Fire Rescue Wellness
Welcome to the Fire Rescue Wellness Podcast! My name is Annette Zapp (or AZ), and I'm a Retired Career Firefighter and Ph.D. Student on a mission to ensure that every firefighter feels physically, mentally, and emotionally supported in their work. Join my guests and me as we have the critical conversations that help firefighters stay healthy and well.
Episodes
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Michelle Bugbee, MS, RD, LDN, CPT, is a registered dietitian specializing in sports and performance nutrition and the owner of Ignite Performance Nutrition. As a firefighter spouse, she combines professional expertise with personal insight into the unique demands of the fire service, both on and off the job. Michelle is passionate about translating nutrition science into realistic, sus...
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Megan Lautz, Vanessa Frost-Piedrahita and I will be presenting Firefighter Strong: Fuel, Sleep and Train for the Long Haul at FDIC on 4.21.
In today's episode, hear about the interplay between nutrition, sleep/recovery and training for health and performance and if you want to hear more, come see us in Indy!
Dr. Krentz and friends are fans of ETFE (emphasizing the f-ing eccentric), and today you'll hear about the science behind eccentric training and why firefighters should consider exploring it.
Catch the original episode here and please give us a review and a 5-Star rating!
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Catch Mike's previous episode here
Mike Pericht is a certified strength and conditioning coach and TSAC-F, former professional athlete and currently serves as a newly promoted lieutenant at a fire agency in Illinois. He is Morgan's husband and the dad of three busy kids (and 2 dogs).
**Announcement: After the Spotlight 225 episode, the podcast will transition to a once-per-month release. P...
Lt Joe Lissman was one of my favorite co-workers when I was still on the job. We worked together as medics, officers and finally briefly in our maintenance shop.
Hear the original episode here.
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The IAFF recently formed a new committee, the Female Firefighters' Health and Safety Committee, and today you'll get to hear from three proud members: Oklahoma City Firefighter Tessie Taleu, San Jose Firefighter Corey Condren, and North Carolina firefighter Laura Leigh Bransford.
We chatted about gear fit, recruitment and retentio...
Christina Montalvo is a Chicago-area business coach and a dear friend. In this episode of the FRW podcast, she unpacks diet culture and how it may show up in firehouse conversations.
Check out the original episode here and please give the podcast a 5-Star rating and review.
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Sometimes (gasp) I make a mistake in a podcast episode. Please forgive me! Toward the end, when I'm talking about my research, I state 40 ml of fluid. That should be 40 OUNCES of fluid. Oops!
Register for the WTHPS here! The summit is approved for 7.0 BOC CAT A CEUs and 7.0 Oklahoma CLEET CEUs. NSCA CEUs are pending.
Today in the podcast, I riffed on fatigue. To be fair, firefighting is tiring work, and the ability to persevere ...
In this Spotlight episode, you'll hear about how Brandon Dreiman helped manage wellness in the Indianapolis Fire Department.
In the full episode, available here, you can follow Brandon's journey from rock bottom to being a wealth of resources for his co-workers.
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You may not know this, but I’m originally from South Dakota. When I met Allie Barry, who is researching the volunteer fire service in my home state, I knew we needed to connect.
Allie Barry, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Health and Human Sciences at South Dakota State University where she teaches in the exercise science program. Her research foc...
Casey Kramer -> Jim Davis -> Rob Hartman -> Johannah Zabal, and all the way back to Casey Kramer. It's the circle of life in tactical. You can hear about how this circle relates to parking, coffee, and anxiety in the full episode here: https://www.firerescuewellness.org/podcast/episode-50-sky-high-anxiety-parking-and-coffee-with-annette-zapp-cscsd
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In October, the Firefighter Challenge National Championship was hosted in Oklahoma City by OSU-OKC. I took advantage of home turf and scheduled an in-person podcast recording with two incredible firefighters, and then, unfortunately, got sick and had to reschedule. Hear what they have to say about competing and training in today's FRW Podcast episode.
Sarah McGill
S...
Dr. Jagim and Joel Luedke, ATC are doing great work together in Wisconsin. Hear about some of their research as well as their interventions in this week's Spotlight. The full original episode may be found here: https://www.firerescuewellness.org/podcast/episode-49-firefighter-research-with-andrew-jagim-phd-and-joel-luedke-atc
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So what, now what?!?
New Year, same you? Amazing. Setting an intention for your life is step one to making sure that 2026 is off to an incredible start!
Connect with Cindy and Living Pono Counseling
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Mike had a short career in minor league baseball, then decided he wanted to be a firefighter. Hear about he he helps manage the health and wellness program at his department. You can hear the full original episode here: https://www.firerescuewellness.org/podcast/episode-45-medium-sized-department-health-and-wellness-program-management-with-mike-pericht-cscs
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Congratulations to Coach Sarah Johnson! She recently won the title of the World's Strongest Woman. Hear about her training, her previous career as a firefighter, moving across the country to train with the best coach in the Strongman business and much more.
This job is tough on us. And honestly, no one is getting out of this life alive, so why even try? I disagree! There are so many ways to mitigate our risk of early death. Hear more in today's spotlight. You can access the full-length original episode here: https://www.firerescuewellness.org/podcast/episode-44-death-and-taxes-with-annette-zapp-cscsd
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...
My guy Sebastian specializes in creating order out of chaos for first responders. Check out the great conversation we had a few weeks ago.
Sebastian Olave has been in the strength and conditioning industry since 2010. He has worked at various levels including youth and collegiate athletics, private training facilities, Olympic weightlifting, and most recently as a Strength and Conditioning Coach and Exercise Physiologist for the Au...
Check out this great explanation of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) from Dr. Mark Abel, from the University of Kentucky. You can hear the full original episode here: https://www.firerescuewellness.org/podcast/episode-43-firefighter-research-with-mark-abel-phd
*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here
Purchase FRW Swag here
Get on the Waitlist for Building Your Career in Fire
Follow Fire Rescue Wellness on ...
Manny is back, and this time he is speaking about incumbent health and wellness. Check out his recent episode here: Episode 204
So what, now what?!?
Finding a proponent and champion at the Chief level is incredibly helpful when instituting new programs such as hydration and nutrition or decon! Hear about the collaboration at Seattle Fire.
Registration for the 2026 Women's Tactical Human Performance Summit starts on 12.15.25. Chec...
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