Explore every episode of the podcast Don't Risk It! Podcast

Emergency services personnel and their vehicles are increasingly being struck by fellow motorists while responding to emergencies along roadways, resulting in significant damage, injuries, and even death. In this episode, we sat down with Fire Chief Dr. Hervy Kornegay of Belfast Volunteer Fire Department in Wayne County, NC to discuss how his department is utilizing an attenuator-equipped vehicle to help battle this issue and better protect their team.

Is your fire department looking for new or better ways to engage with your community? Chris Rodgers, Industry Specialist with VFIS, sat down with Fire Chief Dan Hoff from York Area United Fire & Rescue (“YAUFR”) to learn about their Citizens Fire Academy—which could serve as a great inspiration for your team!

This program gives adults a hands-on, behind-the-scenes view into what firefighters and EMS personnel do and face every day—plus, serves as a great tool for community risk reduction, volunteer recruitment, and community engagement in the process.

Junior Member Program Liability can be a large exposure for an Emergency Service Organization. In this episode, Rachel Breen and Greg Lidstrom of VFIS Underwriting and Dave Bradley of Client Risk Solutions discuss best practices for departments with a Junior Member Program.

In this episode we discuss the concept of modified response in emergency services, what it means and how to integrate it into your operations.

VFIS Education Specialist Nicole Dugan joins us to learn about Freedom House Ambulance—the first paramedic program in the US, which was fully-staffed by African Americans, and their notable impact on emergency services and beyond.  

Responder Help is a one stop source for Fire and EMS resources. In this episode, Rick Gurba, Director of VFIS Education and Training, talks about updates made to the site and gives an overview of the resources it provides, including sample SOGs, industry news, training programs and more.

Proof of loss, points of contact and more – In this episode, Mike Leatherwood, Jeff Paul, and Greg Joy of Glatfelter Claims Management discuss items your organization should consider when preparing for a catastrophic event.

Join us as we talk with Donnie Woodyard, Executive Director of EMS Personnel Licensure, and discuss the details of the EMS Compact. The EMS Compact is being utilized by multiple states and allows for greater flexibility of movement of providers’ licenses between states.

As first responder vehicles become more prevalent on our roads, incidents and collisions with these units are on the rise. Join Mike Baker and Dave Bradley of VFIS Client Risk Solutions as we discuss effective controls and best practices for safely operating these vital units.

The NFPA 1582 standard offers essential guidance for fire departments aiming to create tailored occupational medical programs that address the unique risks of firefighting. In this episode, members of VFIS Client Risk Solutions talk about the benefits of comprehensive medical assessments and discuss practical alternatives for agencies facing budget constraints.

From ongoing driver training to fidelity practices, in our 100th episode, the VFIS Client Risk Solutions team shares the 5 most-common recommendations that we make during our on-site risk assessments of emergency service organizations (ESOs).

Join us next week for a very special celebration of our 100th episode anniversary, where we reflect on the journey of the Don’t Risk It! podcast so far.

In this episode we hear from members of VFIS Underwriting regarding the VFIS underwriting process and what they look for in a quality account.

It isn’t easy to get everyone together for training classes on a regular basis. In this episode, Rick Gurba, Director of VFIS Education and Training, gives us an update on enhancements to the VFISu platform, including the new Instructor Portal, which allows agencies to distribute training content effectively without members having to attend the class in person.

Turnarounds, exit ramps, crossovers – when responding to a highway incident, there’s always potential for something to go wrong. In this episode, Jake Hoover from VFIS Education and Training discusses some best practices for responding to scenes on highways with limited access.

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.

What’s the whole story? In this episode, Dave Bradley from Client Risk Solutions along with Nicole Dugan and Jake Hoover from our Education and Training team discuss Patient Care Reporting and why it’s important to document all the events of a call, from the beginning to the end.

Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) – What is the difference? Is there a difference? In this episode, Blair Tyndall and Mike Baker of Client Risk Solutions and Emergency Services Specialist Bryan Duquin discuss the importance of SOGs and SOPs, the differences between them, and ways to develop and integrate these governing documents into your organization’s operations.

From aerials to tires, a comprehensive fleet maintenance program serves to protect the organization’s most valuable assets. In this episode, Blair Tyndall from VFIS Client Risk Solutions and Emergency Services Specialist Bryan Duquin discuss fleet maintenance best practices – what to include and why. 

Forty-four percent of the professional liability claims experienced by VFIS are attributed to patient handling. Mike Baker and Dave Bradley of Client Risk Solutions join Paul Bachtel of VFIS Claims to talk about trends in patient handling claims and provide key insights and suggestions to help emergency service organizations mitigate this exposure.

In this episode, Jake Hoover and Nicole Dugan from VFIS’ Education, Training & Consulting (ETC) department discuss quality assurance (QA) in the emergency services and provide some suggestions for assessing a quality assurance program to help ensure it enhances efficiencies, improves proficiencies and supports continuous improvement.

Documentation helps minimize the impacts of an incident on the responder. It also helps identify risks and implement change to reduce those risks in the future. In this episode, we talk with Bryan Duquin of VFIS and Tracie Young-Brungard of the PA State Fire Commissioner’s Office about the importance of incident documentation for Fire and EMS.

What’s the big picture? All incidents should be investigated to identify trends and benchmark information, find a root cause and build an educational model for the organization. Find out more about incident investigation best practices in this episode with Blair Tyndall and Bryan Duquin of VFIS Client Risk Solutions.

From cell phones to e-bikes - In today’s world, you would be hard pressed to go to a fire where a lithium ion battery is not involved. In this episode, Bobby Salveson from The Haz Mat Guys talks about the dangers of lithium ion batteries and some best practices for emergency service providers to consider when encountering these products at the scene.

www.thehazmatguys.com

How do you put a price on your fire apparatus? In this episode, VFIS Regional VP of Sales, Joe Giorgi, and Sales Executive Scott Cain provide an overview of the agreed value concept and discuss updates to the VFIS policy.

 What is agreed value? (glatfelters.com)

Whether it’s a public assist call or a police response call, emergency service leadership and providers should be concerned about their patient refusal process. In this episode, Paul Bachtel of VFIS Claims joins Mike Baker and Dave Bradley of Client Risk Solutions to discuss patient refusals, including trends and best practices for patient refusal procedures.

Incident rehab serves to identify conditions in personnel that may otherwise go undetected and could lead to serious health conditions, disabilities and death. In this episode, Tracie Young-Brungard, Director of Recruitment and Retention for the PA State Fire Commissioner’s office, discusses how the concept of incident rehab applies to emergency services.

“Documentation wins the day.” In this episode, David Givot, Esq., EMS Defense Attorney at The Legal Guardian, author of Sirens, Lights and Lawyers: The Law and Other Important Stuff EMS Providers Never Learned in School, and former paramedic from LA County, provides insight on issues he’s observed with protecting and defending EMS clients.

Sirens, Lights, and Lawyers: The Law & Other Really Important Stuff EMS Providers Never Learned in School: Givot, David: 9788350901871: Amazon.com: Books

From electronic vehicles and mobility devices to best practices for collecting and capturing thermal batteries, in this episode, Fire Chief Michael O’Brian from Brighton Area Fire Authority talks about some best practices when encountering electronic vehicle fires.

From large apparatus to brush vehicles and trailers, there’s a huge liability exposure when a service vehicle exceeds the manufacturer’s gross vehicle weight. In this episode, Mike Baker and Bryan Duquin from Client Risk Solutions discuss why it’s important for ESOs to obtain the heights and weights of their emergency vehicles and some best practices for doing so.

Additional Resource

Visit www.responderhelp.com for additional resources on gross vehicle weight and axel weight ratings.

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.

From patient handling to driving vehicles, in this episode, Michael McCabe, host of the EMS World Podcast and Director and CEO of McCabe Ambulance in Bayonne, NJ, talks about what keeps him up at night and the issues he’s observed in the ambulance service.

https://emsworldpodcasts.podbean.com

As part of their work to reduce preventable firefighter death and injury, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation has developed the Fire Vulnerability Assessment Program (VAP). In this episode, Fire Chief Nick Perkins from Travis County Emergency Services District #2, provides an overview of the VAP process and explains how your organization can use this assessment to help your department’s risk reduction strategies.

Body cameras are being used more frequently in the emergency medical services to help with incident management and to ensure the responder behaves and is treated appropriately. In this episode, we are joined by Tim Hearn from Fort Smith EMS (Fort Smith, AR) to talk about body cameras in EMS, why and how his agency implemented this type of program, and the policy they adopted.

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.

Whether Santa is riding in the hose bed for the holidays, or a citizen or non-member is riding along for clinical experience, when non-members ride in department apparatus, it can take the driver’s attention off the road. When a driver is distracted from safe vehicle operation, the risk of injury or damage increases. In this episode, members of the VFIS team discuss important considerations for allowing non-ESO members to ride in department vehicles.

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.

Be ahead of the game when preparing your property for seasonal changes in temperature. In this roundtable discussion with members of the Client Risk Solutions team, we talk about some best practices for winterizing stations and support facilities, as well as things to inspect after a major storm. Visit  https://www.vfis.com/Property-Management for additional resources on this topic.

VFIS Risk Control’s expertise and commitment to safety have not only saved countless lives but also improved the overall effectiveness of emergency service providers across the country. In this episode, we talk with Randy Hess, former Director of VFIS Risk Control, about the historical impact of Client Risk Solutions on Emergency Services.

From intersection best practices to smart use of privately-owned vehicles, it’s important that every vehicle operator understands what is expected from management. In this episode, members of the VFIS Client Risk Solutions team discuss the importance of having written policies and procedures in place and offer some best practices for developing emergency response guidelines for your ESO.

Lights and Sirens response increases the chances of an emergency vehicle crash by 50% and almost triples the chances of a crash during a patient transport.  It’s critical to think about how you’re responding to the event you’re dispatched for. In this episode with members of the VFIS Client Risk Solutions team, we discuss modified response and the use of lights and sirens in your organization.

In addition to significant injury or death, rollover accidents leave the ESO without a vehicle, facing costly repairs and long turnaround times for a replacement. In this episode with members of the VFIS team, we discuss the significance of rollover prevention and some best practices for driver training and policy development.

To maintain the viability of volunteer fire and emergency services there is a definite need to recruit and retain volunteers. Tracie Young-Brungard BS, EMTP, RRC, Recruitment & Retention Administrator for the Pennsylvania Office of the State Fire Commissioner joins the discussion on retention and recruitment of personnel in emergency services, offering suggestions on recruiting and retaining members and providing some supportive legislative materials.

Whether Santa is riding in the hose bed for the holidays, or a citizen or non-member is riding along for clinical experience, when non-members ride in department apparatus, it can take the driver’s attention off the road. When a driver is distracted from safe vehicle operation, the risk of injury or damage increases. In this episode, members of the VFIS team discuss important considerations for allowing non-ESO members to ride in department vehicles.