Better Every Shift
by FireRescue1
Latest episode
De Sena: Do hard things — you’ll feel better
De Sena: Do hard things — you’ll feel better
About this podcast
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 improve themselves, their crew, even the fire service as a whole. Listen in to get better every day, every call, every shift.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 329 episodes
- De Sena: Do hard things — you’ll feel better · 38 min · Episode 330Do the hard thing first — and the rest of the day gets better from there. Spartan Raches founder Joe De Sena returns to Better Every Shift this week (turning down Joe Rogan’s…
- Inside the research reshaping fireground tactics · 1 h 0 min · Episode 329For 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 Safety Research…
- Inside FDNY's push to unify fire and EMS · 39 min · Episode 328FDNY 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 leave over pay before…
- How to build realistic command simulations · 38 min · Episode 327Some 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. Fairfax County Fire…
- Is your culture your best recruiter? · 39 min · Episode 326The 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 doesn’t beg for…
- USA vs. Australia: What each fire service does better · 37 min · Episode 325Australia 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 mental health…
- ‘I need to talk’: Four words can change everything · 39 min · Episode 324“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 for firefighters…
- Dad 101: CRR beyond smoke alarms · 44 min · Episode 323Community risk reduction doesn’t have to start with smoke alarms, fall prevention or another familiar program. Sometimes it starts with a firefighter asking, “What does our…
- What firefighters really want from training · 54 min · Episode 322“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 to break down the…
- What ‘Never Forget’ means 25 years later · 1 h 14 min · Episode 321As 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 personal…
- Create your resilience protocol · 1 h 13 min · Episode 320The 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, trusted peers and a…
- Inside a leadership think tank · 44 min · Episode 319“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 service leaders around…
- Learning to lead differently · 1 h 13 min · Episode 318There’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 and error. Raised…
- How EV weight impacts your tactics · 48 min · Episode 317The 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 electric vehicle…
- How to build company drills from NIOSH reports · 41 min · Episode 316You’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 senior investigator…
- Your tone is your leadership · 20 min · Episode 315You 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 what you mean, with…
- Today's fires demand a hazmat mindset · 47 min · Episode 314The 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 studying lithium-ion…
- Inside the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service with Chief Fennessy · 52 min · Episode 313“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 do something about…
- Cold storage close call · 1 h 12 min · Episode 312One routine smoke investigation. Ten minutes later, a cold storage building erupted around Firefighter Andrew Klein. This week, we’re revisiting the harrowing close call that…
- Your post-call reset starts here · 49 min · Episode 311“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 professional athletes…
- NERIS: Everybody calm down already · 56 min · Episode 310“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 conversation goes beyond…
- The grant clock is ticking · 46 min · Episode 309AFG, 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 Prescott, it's the…
- Schaeffer: The fire service can’t afford CAVE leadership · 47 min · Episode 308Nobody 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 isn’t showing…
- Safety Stand Down 2026 goes all-in on fitness · 43 min · Episode 307Fitness 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 from now, not to…
- Zam’s formula for better health and performance · 34 min · Episode 306For years, Zam was known as “the fitness guy” in the fire service, preaching workouts and functional training. But his perspective has evolved to recognize that firefighter…
- Dena Ali returns: Mental health starts with leadership · 48 min · Episode 305“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 service hasn’t made…
- Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell’s mission to elevate the fire service · 43 min · Episode 304Dr. 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 in her new role as…
- Develop TIC discipline · 59 min · Episode 303Chief 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, where to attach the…
- Stress changes everything: Gasaway talks fireground decision-making · 54 min · Episode 302How 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 fire chief and the…
- What’s your bold vision? Chief Dan Munsey talks innovation · 49 min · Episode 301How 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 has become one of…
- If Gordon Graham ran the country ... · 50 min · Episode 300The 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 do if he ran the…
- Is firefighter stress really different? Captain Marc Wysocki weighs in · 33 min · Episode 299Mental 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 a discussion on…
- The 24/72 push: James Geering urges shift schedule reform · 48 min · Episode 298“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 schedule that not only…
- How’s your leadership pipeline? · 39 min · Episode 297Promotion is not preparation. Firefighters need training to step into the company officer role, just as company officers need guidance for advancing in their careers. Sarasota…
- Training for the big moment — sometimes you only get one shot · 23 min · Episode 296Palms 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 fireground: Sometimes…
- Rehab stations: Your sabbatical from zombie mode · 48 min · Episode 295You 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 Station”? That’s how…
- What could go wrong? Game out fire command for major events · 40 min · Episode 294Major 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 departments across the…
- It’s time to track your incidents. Chief Oates explains how and why · 48 min · Episode 293“Document everything.” It’s advice commonly given in legal, medical and workplace settings — and now the fire service. Tracking fireground exposures, traumatic calls, hazmat…
- Should firefighters work out in their gear? Annette Zapp breaks it down · 47 min · Episode 292Several 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. It’s not a bad idea…
- Your 2025 after-action review · 54 min · Episode 291Chief 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 new year. Tune in to…
- ‘Chiefing 101’: The evolving nature of the fire chief role · 54 min · Episode 290The 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 over the years…
- ‘Stop killing people in training’: Carey’s call to action · 51 min · Episode 289Bill Carey’s recent article “Everyone goes home — except some recruits and applicants” sparked a lot of conversation about fatalities that occur during agility tests and academy…
- ‘Lead yourself first to lead others better’: Chief Randy Bruegman returns · 58 min · Episode 288Chief 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) can elevate their…
- Chad Crouse talks AI: We can’t ‘outsource all the thinking’ · 45 min · Episode 287AI 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 that require your…
- How to process challenging calls: Dr. Derrick Edwards shares the key step · 1 h 3 min · Episode 286If 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 in. We’re…
- ‘We’re all in this together’: Chief Mary Cameli talks innovation and regional support · 44 min · Episode 285Why 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 like Chiefs Alan…
- ‘You are in control’: Dr. Nicole Sawyer on how mindset drives health · 48 min · Episode 284Chronic 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. It’s a cycle…
- ‘You just don’t quit’: Chief Jeremy Craft’s lessons for leadership — and rodeo · 45 min · Episode 283There’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 also important when…
- ‘This game of trade-offs’: Jeff Stull talks NFPA standards · 53 min · Episode 282NFPA 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 newest big…
- Biohack your health: Mike Binney talks fatigue management · 51 min · Episode 281Assistant 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 latest research shows…
