Life Fire Layout

In this episode, I speak to the Director of Emergency Management at UNC Charlotte about a wide variety of topics including one of the most important: planning.  Chris dives into what it is like being the Emergency Managment Director at a large higher education establishment on the east coast and some of the challenges there in.  We talk about the benefits of collaboration between entities both on...

In this final episode of the Mental Health and Wellness mini-series, Nick Carson brings a fresh perspective on Peer Support and the critical link between a member in crisis and getting the help they need.  Nick wears many hats but one of the most important ones is his role with Mind the Frontline. We dive into peer support and Nick's position at the non-profit Mind the Frontline whose entire purpo...

Beth Jacobs is a licenced clinical mental health counselor and has been for the past eight years. She is also a law enforcement spouse of 24 years and a mom of three.  Beth and host Prescott Nadeau dive into the clinician portion of mental health and wellness with a focus on EMDR therapy and its restorative effects for emergency service providers. We also hit on trust and the critical nature of de...

For part II in our multi part mini series on responder mental health and wellness, host Prescott Nadeau interviews Williston Police Officer Dan Macaig.  Dan has been a firefighter, EMT and police officer in a wide range of areas including on call, career, volunteer, busy houses, slow houses... the whole gammut.  We talk about a range of topics including: Mental health and responder wellness conver...

Host Prescott Nadeau speaks with Lt. Anthony Simanskas about his experience dealing with one of the most horrific emergency scenes that has occured Statewide back in 2018. They discuss how a call like that has potential to flatten even the most seasoned responder and how to prevent it from doing just that.  Discussion points include:  How minimal staffing can effecet mental health The trauma creat...

In this episode, host Prescott Nadeau speaks with Remote Paramedic Daniel Taylor on the world of wilderness medicine and the associated challenges.    Dan defines the difference between wilderness, austere and remote medcine. We nerd out on gear and equipment while referencing how it applies to the urban, suburban and remote provider.    Dan dives into the acronym MARCH PAWS and RTHP (Ruck, Truck,...

After a temporary break away from the podcast after having his third child, Prescott returns and speaks to listeners about work life balance, including the barriers to and how to better achieve balace between personal lives and work lives. Using lessons learned from time on the job as a career firefighter as well as time away during FMLA leave, Prescott tackles some of the complexities of work lif...

LFL is pleased to bring long time Fire and EMS educator Jon Politis to the podcast. In this episode, we talk about an accident that occured in 2022 that impacted nearly every aspect of his life, physical, mental and emotional. This is one of the first times Jon has publically discussed this accident, and more importantly debriefed many of the learning aspects of it including but not limited to: wh...

Scott Whittier loves weather! He is a Warning Coordination Meteorologist, which means he acts as the liaison between the National Weather Service and everyone from emergency responders to school decision makers, airport officials and everyone in between. In this episode, we talk all things weather including how to stay safe in certain weather conditions, the importance of operational CO detectors...

Officer Matt Cohen has worked with the Williston Police Department for over a decade. His most recent role is not one you often hear about. Ofc. Cohen is the handler for K-9 Duke, Vermont's first law enforcement comfort dog. This episode dives into what its like being a K-9 handler for a comfort dog and what the program means to the community at large. Ofc. Cohen and I talk everything from origins...

Summer 2023 in Vermont can be remembered by one word: wet. That said, no one expected VT to receiveas much rain as it did in early July in such a short time frame. 3-9 inches of rain came down within a 48 hour period on July 10 and 11 causing catastrophic flooding including washouts and landslides along many major roadways and corridors connecting Vermont communities. Host Prescott Nadeau intervie...

LFL Host Prescott Nadeau debriefs the National Urban Search and Rescue Conference with guest Zach Borst from the EM Weekly Podcast and John Scardena with the Disaster Tough Podcast. Also - happy 248th birthday to the USMC. Semper Fi and a huge shoutout to all the Veterans who are serving or have served in our nations military, especially my brother, USMC Major William Nadeau with the 472 MWSS and...

LFL Host Prescott Nadeau interview's South Hero Volunteer Fire Chief Patrick Robinson on what life is like as a volunteer Fire Chief in a rural town. Chief Robinson discusses the challenges faced by many in rural Departments such as lack of water and recruitment/retention. Chief Robinson also tackles innovation for the rural fire service such as keeping an open mind for knowledge and unique fire a...

In this episode, LFL host Prescott Nadeau interviews long time friend and fire service champion Chief Matthew Vinci on a range of important topics including: The IAFF and benefits of getting involved at the local level Transition from Union leader to Fire Chief and the transferrable skills there in Community Driven Strategic Planning Mobile Integrated Health (Community Paramedic) And the mic drop...

Host Prescott Nadeau goes live with Hillarie Scott at the Vermont Emergency Preparedness Conference in Burke Mountain Resort. Hillarie is the State Training Administrator with Vermont Emergency Management and wears many hats on top of that. This type of "bonus episode" format will be an excellent addtion to the Life, Fire, Layout Podcast. We're thankful that Hillarie was our inagural interview. Ad...

In Episode 3 of LFL, host Prescott Nadeau interviews Nick Carson about his up coming class "Hardening the Target" being taught at EMS World Expo in NOLA and they take a deeper dive into TACMED, a recent active shooter full scale exercise that took place this summer. Do you want more information on the company Nick works for? Here is the link to Northeast Emergency Training Solutions: https://netsv...

Host Prescott Nadeau interviews Ian Kilburn, the Transportation Management Center Supervisor with the Vermont Agency of Transportation and former VT Alert Administrator / VEM Watch Officer on the topic of mass notification. Support our podcast! The Readiness Lab shirts and merch: https://www.thereadinesslab.com/shop/ The Readiness Lab: https://www.thereadinesslab.com/ Connect with me: LinkedIn! Ma...

In the inaugural episode of "Life, Fire, Layout," host Prescott Nadeau sits down with Zack Borst, an emergency manager and host of the popular EM Weekly Podcast. Together, they delve into the purpose and vision for this new series. Nadeau shares his aspirations for the show, which aims to become a platform for public safety professionals to share their insights, wisdom, and experiences. From real...