First Responder Center for Excellence

"Today was a Difficult Day," said Pooh. There was a pause. "Do you want to talk about it?" asked Piglet. "No," said Pooh after a bit. "No, I don't think I do." "That's okay," said Piglet, and he came and sat beside his friend. "What are you doing?" asked Pooh. "Nothing, really," said Piglet. "Only, I know what Difficult Days are like. I quite often don't feel like talking about it on my Difficult Days either. "But goodness," continued Piglet, "Difficult Days are so much easier when you know you've got someone there for you. And I'll always be here for you, Pooh." And as Pooh sat there, working through in his head his Difficult Day, while the solid, reliable Piglet sat next to him quietly, swinging his little legs...he thought that his best friend had never been more right." - by A.A. Milne | Winnie the Pooh 🚒🚓🚑🚒🚓🚑🚒🚓🚑🚒🚓🚑🚒🚓🚑🚒🚓🚑🚒 Did you know when providing support to peers dealing with difficulties, presence is far more important than solutions? We would all be wise to learn the behavior modeled by piglet. Because it’s connection that matters…..

Our affiliate, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) is hiring a Chief Financial Officer. If you have a passion for supporting the heroes of the fire service with a proven track record of financial leadership, then look no further. #firehero To learn more and/or apply, please visit: https://lnkd.in/evk-uMNS

🚨 FREE Training Alert 🚨 The First Responder's Symposium of Philadelphia is being hosted at Temple University on September 13, 2024 to raise awareness and provide informational resources on suicide prevention & the challenges surrounding mental health as a First-line Responder. Members of law enforcement, fire fighters, EMS providers, and communication dispatchers in Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey are invited to attend this event. Attendance at the Symposium will be free with lunch & parking provided. To learn more and/or register, please visit: https://lnkd.in/eyUwM9hq

The fire service lost an icon yesterday with the passing of Dan Noonan (retired New York City Fire Department (FDNY). Dan was on the first arriving ladder company at the New York Telephone Fire in 1975. Many of the #firefighters that responded to this deadly fire had their careers and lives cut short due to occupational cancer from their exposure received at this fire. Because of this fire and the aftermath Dan was witnessing, he became an advocate for medical monitoring, medical screening, early detection, and the realization that what is burning today has changed to mostly synthetics. He has been a decades long advocate - long before most others. Attached is a link to the Responder Resilience podcast with hosts David Dachinger and Bonnie Rumilly. This podcast featured Dan Noonan and the current FRCE Managing Director Frank Leeb speaking about early detection and the New York Telephone Fire. (Podcast is from 2022): https://lnkd.in/eu9376NW Thank you Dan - your advocacy has made a generational impact. Rest in peace brother.

Shoutout to the incredible female firefighters from Louden County and surrounding Fire departments who attended the Optimizing Performance and Occupational Health for Female Firefighters Seminar! 👩🚒 Sponsored by a grant from the FRCE and delivered by O2X Human Performance: Tactical Athlete Training & Education, these women learned about injury prevention, sleep, fitness, recovery, nutrition, and more. Here's to improving performance and ensuring career longevity for our badass female firefighters! 💪🚒 #FemaleFirefighters #OptimizingPerformance #CareerLongevity #FirefighterStrong 💪🔥

Yesterday board members John Miclot and Barry Balliett, advisory committee member Dr. Anne Germain (NOCTEM), and Managing Director Frank Leeb met with representatives from the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Iowa. The meeting, held in Pittsburgh, aimed to develop partnerships for health and wellness initiatives benefiting firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, dispatchers, and law enforcement personnel. As our managing director states, "These partnerships are vital for harnessing a broad spectrum of expertise and resources. By collaborating with leading academic institutions, FRCE can access cutting-edge research, innovative solutions, and best practices that will enhance the health and wellness of first responders." Stay tuned to hear about the next steps in these exciting initiatives!

🚨 FREE Training Alert 🚨 On Friday, August 2nd and Saturday, August 3rd we will be hosting a First Responder Health Wellness & Science Seminar in collaboration with The Missouri Critical Illness Pool. Come and learn valuable information to live a healthier and more balanced life. To sign up, please visit: Friday, August 2nd https://lnkd.in/e-VVS58q Saturday, August 3rd https://lnkd.in/efVC7RFd

‼️ Retirement Alert ‼️ Congratulations to Chief Bryan Frieders on your retirement from the Firefighter Cancer Support Network. Our managing director Frank Leeb has a few words about you: "Chief Frieders has been a champion in advocating for firefighter health and wellness for decades. Perhaps this is best demonstrated in this video that was produced almost a decade ago: https://lnkd.in/exxb_R-x This video was years before most people were talking about taking action against firefighter cancer. The FRCE is grateful for his support of our many programs and knows that his retirement from the FCSN does not mean an end to his advocacy and teaching. Congrats Chief!"

Yesterday Chief Dena Ali, our program manager, keynoted the presentation, "It's not the calls, Organizational Leadership and Mental Wellness," at the Firemanship Conference in Aurora, Illinois. The conference had almost 2000 attendees from 45 states and 4 Canadian provinces. The presentation was a summary of her EFO research and is based on the following article: https://lnkd.in/ed-_VWzu

‼️ New Audio Podcast ‼️ Recently Frank Leto, a long time advisory committee member with the FRCE was a guest on the audio podcast, "Better Every Shift - featuring Aaron Zamzow." On the show he shares what he’s learned about resilience, relationships and the healing power of doing good. Host Aaron Zamzow is also our Program Manager for Fitness and Nutrition Programs. 💪 To access the podcast: https://lnkd.in/dQUi9jHH