The HazMat Guys

Explosives, Liquid Oxygen, and the Hazmat Myths We Still Teach

Hazmat rules can survive for decades without anyone checking whether they are true. Bobby and Mike talk with Jesse Taylor about liquid oxygen stories, old picric acid, ex

Could You Recognize Plague on a Routine Respiratory Call?

Plague is not just a chapter in medieval history. It remains present in animal reservoirs, and a recent unexplained death involving a Russian anti-plague laboratory worke

Are Bad Instructors Why Everyone Hates HazMat? | THMG0569

Why do firefighters who enjoy hands-on rescue and suppression training often dread hazmat class? The hosts examine how lecture-heavy courses, intimidating jargon, and ins

Are Hazmat Meters Making Technicians Worse at Hazmat?

Modern hazmat meters are extraordinarily capable, but are technicians becoming too dependent on them? Mike’s hot take is that the hazmat community is losing some of its c

Your PowerPoint Is Not the Instructor

What separates a knowledgeable hazmat technician from an effective instructor? Bobby, Jake, and the crew talk about moving beyond slide-reading and turning technical info

Is 40 Hours Enough to Make a Competent Hazmat Technician?

A 40-hour hazmat technician course may meet a minimum requirement, but Bob, Mike, and Jake question whether it can realistically produce field-ready competency. They brea

How 9/11 Changed Hazmat Response for the Next 25 Years

Twenty-five years after September 11, Bobby and Mike are joined by FDNY HazMat 1 Lieutenant John Cassidy and retired NYPD Emergency Service Unit member Mike Kenny to look

Hot Takes: Are Hazmat Teams Moving Too Slowly?

Hazmat response is supposed to be deliberate, but has “slow down” become an excuse for unnecessary delay? The crew challenges the idea that every hazmat incident should a

Magic Mushroom Grow Labs: How Dangerous Are They Really? | THMG563

What happens when a hazmat team walks into a magic mushroom lab? In this episode, Bob and Jake break down psilocybin mushroom grow operations and what firefighters, hazma

A dip into the ‘ol mailbag | Part II

We discuss when Level A protection may actually be the wrong choice, why hazmat incidents often become command problems instead of purely chemistry problems, and which ha

A dip into the ‘ol mailbag | Part I

Pulling from the podcast mailbag, we break down how responders think through chemical identification, initial isolation, and early hazmat decision-making during an incide

Battery issue in Warwick with Wayne Melton | Part II

Wayne walks through an interesting real-world event that offers plenty to think about for anyone involved in response, training, or emergency services. The conversation h

Battery issue in Warwick with Wayne Melton

Wayne walks through an interesting real-world event that offers plenty to think about for anyone involved in response, training, or emergency services. The conversation h

Designing the Decon | Part II

We take a closer look at the details behind Decon corridor setup, including the amount of instructional time it deserves, and the nuance involved in doing it well. The co

Designing the Decon Corridor

We take a closer look at the details behind Decon corridor setup, including the amount of instructional time it deserves, and the nuance involved in doing it well. The co

Are Fire Suits The Newest HazMat PPE? | Mailbag: Part Deux | THMG556

In this episode, Mike revisits a question raised during one of the show’s happy hours and explains why he thought it deserved a deeper conversation. Bob and Jake come int

THMG555 – Mailbag

In this episode, Mike revisits a question raised during one of the show’s happy hours and explains why he thought it deserved a deeper conversation. Bob and Jake come int

THMG554 – Are you compliant?

Fresh off our Baltimore keynote, From Compliance to Competency, this episode digs into why moving beyond simple compliance matters for real growth, better practice, and m

THMG553 – Introducing HAVEN Software

In this episode, we discuss the current software offerings, Haven Metering and Haven Incident Mapping, and share a look at where the project stands right now. John is dev

THMG552 – Ebola 2026 | Part II

Mike and I dust off an older Ebola episode from the last time the virus made headlines and bring it up to date with the current outbreak context. We talk through the Ebol