CMC Podcast

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Ep. 33 Lighting Round Jun 18, 2026

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In this special, lighting round style, episode of the CMC Podcast Instructors Craig McClure and Justin Wheaton discus not one, but 13 topics. Rapid fire on-the-spot questions with no warning and no rehearsal. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't. Where do you land on these questions and why? Favorite gear, most overtrained topics, most undertrained topics, favorite rescue saying, and more, oh my.

CMC Podcast EP. 32 | ITRS & Testing Bias May 19, 2026

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In this episode of the CMC Podcast, CMC Instructors Craig McClure and Justin Wheaton discus the testing process when it comes to new ideas and concepts in Rope Rescue. This conversation ranges from: discussing ITRS, how can you eliminate testing bias to the best of your ability, negative and positive trends at ITRS, how the level of detail put into research can make or break a presentation and Justin's interest in studying static vs. dynamic lanyards.

Ep 31. Rock Exotica Feb 06, 2025

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On this episode of the CMC Podcast, CMC instructor Doug McElmury talks to Rock Thompson from Rock Exotica. Rock Thompson is one of the most innovative and prolific people in any discipline that involves life safety rope equipment. In this podcast, Rock tells the story of the humble beginnings of Rock Exotica and how it has grown into a brand known around the globe. He shares fascinating accounts of how many popular products were developed and how they went on to change the rescue, access and arbor disciplines. Rock has had the honor of working with many other inventors in the rope equipment world and brought their ideas to realization. We are confident you will enjoy hearing his story.

Influential Books May 14, 2024

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In this CMC Podcast our school instructors Craig McClure, John McKently, LeRoy Harbach, and Jason Ilowite hold a roundtable a discussion about the books, aside from technical manuals, that have been influential to them in their lives and careers. Books mentioned: "The Mission, The Men, and Me" By Pete Blaber "Up the Organization" by Robert Townsend "Young Men and Fire" by Norman MacLean "Green Eggs and Ham, Oh the Places you'll Go" by Dr Suess "Deadliest Seas" by Caley Thompson "Damn Lucky" by Kevin Lawer "We Die Alone: A WWII Epic of Escape and Endurance" by David Howarth "Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman "Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun" by Wes Roberts "Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts" by Annie Duke "The Ashley Book of Knots" by Clifford W. Ashley

G Vs. T Mar 05, 2024

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In this CMC Podcast CMC Instructors Wayne Chapman, John McKently, Doug McElmury, and Kelly Byrne hold a roundtable discussion about NFPA General Use vs Technical Use ratings. They explore how the ratings are defined, if there is a requirement to use one over the other, and possible use cases. Overheard this episode: “As long as you are buying good stuff from reputable places you are not in danger of breaking things... don't put your Wish .com carabiners on your high change of direction” at 07:41 “Are there NFPA police?” at 17:28 "Hipsters of rope" - at 32:34

Fred Salazar | CMC Instructor Podcast Feb 01, 2023

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This week we are joined by Fred Salazar. Fred started his journey into the fire services at a young age when he attended a fire academy through a junior college, followed by paramedic school. Fred's first position out of school was with a fire team working for a petrochemical plant in Southern California where he served as a full time industrial Fire Fighter for 7 years. After his service in the industrial world, Fred moved to Colorado where he has worked for a metropolitan fire department for 26 years. Currently, Fred is a fire lieutenant in his department's Heavy Rescue program and has been an instructor with CMC since 1994. Overheard from this episode: “For me, one of the most enjoyable moments is when you see the student actually get it.” “Everything will come full circle at some point.”

LeRoy Harbach | CMC Instructor Series Dec 13, 2022

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Craig McClure | CMC Instructor Series Nov 30, 2022

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This week we are joined by CMC School Instructor Craig McClure. Craig got his start in rope rescue volunteering for a Search and Rescue team in Bend, OR. Eventually after many years of volunteering and teaching in the rope rescue field Craig started his own training company called The Crackerjack Group, which he ran for nearly 10 years. After selling the Crackerjack Group he returned to his passion of rope training world joining CMC as an instructor in April 2022. Overheard this episode: 4:46 - “Dude, rope is where it’s at.” 16:55 - “I really enjoy what we do in this, which is help people overcome those fears and kind of open up new things in their lives.” 24:52 - “That caving influence in ITRS (International Technical Rescue Symposium) is vital to the growth and vital to the history.” 30:54 - “If you’re going to pick up a new technique, you need to consider what you’re going to stop learning if you’re going to learn a new one.” 35:57 - “Their risk profile is different than yours, so maybe don’t adopt their practices.”

Matthew Scharper | CMC Instructor Series Oct 27, 2022

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Kelly Byrne | CMC Instructor Series Oct 12, 2022

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More podcast episodes here: https://www.cmcpro.com/podcast/ Join us weekly to get to know our CMC instructors. This week we are joined by Kelly Byrne. Kelly Started his fire service career as a Highschool cadet volunteer in 1992. After Highschool Kelly served in the United States Army as an Airborne Infantryman with the 82nd Airborne. Upon completion of his service in 1999 Kelly moved back into the Fire Services where he found himself working for the Washington DC Fire Department where he currently serves. Kelly has been an instructor with CMC since 2013. Overheard this episode: “I anchored to the foot of Freedom. There is no more bombproof anchor than that.” “I wanted to be a guitarist in a rock n roll band and have big, long hair, dreams of that!” "Gravity is the same for everybody and the techniques aren’t too terribly different.”

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