Smart Firefighting Podcast

Episode 268: The Fire Service: A Sense of Family and Common Goal with Eric Combs and Kelly Richardson

Published

Guests: Eric Combs, Kelly Richardson

Topics: Leadership, Health & Safety

Episode notes

What are the 3 keys to effective fire service products?

Hello Smart Firefighting Community!

Welcome to another episode of covering real world innovations via interviews with fire service and technology industry experts that empower YOU to develop your very own Smart Firefighting strategy!

In this episode:

How technology can make firefighters safer and more efficient

Why core values like integrity, honesty, loyalty, and respect matter

The importance of finding a compelling reason behind the work you do

Hear from Kelly Richardson and Eric Combs – the President of Fire and Emergency Business Group at Safe Fleet .

Kelly and Eric share their experiences in the fire service, reflecting on their time at a rugby game and the deep sense of family that the fire service provides. They emphasize the critical role of technology in enhancing firefighter safety and efficiency, stressing the importance of simplicity, durability, and dependability in the products used by first responders.

The conversation highlights the core values that guide their work—integrity, honesty, loyalty, and respect—and how these principles help foster a strong community within the fire service. They also discuss the power of having a compelling reason behind their work, which drives their dedication and passion for protecting others.

So take a listen to hear what they have to share!

Episode Resources:

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Head to www.smartfirefighting.com to discover how SFF accelerates innovation for emergency responders, to find out when our next event is, or review our curated resources!

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Chapters

  1. 0:00 Intro from the IFE booth at AFAC 2024
  2. 0:55 Kelly Richardson and Eric Combs join
  3. 1:00 The firefighters' rugby game
  4. 3:14 Kelly's 38 years with the Country Fire Service
  5. 4:04 The brands behind Global Fire Solutions
  6. 4:37 Eric's first trip down under
  7. 5:32 What Safe Fleet does
  8. 6:31 From mechanical engineer to Elkhart Brass
  9. 7:10 Technology that makes firefighters safer
  10. 9:12 Equipment that has to just work
  11. 9:55 The details that go into a product
  12. 10:51 What they love about the fire service
  13. 12:02 Integrity, honesty, loyalty and respect
  14. 12:52 Start with why
  15. 13:21 Wrap

Questions answered in this episode

What brands does Global Fire Solutions work with?

Kelly Richardson says Global Fire Solutions works with Darley, Safe Fleet (which includes Elkhart Brass, Fire Research Corporation, Foam Pro and ROM), Cuzmul, Trident, and Bronto Skylift.

Hear it at 4:10

How does Safe Fleet approach technology for firefighters?

Eric Combs says the fire service needs simplicity, so Safe Fleet focuses on making products intuitive and second nature, using visual, vocal, and tactile feedback. He also emphasizes data-driven decision-making and preventative service information to stop problems before they start.

Hear it at 7:39

What are the core values of Global Fire Solutions?

Kelly Richardson says the core values are integrity, honesty, loyalty, and respect, and everyone on the team shares those values.

Hear it at 12:26

What does Kelly Richardson love about the fire service?

She says it feels like family, and despite being competitors with different views, everyone has the common goal of protecting the community.

Hear it at 10:56

What motivates Eric Combs in his work with Safe Fleet?

Eric Combs mentions an early boss told him they do not make paperclips, they make something that makes a difference in people's lives every day. He also follows Simon Sinek's golden circle philosophy, starting with why, which keeps him and his employees energized.

Hear it at 11:17

Transcript

Machine transcript of the published audio. Names may be misspelled and some sections are missing.

Ep 268 transcript

The Fire Service: A Sense of Family and Common Goal with Eric Combs and Kelly Richardson

Speakers: Kevin Sofen, Eric Combs, Kelly Richardson

Source: Whisper medium.en machine transcription of the published Podbean audio (no original transcript found in Drive), lightly cleaned. Speakers were separated by voice clustering and then checked and assigned by hand at every speaker change. Gaps where the model returned no usable text are marked [inaudible m:ss].

[0:00] Kevin Sofen: Welcome to a mini Smart Firefighting podcast series, recorded live at the Institute of Fire Engineers booth during the 2024 AFAC Show Down Under in Sydney, Australia. Throughout these conversations, we dive into critical issues like fire safety, emerging technologies, diversity in the fire service, and innovative solutions for emergency response. facilities, fascinating insights from leaders around the world on how we can build a safer and more resilient future. Kelly Richardson with Global Fire Solutions and Eric Combs, Senior Vice President, Fire EMS and Industrial, Safe Fleet, reflected a deep sense of family within the fire service. They emphasize how technology enhances firefighter safety and discuss the importance of core values like integrity, honesty, and respect in fostering a strong fire service community. Kelly Richardson and Eric Combs, how you both doing?

[0:58] Eric Combs: Doing great, doing great to be here.

[1:00] Kevin Sofen: Yeah, so it feels like it was just yesterday, which basically it was, that the three of us were at the rugby game.

[1:07] Eric Combs: Absolutely.

[1:08] Kevin Sofen: I mean, and you're wearing the rugby jersey right now, Kelly, looking good. What is that jersey?

[1:13] Kelly Richardson: This jersey, so Global Fire Solutions, which encompasses Bronto, Skylift, Darley Australia and Safe Fleet. They have proudly sponsored the Australian Firefighters League in rugby. be honest it was my very first rugby experience and yes as part of being sponsorship we received the t-shirts and the players proudly wore our logos, our branding and it was fantastic.

[1:34] Kevin Sofen: Yeah it was pretty epic. Eric what was the rugby game experience for you?

[1:38] Eric Combs: So first off when you travel you just never know like what you're gonna experience right that was not in the cards no idea so shocked we got the invite going into the locker room before the game meeting the players seeing how they warm up it was just it was an epic experience very cool. Once in a lifetime for me

[1:56] Kevin Sofen: yeah I mean just seeing the warm-up and then we've talked about this have been watching I mean real rugby where they're just hitting each other we were watching the firefighters and then versus cops and they had you know their legs the size of tree trunks and they were hitting each other and I was like man I took one of those hits I'd be toast.

[2:13] Eric Combs: Absolutely if you want you want to feel small just get in the locker room with those guys, right? These guys are monsters.

[2:19] Kevin Sofen: The firefighters did prevail. It's not about who wins, but it is all about who wins. But then yeah, then it was followed by the Rooster game, which was epic. And I think the things we talked about, we saw the grappling from the roof. We saw a police helicopter delivering the game ball. We saw a fake use of force for protesters or people going on the field with dogs chasing them.

[2:40] Kelly Richardson: The police mounted horses. I think I saw the different squads going around the oval. did a really exceptional job and I thought it was really cool how they had the band incorporate their music with the action activities. So that was pretty cool.

[2:53] Kevin Sofen: It sure made you definitely not want to rush the field in a real manner.

[2:57] Eric Combs: Absolutely. Yeah. Don't mess with those guys, right?

[3:00] Kevin Sofen: No. Yeah. Well, so Kelly, you were from Australia and Eric, you were from?

[3:05] Eric Combs: Long Island, New York.

[3:07] Kevin Sofen: Long Island, New York. And so this was both of our first times to Australia. But Kelly, you live here, You're from here. Give me a little bit more background on who's Kelly, your role within, you know, the fire service and a little bit more about you.

[3:21] Kelly Richardson: I'm from South Australia and my history with the fire services is I've been a volunteer with the Country Fire Service for nearly 38 years now. I started out as a cadet and then operational firefighter and then went into operational support, so more radio and incident management. I've grown up within the fire services. My father Trevor Wing has been a long time member within the South Australian EFS and then CFS. And so basically my childhood has been in and out of fire stations and in and out of fire trucks. So that's how it just seems to be a natural momentum to then become a part of the Global Fire Solutions team, which is what Dad's built over the last 23 years.

[4:02] Kevin Sofen: And now it's just woven into your DNA. And then your company, that's a family company, works with a couple of different brands. Which brands are they?

[4:10] Kelly Richardson: Yes. So we have Darley that we work with. We also have Safe Fleet, which encompasses Elkhart Brass, Fire Research Corporation, Foam Pro and ROM. We also have Cuzmul, Trident, Bronto Skylift and yeah, trying to think if I've forgotten anybody, which is terrible.

[4:29] Kevin Sofen: Yeah. That's quite the Swiss army knife of solutions.

[4:32] Kelly Richardson: That's right. All very important in their own right. And we're very proud to be able to represent what we feel is the best.

[4:37] Kevin Sofen: And Eric, your first time down under first, tell me what's been your experience so far down under, and then let's dive into all things Safe Fleet.

[4:45] Eric Combs: Yeah, sure. No, it's, it's been fantastic. I got an opportunity to bounce around. So I was in, gosh, I was in New Zealand for a few days. I was in Perth. I've been in Melbourne. I've been in Sydney. So great opportunity to bounce around, talk to a lot of OEMs, talk to a lot of customers, opportunity to learn the market. And, you know, in my role, I had to get a chance to travel all over the world. And it's always amazing to me how similar the challenges are that the fire service is facing and how hungry the fire service is for new technology, new solutions. That's definitely been Australia, you know, as a talk. Tactics might be a little bit different, you know, maybe some of the construction and some of the ways you go about it are a little bit different. Even the equipment might be a little bit different, but at the end of the day, what everybody's trying to solve is the same. So it's been a great experience.

[5:32] Kevin Sofen: Yeah, well said, and then to your role in Safe Fleet, for those that maybe aren't familiar with Safe Fleet and some of the brands within the umbrella, give me the scoop.

[5:40] Eric Combs: Yeah, sure. So Safe Fleet, you know, at the end of the day, everything we do circles around safety for fleet operators. So we have several different divisions. We play in public transportation, we play in law, we play in waste. My group is Fire, EMS, and Industrial. So as mentioned, we have fantastic brands, Elkhart Brass, FRC, Foam Pro, ROM, all industry leading brands, all brands that are kind of known for inventing technology, you know, hand-lined nozzles, pressure governors, proportioning systems, the things that have become staples around the world were invented and pioneered by our company. So everything we do is around safety. Everything we do is around not just the products, right? The products are really important. And I think we have fantastic products, but it's around service, it's around support, it's around education. How can we overall help the fire service to be safer and be more efficient in what they do. So my role, I run the fire group. I'm 21 years. So I wasn't born into the fire service. Mine was kind of by accident. Came out of college as a mechanical engineer, thought I wanted to make jet engines, tried to get myself into GE Rolls-Royce, wasn't in my cards. I started a really small company called Elkhart Brass as an engineer and just fell in love with the industry. Got an opportunity to bounce around engineering, sales, marketing, a lot of different roles, travel all over the world. And now I bleed for the fire service. It's just in my blood now. So.

[7:04] Kevin Sofen: No, yeah, you both are stuck here forever. Same, just like you're stuck in this room with just me and Tim Tam till the end of time. Two words you said that I really liked was all this technology that we're working on is, the whole point of it is to make firefighters safer and more efficient. And you're both people centric in terms of kind of listening to customers and we're trying to really reverse engineer how to bring the best solutions. I'd love to just kind of hear you both riff on that a bit more in terms of how you both go about, you know, product development, you know, relationship development to ultimately just, you know, not to just talk about it, but really to focus on driving safer and more efficient solutions for the fire service.

[7:39] Eric Combs: Yeah, for sure. I mean, I really believe that in the fire service, especially technology is all about simplicity, right? Our customers face more and more challenging situations all the time. So we want to make the products that we use as intuitive, as simple. You know, we want it to be an extension of them. And I was actually talking to a, to a firefighter and he had a video cam footage of running into a building. And he said, you know, what's not going through my mind is the nozzle going to work? Is the pressure governor going to work? I just take that for granted. I don't have to think about how to use the equipment. It's just second nature to me. So that's what we're always looking for is how do we leverage technology, more intuitive interfaces? How do we use visual, vocal, tactile feedback to help the firefighter know exactly what's going on, what the situation is, and we just want the equipment to be second nature. So that's one piece of it. The other piece that we see is data-driven decision-making. How do we put more data, more information in the hands of the decision makers to help them build better apparatus, better equipment? What do they use? What do they need? How do they use it? And then kind of the last piece of that would be how do we leverage that to be able to provide more preventative service information, stop problems before they start, because at the end of the day, they got to depend on that product all day long. So, yeah, it's different facets of technology, but at the end of the day, it's all about simplicity, durability, dependability of the products.

[9:08] Kelly Richardson: I can't elaborate on that, to be honest, he pretty much said it all.

[9:12] Kevin Sofen: Retweet. Yeah well I mean the whole dynamic of it's so important I know this from my years and still aligned with Darley very closely is just manufacturing and building something that at all costs is always going to work and making sure that it is not a thousand little steps to calibrate and to make it work and of course some of this tech does require training under the use but first responders have enough on their plate so having to worry about is the technology you're going to use work is not something that they should be thinking about, and that's just a testament to the Safe Fleet brilliant brands and everything under your umbrella, Kelly, that is, you know, not only expected but required if you're bringing technology into the fire service.

[9:56] Eric Combs: Yeah, you know, to me it's a lot of it is the details. like things that people don't realize go into the product. So I'll give an example. We've gone to a lot of LCD controls for our pressure governors, for our valve controls, the time and energy in getting the displays, getting the color, getting the contrast, the tactical feel of the buttons to make sure whether a gloved hand or not, and the durability of the buttons to make sure they're going to last, the colors we choose, a lot of time and energy goes into those little details. And we work a lot with our local fire departments and our colleagues in the industry to get a lot of that feedback. So at the end of the day, it just works. You don't see all the details that make that intuitive, make it easy to use. To me, that's, what's fun. I get excited about that is how do you know, kind of pour all that knowledge base into the products. So at the end of the day, for the firefighter, you know, it just works flawlessly for them.

[10:51] Kevin Sofen: So kind of a open-ended question for you both, but what do you love about the fire service?

[10:56] Kelly Richardson: I love the fact that we're all like family and we are emergency services. You're putting your life on the line. You're putting yourself out there for the community. We all have a common goal. So despite you, we might all be competitors. We might all have different views on some things, but our core value is the same and that is to protect the community. And that's what I love about it.

[11:17] Eric Combs: Yeah. For me, I had one of my first bosses when I came into this role, said we don't make paperclips. We make something that really makes a difference. a difference in people's lives every day. And that's just always stuck with me, that when we say we save lives, you know, it's not a stretch, it's reality. So being able to be part of that, you know, I like to say we not only serve the fire service, but we're part of the fire service, and being an important link in that chain is a lot of fun. It really is, and it's rewarding, right? For me and for all of our employees, right, we talk about this a lot across our companies, is the important role, and people are proud. Down to the person drilling the hole in the casting is proud of what that product is gonna do. So to me, that's energizing, right?

[12:02] Kevin Sofen: Yeah, well said, and I had asked this question to you guys before we started the podcast, and I do love the paperclip quote, but I am also curious if there's a particular quote or word of wisdom that is woven into both your businesses in terms of how it motivates you when you get up in the morning, kind of really reinforces any sort of core belief about, you know, it could be about life or the fire service or whatever.

[12:26] Kelly Richardson: Well, for me, I'm really proud that all of our branding and our team, and it's a bit, it seems small because Global Fire Solutions is built of six employees, but we do actually have an expanded team and everybody has the core values, same core values, which is integrity, honesty, loyalty, and respect, and I think that's really important for any business and for any growth. So that's probably my keywords.

[12:51] Kevin Sofen: Awesome.

[12:52] Eric Combs: I'm a big fan of Simon Sinek and his golden circle, start with why. So that's what I believe is, you know, why comes first than a what and the how. And if your why is what we've just been talking about passion for the fire service, what we do to the community, the important role we play, keeping that in the forefront of myself and of our employees energizes, and I think it gets the best out of people, right? that when you have a compelling reason that you're coming into work every day, you're gonna do amazing things. And that's what I believe, you gotta love what you do.

[13:21] Kevin Sofen: Couldn't agree more. And man, I hope that the three of us and Damian and others and Marius find our way back to Australia again to go to another rugby game and maybe in Perth next year, who knows. But again, that truly was an experience I'll never forget as well as this first time down under and learned so much from the Australian Fire Service and both of you. So I just thank you for what you're both doing and hope you have a great rest of your time here Australia.

[13:44] Eric Combs: Yeah, hey, thanks for having us.

[13:46] Kevin Sofen: Alright, take care, thank you. Thank you. Thanks for listening to this episode recorded alongside the Institute of Fire Engineers during the AFAC Show. If you found value in the conversation or learned something new, we'd love to hear from you. Reach out, share your thoughts, and let's keep the discussion going on how we can shape the future of smart firefighting.