First - We want to thank all of you who have stopped by to visit our new website. Whether you have hit every page or you jumped to read the blog or to listen to our podcasts, we are grateful that you took the time to stop by and see what Dalmatian Productions is all about.
     As the title of this post indicates, we all must evolve in some manner to maintain and hopefully, improve our existence. Yes, we can be reticent to change; OK, we can be down right stubborn about it! In the end however, we usually find that the change is for the better. Not always, but most of the time. So, we too will be making a change; one that we believe will be better, not only for us, but for our listeners of our podcast, "5-Alarm Task Force."
     To allow our podcast to grow and expand in a manner that will allow us to better serve you, we have decided to introduce the ability for our listeners to help us with our evolution. In the year and a half that we have brought "5-Alarm Task Force" to you, we have been joined by some of the best instructors, mentors and leaders in the American Fire Service. And we are extremely grateful to them for finding time in their very busy and hectic schedules, to chat with us for an hour or so.  Guests like the late, Chief Alan Brunacini, Chief Dennis Rubin, Chief Marc Bashoor, Chief Gary Ludwig, Chief Robert Fling, Assistant Chief, Todd LeDuc, Capt. Dan Kerrigan and Captain Jim Moss, Lt. Ryan Pennington, Chief Bobby Halton, Chief Tim Sendelbach and many more. Yet, we are not satisfied...we want more, we want to bring you more!
     Our goal is to expand our base to the point where it will prove worthwhile for us to take "5-Alarm Task Force," on the road. We want to be at FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Fire-Rescue International and one or two more, bringing you live podcasts from these conferences. We want to sit with the guest speakers and instructors for mini-interviews that we will feature in our follow-up podcasts.
     At the same time, we must respect the fact that the vast majority of our listeners are members of our "family" in the fire service. Thus, early on we decided that we would never charge a fellow firefighter to listen to this podcast. The question is then, "How do we expand without specifically charging every listener?" We believe we found the right and fair answer.
     The company Patreon allows creators for all sorts of projects such as YouTube videos, music, film, art and yes, even podcasts, to raise fund through donations from those who enjoy the creator's project and wish to encourage and help him/her grow and develop. You, our listeners can always come right here to our website and listen to our podcasts free-of-charge! Or, you can access our podcasts at our host's site, Podomatic, by using the link Bit.ly/5-AlarmTFPodcast. Either way, the podcast will always be free!  Just as they are on both iTunes and Google Play!
     Additionally, on both our website and our page on the Podomatic site, there will be a "badge." If you would like to make a contribution to assist us in growing and expanding "5-Alarm Task Force," clicking in the "badge" will take you to our page on the Patreon site, where you will be able to make a safe and secure donation to our efforts.  Again, this will be your choice. It is not required to listen to our podcasts.
     No matter what happens with this new campaign, we have one, singular goal: to bring you the very best information, news and issues facing the fire service in particular and first responders in general. And it is done to promote wellness, health, fitness-for-duty and safety for every first responder out there who listens to our show.
     Thank you, stay safe and let's make sure every one comes home.