PODCAST · health
The Firefighter Deconstructed
by Christy Warren
Christy Warren, PTSD Survivor and retired fire captain, digs into how the job can affect our mental and emotional health, the ensuing physical symptoms, and how to deal with it. Whether you’re just feeling crappy or have full-blown PTSD, or if you want to know the signs and how to help a brother or sister, we'll talk about it here. A part of Mental Health News Radio Network.
Episodes
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Paramedic and Fire Captain Ryan Esparza - From Angry to Happy
Ryan Espanza worked as a military firefighter, a private ambulance 911 paramedic and is now a Fire Captain with the Suisun Fire Department. He became angry with a short fuse, ready to knuckle up all the time. He started working two jobs around the clock to keep from feeling the crap inside. Once…
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ATF/NYPD ret Peter Forcelli - Don't Wait to Ask For Help
This is an awesome episode! This guy has done so much and has gone through so much. 9/11 left him with PTSD and he faced the ultimate departmental betrayal. Despite everything he has gone through, he has made it to the other side with his family intact, his heart full, and the ability to see all...
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Gary Hayes, ret. United Kingdom Police Officer, a Roughy Toughy Bloke with PTSD
Gary Hayes comes to us all the way from the United Kingdom! He is the Co-Founder of PTSD999, a charity organization that raises money to provide therapy and services for first responders. They also provide training to help educate and spread the word that PTSD is real and can affect anyone. He is…
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Nicki Impastato - The First Responder Life Total Package
This episode is with the amazing Nicki Impastato! Nicki and I sit down and talk about her life working as a dispatcher while raising two kids with her Battalion Chief husband. And then we talk about doing all this while struggling with PTSD. Nicki also worked in a system that didn’t know what to…
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FF Egan de los Colbos: How PTSD can manifest into physical illness
Veteran firefighter Egan DeLosCobos sits down with the firefighter deconstructed and talks about how the body holds on to stress and what happens to our bodies if we don’t deal with it. Egan and his 3 year old son somehow survived a crazy car accident and although they both walked away with only…
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Former Firefighter James Geering Now Fights For Your Wellbeing
Pirate to stuntman to paramedic/firefighter to podcaster and back to stuntman. He’s traveled and worked around the world. He saw the fire culture's damaging effects on its members and that with becoming a single parent, he decided to choose his son over finishing his career. I find this very…
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Olivia & Josh: Putting Their Marriage and Lives Back Together
Josh and Olivia sit back down with the Firefighter Deconstructed and talk about having to put their marriage and their lives back together for the second time and why they are so much stronger because of it. This episode embodies how marriage really is about two imperfect people who refuse to…
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Vol FF Rob Weisberg Hikes the Appalachian Trail for PTSD and His Unique 9/11 Story
Rob Weisberg is a volunteer firefighter in the state of NY. He happened to work across the street from the World Trade Center. When the Towers were hit, he made his way to a nearby fire station and offered his help. He ended up managing a fire station packed full of the injured and lost. Rob...
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Kerrie Murphy - Suicide Survivor
Kyle, a firefighter with 11 years of service, is no longer on this planet because he was tormented by PTSD and had learned that it’s not ok to ask for help. Our guest, Kerrie Murphy, bravely shares her story of losing her younger brother Kyle. The ramifications of suicide are devastating to those...
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Teri DeLaMontanya Part 2: Living Skills
This is Part 2: Living Skills. In Part 1 we hear about all the trauma that Teri has beent through while keeping a big smile on her face. In this part 2 episode, Teri shares the rug getting pulled out from under her and then how she put her life back together. She talks with us about how falling...
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Teri DeLaMontanya - Just Surviving Skills to Living Skills Part 1
This is truly a special 2 part episode with former EMT and then emergency room nurse then emergency room director Teri DeLaMontanya. Teri grew up in turmoil and trauma and learned to “make the most of it” in order to survive. Never allowing herself to feel pain or anger, Teri went through life…
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James Beal NFD - Don't Do That Thing
James Beal is a paramedic for the Nashville Fire Department. Not only is he being incredibly brave by telling us his story, but he’s talking about it on a podcast — when one of his greatest vulnerabilities has been talking. He grew up with a stutter and childhood trauma. James tells his story…
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Lawrence Williams, Nashville Fire Capt, Refused to get help until.....
Lawerence Williams is a 21 year veteran with the Nashville Fire Department. He is as tough as they come. Lawerence struggled with alcohol and PTSD symptoms until he finally went to the IAFF PTSD recovery/rehab center. While there he thought the whole thing was "stupid" and planned on coming home....
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Two Firefighter Spouses Share Their Experiences
Audra and Chelsi are two firefighter's wives and work-from-home mothers, with a combined 20+ years of experience as first responder spouses. They host a no-BS podcast, on a mission to break the stigma of mental health in first responders while amplifying the voices of their significant others....
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FFret Jim Madison - Resilence X 1000
Retired firefighter and military guy Jim Madison is on the show. He is the epitome of resilience. That saying, it’s not how many times you fall down, but how many times you get up. Jim has had to get up off the floor MANY times. He has suffered multiple injuries on the job and has ended up in a...
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ret FF Keith Hanks - Putting His Life Back Together From C-PTSD
Keith joins the podcast and shares how his life fell apart and after a diagnosis of Complex PTSI, he put it back together. His road to recovery included 6 suicide attempts. He shares incredible insight into what drives some to suicide. Keith Hanks is a retired Firefighter and EMT that dedicated…
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My Story of Having to Save My Own Life
I had the honor of being a guest on the incredible podcast, A Slight Change of Plans hosted by cognitive scientist Maya Shanker. Apple named A Slight Change of Plans the best podcast of 2021 and it has over 10 million downloads and Dr. Shanker took the time to interview a retired...
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Tyler Fausset ret FF/PM - Retiring is Hard
This is the second time Tyler sat down to talk about his journey with PTSD. The first episode he talked about his critical incident that sent him down the PTSD rabbit hole. This time he comes back on to talk about the next phase: retiring from his passion, his identity and having to find a new...
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Paramedic Cheri Garcia: Reinventing Yourself
Ret. Paramedic Cheri Garcia sits down with the Firefighter Deconstructed after a short winder break. Cheri talks about realizing she couldn't do the job anymore without it further ruining her life and who she was. She had to reinvent herself and who she is - and she did with with grace and...
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ret FF/PM Michael Loew, Carr Wildland Fire and the Aftermath
Michael Loew was a Firefighter and Paramedic for almost 30 years. He cruised along pretty well until he was caught in the middle of the Carr Fire. The Carr fire, burned 229,651 acres of the Shasta and Trinity counties, burned down over a thousand homes and killed 3 firefighters and 5 civilians....
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FF Don Pemberton: How to Prevent PTSD and Get Help When it Hits
Don Pemberton Don sits down with Christy and talks about coaching first responders to create and maintain healthy lives and actions that can help PREVENT Post Traumatic Stress. He and the organization, 1st Responder Coaching, really have something here that all first responders could use--either…
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Ret. Police Officer Stephanie Polizziani - Finding Light when it Became Dark
Retired police officer Stephanie Polizziani spent 15 years as a police officer, most of them for the city of Berkeley and then moved on to Benicia. She began to feel her life become dark. She planned on just keeping her head down on and not dealing with it. That is until her husband, also a…
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SGB Could Change Everything - Shauna "Doc" Springer
Today’s show is awesome and everyone should listen to this. Shauna Doc Springer and I talk about an existing and very accessible total game changer in the treatment of PTSD. It’s called the Stellate Ganglion Block. We also talk about first responder suicide and thoughts for friends and loved ones...
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PTSD is a Physical Injury - Nan Herron, MD Explains
Today’s show is all about the brain and what happens to it when it’s exposed to trauma repeatedly. Dr. Nan Herron, a real medical doctor, and I sit down and talk about why people want to drop the D in PTSD and replace it with an I - because it’s not a disorder, it’s an injury. Like a real…
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Christy and Danny Out on the Streets
San Francisco Fire Paramedic Danny McAtee makes his second appearance on the show. We sit down and discuss part of our first responder community that carries an extra weight daily and especially when they struggle with mental health and PTS. The LBGTQ+ community has been invisible for so long in...
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San Jose PD ret Chris Warren, No One Knew What to Say
Chris Warren is a retired San Jose Police Officer who was the negotiator on a barricaded subject with a tragic ending. When the tragedy happened, no one talked about it or even talked to him at all. This critical incident, on top of years of being a cop, sent him into rages he didn't know he was...
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Ret. Deputy Sheriff Sally Lobb - Tough as Nails with a Giant Heart
Show Notes: Kick-ass retired Sheriff Deputy Sally Lobb sits down with The Firefighter Deconstructed and shares her story of becoming and being a woman cop, peer support and her own story of getting PTSI. I personally know Sally and know she is quick witted, smart and tough as nails. When bad shit...
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Capt/PM Chris Moore, Power of Vulnerability and Volunteer's Mental Health
This week I sit down with Captain Paramedic Chris Moore of the Chesapeake Fire Department in the state of Virginia. Chris started and spent about 10 years as a volunteer and then moved over to working as a firefighter full time. Chris and I talk about the specific challenges that Volunteer...
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Danny McAtee - San Francisco Fire Department Paramedic
The most interesting man in the world, Danny McAtee and I had a great conversation about the job’s challenges, how we don’t ask for help and put everyone else first, even at serious cost to ourselves. Danny is a retired San Francisco paramedic with the SF Fire Department. He continued to get hit...
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Full Circle, Cassie Sexton - Dispatcher and Jailer
Cassie Sexton works for First Responder WellnessCassie has extensive Law Enforcement experience in dispatch, jail, and traffic divisions. Early in her career she became eager to learn new specialties, showing natural leadership, and a passion for teaching and presenting. With her diverse...
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At the Brink -Paramedic Jeff Smith, PTS and Climbing Over the Railing
The Firefighter Deconstructed has the honor of having Jeff Smith on the show. Jeff spent 20 years as a paramedic in Vancouver, BC and launched a not-for-profit organization called The Detachment Technique, aimed at providing first responders resources and tools to understand and work through…
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FF's Paul and Skip, Courage in Choosing to Live
Skip is a retired FF, recovering addict and now is the president of World Wide Support. Paul flew from England to get some of that Wold Wide Support. These guys talk about asking for help and their recovery, which Paul is right in the middle of. Both guests lay it all out and share their...
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ret Capt Derek Robinson-Surviving the Darkness, Choosing to Live
This week’s guest is retired Kern County Fire Captain, Derek Robinson. Derek tells his story of how he reached out for help and continued to not get it, which so many of have had to deal with. He kept going forward and asking for help until he found it. Derek talks about the healing power of...
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Tyler Fausset - From FF/PM to PTS to Early Retirement to Happiness
Retired Firefighter/Paramedic Tyler Fausette tells his story of a critical incident that led to a PTS diagnosis. He struggled and struggled and ended up having to medically retire "early" due to his Post Traumatic Stress Injury. Tyler is incredibly articulate in telling his story and shares…
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Columbus FF/PM Doug Brown -I'm Fine.
Douglas R. Brown runs into burning buildings for a living. After a horrible all he began showing the signs of PTS. His friends and family could tell something was wrong, but Doug was the last to figure it out. He finally asked for help when his marriage was about to dissolve. He began writing as…
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Lt. Rob Hiller-Depression, Cardiac POTS, and PTS...he just keeps getting back up.
Lt Rob Hiller, of the Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services, shares his personal story of a cardiac medical condition, depression, and Post Traumatic Stress - each one almost costing him the job he loves so much. Lt. Hiller continues to walk forward as he continues to get knocked down by his…
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FF (ret) Joe Bartholomew, 33 years + trapped in a basement fire = PTS and then Recovery
Today retired firefighter Joe Bartholomew shares his story of getting trapped in a basement fire and coming as close to dying as you can get. He talks about how this fire and his 33 years in the fire service left him with PTS. He dealt with department betrayal and a cold shoulder from some of his...
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Ret Chief Dave Robertson and Napa Valley Lunches
Finally! A new episode! I talk with Dave Robertson. He is the owner of FireEDGE - Fire Service Training + Career Coaching/Training Officer. He is a Fire Chief (ret) from the Napa Valley, CA. Dave and I discuss the havoc that PTS brings to a first responder and their family. Dave shares his story…
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Quentin Waynick FF, Dispatcher, Paramedic - Suffered not knowing what was wrong
Quentin Waynick started in the first responder muck when he was 15. He did everything from firefighting to dispatching to being a paramedic. He lived on top of the world....until he got angry, really angry. In fact he was fired from his job due to his anger. He lived like this not having any idea...
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Ret Police Officer Ray Fernandez - The PTSD Sh*t Show
Retired police officer Ray Fernandez has 30 years on the job. Like so many of us first responders, once a tough guy, he drank with the boys after work and especially after a bad call. He also had a “shit-show” of a childhood. He had PTSD for years and didn’t know it. It cost him his marriage and...
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Olivia Johnson's Story of Being Married to PTSD
Olivia Johnson, once a paramedic and now an emergency nurse, married a firefighter name Josh Johnson. Josh Johnson got PTSD and subsequently went through hell. Well guess what, so did his wife Olivia. Olivia is one of the most powerful and raw guests I have on the show. Josh and Olivia’s story is...
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Deputy Sheriff-Coroner Neal Oilar (Ret.), Part One: Against All Odds
This week we sit down with Neal Oilar. He is a medically retired deputy sheriff-coroner (Del Norte County, CA. 2014-2020). He had several CI’s, two shootings, and ultimately he was stabbed which led to my retirement. He was diagnosed with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury. His department left him...
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Retired Officer Albert Veldstra, How 30 years as a cop and an Officer Involved Shooting affected him and his family
Albert Veldstra, who has 30 years as a police officer in Stanislas County in the California central valley, sits down with the FF deconstructed and tells his story of how 30 years on the job and an officer involved shooting affected him and his family. He talks about how he recovered and now…
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Former Dispatcher Ricardo Martinez, #iam911
Founder of the #Iam911 movement, former 911 dispatcher Ricardo Martinez sits down and shares his story on this episode. Ricardo is the host of the Within the Trenches podcast and is about to release episode 400. He is doing amazing work for dispatchers throughout the country. His passion is…
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Ellen Kirschman PhD, How to Love a Firefighter
Ellen Kirschman, known as the Cop Doc, is a clinical psychologist that specializes in treating first responders and has been for doing for years and years and years. She is the author of “I Love a Cop” and the recently released second edition of “I Love a Firefighter”. Ellen talks about the...
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Former Firefighter Josh Johnson Wandered Lost Until He Asked For Help
The amazing Josh Johnson, former firefighter, shares his story of getting PTSD and the agony of not knowing where to turn to for help. The point came where Josh’s only answer he could find was almost killing himself with alcohol. He went to work to ask for help and ended up getting fired. Josh...
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Tessa Dunn - Rockstar Wife That Held a First Responder's Family Together
Tessa Dunn is on the show! Tessa is the wife of Tom Dunn, who was on the show a few months ago. She stood by Tom’s side as he worked as a Alaska State Trooper. She raised a couple of kids and took care of the family out in the middle of nowhere. When Tom became a State Trooper little did they…
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Conrad Weaver, Producer of the Film, PTSD911
The Firefighter Deconstructed sits down with Conrad Weaver, an award winning filmmaker, producer and president of Conjo studios. Conrad is making a documentary film about us, about what first responders go through on the job and the price we pay for doing what we do. The film i scalled 911PTSD.…
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The Similarities of a TBI and PTSD, ret CHP Sgt Paula Siddens
Paula Siddens is a retired Sergeant with the California Highway Patrol with 30 years of service. Paula sustained a serious Traumatic Brain Injury while riding her bike down Mt. Diablo. She was lucky to even survive the accident. Paula and I have also been friends for quite some time but it’s been…
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Assistant Fire Chief Steve Serbic - Undercover Mental Health and His Own Story
The amazing Steve Serbic from the Undercover Mental Health Podcast sit down with me and tells us his story. Steve is a assistant fire chief, key note speaker, Tedx presenter, author and mental health advocate. Steve rose up through the fire service, and is currently working as an Assistant Chief…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Christy Warren, PTSD Survivor and retired fire captain, digs into how the job can affect our mental and emotional health, the ensuing physical symptoms, and how to deal with it. Whether you’re just feeling crappy or have full-blown PTSD, or if you want to know the signs and how to help a brother or sister, we'll talk about it here. A part of Mental Health News Radio Network.
HOSTED BY
Christy Warren
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Firefighter Deconstructed have?
The Firefighter Deconstructed currently has 104 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Firefighter Deconstructed about?
Christy Warren, PTSD Survivor and retired fire captain, digs into how the job can affect our mental and emotional health, the ensuing physical symptoms, and how to deal with it. Whether you’re just feeling crappy or have full-blown PTSD, or if you want to know the signs and how to help a brother or...
How often does The Firefighter Deconstructed release new episodes?
The Firefighter Deconstructed publishes regularly with 104 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Firefighter Deconstructed?
You can listen to The Firefighter Deconstructed on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Firefighter Deconstructed?
The Firefighter Deconstructed is created and hosted by Christy Warren.
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