Fire Rescue Wellness

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

March 31, 2026 45 mins

Register for the Women's Tactical Summit!

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!


*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here

Purchase FRW Swa...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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!

*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here

Purchase FRW Swag here

Get on the Waitlist for Building Your Career in Fire

Follow Fire...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Register for the WTHPS

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). 

Follow on IG

**Announcement: After the Spotlight 225 episode, the podcast will transition to a once-per-month release. P...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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.

*****
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 the socials...

IG | LinkedIn | Twitter

Discou...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Attend the Women's Tactical Human Performance Summit 5.29.26

Click here for the guest bios

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...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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.

*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here

Purchase FRW Swag here

Get on the Waitlist for Building Your Career in Fire

Follow Fire Re...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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 ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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.

*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here

Purchase FRW Swag here

Get on the Waitlist for Building Your Career in Fire

Follow Fire Resc...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Get registered for the Women's Tactical Human Performance Summit!

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...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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

*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here

Purchase FRW Swag ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Register for the Women's Tactical Human Performance Summit!

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...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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

*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here

Purchase FRW Swag here

Get on the Waitli...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Register now for the WTHPS

Hear Cindy's previous episode

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

*****
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 ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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

*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here

Purchase FRW Swag here...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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.

Check out Sarah's previous episode here!

Contact Sarah for Coaching

Coach Alec on IG

Coach Travis Mash on IG

*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here

Purchase ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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

*****
Register for 7-Minute Science here

Purchase FRW Swag here
...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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 ...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

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...

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

In this week's Spotlight, Dr. Chung speaks about concussion physiology and treatment. Firefighters should be heads up (pun intended) about brain injuries. You can hear the entire original episode here.

*****
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 the socials...

IG | LinkedIn | Twitter

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

    The Buck Sexton Show

    Buck Sexton breaks down the latest headlines with a fresh and honest perspective! He speaks truth to power, and cuts through the liberal nonsense coming from the mainstream media. Interact with Buck by emailing him at teambuck@iheartmedia.com

    iHeartRadio 24/7 News: The Latest

    The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices