Shows / Better Every Shift
Better Every Shift
FireRescue1’s Better Every Shift Podcast spotlights the passion and perseverance of firefighters. Hosted by Madison, Wisconsin, Firefighter Aaron Zamzow, the show brings kitchen table conversations to the airwaves, always focused on solutions, positivity and the realities of station life. Zamzow and guests tackle myriad hot topics, whether fire service, news or even pop culture-focused, bringing some levity to the often very serious nature of the profession. Dig into what drives firefighters to…
Episodes
- Better Every Shift
Inside the research reshaping fireground tactics
For years, fire research went to a file drawer at the National Fire Academy instead of the fireground. Dr. Dan Madrzykowski of UL Research Institutes’ Fire…
- Better Every Shift
Inside FDNY's push to unify fire and EMS
FDNY wants EMS to be a destination, not a waiting room for the next job. That’s the pitch from Chief of Department John Esposito, who says too many medics…
- Better Every Shift
How to build realistic command simulations
Some of the hardest fires you’ll ever command are ones you can’t safely recreate for real. A well-built simulation is the closest most firefighters will get…
- Better Every Shift
Is your culture your best recruiter?
The best recruiting pitch might be the one you never make. Kentland (Md.) Volunteer Fire Department Sergeant Alex Caldaro says his Prince George’s County house…
- Better Every Shift
USA vs. Australia: What each fire service does better
Australia has been using door control and flow path for roughly a decade longer than we have — and it's still wrestling with the same recruitment, burnout and…
- Better Every Shift
‘I need to talk’: Four words can change everything
“Meet me at the bench.” That’s it. No explanation required. Retired Orlando firefighters Chris DeMaagd and Joseph McCluan created The Bench 988 as a safe place…
- Better Every Shift
Dad 101: CRR beyond smoke alarms
Community risk reduction doesn’t have to start with smoke alarms, fall prevention or another familiar program. Sometimes it starts with a firefighter asking…
- Better Every Shift
What firefighters really want from training
“Stop talking. Give me reps.” That’s the message from the What Firefighters Want survey report focused on training. Captain Lisa Burton joins Zam and Janelle…
- Better Every Shift
What ‘Never Forget’ means 25 years later
As mark the 25-year remembrance of 9/11, FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito joins podcast hosts Lt. Aaron Zamzow, Jim Dudley and Rob Lawrence for a deeply…
- Better Every Shift
Create your resilience protocol
The worst time to figure out how you’ll respond to trauma is after it happens. Resilience has to be built beforehand — through sleep, relationships, fitness…
- Better Every Shift
Inside a leadership think tank
“Call the meeting. Get them in the same room.” That simple advice helped spark a leadership think tank that has spent more than a decade connecting fire…
- Better Every Shift
Learning to lead differently
There’s no single leadership style that works for every person, problem or moment — and Milwaukee Fire Chief Aaron Lipski learned that through plenty of trial…
- Better Every Shift
How EV weight impacts your tactics
The battery fire may get the attention, but the vehicle’s weight could create the next problem. Deputy Chief Vince Bettinazzi returns with a broader look at…
- Better Every Shift
How to build company drills from NIOSH reports
You’ve probably read — or at least skimmed — a NIOSH firefighter fatality report, but do you know what to do with it? Or how it came to be? Wesley Attwood, a…
- Better Every Shift
Your tone is your leadership
You can be absolutely right and still lose the room — all because of your tone. Drawing from personal experience, Zam shares four practical lessons for saying…
- Better Every Shift
Today's fires demand a hazmat mindset
The next hazmat challenge probably isn't coming — it's already in your first-due. Mesa Fire and Medical Department Captain Jim Barnhart has spent years…
- Better Every Shift
Inside the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service with Chief Fennessy
“Why do we have all of these fire agencies?” It’s a question many in the wildland world have asked for years — and Chief Brian Fennessy is now in position to…
- Better Every Shift
Cold storage close call
One routine smoke investigation. Ten minutes later, a cold storage building erupted around Firefighter Andrew Klein. This week, we’re revisiting the harrowing…
- Better Every Shift
Your post-call reset starts here
“Pain sucks,” as Zam puts it — and ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Dr. Bita Shahidi, a physical therapist who has worked with firefighters and…
- Better Every Shift
NERIS: Everybody calm down already
“Everybody just calm down about NERIS.” That’s Zam’s charge to Misfit Nation this week as he speaks with NERIS lead developer Craig Weinschenk. The…
- Better Every Shift
The grant clock is ticking
AFG, SAFER, and Fire Prevention and Safety grants are open — and the clock is already ticking toward the June 22 deadline. For Lexipol grant specialist Jane…
- Better Every Shift
Schaeffer: The fire service can’t afford CAVE leadership
Nobody tells you that becoming chief means owning problems you can’t fully control, absorbing pressure that doesn’t clock out and still leading like the weight…
- Better Every Shift
Safety Stand Down 2026 goes all-in on fitness
Fitness is so much more than hitting the gym from time to time in order to pass an annual exam. It’s about whether you can get the job done today AND 20 years…
- Better Every Shift
Zam’s formula for better health and performance
For years, Zam was known as “the fitness guy” in the fire service, preaching workouts and functional training. But his perspective has evolved to recognize…
- Better Every Shift
Dena Ali returns: Mental health starts with leadership
“We have to rethink it.” That’s the challenge Battalion Chief Dena Ali brings to our latest conversation on firefighter mental health, not because the fire…
- Better Every Shift
Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell’s mission to elevate the fire service
Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell is working to elevate the fire service. She prioritized this mission during her tenure as U.S. fire administrator and continues the push…
- Better Every Shift
Develop TIC discipline
Chief Andy Starnes, our resident thermal imaging expert, is back for a thermal imaging 101 crash course: how to check the TIC every shift, how to clean it…
- Better Every Shift
Stress changes everything: Gasaway talks fireground decision-making
How could they not see it coming? It’s a common knee-jerk reaction to news or incident reports about calls that went south. But Dr. Rich Gasaway — a former…
- Better Every Shift
What’s your bold vision? Chief Dan Munsey talks innovation
How can we be the best 2030 fire department, today? That’s Fire Chief Dan Munsey’s goal for the San Bernardino County (Calif.) Fire Protection District, which…
- Better Every Shift
If Gordon Graham ran the country ...
The man, the myth, the legend Gordon Graham returns to Better Every Shift to deliver several new doses of commonsense wisdom, including three things he would…
- Better Every Shift
Is firefighter stress really different? Captain Marc Wysocki weighs in
Mental health shouldn’t be treated as a crisis — it should be part of our operational readiness. That’s the charge from Captain Marc Wysocki, who joins Zam for…
- Better Every Shift
The 24/72 push: James Geering urges shift schedule reform
“If you build it, they will come” — a fourth shift with a 24/72 schedule, that is. Behind the Shield podcaster James Geering details the power of a shift…
- Better Every Shift
How’s your leadership pipeline?
Promotion is not preparation. Firefighters need training to step into the company officer role, just as company officers need guidance for advancing in their…
- Better Every Shift
Training for the big moment — sometimes you only get one shot
Palms sweaty? Knees weak? Arms heavy? Good. That means you care. Zam’s borrowing a page from Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” to underscore a hard truth about the…
- Better Every Shift
Rehab stations: Your sabbatical from zombie mode
You may have seen (or at least heard of) the mid-2000s TV show “Pimp My Ride,” where a car is elaborately customized for its owner. But what about “Pimp My…
- Better Every Shift
What could go wrong? Game out fire command for major events
Major events are coming to a city near you — soon! From the Super Bowl and FIFA events to large-scale festivals and the America 250 celebrations, fire…
- Better Every Shift
It’s time to track your incidents. Chief Oates explains how and why
“Document everything.” It’s advice commonly given in legal, medical and workplace settings — and now the fire service. Tracking fireground exposures, traumatic…
- Better Every Shift
Should firefighters work out in their gear? Annette Zapp breaks it down
Several years ago, a trend emerged on social media: Firefighters working out in their turnout gear under the guise of the “train like you play” philosophy…
- Better Every Shift
Your 2025 after-action review
Chief Jason Caughey joins Zam this week to put a cap on 2025 — a reflection on fire service challenges and achievements, plus opportunities for growth in the…
- Better Every Shift
‘Chiefing 101’: The evolving nature of the fire chief role
The fire chief job is quite simply not what it used to be — it’s a lot MORE. Assistant Chief (ret.) Jo-Ann Lorber details how the fire chief role has expanded…
- Better Every Shift
‘Stop killing people in training’: Carey’s call to action
Bill Carey’s recent article “Everyone goes home — except some recruits and applicants” sparked a lot of conversation about fatalities that occur during agility…
- Better Every Shift
‘Lead yourself first to lead others better’: Chief Randy Bruegman returns
Chief Randy Bruegman returns to Better Every Shift to discuss the vacuum of good leaders in the fire service and the many ways leaders (and aspiring leaders)…
- Better Every Shift
Chad Crouse talks AI: We can’t ‘outsource all the thinking’
AI can be an incredible tool, but as Division Chief Chad Crouse explains, we can’t use it to “outsource all the thinking.” There are critical parts of the job…
- Better Every Shift
How to process challenging calls: Dr. Derrick Edwards shares the key step
If you’ve ever been mentally “stuck,” replaying a particularly challenging call or ruminating on a conversation that angered you, then this is the time to tune…
- Better Every Shift
‘We’re all in this together’: Chief Mary Cameli talks innovation and regional support
Why is everyone in Arizona so friendly? It’s a regional thing — an approach to customer service and community care that originated with fire service legends…
- Better Every Shift
‘You are in control’: Dr. Nicole Sawyer on how mindset drives health
Chronic stress is a job hazard. It impacts your ability to function on the fireground, which is also one of the factors causing your stress in the first place…
- Better Every Shift
‘You just don’t quit’: Chief Jeremy Craft’s lessons for leadership — and rodeo
There’s an unspoken rule in the rodeo world that to be successful, you need a don’t-quit attitude — it’s important when you’re riding bucking horses and it’s…
- Better Every Shift
‘This game of trade-offs’: Jeff Stull talks NFPA standards
NFPA standards can be lengthy and hard to follow; fortunately, we’ve got Jeff Stull here to break down what you need to know, particularly as it relates to the…
- Better Every Shift
Biohack your health: Mike Binney talks fatigue management
Assistant Chief Mike Binney is here to help you biohack your health. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry, Binney breaks it all down — what the…
- Better Every Shift
‘Technology is the lure’: Kirk McKinzie talks FF recruitment
“If it doesn't have a touchscreen on it, I'm not using it.” That’s the message from some digital natives unsure about whether a traditionally tactile…
- Better Every Shift
Rainn Wilson on ‘Code 3’ and the brutal beauty of EMS life
Editor's Note: Enjoy this bonus episode of the EMS One-Stop podcast featuring special guest Rainn Wilson. In this episode of the EMS One-Stop podcast, our…
- Better Every Shift
‘Code 3’: A love letter to fire and EMS
“Code 3” — the action-comedy centered on a paramedic’s life in crisis — hits select theaters this week, and co-writer Patrick Pianezza joins Better Every Shift…
- Better Every Shift
Zam’s hot takes: FF arrests, FDNY EMS, shift schedules + more
It’s been a wild week, with several controversial news items hitting inboxes and driving discussions on FireRescue1. Zam and Janelle dig into the stories that…
- Better Every Shift
‘It’s the backup line’: The real role of FEMA
With FEMA news changing by the day, Chief Marc Bashoor reflects on the current shakeups at the agency as well as the criticisms it faced 20 years ago following…
- Better Every Shift
‘Who’s your phone-a-friend?’: Dr. Sara Jahnke on the power of health-focused networks
Returning (again!) to Better Every Shift, fire service scientist-extraordinaire Dr. Sara Jahnke gets real about the firefighter/research connection…
- Better Every Shift
‘Nobody has a unique problem’: Waldo and Wolford talk shared solutions
Fire-Rescue International is underway, and with that comes the leadership handoff at the IAFC. Before Chief Josh Waldo hands the baton to Chief Trisha Wolford…
- Better Every Shift
Aggressive firefighting: ‘We’ve corrupted the concept’
The two smartest Johns in the fire service are digging into the hottest topic in the fire service. Chiefs John Oates and John Tippett unpack the What…
Better Every ShiftExtra Alarm: How to deliver strong initial on-scene size-up reports
This week’s Extra Alarm insights come to us from Chief Keith Padgett, who emphasizes the importance of clear, consistent communication from the first-arriving…
- Better Every Shift
‘You can really decrease your risk’: Dr. Jeff Burgess talks firefighter cancer
“We can now answer all sorts of questions” about firefighter cancer risks and mitigations, shares Dr. Jeff Burgess, one of the most well-known fire service…
- Better Every Shift
Extra Alarm: Continuation of command — what happens when the IC goes down?
This week’s Extra Alarm insights come to us from Deputy Chief Vince Bettinazzi, addressing the critical steps for managing a situation where the incident…