Don't Risk It! Podcast

Legal action against employers related to Employment Practices Liability (EPL) claims is rising. In this episode, we talk with Wendy Melk from Jackson Lewis regarding our EPLI helpline, provided to educate clients about HR-related legal risks and help prevent claims.

The records you keep, or don't keep, paint a picture of your Emergency Service organization. In this episode, Mike Baker and Scott Harkins of VFIS Client Risk Solutions discuss the importance of recordkeeping, including what records to save and how to maintain them.

Is your crew in a state of readiness? How long have these individuals been awake and active on the road? In this episode, we talk with Daniel Althaus from Orange Cross Ambulance about the Fatigue Management concept and the steps they've taken to develop a proactive approach to managing fatigue.

Aditional fatigue management resouces on ResponderHelp.

https://www.responderhelp.com/fatigue

The Don't Risk It podcast team is taking a well-deserved break this winter, but we will be back in January 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 duties.

In 2020, gunshot wounds were the leading cause of injury and death to children. In this episode, Trauma Prevention Coordinator Shannon DePatto from Penn State Children's Hospital talks about the hospital's efforts to reduce pediatric injuries and trauma, and provides guidance on what emergency service providers need to know about safety when caring for and transporting pediatric patients.

The Don't Risk It podcast team is taking a well-deserved break this winter, but we will be back in January 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 duties.

From one-off phishing emails to sophisticated cyber schemes, cybercriminal techniques continue to advance. Shawn Nelson, Chief Information Security Officer at Glatfelter Insurance Group, provides some best practices to help Emergency Service Organizations prevent cybersecurity-related incidents and protect the valuable personal information they collect.

Additional Resource

VFIS University offers cyber training courses to active clients.

Driving is a common and sometimes overlooked risk faced by first responders daily. Despite all the training in the fire service, when it comes to driver training, there is more work to be done. Dave Michaels, Executive VP of VFIS Education, Training and Consulting, talks about updates to the new VFIS Emergency Vehicle Driver Training (EVDT) Program, which are based on the latest standards and most recent statistics available.

Crew Resource Management (CRM) is a set of training procedures for use in environments where human error can have devastating effects. Woody Sullivan from VFIS Education Training and Consulting talks about CRM and how to adopt these principles for the fire service

Batteries can be used in anything; not just electric vehicles. In this episode, we talk with Chris Pfaff (Owner-Lead Instructor) of PHRT Hazmat and Rescue Instruction about the widespread use and potential dangers of Lithium-ion batteries from the perspective of consumer commodities such as tablets, scooters and laptops.

It requires a whole community approach to prepare for, respond to, and recover from an active attack event. In this episode, Massachusetts' Scott Cluett (Statewide ASHER Coordinator for the Dept. of Fire Services), John Mazza (Statewide ASHER Coordinator for the Municipal Police), and Jake Wark (Public Information Officer for the Dept. of Fire Services) join us to discuss details of the NFPA 3000 and how they utilized this standard to develop their statewide ASHER (Active Shooter/Hostile Event Response) program.

Testing aerial devices of fire apparatus is crucial to ensure their functionality, reliability and safety during firefighting operations. In this episode, Sam Yank from Industrial Inspections & Analysis (IIA) discusses the aerial device testing services they provide, the differences in tests and the recommended inspections for aerial apparatus.