PIO Podcast (05/05/26): Former Fire Chief Mark Hartwig & CSTI Media Relations Instructors Scott Summerfield, Bryan May & Carlos Delgado
San Bernardino County Fire: PIO PodcastShow Notes
Host Captain Shawn Millerick is back to educate, entertain and inform in a longer episode covering two days of CSTI media relations training hosted at County Fire headquarters and a conversation with former Fire Chief Mark Hartwig at the State of the Fire District.
Graphic Content Warning: At the 54-minute mark mark, Chief Hartwig shares some graphic depictions of a few calls he was on in his career. If you'd like to skip ahead, go out to the 58-minute mark, and you will bypass those calls.
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Scott Summerfield, Bryan May & Carlos Delgado: CSTI Media Relations Training After completing day one of the CSTI Media Relations course at headquarters, Shawn and Ben sit down with the three instructors to talk about the state of public information work in the fire service.
Scott Summerfield: Dean of Instruction at CSTI and Founder/Principal of SAE Communications
Bryan May: Emergency Management Coordinator and Instructor II at CSTI, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services
Carlos Delgado: Former television news reporter, currently works at a children's hospital in San Diego. He identifies himself this way in the transcript but does not give a specific title on camera. Based on context it is likely Rady Children's Hospital but that should be confirmed before publishing.
The conversation covers how the PIO role has never been harder, why public speaking is a perishable skill, and how social media has changed the way agencies tell their stories. The group also discusses AI voice technology, the launch of SBCFuego as a Spanish language outreach channel, the importance of signing up for emergency alerts, and why the media should be viewed as a partner rather than an obstacle.
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Former Fire Chief Mark Hartwig: Career, Calls & the State of the Fire District Recorded at the State of the Fire District event, Shawn sits down with former Fire Chief Mark Hartwig for a wide-ranging conversation about his career with San Bernardino County Fire. Chief Hartwig walks through his path from paid call firefighter to fire chief, including the behind-the-scenes story of how he was ultimately offered the top job. He also reflects on the most difficult calls of his career and the most significant changes he witnessed across his time with the department, including the evolution of mental health resources for firefighters.
More from San Bernardino County Fire: PIO Podcast
This episode marks a milestone, the show’s 40th installment, and it comes together in an unusual way. Part of the conversation was recorded back in June, and part was recorded this October, so the show jumps between the two recording sessions, almost like time travel in a movie, to bring five different segments into one episode. The show kicks off by digging into a box of old VHS tapes, including a mystery news clip from 2006 that has the studio trying to guess which current department member is on screen. The real news of the episode is the announcement of this year’s Salute to Service award winners. The crew walks through every category and announces this year's winners: Sustained Superior Performance Champions of Change Awards (Mentorship Excellence, Synergy Star, Rising Phoenix) Legacy Award Exceptional Service Award Annual Awards (Ambulance Operator of the Year, Fire District Employee of the Year, Firefighter of the Year) Fire Chief’s Distinguished Service Awards Medal of Valor Award Tech Corner covers two drones now in testing, one built to drop water on hot spots and another designed to fly hose packs up to firefighters on steep terrain, plus a new robot dog making its debut around headquarters. The episode wraps with surprise phone calls to a retiring 20 year veteran on his way out the door and a firefighter with a wild past life as a Dodger Stadium visiting clubhouse bat boy, along with groundbreaking news on Fire Station 227 and updates on several more stations in the pipeline.
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Second District Supervisor Jesse Armendarez welcomes the PIO Podcast into his own office for a conversation on Fontana roots, public service, and building opportunity from the ground up.
Vice Chairman of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and Fifth District Supervisor Joe Baca, Jr. joins the PIO Podcast for a wide ranging conversation on family, public service, and what's coming next for San Bernardino County. Baca, Jr. talks growing up in Rialto, his years as a teacher and softball coach, and how those experiences shaped his approach to representing the 5th District.
Host Captain Shawn Millerick is back in the studio for a conversation with San Bernardino County’s Third District team: Chairman of the Board Dawn Rowe, Chief of Staff Claire Cozad, and Communications Director Scott Ward. Chairman Rowe shares her path to the board, from losing her husband in Iraq and staying in Yucca Valley to raise her kids, to land use frustrations that led her to the planning commission, town council, and eventually the county board. She talks about the steep learning curve of representing the largest district in the county, which touches Arizona, Nevada, and LA County and has been ground zero for the El Dorado Fire, the Line Fire, Hurricane Hilary, and Snowmageddon. Chief of Staff Claire Cozad discusses her work on Capitol Hill, her experience as a chief of staff managing a team of twelve, and the advice she would give any young person starting out. Scott Ward reflects on more than three decades in radio at KFROG, including a Blue Angels ride that produced a memorable barf bag photo, and the transition to public service communications. The group also digs into county budget priorities, the importance of Starlink in remote desert response, leadership lessons, and a mass casualty incident exercise that turned into an accidental rescue of a county supervisor stranded in the desert with a group of high schoolers.