔ What You Can Do To Prevent Those Fires ✔ So Much More! To access resources and links from this episode, click on https://AmberDeLaGarza.com/240.   P.S. Not sure what's holding you back? Take my Next Level Business Owner Quiz and get a personalized playlist to help you solve it. AmberDeLaGarza.com/QUIZ

"By the grace of God, I would have been standing right there where they died, in the World Trade Center." ---------- Sixteen current and retired firefighters are riding 3,600 miles from the San Francisco Bay Area to Brooklyn to commemorate the 25th anniversary of September 11. Among them is Danny Sheridan, who first appeared in Episode 110 to share the many ways angels protected him throughout his firefighting career. After welcoming the riders to the Medina, Ohio, firehouse, we spoke with Danny, David, and Phil about why they ride, the 343 firefighters who died as the World Trade Center towers collapsed, and the brotherhood of those called to save lives. ---------- Last Chance to Register - Join Us October 2026 for a Pilgrimage to Medjugorje We invite you to embark with us this October 10th to 18th on a pilgrimage to Medjugorje--one of the most grace-filled and spiritually uplifting places we've ever encountered. Register now, just a few seats remain.  Fr. Joe Menkhaus, our parish administrator, will be joining us as Chaplain. Click below to see all the details:  https://padrepiopilgrimages.com/trapperjack/ ---------- Share Your Story If you have a Touched by Heaven moment that you would like to share with Trapper, please leave us a note at https://touchedbyheaven.net/contact Our listeners look forward to hearing about life-changing encounters and miraculous stories every week. Stay Informed Trapper sends out a weekly email. If you're not receiving it, and would like to stay in touch to get the bonus stories and other interesting content that will further fortify your faith. Join our email family by subscribing on https://trapperjackspeaks.com  Become a Patron We pray that our listeners and followers benefit from our podcasts and programs and develop a deeper personal relationship with God. We thank you for your prayers and for supporting our efforts by helping to cover the costs. Become a Patron and getting lots of fun extras. Please go to https://patreon.com/bfl to check out the details. More About Trapper Jack Visit Our Website: https://TrapperJackSpeaks.com Patreon Donation Link: https://www.patreon.com/bfl Purchase our Products ·       Talk Downloads: https://www.patreon.com/bfl/shop ·       CD Sales: https://trapperjackspeaks.com/cds/  Join us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TouchedByHeaven.TrapperJack Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trapperjack/ Join us on X/Twitter: https://x.com/TrapperJack1

On his very first shift as a security officer at a fire station in South Wales, Dorian was asked the same question by three different firefighters before lunch: have you seen the ghosts yet? In this Witness Files case, the joke stops being a joke fast, once he learns exactly what the station was built on top of.The station sits directly on the site of a Victorian colliery, where an explosion in 1878 trapped over three hundred men and boys underground and ultimately killed 268 of them, many by drowning when the pit was flooded to control the fire. Firefighters posted there over the years describe knocking on doors with nobody behind them, appliance bay lights and doors found open on empty patrols, and crews who refuse to linger once the sun goes down.One colleague who dismissed it all as nonsense changed his mind within a single night shift, after seeing three figures crossing the mess room that he could only describe as looking like miners.Hear Dorian's full witness statement, and find out how to submit your own account to The Witness Files archive, in this episode.Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe, leave us a rating, and drop a review. It really helps the show reach more listeners. Here's where to find more:Support the show: Patreon (patreon.com/hauntedukpodcast) | Ko-fi (ko-fi.com/hauntedukpodcast)Follow us: Instagram @hauntedukpodcast | TikTok @hauntedukpodcast | X @hauntedukpodWebsite: https://hauntedukpodcast.com/Produced by Pink Flamingo Sound Studio Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In January 1909, strange hoofprints began appearing across New Jersey. They crossed snowy fields, fences and rooftops, sometimes beginning or ending without any obvious explanation. Then people started seeing the creature responsible.Witnesses described wings, hooves, a horse-like face, glowing eyes and a scream that carried through the darkness. Firefighters confronted it. Armed residents followed its tracks. Newspapers spread the panic across several states. Then a Philadelphia museum claimed it had finally captured the Jersey Devil.It was a kangaroo wearing artificial wings.In this episode, we go back through the history of the Jersey Devil, from Mother Leeds and her alleged thirteenth child to the real Leeds family, colonial religious conflict, Benjamin Franklin's bizarre feud, the explosive week of sightings in 1909 and the publicity stunt that contaminated the entire case.Was the Jersey Devil created by folklore, frightened witnesses and competitive newspapers? Did several ordinary animals become one impossible creature? Or is there still a genuine encounter buried underneath everything people added to the story?

Farmers, ranchers, volunteer firefighters and hunting access are more connected than you might think. We share this week our own recent scary fire on the ranch in the old farmyard and why supporting rural fire departments helps strengthen communities and builds relationships. Join radio hosts Rebecca Wanner aka ‘BEC' and Jeff ‘Tigger' Erhardt (Tigger & BEC) with the latest in Outdoors & Western Lifestyle News! When a Bird Becomes a Firestarter Some days start normally. Then, around noon, Tigger got a call that the place where he grew up was on fire. Yep. Definitely an Oh $hit Day. We arrived about 30 minutes later to find more than 40 friends, neighbors, and members of the Volunteer Rural Fire Department already fighting the blaze. One building was lost, a couple of others were damaged, and thankfully, the old farmhouse was spared. With the wind changing directions, it could have been so much worse. Tigger's dad, being Dad, immediately found the bright side. "Well, I guess we don't have to tear down that old building anymore." Problem solved. Sort of. What really stood out wasn't just the fire. It was the response. Neighbors showed up. Firefighters showed up. Equipment showed up. People offered trucks, water, machinery, manpower and whatever else might be needed. And they did it for a family that lives about 30 miles away. That's rural America. When something goes wrong, people don't always wait to be asked. They just show up. And we can't thank the New Salem Rural Fire Department firefighters and our neighbors enough. Then came the question: How did the fire start? A bird. That's right. An avian saboteur. The feathered little menace landed on a transformer, created an electrical arc, and apparently decided the ranch needed a little remodeling. Whether it was the bird or a piece of hot metal that hit the ground, the result was the same: buildings burned and a new family story was born. So, remember folks, check if you are under a burn ban. Apparently, somebody needs to explain that to the birds. Rural Fire Departments Need Rural America The humor helps us tell the story, but there's a much more serious point behind it. Rural fire departments are the people who show up when a grass fire jumps a fence, a combine catches fire, lightning starts a pasture blaze, or—apparently—a bird decides to conduct electrical experiments. And many of the people answering those calls are farmers, ranchers, landowners and other community members who volunteer their time. Across the country, volunteer firefighters play an enormous role in protecting rural communities. National Fire Protection Association data shows volunteer firefighter numbers have fallen dramatically—from roughly 898,000 in the 1980s to about 635,000 in recent years, a decline of more than 29%. At the same time, the threat isn't getting smaller. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that millions of acres of livestock grazing and pasture land burn each year. And recent wildfire seasons have shown just how quickly conditions can turn dangerous across the West. That creates a difficult equation: More fire risk. Fewer volunteers. More pressure on the people who remain. Supporting the People Who Protect Rural Land Rural fire departments are generally funded through a combination of local government support, state funding mechanisms, grants, insurance-related revenue and public donations. But firefighting isn't cheap. A single response can cost thousands of dollars, and a major incident can quickly climb into the tens of thousands—or more. That's why supporting your local rural fire department matters. You don't necessarily have to become a firefighter. You can donate. Attend the fundraiser. Buy a ticket to the fire department's annual event. Bid on the silent auction. Help with a fundraiser. Or simply ask your local department what they need. Every bit helps. And there's another reason this matters for those of us who hunt, fish and spend time on private land. Good Relationships Keep Gates Open Hunters depend heavily on relationships with farmers, ranchers and landowners. Those relationships aren't built by knocking on a door five minutes before opening morning and asking, "Can I hunt your place?" They're built over time. You show respect for the property.  You follow the rules.  You don't leave gates open.  You don't drive where you're not supposed to.  You pick up your trash.  You say thank you. And sometimes, supporting the rural community that provides hunting access means supporting the people who protect that community. Rural landowners are often the same people volunteering at the fire department, donating equipment, hosting fundraisers, fighting grass fires and helping their neighbors. When hunters contribute to those communities—not just by asking for access, but by becoming part of the community around that access—it strengthens relationships. And strong relationships can help keep those gates open. The Takeaway That fire at the ranch could have been much worse. Instead, firefighters and neighbors arrived quickly, worked together and protected what they could. We got a reminder of something rural America already knows: When things go bad, your neighbors matter. So support your local rural fire department! If you hunt, fish or enjoy access to private land, support the farmers, ranchers and landowners who make those opportunities possible, too. And if you happen to see a bird sitting on a transformer... Maybe suggest it find another perch. References: https://www.farmprogress.com/tv-and-radio/wildfires-scorch-7-5-million-acres-across-western-u-s- https://www.fs.usda.gov/about-agency/newsroom/by-the-numbers OUTDOORS FIELD REPORTS & COMMENTS We want to hear from you! If you have any questions, comments, or stories to share about bighorn sheep, outdoor adventures, or wildlife conservation, don't hesitate to reach out. Call or text us at 305-900-BEND (305-900-2363), or send an email to BendRadioShow@gmail.com. Stay connected by following us on social media at Facebook/Instagram @thebendshow or by subscribing to The Bend Show on YouTube. Visit our website at TheBendShow.com for more exciting content and updates! https://thebendshow.com/ https://www.facebook.com/thebendshow WESTERN LIFESTYLE & THE OUTDOORS Jeff ‘Tigger' Erhardt & Rebecca ‘BEC' Wanner are passionate news broadcasters who represent the working ranch world, rodeo, and the Western way of life. They are also staunch advocates for the outdoors and wildlife conservation. As outdoorsmen themselves, Tigger and BEC provide valuable insight and education to hunters, adventurers, ranchers, and anyone interested in agriculture and conservation. With a shared love for the outdoors, Tigger & BEC are committed to bringing high-quality beef and wild game from the field to your table. They understand the importance of sharing meals with family, cooking the fruits of your labor, and making memories in the great outdoors. Through their work, they aim to educate and inspire those who appreciate God's Country and life on the land. United by a common mission, Tigger & BEC offer a glimpse into life beyond the beaten path and down dirt roads. They're here to share knowledge, answer your questions, and join you in your own success story. Adventure awaits around the bend. With The Outdoors, the Western Heritage, Rural America, and Wildlife Conservation at the forefront, Tigger and BEC live this lifestyle every day. To learn more about Tigger & BEC's journey and their passion for the outdoors, visit TiggerandBEC.com.

We're adding a special episode of The Weekly Scrap this week for a good reason.Episode 371 went LIVE Thursday, September 3rd—the same day The Romagus Papers officially releases. And we were joined by special guest Ian Bennett because his book "Learning to Burn" went live the very next day. We talk about both books, how they came together, and dive into some of the topics and conversations inside them.And of course, the audience as always delivered!Episode 371 is made possible by our incredible sponsors:Snap-tite HoseIdentiFire Safety — Use code VIGILANCE for 10% off your order.UL Research Institutes' Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) — Visit the dedicated page created specifically for Weekly Scrap listeners, giving you access to some of the best firefighter research and training resources available at fsri.org/weeklyscrap.

In Massachusetts, a jury is deliberating the fate of Lindsay Clancy, a mother who says she was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed her three children. After California fire captain Rebecca Marodi was stabbed to death by her wife, Yolanda, investigators uncovered Yolanda's troubling past. In Dateline Round Up, there's a verdict in the murder trial of Duane "Keefe D" Davis, accused of orchestrating the 1996 Las Vegas shooting that killed rap legend Tupac Shakur. Courtroom surprise in the case of singer D4vd, accused of murdering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez. And updates in the case of Bryan Kohberger, the man convicted of killing four University of Idaho students. Plus, expert breaks down the extradition process.This episode discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or visit 988lifeline.org for more resources.Listen to season 5 of the Dateline: Missing in America podcast: https://swap.fm/l/miafdlw. Find out more about the cases covered each week here: www.datelinetruecrimeweekly.com. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Irishman steals the crown jewels, a gang of firefighters battles two dozen clowns, the boys appear in Star Wars. On this episode, Josh Mills and Wayne McCarty cover your favorite Florida Man headlines before revisiting a fan-favorite bit, 'Teach Me Something.' Stick around for the cherry on top at the end: a game of 'Would You Rather.' On mic: Josh Mills, Wayne McCarty, Emily Grabill, Luke West Headlines: Florida Man fails to spend the night in Walmart, Florida official is in hot water for risky texts Teach Me Something: The history and drama surrounding the Crown Jewels of England, the formation of the Toronto Police Force (Circus Clowns vs. Firefighters), which FMOFM host appears in Star Wars? Each week, the Florida Men on Florida Man podcast blends comedy with the fascinating legends, lore, and history of the wildest state in the Union: Florida. Learn more at www.fmofm.com

Send us Fan MailA police officer who becomes a therapist sounds like a plot twist, but it's also a rare window into what first responder mental health really needs. We're joined by Dana DeLorenzo, a retired transit police officer and now licensed mental health counselor, and we get honest about how the work changes you. Not the dramatic moments the public sees, but the daily accumulation: the stress, the cynicism that creeps in, and the reflex to say “I'm fine” even when you're not.We talk about Dana's path through dispatch, university policing, and years in transit, and why dispatchers are often the most overlooked part of the public safety system. The calls are frantic, the information has to be translated instantly, and the lack of closure can stick for years. We also dig into why so many first responders reject recognition, feel uncomfortable with the word “hero,” and minimize service even when the job clearly asks for sacrifice.From there, we zoom out to the deeper drivers: ACEs (adverse childhood experiences), unresolved trauma, PTSD versus “post-traumatic stress” language, and why naming symptoms can be the first step toward healing. We explore the idea that people rarely break from the first hard call, but from the 27th one they never processed, plus how concepts like complex PTSD and EMDR's “little T” and “big T” framework can help make sense of it. To Reach Dana, go to her LinkedIn account at this address: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dana-delorenzo-84916a379?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_androidYou can email her at: mailto:ddelorenzo@firstrespondersix.comIf this conversation hits home, subscribe, share it with someone on your shift, and leave a review so more first responders can find support sooner rather than later.Support the showYouTube Channel For The Podcast

Jonathan brings nearly three decades in the fire service and a ton of time spent teaching and training firefighters. An instructor with Task Force One Inc. and Street-Smart Tactics, a member of the Frontier Fools, and has a passion for truck work, training, and making sure we pass this job on better than we found it.We talked some shop; truck company operations, riding assignments, ventilation, company officer responsibilities, and training with intent.We also dug into something Jonathan calls "Warehouse Management" - Keeping your own house in order. Looking inward when frustration sets in. Playing the long game. Staying mission focused. Taking care of your people. And becoming the kind of firefighter and leader you expect everyone else to be.Of course, this was The Weekly Scrap, so the Audience took us down some rabbit holes. It was a fantastic, "Can Not Miss" Episode!Episode 370 is made possible by our incredible sponsors:Snap-tite HoseFireStation FurnitureUL Research Institutes' Fire Safety Research Institute — Visit the dedicated page created specifically for Weekly Scrap listeners, giving you access to some of the best firefighter research and training resources available at fsri.org/weeklyscrap.