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The USFA Podcast

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Join the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and our nation's fire and emergency medical services (EMS) experts as we learn to reduce fire and life safety risks to our communities and emergency responders.

Photo courtesy of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

PODCAST 37
Jan. 16, 2025

A Conversation with Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell

On this episode of The USFA Podcast, Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell discusses her tenure as the U.S. Fire Administrator.

Learn about how presidential transitions are handled at USFA and the agency's future.

Read or listen to episode 37

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Episode 37

Jan. 16, 2025

A Conversation with Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell

On this episode of The USFA Podcast, Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell discusses her tenure as the U.S. Fire Administrator.

Episode 36

Dec. 19, 2024

Exploring Women's Health Concerns in the Fire Service

On this episode of The USFA Podcast, Dr. Brittany Hollerbach discusses the importance of research on women's health for the fire service.

Episode 35

Nov. 21, 2024

Impacts of Harassment and Discrimination on the Fire Service

On this episode of The USFA Podcast, listen to Shelby Perket discuss the outcomes of her national survey on harassment and discrimination.

Episode 34

Oct. 17, 2024

What's new at USFA's National Fire Academy

On this episode of the USFA Podcast, Superintendent Gabliks shares information on new classes and best practices in recruitment and retention from around the U.S.

Episode 33

Sept. 19, 2024

Conversation with Dr. Lori

Listen to Dr. Lori as she discusses the key takeaways from the World Fire Congress and what will be brought to the roundtable at the 2024 U.S. Fire Administrator's Summit, October 8, 2024.

Episode 32

Aug. 15, 2024

Sirenicide: The impact of stress on vehicle crashes

Learn why firefighters are at a higher risk of dying on the way to a fire and the sense of urgency in response to emergency calls.

Episode 31

July 18, 2024

ISLAND: How to create an environment where people thrive

Learn about ISLAND, a tool to help you engage your personnel and help them thrive.

Episode 30

June 20, 2024

Food on the Stove

Learn about Food on the Stove and how it is revolutionizing healthy eating in DC and MD firehouses.

Episode 29

May 16, 2024

Work-life balance

Dr. Donnie Hutchinson discusses the importance of pursuing work-life balance and what it looks like at different times of your life.

Episode 28

April 18, 2024

Flagstaff, AZ Wildfire Programs

Planning for wildfire is more than preparing your landscape. Many communities have developed innovative programs to help them prepare for, mitigate and thrive after a wildfire.

Episode 27

March 21, 2024

Reproductive rights in the fire department

Planning for pregnancy in a fire department should start long before you have a pregnant firefighter. Learn how the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act and Pump Act impact firefighter rights.

Episode 26

Feb. 15, 2024

EMS at USFA

In 2022, there were 32 million incidents. At a minimum, 65% of them are emergency medical service-related responses.

Episode 25

Jan. 18, 2024

A conversation with the U.S. Fire Administrator

On this episode, we speak with Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell to recap 2023 accomplishments and discuss USFA priorities for 2024.

Episode 24

Dec. 21, 2023

You Belong: Improving leadership and mental health in the fire house

Listen as Battalion Chief Dena Ali discusses how leadership sets the tone for mental health and resilience in the fire house.

Episode 23

Nov. 16, 2023

Understanding the importance of cultural burning

Dr. Moore-Merrell and Margo Robbins discuss how the Cultural Fire Management Council facilitate the practice of cultural burning on the Yurok reservation and ancestral lands to maintain a healthier ecosystem.

Episode 22

Oct. 19, 2023

Join the National Firefighter Registry

Learn about the NIOSH's National Firefighter Registry and how you can help your fellow firefighters.

Episode 21

Sept. 21, 2023

Learn how Austin FD is teaching the community about wildfire preparedness

Austin FD reminds residents they live in a fire-adapted ecosystem, so they must be prepared for wildfire.

Episode 20

Aug. 17, 2023

Incident Command System (ICS) is an essential component of all-hazard incident response

ICS is scalable to every incident or event first responders encounter. Learn how Chief David Downey has successfully deployed ICS to respond to incidents like Surfside Tower Collapse and the FIU bridge collapse.

Bonus episode

July 20, 2023

Adapting to extreme heat to be #SummerReady

Special extreme heat episode of The USFA Podcast. Learn how fire departments are adapting to extreme heat to help their communities become #SummerReady

Episode 19

July 20, 2023

Local Government 2030 - fire service actions for the future

Learn how Local Government 2030 is creating employment opportunities, developing a strong workforce and improving public communication in local government.

Episode 18

June 15, 2023

How the FDNY is fighting the lithium-ion battery battle

On this episode of The USFA Podcast, FDNY Chief John Hodgens talks about New York City's approach to mitigating residential building fires caused by lithium-ion batteries in micromobility devices.

Episode 17

May 18, 2023

A conversation with U.S. Fire Administrators

Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell interviews former administrator Keith Bryant about his time in office and his priorities as the OK state fire marshal.

Episode 16

April 20, 2023

Combating violence against first responders: a systems approach

On this episode of The USFA Podcast, the FIRST Center's Dr. Jennifer Taylor discusses use of the SAVER checklist and model policy to mitigate occupational violence against EMS responders.

Episode 15

March 16, 2023

The effects of long COVID on the fire service

The strenuous physical activities performed by firefighters can worsen the symptoms of long COVID. Tune into The USFA Podcast to learn from Dr. Denise Smith about the effects of long COVID on the fire service.

Episode 14

Feb. 16, 2023

Helping doctors understand unique firefighter health risk

On this episode of The USFA Podcast, we discuss the Provider's Guide to Firefighter Medical Evaluations with Dr. Sara Jahnke and Todd LeDuc.

Episode 13

Jan. 19, 2023

A look back at 2022

On this episode, we speak with Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell to recap 2022 accomplishments and discuss USFA priorities for 2023.

Episode 12

Dec. 15, 2022

Fire service behavioral health

On this episode, we talk with Dr. Sara Jahnke about fire service behavioral health.

Episode 11

Nov. 17, 2022

FEMA fire grants

On this episode, we talk with USFA fire program specialist Abby Bordeaux and the Poudre Fire Authority's Rebecca Clarke about 3 federal grants that help keep firefighters and communities safer.

Episode 9

Sept. 15, 2022

The Executive Fire Officer Program

On this episode, we talk with Christine Spangler about changes to the Executive Fire Officer Program, remaining challenges and the program's exciting future.

Episode 8

Aug. 18, 2022

The Fire Safety Research Institute

In this episode, we talk with Steve Kerber about ongoing research benefiting the fire service and the public at the Fire Safety Research Institute.

Episode 7

July 21, 2022

Supporting the fire service through research

In this episode, we talk with Bill Troup about how U.S. Fire Administration research programs are supporting firefighter health and safety and fire mitigation.

Episode 6

June 16, 2022

COVID-19's continuing fire service challenges

In this episode, we talk with Dr. James Augustine about some of the COVID-19 challenges that the fire and EMS continue to deal with.

Episode 5

May 19, 2022

Wildland Urban Interface

In this episode, we talk with WUI subject matter experts about this growing risk area and wildfire resources available to structural fire departments.

Episode 4

April 21, 2022

A Conversation with the NFA Superintendent

In our fourth episode, Superintendent Eriks Gabliks discusses DEI initiatives and getting National Fire Academy training closer to fire/EMS stakeholders.

Episode 3

March 17, 2022

Community Risk Reduction

This episode of The USFA Podcast features a discussion on community risk reduction and the Fire Is Everyone's Fight initiative.

Episode 2

Feb. 17, 2022

Using NFIRS to fight fire with facts

This episode of The USFA Podcast features Marion Long discussing the value of the National Fire Incident Reporting System to the fire service.

Episode 1

Jan. 20, 2022

Interviews with USFA leadership

This episode of The USFA Podcast features interviews with U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell and Deputy U.S. Fire Administrator Tonya Hoover.