Solid Responder host Joe Hernandez interviews paramedic, engineer, and  firefighter, Katie Roberts—a highly trained member and instructor of one of California’s most elite FEMA all hazards Urban Search and Rescue response teams. Katie’s knowledge, skills, experience, and her commitment to sacrifice are what makes her a true SOLID RESPONDER.

Join Joe and Katie for a conversation about  her path to becoming a member of California-TF3 as a medical specialist and Hazmat team manager, as well as an instructor and one of the country’s top leading experts. They also discuss her deployment experiences, such as Hurricane Irma in 2017, where she brought her diverse perspective and Hazmat expertise to the medical specialist side of disaster management. 

Katie has been a member of the first  responder community since 1998 and a member of California TF-3 since 2010. She credits her career growth and passion for teaching to her own personal curiosity, encouragement from colleagues, and support from her chief. She also discusses her personal experiences, starting out as one of the very few women in a largely male-dominated profession, and how the job has changed since.

In our second episode of the Solid Responder podcast, we join Canadian first responder, David Bain, ACP of Canada Task Force 2 and city of Red Deer emergency services chief training officer, to discuss his background and the international community and it’s impact around the world.

Our friend and colleague of almost 20 years shares insights on Canada’s urban search and rescue system (USAR), which was started in the early 2000s by the Canadian government. Hear about how they have since evolved into a first class international USAR team, covering all disciplines to address all-hazards incidents. 

Learn about David’s experiences as a leader in training and education of first responders and the Canadian USAR team’s participation in multiple training initiatives, which were a vital factor in helping to take the team to where it is today—and continue to grow and achieve even more in the future. 

On September 11, 2001, four airplanes were high jacked by terrorists and ultimately were flown into the Twin Towers in NYC, a field in Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon in Washington DC.

During this fascinating and heart-wrenching podcast, Chief Michael Leigh shares his 9/11 story as a critical part of the team that was first on the scene at the Pentagon in Washington. His firsthand account brings listeners along for the journey, helping to dissect the situation and how he and his colleagues helped to save countless lives by following protocol and leveraging their expertise in emergency medicine and rescue operations. 

“The size of a football field worth of destruction.”

Our podcast guest, Michael Leigh, is a battalion chief at Montgomery County Fire and Rescue in Maryland. He is also a Charter member of FEMA’s Maryland Task Force 1, serving as the task force medical manager.  Before becoming a first responder, he attended the American Military University. 

In addition to 9/11, Chief Leigh provides a history of USAR (Urban Search and Rescue) teams and the progress made over the past X years, as well as his own involvement, working to educate others in the rescue community and help evolve our nation’s response team to become the first class organization it is today.