Rescue 1 Podcast

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 [https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Out-Darkness-Responder-Wellness/dp/1593706030/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UFTVBE2EW1MR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iSBpdRegE8qhAy_e_blliefkdIODGKaCMNNZUNq5i8U.ud1dHrJbjhCnJt3hLX0jBOPHg562qzO0rMayQCD_3b0&dib_tag=se&keywords=hope+out+of+darkness+dena+ali&qid=1750172829&sprefix=hope+out%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-1]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 [https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Out-Darkness-Responder-Wellness/dp/1593706030/ref=sr_1_1?crid=UFTVBE2EW1MR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.iSBpdRegE8qhAy_e_blliefkdIODGKaCMNNZUNq5i8U.ud1dHrJbjhCnJt3hLX0jBOPHg562qzO0rMayQCD_3b0&dib_tag=se&keywords=hope+out+of+darkness+dena+ali&qid=1750172829&sprefix=hope+out%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-1]  Buy here on Fire Engineering  [https://fireengineeringbooks.com/books/hope-out-of-darkness-a-guide-to-first-responder-mental-wellness/?srsltid=AfmBOoooa83KnUzCeMfKm6vpqU3xZ3m3TH5XLTL0S9JBDP2R0XQttbjf] (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" [https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/16/19/3285#:~:text=Creatine%20monohydrate%20(CrM)%20supplementation%20may,mental%20health%2C%20and%20cognitive%20performance/] 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 [https://youtu.be/FIMYmUcuTew] Follow us on Instagram [https:instagram.com/Rescue_1_cbd/]

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/