# side alpha (audio feeds) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 1 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover side alpha. Page: Feed: --- ## [How EV weight impacts your tactics](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/how-ev-weight-impacts-your-tactics/) _2026-08-06 · Better Every Shift_ The battery fire may get the attention, but the vehicle’s weight could create the next problem. Deputy Chief Vince Bettinazzi returns with a broader look at electric vehicle response, including how heavier vehicles, low centers of gravity and reduced lifting points can complicate stabilization and extrication. He explains why crews must identify EVs early and understand what their equipment can… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/sduds2stj4hasatv/BES-Bettinazzi2.mp3) ## [How to build company drills from NIOSH reports](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/how-to-build-company-drills-from-niosh-reports/) _2026-07-31 · Better Every Shift_ You’ve probably read — or at least skimmed — a NIOSH firefighter fatality report, but do you know what to do with it? Or how it came to be? Wesley Attwood, a senior investigator with NIOSH’s Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program , explains how departments request an investigation, what investigators examine and why the process is voluntary, independent and nonpunitive. He also… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ur58rxfsk7rydrzg/BES-Attwood.mp3) ## [Your tone is your leadership](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/your-tone-is-your-leadership/) _2026-07-23 · Better Every Shift_ You can be absolutely right and still lose the room — all because of your tone. Drawing from personal experience, Zam shares four practical lessons for saying what you mean, with respect. Whether you're leading a company, mentoring a probationary firefighter or challenging a policy you disagree with, this episode is a reminder that leadership isn't just about what you say — it's how you say it.… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ddr39t97s62kbd2x/BES-Zam-Tone.mp3) ## [Today's fires demand a hazmat mindset](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/todays-fires-demand-a-hazmat-mindset/) _2026-07-16 · Better Every Shift_ The next hazmat challenge probably isn't coming — it's already in your first-due. Mesa Fire and Medical Department Captain Jim Barnhart has spent years studying lithium-ion batteries, photovoltaics and emerging energy systems, and he makes the case that firefighters need to stop treating these incidents as rare exceptions. Using the recent Los Angeles Boyle Heights cold storage fire as a launching… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/82qeb2jvebt68dv6/BES-Barnhart.mp3) ## [Inside the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service with Chief Fennessy](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/inside-the-new-us-wildland-fire-service-with-chief-fennessy/) _2026-07-09 · Better Every Shift_ “Why do we have all of these fire agencies?” It’s a question many in the wildland world have asked for years — and Chief Brian Fennessy is now in position to do something about it. The director of the newly created U.S. Wildland Fire Service explains what it means to build an entirely new federal fire organization from the ground up and why the mission extends far beyond changing patches and… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/972qjnqtw4h38iix/BES-Fennessy-2026.mp3) ## [Cold storage close call](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/cold-storage-close-call/) _2026-07-02 · Better Every Shift_ One routine smoke investigation. Ten minutes later, a cold storage building erupted around Firefighter Andrew Klein. This week, we’re revisiting the harrowing close call that nearly ended Klein’s career. Klein walks through the fireground decisions, details the hidden danger of a cold storage building packed with spray foam insulation, and recalls the moment his PPE became the only thing standing… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/d6imhm9g63xin8ak/KleinReplay.mp3) ## [Your post-call reset starts here](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/your-post-call-reset-starts-here/) _2026-06-25 · Better Every Shift_ “Pain sucks,” as Zam puts it — and ignoring it doesn’t make it go away. Dr. Bita Shahidi, a physical therapist who has worked with firefighters and professional athletes, explains why the aches and pains firefighters push through during their careers often become the injuries that define retirement. She urges firefighters to approach their bodies like tactical athletes, with regular movement… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/bzansbreqmvhb8ey/BES-Shahidi.mp3) ## [NERIS: Everybody calm down already](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/neris-everybody-calm-down-already/) _2026-06-11 · Better Every Shift_ “Everybody just calm down about NERIS.” That’s Zam’s charge to Misfit Nation this week as he speaks with NERIS lead developer Craig Weinschenk. The conversation goes beyond software updates and reporting requirements to explore how the fire service can finally quantify rescues, identify emerging risks and make a stronger case for the resources it needs. As director of research for the Fire Safety… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ftqjik7vp7spp7zm/BES-Weinschenk2026.mp3) ## [The grant clock is ticking](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/the-grant-clock-is-ticking/) _2026-06-04 · Better Every Shift_ AFG, SAFER, and Fire Prevention and Safety grants are open — and the clock is already ticking toward the June 22 deadline. For Lexipol grant specialist Jane Prescott, it's the fire service equivalent of the Super Bowl: Hundreds of millions of dollars in available funding, a compressed application window and departments across the country scrambling to get their requests submitted. Prescott joins… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/4kuyd46v8xx4siij/BES-Grants-2026.mp3) ## [Zero-Persistence E2EE (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/Ov0vkvw2ic5t) _2026-06-04 · **Sponsored**_ End-to-end encryption with client-side WebCrypto and volatile memory. ## [Schaeffer: The fire service can’t afford CAVE leadership](https://sidealpha.podbean.com/e/schaeffer-the-fire-service-can-t-afford-cave-leadership/) _2026-05-28 · Better Every Shift_ Nobody tells you that becoming chief means owning problems you can’t fully control, absorbing pressure that doesn’t clock out and still leading like the weight isn’t showing. Columbia (Mo.) Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer digs into the uncomfortable realities of adding bugles, including the pressure to move an organization forward when maintaining the status quo is far easier. Schaeffer talks… [Listen](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/3jgs3rxpyp8qc9mm/BES-Schaeffer.mp3)