This was an awesome episode for a research nerd like myself.

Dr. Daniel Higuera is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at Santa Ana College Department of Fire Technology. Currently, he provides health and wellness services to over 20 fire and police departments in southern California.

In this episode I talked about a few of his popular posts on social media, which he's rapidly gaining popularity on. The pros and cons of nicotine usage and how much to use, strength vs cardio for firefighters and which one you should be focusing on based on your age, as well as sleep.

All of the details we spoke about can be referenced on his social media pages where he posts the research articles in his posts. He's dedicating his collegiate expertise and his experience in sports to the US Fire Service and I commend him and all the work he's doing to help us get a layman's understanding of complex topics that will ultimately help us perform better on the job, be healthier off the job and hopefully live a longer, more fulfilled life!

Please enjoy this episode with Dr. Daniel Higuera

In her second time on the show, Battalion Chief Dena Ali shares with me a range of topics around her new book.

I loved every page of this and bought a copy for my Peer Support Team leader to read. She not only dives in to tough topics around mental health, she backs it up with data and a deep understanding of the mental health issues surrounding the fire service.

She addresses leadership practices, huge misconceptions about the state of mental health in firefighters and puts actionable steps to take for department leaders and members of a firehouse to address these big issues one at a time.

The two things I took away from this book was that we're past the point of the awareness phase of mental health in the US Fire Service. She's outlining how we get to work in fixing these issues BEFORE they start. The other thing is that we're getting BETTER not worse at this.

So, I think the title she chose for the book was perfect. Pick up a copy of Hope Out of Darkness on Amazon or Fire Engineering and get these incredibly useful insights. You or someone at your firehouse will absolutely need the tactics found in this book.

Enjoy!

Buy here on Amazon

Buy here on Fire Engineering

(I don't get any commission or payment for any of these)

In this episode of the Rescue 1 Podcast I interview Alex Jabr who founded the brand Emergency Resilience. Alex has a PHd and wrote her dissertation on ketamine assisted therapy for firefighters with PTSD.

After spending years as a paramedic and suffering a terrible back injury that led to her early retirement from EMS, she took a different route and is now a respected educator, advocate for mental health and has a knack for addressing important issues and cases with EMS running cardiac arrest calls including: CPR-induced consciousness and the proper way to communicate death notifications.

Check out this video, she's a fascinating individual and I got a lot out of these topics, especially learning some of the modalities of treating people with ketamine.

To watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/L5Om-4EunpM

visit us at Rescue1CBD.com

This week's guest: Annette Zapp. Lt. (ret.) from the Lisle-Woodbridge Fire Protection District (IL)

Annette has a masters in molecular biology and biochemistry from the University of South Dakota. She worked in strength and conditioning coaching for years and just co-authored a review on the effects of creatine for tactical athletes.

This review: "Fueling the Firefighter and Tactical Athlete with Creatine: A Narrative Review of a Key Nutrient for Public Safety"
looks at how daily use of creatine has way more benefits than just muscle growth.

But, more than that we talk about wellness pitfalls within the fire service, using creatine to potentially lengthen your career (and hopefully your health) and the future for Annette after retirement (she's doing some really great stuff.


Watch the episode on our YouTube Channel here

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Brendan is a retired firefighter from Northern Virginia and the host of The Things We All Carry podcast. In this episode him and I talk about life after retirement and finding fulfillment, THC in the fire service, the benefits and future of psychedelics and the mentality of resistance to change within the fire service.

This is the second time I've had Brendan on the show and it again did not disappoint. Don't miss this great conversation.

Show Notes
Book recommendations:
Adult Children of Alcoholics by Janet Geringer Woititz
Drug Use For Grown Ups by Dr. Carl Hart

Psychedelic research at Johns Hopkins University: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/psychiatry/research/psychedelics-research/

Jim was interviewed by a reporter who asked about some of the most traumatic things that people see. When he was explaining to her that it's part of the job he said "we call that Tuesday". The book Overcoming Tuesday is about Jim's personal and professional struggles and how he overcame them. I had a hell of a conversation with him and I hope you get a lot out of this conversation with him.

Jim is a former firefighter with Dayton (OH) FD, the cofounder of the Brothers Helping Brothers conference in Beavercreek Ohio and a crucial member of the Firefighter Cancer Support Network, serving in multiple roles including the interim president. Jim has consulted departments in cancer prevention and wellness and is an advocate for bringing these issues to light in the US Fire Service

https://www.amazon.com/Overcoming-Tuesday-Responders-Healing-Resiliency/dp/B0CYMZ228H/

https://events.brothershelpingbrothers.org/ffhw2024/

Watch on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/8-BgX8PZWoU

This is an episode everyone has asked for and it's finally here! Sean O'Leary from Pittsburgh FD, the pioneers in medical marijuana for firefighters.

Local 1 was the first IAFF department to allow its members to use MMJ and in this episode Sean and I speak about the lead-up to that event, the hurdles they jumped over and how it's going now.

Listen in to hear about how they did it and how you can have a roadmap for your department also.

As always, thank you for listening and watching. Take care of each other and be safe out there!

In this episode of the Rescue 1 Podcast we talk about Fire to Light. An organization started by Brandon Evans to reduce the amount of PTSD in the fire service by providing training to departments.

Brandon's journey is one of courage and conviction. Not many people would go all-in on one thing so intensely, and this guy does it.

We talk about his time in the Canadian Fire Service, the mental health crisis he underwent to start this whole thing, and where he's at now.

Brandon is a trailblazer in research of firefighter PTSD and this made for one hell of a conversation.

Click below to watch on YouTube!

https://youtu.be/rkcJenvELNI

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