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How FDNY is tying fire and EMS into one department

FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito explains why fire and EMS work best as one agency — and what’s driving the department’s EMS staffing crunch

FDNY wants EMS to be a destination, not a waiting room for the next job. That’s the pitch from Chief of Department John Esposito, who says too many medics leave over pay before they build the experience that makes them great. In this crossover episode hosted by EMS One-Stop’s Rob Lawrence, Esposito — who came up through fire operations — also makes the case for treating fire and EMS as “one department,” starting with a rescue paramedic assigned to every rescue company. And he lays out what’s behind rising response times: a nearly 10% EMS vacancy rate and hospital turnarounds averaging 42 minutes. If your crews run more medical calls than fires, none of this is someone else’s problem — and Esposito walks through how FDNY is tackling it.

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Previously on the Better Every Shift Podcast
Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department Captain Mark Killion details how to build realistic simulations — and the training culture that makes them work