Brand Ambassador Spotlight: Steven Cathey

My name is Steven Cathey, and I’m based in Jacksonville, Florida, where I currently serve with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD). I’m coming up on 10 years in the fire service, with the last five years spent at JFRD. In addition to my role with the department, I’m also a member of Florida Task Force 5 (FL‑TF5), a state-level Urban Search and Rescue team, which I’ve been a part of for the past two and a half years.

Educating the Fire Service—One Entry at a Time

I currently run a social media page called @yourlocksdontwork, which focuses on forcible entry and respectful-through-the-lock techniques geared specifically toward first responders. What started as a way to share knowledge quickly grew into something much bigger.

Because of the response and interest from the fire service community, a group of my coworkers and I expanded that effort into a training company called Brute Force Fire Tactics LLC. Through this platform, we’re able to travel and teach fireground tactics, with a strong focus on forcible entry and extrication, to departments and firefighters who want to continue pushing their skills forward.

An Unexpected Start

My path into the fire service wasn’t exactly planned. After leaving the Army, I became a barber and built a large client base—many of whom were blue-collar workers and firefighters. After enough conversations and a fair amount of peer pressure, I decided to give the fire service a shot. It didn’t take long to realize it was exactly where I was meant to be.

Similarly, my coworkers and I are motivated to advance our part of the fire service by learning, sharing, and teaching progressive and aggressive tactics to like-minded firefighters. We believe in challenging the "that's how we've always done it" mindset and continuously striving to improve for the people we serve.