Aaron Heller II (Motivating the Next Generation of Firefighters, PFAS and Combating Toxic Culture) - Episode 1139
Behind The Shield
James Geering
4.9 • 667 Ratings
🗓️ 21 September 2025
⏱️ 151 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Aaron Heller began his fire service career in 1984. He recently retired as a Deputy Chief in the Hamilton NJ Fire Department assigned to oversee the Training Division. He previously served as the Fire Chief for the Hamilton Township Fire District #9. Deputy Chief Heller is a NJ Level 2 instructor and NJ fire official. He is a past chief of the New Egypt Volunteer Fire Company, where he currently serves s a fireman.
He is a past chairman of the Plumsted Township Board of Fire Commissioners. Heller is a senior instructor with the Mercer County Fire Academy. He instructs and has been a presenter at several national, regional, and local training events throughout the United States and abroad. He has been published in Fire Engineering Magazine, Fire & Rescue Magazine, The Fire Department Training Network, and several local publications.
He is a former co-host of Fire Engineering’s Humpday Hangout on Training. Aaron is a founding member of the Jersey F.O.O.L.S chapter of the Fraternal Order Of Leatherhead Society. Heller holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Fire Science from Columbia Southern University. He is the owner of On Scene Training Associates, LLC.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode is brought to you by Thorn, and I have some incredible news for any of you that are in the military, |
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| 1:37.2 | Thorne, go to episode 323 of the Behind the Shield podcast with Joel Titoro and Wes Barnett. Welcome to the Behind the Shield podcast. Joel Totoro and Wes Barnett. |
| 1:45.3 | Welcome to the Behind a Shield podcast. As always, my name's James Gearing, and this week it is |
| 1:49.5 | my absolute honor to welcome on the show, retired veteran firefighter, chief, and the man behind |
| 1:56.7 | on-scene training, Aaron Heller. Now, in the second conversation, we discuss a host of topics |
| 2:03.5 | from the evolution of the fire helmet, PFS, vetting safe and realistic fire training, the 2472 |
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