Better Every Shift

Introducing the Resilient 50: Your back-to-basics health routine

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 about staying hydrated, sleeping better, feeding your brain and, really, any goals you set to help you be better every shift.

Here’s how it works: Zam has identified 10 key habits for improved health. You pick 7 and do them every day for 50 days. And yes, there is a reward at the end, that is, in addition to the greatest reward of all – improved health!

Tune in to hear Zam and Janelle share the 7 habits they selected for themselves.

Sign up for the Resilient 50 Challenge today! It’s FREE and can only help you feel better! And remember, you don’t have to sign up for the challenge to start implementing the 10 habits in your life – but the system will add that level of structure and accountability that we all need. (Note: It's important to consult your doctor before starting any exercise or nutrition program.)

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your questions and feedback!

Dr. Glenn Landry: Firefighters can ‘shock the system’ back to a healthy sleep routine

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 “washes the brain”
• Misconceptions related to the body’s ability to adapt to less sleep
• Why we aren’t who we think we are when we’re sleep-deprived
• The impact of sleep deprivation on fireground decision-making
• Landry’s “Surviving Shift Work” curriculum – “Netflix for sleep health”

Landry explains that sleep deprivation, at its core, is accelerating the aging process and borrowing from the health of your retirement years, which is why we must prioritize sleep as the foundation of health and wellness, now.

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.

‘The podcast of misfit firefighters’ team reflects on 2023

“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 is sponsored by TheFireStore. Learn more about getting the gear you need at prices you can afford by visiting TheFireStore.

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Curt Varone: Beware the ‘human equivalent of a lightweight wood truss building’

"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 fire service attorney Curt Varone urges – everything from HR issues like discipline to operational issues related to policies and training. We also dig into the need to educate fire service leaders about how to identify those conflict-seeking members who often become frequent litigators.

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.

Li-ion battery fires: Barowy and Goldfeder tackle the ‘spaghetti’ of tactical considerations

“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 options so challenging to navigate.

The team digs into all these factors dominating ‘The Lithium-ion Years’:

• The impact of various products on containing these fires;
• The logistics of relocating the burning battery;
• The questions we simply can’t answer yet – but that the FSRI team is actively studying; and
• How secondary responders could be part of the solution.

Listen in for these moments:

• “This fire does not require oxygen … you cannot get the cooling water where it needs to go – that’s the number one problem.” — Barowy
• “The fire report reads, ‘Fire started Dec. 1; we returned to quarters New Year’s Eve.” — Goldfeder
• “Start being ready for this even-faster-growing fire.” — Barowy

Resources mentioned on the show:

• FSRI’s Take C.H.A.R.G.E. of Battery Safety campaign
• FireRescue1’s special coverage series supporting FSRI’s campaign
• FDNY Fire Tactics and Procedures, Hazardous Materials: Lithium-ion Battery Mobility Device Fires

Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback.

‘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!