Why This Volunteer Fire Department Has Such A Great Retention Rate, How Coaching Football Correlates to Firefighting, and More (with Fire Chief Jeremy Bass) Ep|81

Fire Chief Jeremy Bass of Abbeville County Fire Rescue (SC) brings over 30 years of fire service experience—spanning Charleston, Louisville, and rural South Carolina—into a conversation packed with lessons on leadership, resilience, and relationships. In this episode, Chief Bass shares why recruiting and retaining volunteers is less about numbers and more about building meaningful relationships, why fear is a liar and belief always comes before ability, and how losing six friends in the tragic Charleston Sofa Super Store fire forever changed his approach to training and mentorship. From coaching football to founding the Kentucky Brotherhood Ride, Chief Bass proves that leadership is about investing in people, honoring the past, and inspiring the future.