The One Thing Every Wildland Fire Department Gets Wrong

Building a REMS team isn't optional anymore — it's how you keep your wildland firefighters alive when extraction goes sideways. And most departments wait until it's too late.In this episode, John Hennessey — retired Air Force officer, former Booz Allen Hamilton program manager, and one of the architects of Dammeron Valley Fire Rescue — breaks down how to actually launch a Rapid Extraction Module Support (REMS) team without the budget, the bureaucracy, or the decade most departments think it takes.What we cover:- The "speed of need" framework that forces decisions instead of endless planning- How to write a statement of need that gets grants funded- Why cost-schedule-performance thinking from defense programs works for fire service- Setting measurable response time targets — and proving you hit them- Building a fire and EMS training pipeline when you can't hire certified people- How Greg McKeown and Liz Wisemans "Multipliers" leadership model wins in volunteer fire departments- How a "Volunteer Firefighters Needed" sign on a mailbox turned into one of Southern Utah's most operationally serious volunteer fire departments📌 If this episode gave you something useful — subscribe, drop a comment with the one lesson you're taking back to your crew, and share it with a fire service leader who needs to hear it.Find The Journeyman here:https://livetjm.com/Find The Journeyman on Google Play Store:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.livetjm.thejourneyman&pcampaignid=web_shareFind The Journeyman on the Apple App Store:https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tjm-the-journeyman/id65039028630:00 The Mailbox Sign That Started It3:00 Air Force Roots And Booz Allen Lessons8:00 Turning A Volunteer Crew Into A System15:58 Multipliers Versus Oxygen Thieves22:35 Cost Schedule Performance For Fire Rescue26:23 Building Utah’s First REMS Team30:58 Speed Of Need And Modern Gear