As a career Firefighter/Paramedic, CPR was always a skill that felt basic to me. It was simply something I needed to maintain my paramedic license—a necessary evil, so to speak.

Throughout my career in the fire service, I attended countless classes and training programs. I learned from great instructors, average instructors, and unfortunately, some terrible instructors. Midway through my career, I became a Fire Service Instructor myself. At the time, it felt like another necessary step in my professional development. Looking back, it became the cornerstone of my leadership journey.

As I progressed, I discovered something important: teaching people skills that must be performed under stress came naturally to me.

I began developing my own teaching style based on lessons learned from every instructor I had encountered. That style was built on a simple principle:

K.I.S.S. — Keep It Simple, Stupid.

One instructor who greatly influenced me once asked, "What makes someone an advanced firefighter?"

Being young, ambitious, and eager to impress, I rattled off a list of advanced skills and certifications.

He smiled and said, "No."

Then he explained something that has stayed with me ever since:

What makes someone advanced is that they have mastered the basics.

That philosophy became my guiding principle in emergency services education.

Over time, I was given opportunities to oversee EMS operations and eventually serve as my department's Training Coordinator. Whether I was teaching daily as a Lieutenant or building department-wide training programs, I consistently applied the K.I.S.S. method.

During my time as EMS Coordinator, I discovered that our department did not have an internal CPR training program. We had no streamlined recertification process for our members and no formal CPR education program for the community we served.

I saw a gap that needed to be filled.

I became a Basic Life Support (BLS) Instructor, registered our department as a training site, and got to work.

Up until that point, most of my teaching experience had been with firefighters and paramedics. When I started teaching the public, I initially tried to change my style. I quickly realized that approach wasn't authentic. Instead, I fell back on what I knew best: teaching the public the same way I taught firefighters.

The response was immediate.

People were engaged. They asked questions. They left feeling confident. They walked away having learned things that no video presentation could teach.

Around that same time, my wife asked if I could train the staff she worked with. I approached my department about the possibility, but understandably, I was told we could not use department training materials to educate the private sector.

Once again, I saw a gap.

And once again, I wanted to fill it.

That's when Ready Set Rescue Training was born.

Our original vision was simple: provide workplace CPR, AED, and First Aid training directly at businesses, healthcare facilities, and organizations throughout the Chicagoland area.

We got to work building our little company.

Our curriculum would be based on the same principles we used to train our own firefighters and healthcare professionals.

My wife brings a decade of emergency nursing experience to the company. After years in the Emergency Department, she transitioned into critical care leadership and eventually became the Director of an Intensive Care Unit.

We knew how to teach.

What we didn't know was how to run a business.

Our first public CPR class was held in a rented space. We advertised on social media, prepared for weeks, and were incredibly excited.

Four people showed up.

Two of them were friends we didn't even charge.

We lost money.

Like many small business owners, I found myself learning entirely new skills: website development, SEO, marketing, social media management, and the endlessly complicated world of Google Ads.

Workplace training requests came in occasionally, but they were inconsistent.

What we began noticing, however, was a growing number of phone calls from individuals looking for CPR classes.

That observation led to another big decision.

We discussed opening a dedicated classroom, and like many things in our lives, we jumped in headfirst.

We found our current location at 67 Main Street, Suite 2A in downtown Oswego.

The rent made sense, but what really made us laugh was the fact that the walls were already painted green and tan—the exact colors of our logo. Who paints their walls green?

We signed the lease in January and opened in February.

Slowly, the registrations started coming in.

Students began filling seats.

And after nearly every class, we heard the same comment:

"That was the best CPR class I've ever taken."

Today, our 100+ five-star Google reviews reflect that feedback.

It took a few months, but by May we were covering the rent. By June 2026, we experienced our busiest month yet.

Our little company was growing.

I'm sure having a shortage of CPR training providers in the area helps. But I also believe our success comes from something deeper.

We teach differently.

We teach with simplicity.

We teach with humor.

We teach with real-life experience.

We teach people what it actually feels like when an emergency happens.

Because the truth is that people under stress will not rise to their aspirations.

They will fall back on their training.

My hope is that when one of our students faces a real emergency, they remember the lessons we taught.

I hope they hear my voice reminding them that this is going to be scary.

I hope they remember me saying:

"This is going to be terrifying. But don't worry—the heroes are only about five minutes away."

At Ready Set Rescue Training, we are proud to provide real-world, plain-English CPR, AED, and First Aid education that is fun, relevant, relatable, and easy to understand.

Whether we're training a single parent, a healthcare provider, or an entire workplace, our mission remains the same:

Master the basics. Build confidence. Save lives.