Better Every Shift

‘If you find yourself alone, start worrying’: Linda Willing shares advice for all FFs

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 into how build connections among crews, manage problem members, and foster diversity of all types to build stronger teams.

• Don’t miss: The question Willing asks whenever she discusses a news story about firefighters behaving badly.
• Power quote: “I don’t know a single fire crew that has somebody that can just be written off. … You go on a call, and any one of those people that’s with you could be the difference between life and death – for you.”

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

Chief Frank Leeb returns: Make yourself ‘difficult to injure, impossible to kill’

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:

• What Leeb believes will keep fire chiefs up at night for the next 20 years 
• Key principles from Leeb’s new book, “Cornerstones of Leadership,” including his favorite chapter
• Leeb’s advice for giving crews just the right amount of information to get the job done
• Training lineages and why “we need to have as many children as possible”
• How to give crews both “tasty and nutritious” training (and why M&Ms should sponsor the show)
• Leeb’s personal connection to encouraging bystander CPR education
• Where Leeb sees himself in 1 year
• A shared love of Tigger, naturally

Episode power quote: “I will never retire from the fire service because the one thing I know for sure is that I could live to be 150 years old, and I will never go to enough fires to satisfy my appetite to go to fires.”

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

Fire up the festivities: 5 great gifts for your crew

’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 Pennsylvania, who also serves as a merchandising manager for Witmer Public Safety Group. (Listen in to get a discount code from TheFireStore!)

• Don’t miss: The two products Keesey covets from TheFireStore.com
• Power quote: “Warranty doesn’t cover thermal imagers as wheel chocks”
• Hot seat sneak peek: Keesey’s all-time favorite gift

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

‘We are anti-fragile’: How firefighters can get stronger through challenges

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 his favorite, the white bear, all to help us better understand ourselves – our emotions, reactions, stress and coping skills. Edwards – aka “Father ’Stache” – also shares how he became a fire service chaplain and why chaplaincy is so similar to counseling.

• Don’t miss: The two root causes of anger
• Episode power quote: “There’s more than one way to help someone, and no one way is for everyone.”
• Hot seat sneak peek: Edwards’ favorite karaoke song

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

‘I connect the dots’: Joe Minogue on the power of relationship-building

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 commitment to service extends to so much more, including his time as an FDNY bugler, his work coordinating 9/11 memorial stair climb events and his philosophy on paying it forward. And don’t miss Minogue’s Hot Seat answers related to his proudest accomplishments, his heroes, even his poetry.

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

‘I held it in for so long’: Lauran McColloh shares the story of her first fire – a double LODD

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 experiencing such trauma so early in her career and, more recently, how she discovered the power of vocalizing her experience – something she hadn’t done for 15 years.

We dig into all this:

• Impact: How the Salisbury Millworks fire drives her decision-making
• Passion: McColloh’s focus on building relationships
• Supervision: Tailoring management approaches to individuals’ long-term goals
• Episode power quote: “Why are they sharing my story? I should be sharing my story.”
• Hot seat sneak peek: How “wind therapy” helps her blow off steam.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

‘We’re all engineers’: Chief Randall Hanifen talks IFE-USA influence

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 serving as assistant chief of operations for the West Chester (Ohio) Fire Department.

On this week’s show, Chief Hanifen and the team dig into all this:

• What it really means to be an “engineer” in the eyes of the IFE-USA – and how to get involved in the bigger-picture processes around us;
• Why he views the U.S. fire service as siloed;
• How we can learn from international fire departments; and
• Favorite station drills.

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

‘Please don’t turn me away’: Ben Vernon on seeking help post-stabbing — Part 2

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 due to the impending criminal trial, and even experiencing suicidal ideation. Vernon shares the triggers that rocked him as well as the moment he knew he needed to seek help. He explains how he found a therapist who understood what he was going through and ultimately used eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) to realign his logic and emotions. Today, Vernon feels “lighter, better” and travels the country speaking out his experience and advocating for mental health awareness, resources and treatment.

(ICYMI, in Part 1, Vernon offers a detailed play by play of the incident, from his initial complacency and the rapid escalation of the call to his emotional recollection of seeing his wounded partner and being rushed to a local hospital.)

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback.

‘This is a kill shot’: Captain Ben Vernon details his attempted murder on the job — Part 1

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 turn violent, leaving Vernon and his partner with serious injuries. Vernon offers a detailed play-by-play of the incident, from his initial complacency about the call through its quick escalation and ultimately to his emotional recollection of seeing his wounded partner and being rushed to a local hospital. Vernon also shares the moment during his recovery when he realized he was mentally not OK to return to work.

In Part 2, Vernon shares the behavioral health challenges he experienced after the stabbing and how he was able to, over time, not only better manage his post-traumatic stress but also become a champion for first responder PTSD recognition and treatment.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!

‘I’ve never been lonely at the top’: Chief John Butler talks team building

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 who support the mission and the organization.

Plus, we dig into all this:

• IAFC presidency and priorities – “the clock is ticking”
• How Butler refuels his energy supply
• Realizing we don’t have to solve everything today
• Don’t miss the story of firing his brothers!

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback!