When switching your firewire cable from port to port or disconnecting the firewire cable, make sure to power down your unit first.
Continual 'hot swapping' of the Firewire cables from your FirePods and/or FP-10 devices Firewire port can cause the port to fail.
Proper use of the devices firewire ports and procedure in power the unit down to swap out cables and / or swap ports can ensure your devices longevity and keep the Firewire chipset from being damaged.
**Please note: The issue with 'Hot Plugging" also pertains to all FW devices, not just the Firepod and FP10