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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
Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer explains how ego, burnout and the “Chiefs Against Virtually Everything” mindset can stall progress — and why leaders must choose growth over comfort
Deputy Chief Darin Wallentine details the seven components of this year’s annual event
From sleep and nutrition to trauma and gratitude, it’s time to take a big-picture approach to resilience built for the realities of the fire service
Dena Ali explains why firefighter wellness is established long before a bad call — through culture, communication and sleep habits
The former U.S. fire administrator details her new role at the Fire Safety Research Institute, plus ideas for how to better elevate the fire service at home and abroad