Better Every Shift

Chief Bryan Frieders is fired up about preventing occupational cancer – fired up to the point where he’s putting firefighters of all ranks on blast for not doing everything possible to prevent an often-preventable disease. He calls out firefighters for not wearing their SCBA, cleaning their gear and taking care of their health (“Why are we risking our lives? Stupidity.”), as well as leaders who do...

Fairfax County (Virginia) Battalion Chief Rocco Alvaro is passionate about professional development, but he wasn’t always on a clear path himself. In fact, it took a metaphorical “punch in the face” from a mentor for him to go back to school and walk the professional development walk – and he’s incredibly grateful for the punch. Alvaro joins Better Every Shift this week to talk all things professi...

“You’ll use it more than you’ll ever know,” Zam says about going back to school – and he would know, having recently started his own higher education journey. So this week, the Better Every Shift crew welcomes Chief Keith Padgett, the Fire and EMS Academic Program Director with Columbia Southern University, where Zam is currently taking classes, to talk all things advanced degrees, higher educatio...

Jason Patton loves talking to people, even if it wasn’t always easy for him. The first firefighter-influencer of the YouTube viral video era explains his initial struggles with public speaking – the ultimate example of getting out of your comfort zone to make great things happen (think Fire Department Chronicles, among many other great ventures). That’s why we’re returning to Patton’s show this we...

¿Hablas español? If not, you’re going to want to tune in to this week’s show to learn some phrases that could come in handy on the incident scene. The impetus for this show: Zam was on a call where he found himself struggling to communicate with a patient who spoke Spanish. Always driven to improve, Zam sought out The Language Tutor for some help with Spanish for first responders , and now the tut...

Who doesn’t love a little healthy competition – the keyword there being healthy. Zam has created the Resilient 50 Challenge to help firefighters get real about getting healthy in the new year. It’s a back-to-basics approach that spans a spectrum of lifestyle habits, all designed to make you a more resilient firefighter. After all, health isn’t solely about losing weight or getting in shape; it’s a...

If we do our jobs today, we’re going to help you get some much-needed sleep – hopefully after the show. Joining Better Every Shift this week is Dr. Glenn Landry , a sleep expert who specializes in shift work, detailing how firefighters can work at night without shifting circadian rhythms and disrupting critical sleep functions. We dig into all this: Tips for preparing the body for sleep How sleep...

“We’re a bunch of misfits, and we’re not alone,” Zam says of the dedicated listeners who are committed to making themselves better every shift, every year. Closing out 2023, the crew reflects on the top episodes of the year and what made them so memorable, plus the most popular content on FireRescue1. And don’t miss Zam and Janelle's “words for 2024.” This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast...

"The lawsuit is coming from inside the firehouse.” Much like a horror film twist where the protagonist realizes the killer is already inside the house, far too many firefighters don’t realize that our biggest liabilities are sitting with us in the firehouse. Most fire service lawsuits involve a firefighter suing the fire department or another firefighter. These are the issues we must address, as f...

“Just when I think I’m ready to handle any fire you throw my way, now this comes along.” Deputy Chief Billy Goldfeder channels Al Pacino in “The Godfather” when discussing the complexities of lithium-ion battery fires with Adam Barowy, lead research engineer with UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute. Barowy and Goldfeder break down the science behind Li-ion batteries and what makes operational opti...

Despite seemingly endless opportunities for connection, many firefighters find themselves more alone than ever, sometimes inadvertently, so we must double-down on our efforts to build connections and avoid silos that create division. Linda Willing – a retired career fire officer who works with departments on issues related to leadership, decision-making and diversity training – offers insights int...

To help Better Every Shift mark its milestone 1-year anniversary, our very first guest, FDNY Chief of Safety Frank Leeb, returns to the show to talk all things leadership, safety and training – including the critical mindset that “we owe it to our loved ones to be better every day to make sure that we are making ourselves difficult to injure and impossible to kill.” Plus, we dig into all this: Wha...

’Tis the season for gratitude – and gift-giving! And today’s show is all about both. We’re gearing up for the holidays by sharing some great firefighter gift ideas. These products are all available on TheFireStore.com to whom we are exceedingly grateful, as they are a generous sponsor of the podcast. Guiding us through our gift options is Amanda Keesey, a fourth-generation firefighter in Pennsylva...

Today’s episode digs into a variety of psychological concepts that impact firefighter work and home life, all courtesy of Dr. Derrick Edwards, a nearly 20-year fire service veteran who also serves as a professional counselor and a mental health service provider. Dr. Edwards introduces a lot of new terms and concepts, including anti-fragile, psyche ache, urge-surfing, the end-of-days fallacy, and h...

FDNY Lt. (ret.) Joe Minogue – “my guy Joe!” as Zam likes to say – joins Better Every Shift to offer a window into his innate ability to connect people – firefighters, families, friends, really anyone. If you need a connection, Joe’s your guy, too. Minogue currently serves as the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation liaison to the FDNY and the Phoenix Society of Burn Survivors, but his commitmen...

No one thought she’d stay. Lauran McColloh was a new firefighter, just 18 years old, facing a double-LODD incident – on her very first fire. What’s more: One of the fallen firefighters was her friend Victor Isler. But McColloh didn’t consider quitting; firefighting was her dream. Now a Salisbury FD battalion chief, McCulloh joins Better Every Shift to share how she processed the abnormality of exp...

Self-described “pracademic” Dr. Randall Hanifen knows two languages – academic speak and boots-on-the-ground speak – a skill he uses to bridge the gap between the more theoretical university world and our practical fireground experiences. This is one of the many talents he’s honed during his work with the Institution of Fire Engineers-USA Branch for which he now serves as president, in addition to...

Part 2 of our interview with Ben Vernon includes descriptions of violence and suicidal ideation that may be triggering for some, as well as explicit language. Please listen with caution. For months after being stabbed on the job – a “routine” medical call gone wrong – Ben Vernon was in a world of hurt, unable to sleep due to constant nightmares, barred from talking to his crew about the incident d...

Please note, this episode includes descriptions of violence that may be triggering for some, as well as explicit language. “To witness in real time an attempted murder is pretty intense,” says San Diego Fire-Rescue Captain Ben Vernon recalling the first time he saw slow-motion body camera footage of his own stabbing during a seemingly “routine” medical call. No one expected that a bystander would...

IAFC President John Butler – “the chief of chiefs!” – joins Better Every Shift this week, talking all things leadership, including why the adage “It’s lonely at the top” has never applied to him. In addition to his superpower of always seeming calm, cool and collected, the Fairfax County fire chief has a knack for being able to spot talent and knows how to surround himself with passionate people w...

Don’t get the wrong idea here. “Rules are important,” says Orange County (California) Fire Authority Chief Brian Fennessy; however, firefighters need to be trusted to make smart decisions when things go awry in the world of chaos around us – and this trust is best achieved through an intent-driven culture where members understand the organizational mission. Plus, we dig into all this: Learn: The O...

If Chief Thomas Bell of the Greensburg (Pa.) Volunteer Fire Department had a nickel for every time someone remarked that he had some “big shoes to fill” after taking the reins from a local legend who had 60-plus years on the job, well, he’d have a lot of nickels. But the new chief had a simple plan – being himself. Bell vowed to create his own destiny – in even bigger shoes – and revamp a departme...

Chief Jerry Brant – the 70-million-dollar man – joins the show this week, explaining the role that all firefighters play in the grants process, what application reviewers are looking for this year, plus common grant proposal mistakes. (And yes, Brant has indeed written more than $70 million in successful grant applications in his career, some for FireGrantsHelp .) The self-proclaimed “pope of the...

We’re not going to Stop, Drop and Roll over on our fire prevention messages; we’re going to embrace them with open arms to create simple but effective calls to action that can make a difference in your community. Helping us in this effort is Andrea Vastis, senior director for public education with the NFPA, which runs Fire Prevention Week ™, coming up Oct. 8-14. This year’s FPW theme is “Cooking S...

This episode of the Better Every Shift EMS podcast is sponsored by Verizon Frontline, the advanced network for first responders on the front lines. Learn more at verizon.com/frontline . In this special crossover episode of the Better Every Shift , Policing Matters  and Inside EMS podcasts, co-hosts Aaron Zamzow, Jim Dudley and Chris Cebollero discuss preserving the legacy of 9/11 responders and ho...