All Clear - A Firefighter Health & Wellness Podcast

Send us Fan Mail How much caffeine have you had today? Maybe it started with coffee on the way to the station. Then somebody made another pot at the firehouse. After lunch came an energy drink. Maybe there was some pre-workout before hitting the gym, followed later by a caffeinated sparkling water. None of those choices automatically makes caffeine a problem. The bigger question is: When does caffeine go from something we enjoy to something we need? In this solo episode of the All Clear Firef...

Send us Fan Mail Guest: Peter Cachia Host: Travis McGaha Podcast: All Clear Firefighter Wellness Podcast Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, the fire service continues to live with the lessons of that day. In this powerful conversation, retired FDNY firefighter Peter Cacia takes us back to September 11—from hearing the first radio transmission to arriving at the World Trade Center, witnessing the collapse of the South Tower, and ultimately being buried beneath the debris. Peter descri...

Send us Fan Mail SAFRE 2026 and firefighter health: Travis McGaha and John Hutton review themes that emerged from conversations and survey responses at the South Atlantic Fire Rescue Expo. The Big Two: Cancer and Cardiac: Cancer and cardiac disease remain major concerns, but the conversation expands into the underlying factors that can increase risk. Sleep is part of the health equation: Sleep emerges as an important underlying factor connected to mental health and cardiovascular health. Age ...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the All Clear Firefighter Wellness Podcast, Travis talks with Ashley Dillard, a retired firefighter-paramedic who now works in mental health with first responders, military personnel, and their spouses. Ashley brings both fire-service experience and clinical experience to a conversation about changing the way firefighters think about therapy, mental health, peer support, and personal wellness. Mental health as maintenance Ashley challenges the old image of ...

Send us Fan Mail Firefighters Are Made at the Kitchen Table (At the Station and at Home) | All Clear In this episode of All Clear, the host reflects on the saying “Abs are made in the kitchen” and connects it to firefighting, arguing that firefighters are often shaped not on the fireground but at the firehouse kitchen table, where rookies learn, officers mentor, lessons and stories are shared, trust is built, and hard conversations happen after difficult calls. He extends the idea to the ki...