Not every equipment deployment is a success. Too often, new tools, apparatus, software, and technology are purchased with good intentions but struggle to gain traction once they reach the field.

In this Project Command Rewind episode, we revisit one of the most important topics in fire service project management: how to successfully deploy new equipment. From initial planning and stakeholder engagement to communication, training, implementation, and evaluation, we break down the steps that separate successful rollouts from costly failures.

Whether you're introducing new apparatus, SCBA equipment, radios, EMS devices, software platforms, or specialized tools, this episode provides a practical framework for getting personnel on board, reducing resistance to change, and ensuring your investment delivers real operational value.

If you've ever wondered why some equipment becomes indispensable while other initiatives quietly fade away, this episode is for you.

Hazard Class Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Cc0F0Au2dlH3w1YTyMtzC?si=ede697056e3d4fe5

Jake Ryks is a firefighter, HazMat specialist with the St. Paul Fire Department, and the host of the Hazard Class Podcast. In this episode, Jake shares the story behind launching one of the fire service's most respected podcasts and how a passion for learning, leadership, and meaningful conversations helped it grow into a valuable resource for firefighters across the country.

We discuss some of the most memorable interviews Jake has conducted, the lessons he's learned from some of the biggest names in the fire service, and the leadership principles that continue to shape his career. Jake also offers practical advice for anyone interested in starting a podcast, building an audience, and creating content that provides real value.

Whether you're interested in HazMat operations, leadership development, professional growth, or podcasting, this conversation is packed with insights from someone who has spent years learning from the best and sharing those lessons with the fire service community.

Culture Eats Projects for Breakfast

Why do so many fire service projects fail despite solid planning, clear timelines, and strong leadership support?

The answer often isn't found in the spreadsheet.

In this episode of Project Command: Flash Points, Captain Duke Cuneo explores the hidden force that determines whether organizational change succeeds or stalls: culture.

From strategic plans and staffing initiatives to policy rollouts and training programs, leaders frequently focus on execution while overlooking the informal networks, trusted voices, and shared beliefs that ultimately drive buy-in. A project may be technically sound, but if the culture rejects it, resistance begins long before failure becomes visible.

This episode examines the difference between compliance and commitment, the influence of informal leadership inside the firehouse, and why organizational culture functions as the operating system beneath every project.

If you're responsible for leading change, implementing new initiatives, or moving your organization forward, understanding culture may be more important than perfecting the plan itself.

Key Takeaways:

• Why projects rarely fail because of poor planning alone
• The difference between formal authority and cultural influence
• How passive resistance quietly derails implementation
• Why trust and belief are often the true drivers of project success
• Strategies for building buy-in before launching change

Project Command: Flash Points delivers quick, practical insights that turn project management concepts into everyday leadership tools for the fire service.

Learn more about Project Management in the Fire Service, available now on Amazon.

In this encore episode of Project Command, we revisit one of the most important and overlooked challenges facing modern fire departments: technical debt.

Every time a project launches without complete policies, training, communication plans, documentation, or long-term sustainment strategies, organizations accumulate hidden operational debt. Over time, that "almost done" work creates confusion, slows future initiatives, overwhelms project leaders, and drains organizational bandwidth.

This episode breaks down what technical debt looks like in the fire service, why the final 10 percent of a project is often the most critical, and how unfinished work quietly impacts efficiency across the organization. We discuss practical strategies to identify technical debt, prevent it during new projects, and reduce it within legacy systems.

If your department feels buried in loose ends, inconsistent processes, duplicate work, or constant operational friction, this conversation is for you.

What does it take to lead change in a profession built on tradition? In this episode of Project Command, I sit down with retired Dallas Fire Department Deputy Chief Daniel DeYear to discuss leadership, organizational change, and the realities of implementing large-scale initiatives in the fire service.

Drawing on decades of experience, Chief Deyear shares his perspective on how the fire service has evolved, what leadership lessons remain timeless, and why successfully managing change requires far more than simply issuing orders. We explore how leaders can build momentum, gain buy-in, navigate resistance, and move complex projects from concept to completion.

Whether you're leading a station-level initiative, implementing new technology, managing a major organizational change, or trying to move your department forward, this conversation offers practical lessons from a leader who has successfully guided large organizations through significant transformation.

Topics include:
• How the fire service has changed over the past several decades
• Leadership lessons that stand the test of time
• Managing organizational change in a paramilitary environment
• Building support for large initiatives
• Overcoming resistance and pushback
• Leading complex projects and strategic efforts
• Communicating vision and maintaining momentum
• Developing future leaders within the organization

If you're interested in leadership, project management, organizational effectiveness, and the future of the fire service, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

https://youtu.be/hX3O1NTwVak?si=znbR1NPUDz0DL8q8

In the debut episode of Project Command International, Duke Cuneo sits down with Deputy Commissioner Mick Morris of Fire and Rescue New South Wales for a powerful conversation on leadership, systems thinking, and the future of modern emergency services.

With nearly 36 years in one of the world's largest urban fire services, Mick shares lessons learned from frontline operations, executive leadership, operational improvement, and international collaboration. The discussion explores how large organizations manage complexity, build high-performing systems, and align strategy with frontline execution at scale.

The conversation also takes a deeply personal turn as Mick discusses the life-changing drowning accident involving his son Samuel, and how that tragedy led him into international healthcare advocacy, drowning prevention initiatives, and systems-level thinking that would ultimately reshape his leadership philosophy.

Other topics include:

• Organizational culture and change management
• Community risk reduction and prevention-focused leadership
• Strategic alignment inside large fire departments
• Decision-making under uncertainty
• Global collaboration in the fire service
• AI, technology, and the future of emergency response
• Why leaders must "stay curious" in complex environments

This episode sets the tone for the entire international series — bringing global perspectives on strategy, execution, leadership, and public safety innovation to the fire service community worldwide.

Hosted by Duke Cuneo. Featuring Deputy Commissioner Mick Morris, Fire and Rescue New South Wales.

Learn more about the Memorial Stair Climb UK team here and how you can support this historic project:

https://memorialstairclimb.co.uk/

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/memorial-stair-climb1

On this episode of Project Command, I sit down with Barnaby Long to discuss one of the most historic firefighter memorial projects ever attempted.

Barnaby serves as the Managing Director of the Memorial Stair Climb UK team, which is organizing an unprecedented effort to bring 343 firefighters from across the United Kingdom and Ireland to Atlanta, Georgia, for the 2026 Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund Patriot Day Memorial Climb at Truist Park. Together, these firefighters will climb in honor of the 343 FDNY firefighters who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

We discuss the culture of the UK Fire Service, the international brotherhood shared throughout the fire service, and the enormous project management effort required to coordinate travel, fundraising, logistics, staffing, and operations for a team of this size. Barnaby shares the story behind the mission, why this event matters so deeply to the firefighters involved, and how the project has grown into a historic undertaking that represents far more than just a stair climb.

This episode highlights the incredible work being done by the Memorial Stair Climb UK organization and the firefighters dedicating themselves to honoring the legacy of the fallen through service, sacrifice, remembrance, and international unity.

On this episode of Project Command, Cpt. Duke Cuneo sits down with Nate Smith, President of Brindlee Mountain Fire Apparatus, to discuss what it takes to lead the largest supplier of used emergency vehicles in the United States.

The conversation explores the operational and logistical challenges of managing fire apparatus sales and fleet operations at a national scale, including procurement, transportation, refurbishment, customer coordination, and project management in the fleet environment.

Duke and Nate also discuss the complexities of doing business internationally, the unique demands of the emergency vehicle market, and how departments can better approach apparatus purchasing and long-term fleet planning.

This episode provides an inside look at a side of the fire service many people rarely see: the massive coordination, logistics, leadership, and operational planning required to move emergency vehicles across the country and around the world.

Whether you are involved in fleet management, apparatus specification, logistics, procurement, or organizational leadership, this episode offers valuable insight into one of the most important support systems behind emergency response.