#119 | Bryan Howard | Firefighter to Fire Defence

Former LAFD firefighter and paramedic Bryan Howard on 31 years with the department, the Northridge earthquake, and his fire defence business. Bryan Howard was born in Wisconsin and lived in Chicago and Minnesota as a kid and moved to California in the 70's. After growing up in Woodland Hills and went to Taft High School and then the University of Kansas on a football scholarship. Bryan signed as a free agent with a couple NFL teams and after his football career ended, he became a firefighter in 1992. His first big incident was responding to the Northridge earthquake in 1994. Bryan also got his paramedic certification to be cross-trained so that he could work as both a firefighter and a paramedic. During his 31 year career he has been stationed everywhere in the City of Los Angeles, and his last 13 years he was stationed in Brentwood at Fire Station 19. Bryan now dedicates his time to his new business named Lock Down Fire Defense Systems, helping people stay more ready for potential fires, and also assisting with various tools to protect your home during a fire and fire cleanup. Chapters 0:00 Welcome Bryan Howard 2:38 When the fires broke out 5:03 Ryan on missing the team after basketball 7:33 Ten thousand people trying out 10:07 From accidents to natural disasters and protests 12:34 Kicking down a door 15:06 Helicopter crews, pilots and camp crews 17:31 A dual-function department with its own ambulances 20:04 Density and how this fire spread 22:36 Arsonists and fire freaks 25:00 3,500 firefighters for 3.8 million people 27:36 The overtime nobody sees 30:01 Firefighting planes and where they are based 32:36 You cannot win against 90 mph winds 35:06 Santa Anas and 80 degrees on Christmas Day 37:30 Would 10,000 firefighters have made a difference? 40:03 Brush clearance notices and compliance 42:31 The Palisades and Altadena 45:00 Hills versus the flat village 47:32 Is there anything left to burn? 50:05 Copycats 52:36 Ryan on hearing from a firefighter, not a reporter 55:01 A fire that shook him to his core 57:37 Short-handed but still there 1:00:00 Firefighting as a team sport 1:02:32 The Pacific Ocean is the biggest firefighter 1:05:03 What insurance companies have done 1:07:30 Fire-resistant building and the next neighbourhood 1:10:06 Getting out of the way 1:12:38 The old fire shelter 1:15:05 Three shoulder surgeries 1:17:30 Days in the same clothes 1:20:04 Modelling, real estate and Fox Sports 1:22:34 Budgets for fire stations 1:25:05 A 31-year perspective 1:27:36 A coating that stops wood burning The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com