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How to hit the ‘RESET’ button on behavioral health

Deputy Chief Darin Wallentine talks Safety Stand Down resources to share with your crew, plus managing “sticky” traumatic event memories

“You’re not Superman; you can’t carry it all.” Sarasota (Florida) Deputy Chief Darin Wallentine urges all listeners, no matter your rank, to carve out time to focus on your behavioral health. If you don’t know where to start, this year’s Safety Stand Down offers a variety of resources centered on the theme “Break the Stigma: Behavioral Health RESET” – Recognize, Educate, Strategies, Empower and Training. Use the resources for your personal health needs, and share them with your crewmembers as part of the annual weeklong event, June 15-21, when all fire and EMS departments are encouraged to suspend non-emergency activity to focus on this central theme.

Get Firefighter Safety Stand Down resources.

This episode of the Better Every Shift Podcast is sponsored by MagneGrip. Eliminate diesel exhaust fumes from inside the fire station with a MagneGrip exhaust removal system. Learn more at MagneGrip.com.

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Previously on the Better Every Shift Podcast
After separate trips down under, Chief Caughey and Zam break down what Australian departments are ahead on, where they struggle and what U.S. firefighters can borrow
Retired Orlando firefighters Chris DeMaagd and Joseph McCluan share how a bench, a walk and firehouse camaraderie became a proactive approach to mental health
Cherry Grove Fire and Rescue shows what can happen when CRR starts with the needs firefighters see every day
Captain Lisa Burton breaks down what firefighters are asking for from training — more relevance, better instruction and fewer checkbox exercises
FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito recounts FDNY’s devastating losses, the decisions that saved thousands of lives and why honoring 9/11 means preparing the next generation to meet the moment