Dear Chiefs Podcast

California is heating up and fire season is just around the corner. In this episode we hear from Susan Farren, author of The Fireman's Wife and founder of  First Responder Resliency Inc. how fire families can best prepare for fire season.

Susan is the founder of First Responders Resiliency Inc. A graduate of the Stanford paramedic program, Susan has served her entire career in the industry of pre-hospital care. Serving in both the private and public sectors as a paramedic, supervisor, operations manager, peer counselor, clinical manager, EMS educator and consultant throughout the greater Bay Area.

Follow Susan

Instagram: @resiliency1st
Website: https://www.resiliency1st.org/

To book Susan to speak at your next event visit susanfarren.net

In todays episode we will hear from Jennifer Osler-Bolton (podcast host at Lavender Dahlia) how the tragic death of her husband Rylan Osler impacted her and how she and her children were supported during her time of grief. She will go on to give us some advice about how to best support a loved one who has suffered a loss. Jennifer is also newly remarried and shares how her new marriage has completely transformed her life.

Ryan Osler was one that could be trusted to do a job well, do it correctly, and give it everything he had. Known as “Otter” throughout the department, his reputation spread quickly as the guy who always had a strong sense of duty, offered a quick grin, and was the first to get dirty or offer a helping hand.  In September of 2016 Ryan tragically lost his life while responding to the Canyon Fire in Lompoc California. Ryan and his partner were involved in a tragic accident involving their water tender as they were transporting water to the fire. He left behind his wife of nearly 16 years Jennifer Osler-Bolton and their two children.

Follow Jennifer's Journey:

Website: http://jenniferoslerbolton.com/

Instagram: @jjoslerbolton

Podcast: Lavender Dahlia

In this episode we sat down with Physician Assistant, Clinical Herbalist and Functional Medicine specialist Jessica Meyers and talked about how holistic healing can benefit first responders and their families.  Tune in to learn how to use herbal medicine to get back to sleep and reduce stress.

Jessica Meyers began her career in healthcare over 14 years ago as an EMT in Los Angeles, CA. She later became a phlebotomist, working part-time and volunteering, while earning her Bachelor's Degree from Biola University. Jessica continued her education with a Master's Degree from University of Southern California- Keck School of Medicine, graduating as a Physician Assistant.

During her time in clinical practice, Jessica found her true passion of herbal medicine. Drawing from her background in the traditional medical model, herbal medicine experience, and integrative/ functional training, Jessica offers a truly innovative approach to taking charge of your health.

Follow Jessica

Instagram: @jessicacmeyers
Website: https://www.jessicameyers.com/
Shop: https://www.jessicameyers.com/shop-1

When you hear “firefighter” what comes to mind? A cute guy climbing a tall ladder to rescue a kitten? Maybe a guy with a mustache + ash covered fire helmet, staring straight into your soul. That’s how society sees them.

When we think of our firefighters, we think of grueling hours + selfless acts, all in the name of duty. When we hear “firefighter”, I immediately think of their family.  We think of the days they spend away from home. We think of their partner who often holds down the fort solo. The constant interruption to schedules and routines for their kids. The way their partner feels like they have to take a back seat.

They’re everyone’s hero, but are you theirs?

In this episode Audra + Chelsi address the way that society views firefighters, uncomfortable experiences that they've had with other women flirting with their husbands when they were in uniform, and answer some of your random questions and put themselves on the hotseat. This is a must listen for sure!

Charisty Haislip of firedeptfamily.com shares  how she and her firefighter set boundaries around work while juggling family and work life.

Charisty is a Florida mom who loves to spend time enjoying the water and theme parks with her Firefighter/Paramedic Husband, Matthew, and their kiddos. She prefers cats over dogs, lattes over coffee, and loves a good beach sunrise. You can find her sharing more about the good, bad and unexpected parts of the Fire Life over at FireDeptFamily.com

firedeptfamily.com is a blog that focuses on real life stories of the family making it work while their firefighter enjoys the best job in the world. Jokes are told, stories are shared, and advice is given as we muddle through this adventure called life.

Follow Charisty:

Insta: @fire.dept.family
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firedeptfamily
Website: http://firedeptfamily.com

If you enjoy the show and want to keep hearing from us, please consider leaving us a rating + review on iTUNES. 

CAL FIRE Benevolent Foundation CFO Stephen Hartman shares his insight on how families can best prepare for the worst case scenario that the loss of a loved one in a line of duty death.

Stephen also shares the role Cal Fire Benevolent Foundation takes in the fire service, how it got started, and where it is today.

Stephen Hartman worked for CAL FIRE for 25 years before retiring as a Battalion Chief. He has been involved in CAL FIRE Local 2881 for over 28 years. Being a firefighter himself, he understands they give it all, and sometimes people don't realize what they sacrifice to protect all of us. Stephen says "firefighters are notoriously independent and rarely ask for help, so it's essential to take care of our own in any way we can."

For more info please visit: https://calfire.foundation/

Follow CAL FIRE Benevolent Foundation:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calfirebenevolent/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CALFIREBenevolent/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CALFIREFound

We've been surviving a pandemic for over a year now and it has taken a toll on the mental health of our first responders and healthcare workers all over the world. So what if there was a way to help our loved ones that are in these fields to cope with the circumstances a bit better? That's where James Boomhower comes in. In this episode, we sat down with James (again) and learned what pandemic fatigue really is, how to identify the signs in our responders, and how to talk to them and ourselves so that we could all push past it.

James Boomhower  is a Critical Care Transport Specialist- a paramedic with Boston MedFlight and the founder of StayFit4Duty.  The mission of Fit for duty is to help medical professionals treat their mental health with the same dedication and tenacity as they treat the physical health of those they took an oath to help.

Resources for when you need help:

SUICIDE PREVENTION HOTLINE: 800-273-8255
Crisis Text Line: https://www.crisistextline.org/

Follow Along with  James:
Instagram: @stay_fit4duty
link.tree: https://linktr.ee/stay_fit4duty

John Nason is a 3rd generation firefighter from  Southern Maine. In 2019 He and a couple of his fellow firefighters started Truck Schmucks- a podcast for firefighters to encourage brotherhood/sisterhood and advocate for first responder mental health. John struggled with PTSD early on in his career and ultimately chose to share his story and be part of the solution by being involved in training other firefighters. He now serves as a lieutenant and head of the training division in his department in Southern Maine.

In this episode John tells us about his background in firefighting, his journey through his mental health struggles, and how Truck Schmucks got started.

FOLLOW TRUCK SCHMUCKS
Instagram
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iTUNES

We took a poll at the beginning of Season 2 on instagram asking for recommendations on guests and topics for our podcasts. A brave listener submitted the idea of having an “average joe” on the show and volunteered herself. This is how we met Emily Marasso. Raised in Southern California, Emily is a Fire wife of 9 years and mom of two young boys. She’s worked in marketing and media for over 10 years for different industries. Emily is a huge mental health advocate as she has suffered with depression and anxiety since childhood. She hopes that by sharing her story today that she can give strength and hope to others! Emily's husband Jordan works as a firefighter with San Diego Federal Fire.

More info about Emily can be found on her instagram at @marassomanor

In season one of Dear Chiefs Podcast, we had Sequoia Etcheverry walk us (Audra + Chelsi) through a critical incident that  we experienced several years ago during The Valley Fire in Middletown, California.

In this episode, we are getting a peek behind the scenes of that same incident and interviewing Chelsi's husband, Cameron, a Cal Fire Local 2881 Union Member about what he experienced while working the fire and how his experience differed from what his wife was experiencing at home. 

**This episode was pre recorded during the 2020 California Lightning fires and may make reference to California's 2020 fire season. Thoughts and opinions in this episode are personal in nature and do not represent any specific fire agency. This is a personal account of a traumatic incident that was experienced by Cameron. In this episode, he and Chelsi are interviewed by Sequoia Etcheverry.

At any time during this episode if you are feeling an emotional response, it is okay to either pause or turn it off completely.

You may want to make sure to be in a place that you feel safe and secure, surrounded by a calming atmosphere and reach out for support from us or your peers if needed. We can be reached through instagram messenger @dearchiefspodcast or email: [email protected]

Sequoia is the significant other of a Cal Fire firefighter for over 11 years. She has survived the long fire season deployments, the promotions and career changes, the missed holidays and celebrations, the shift work that makes for both exciting reunions and sometimes difficult ones too. She has enjoyed deeply learning about the ups and downs of her partner’s career, both operationally and emotionally, and is especially proud of the positive influence he has on the world day to day. She helped raise her partners two incredible daughters, who are now 16 and 22 years old.Sequoia works in the field of first responder trauma as a research assistant and as a peer supporter, especially for first responder families. She has trained clinicians in cultural competence and has been deployed to a number of major incidents in the past 5 years. She has her master’s degree in Depth Psychology, the study of the unconscious, with a focus in trauma, dream work, mythology, and deep nature connection. She is training to become a practitioner in a specialized clinical treatment for Complex-PTSD, which is concerned not only with critical incident acute stress, but also developmental and relational trauma.