Don't Risk It! Podcast

In this episode, we revisit with VFIS Emergency Services Specialist Blair Tyndall and discuss employment practices and the challenges mid-level managers face. Blair has presented the Risk Control for Mid-Level Management program to departments across the country and joins us to share some of the things he's learned while teaching the course and offer some advice to potentially assist your organization in better preparing these individuals to succeed in their role as a manager. Please reach out to your regional director, insurance agent, or directly to the Client Risk Solutions team at www.vfis.com/client-risk-solutions-team to find out more about this and other training opportunities.

"It's easy to focus on the negatives of an incident, but the positives are what you continue to build on." Fire Chief Todd Gauldin with Stokesdale Fire Department in N.C. talks to us about an incident his department experienced, the post-accident investigation process they used, and the lessons they learned. Reach out to Chief Gauldin via the Stokesdale Fire Department website for more details about their Post-Accident Investigation presentation and how you can receive the training.

Parked vehicles, utility poles, other emergency vehicles, the station itself - striking fixed objects is a common type of loss in fire and EMS services. But, these types of losses are largely avoidable. In this roundtable discussion with members of the VFIS Client Risk Solutions team we discuss this issue and how crews can help reduce the rate of incidents through written response guidelines, training and a positive safety culture.

The Don't Risk It podcast team is taking a well-deserved break this summer, but we will be back soon with new episodes. In the meantime, we are revisiting a few episodes that focus on critical issues emergency responders face in their day-to-day.

Fatigue impacts personal health as well as a responder's ability to perform key functions including patient care, incident command and vehicle operations. In this episode we revisit the discussion of fatigue management in EMS operations with Fire Chief Loy Senter and Battalion Chief Kevin Moran from Chesterfield Fire & EMS. Chief Senter and Chief Moran join us to talk about the details of an internal fatigue management study they've recently conducted within their department.

To learn more about the study conducted by Chesterfield Fire & EMS, please email [email protected].

The Don't Risk It podcast team is taking a well-deserved break this summer, but we will be back soon with new episodes. In the meantime, we are revisiting a few episodes that focus on critical issues emergency responders face in their day-to-day.

Fatigue impacts personal health as well as a responder's ability to perform key functions including patient care, incident command and vehicle operations. Efforts to move to shorter shifts continue to face significant resistance while the number of EMS agencies using 24- and 48-hour shifts continues to rise. Dave Bradley details the potential hazards associated with fatigued drivers and provides some potential solutions.

The Don't Risk It podcast team is taking a well-deserved break this summer, but we will be back soon with new episodes. In the meantime, we are revisiting a few episodes that focus on critical issues emergency responders face in their day-to-day.

Critical incident stress can have a lasting effect on emergency responders; yet, the stigma surrounding mental illness often interferes with seeking help. Dr. Kathy Jansen discusses potential solutions to help manage traumatic situations when they arise and tools to consider when integrating a critical incident stress management program into your organization.

Additional resources on this topic can be found at ResponderHelp.com and on our website.

Download the Risk Bulletin: https://hubs.la/H0TTsmh0

The Don't Risk It podcast team is taking a well-deserved break this summer, but we will be back soon with new episodes. In the meantime, we are revisiting a few episodes that focus on critical issues emergency responders face in their day-to-day.

Distracted driving is a significant factor in vehicle accidents and emergency services organizations (ESOs) are not immune to these incidents. Historically, emergency vehicles have had a degree of distraction built in by design with two-way radio traffic, sirens, air horns and flashing lights. Blair Tyndall discusses the origin of the sterile cab concept and how it can potentially reduce distracted driving in emergency response.

Additional resources on this topic can be found at ResponderHelp.com and on our website.

Situational awareness is a person's ability to perceive and understand what is happening in the environment around them, while accurately predicting what will happen next - a critical skill for firefighters and emergency responders. Dr. Rich Gasaway is widely considered one of the nation's leading authorities on human error, situational awareness and high-risk decision-making processes. He has also spent over three decades as an emergency responder, and will join us this week to discuss situational awareness and how to better develop this skill.

Implicit and explicit biases can greatly impact the culture of an emergency service organization, as well as how responders react to their environments in the field. This week, Director of VFIS Training Programs, Rick Gurba joins the podcast to discuss suggestions on how to manage personal differences while avoiding behaviors that divide personnel within the workplace.

Following up from our previous episode, we continue our discussion on the prevalence of cancer within the fire service. We welcome Fire Chief Jake Williams, Deputy Fire Marshall Travis McGaha and Training Chief Joshua Simpson from Concord Fire Department of North Carolina and ask them about their decontamination program and procedures.