Assistant Chief Manny Almaguer draws a distinction most fire departments have never heard: cultural competency and cultural empathy are not the same thing. One checks a box. The other earns trust. In this conversation, he breaks down what that difference actually looks like on the ground.

Before he ever put on turnout gear, Almaguer spent years working in psychiatric institutions, and that background shapes everything about how he leads. In 26 years, he's held nearly every role in the Denver Fire Department and spent the last 15 as a national voice on first responder mental health, invited to speak at the White House, the Pentagon, and NATCON.

In this conversation, Chief Almaguer covers:

• Cultural competency vs. cultural empathy, and why the distinction changes how training actually lands
• His "kick the tires" audit: personally calling 988 and local recovery resources before recommending them to his crew
• His definition of psychological safety, and how to explain it to someone who's never heard the term
• How his years as a psychiatric nurse and technician transferred directly into fire service leadership and scene safety
• The story behind Denver Fire's 2013 mental health training program, and the 1,100+ members it reached
• What a battalion chief or company officer needs to know at minimum to catch something early

Subscribe for more conversations on first responder mental health, leadership, and culture.

Don’t miss EMS Fire Pro Expo. October 22 through 24. Mohegan Sun. Register today at https://emspro.org/

Contact Responder Resilience:
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: [email protected]
Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/
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This show is for educational purposes only and does not provide medical, psychological, or professional treatment. Views expressed are those of the individuals, not any affiliated agency or organization.

In an emergency, call 911. For mental health support, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).

Twenty-five years after 9/11, more than 600 FDNY members have died from Ground Zero-related illness, nearly double the number lost in the collapse itself. Retired FDNY Deputy Chief Richard Alles arrived 20 minutes after the second tower fell and spent nine months on-site. Today, as Director of 9/11 Community Affairs for Barasch & McGarry, he works full-time helping first responders and survivors access the WTC Health Program and Victim Compensation Fund.

In this conversation, Chief Alles covers:

• What leadership looked like in the chaos of Ground Zero's first hours
• How detective James Zadroga's autopsy became the forensic evidence that passed the Zadroga Act
• The current FDNY and nationwide illness death toll, now surpassing 9,000 across all WTC-related illness
• Who qualifies for WTC Health Program and VCF benefits, and the exposure-hour requirements by date
• Why skin cancer, not respiratory illness, is the most common Ground Zero-linked condition
• His own two cancer diagnoses, and why he tells everyone with 9/11 exposure "it's not if you'll get sick, it's when"

Subscribe for more conversations on first responder mental health, leadership, and culture.  

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Contact Richard Alles:
Website: https://www.post911attorneys.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BaraschMcGarry/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baraschmcgarry/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/barasch-mcgarry/

Contact Responder Resilience:
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: [email protected]
Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/

This show is for educational purposes only and does not provide medical, psychological, or professional treatment. Views expressed are those of the individuals, not any affiliated agency or organization.

In an emergency, call 911. For mental health support, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).

Dr. Johnny Torgeson opened a top-grossing fitness franchise at 25, served as an Army sergeant, and now commands operations at a federal fire department. Along the way he identified a gap most fire officers never get taught: how to actually build a team, not just staff one.

He wrote Forging Your Team: Demystifying Team Development for First Responders. Then he built Forging Teams AI, a 24/7 leadership coaching agent trained on his own research and experience, designed to help officers diagnose team dysfunction, low morale, and stalled performance in real time, without the cost of traditional executive coaching.

In this conversation, Johnny explains how the tool works, what it catches that emotional decision-making misses, and why he believes the fire service needs to move past outdated 1990s leadership models.

Learn more: forgingteams.com

Responder Resilience is produced by Mind Health Media, LLC, hosted by Lt. David Dachinger (Ret.), Dr. Stacy Raymond, and Bonnie Rumilly, LCSW/EMT.
 Subscribe for more conversations with the people building a stronger, more resilient first responder culture.

**Resources for Responder Wellness:**

• Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q

• Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com

• Fitness: FightCamp (code RESILIENCE for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr

Contact Johnny Torgeson:
Website: forgingteams.com

Contact Responder Resilience:
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: [email protected]
Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/

This show is for educational purposes only and does not provide medical, psychological, or professional treatment. Views expressed are those of the individuals, not any affiliated agency or organization.

In an emergency, call 911. For mental health support, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline).

The response to Ground Zero didn't end in 2001. For the FDNY, it became a 25 year path through recovery, transformation, and choices most agencies will never have to make.5 Fewer than 600 of the 11,500 FDNY firefighters who were at the World Trade Center on September 11 remain on the job. In addition to the 343 members lost on 9/11, more than 400 additional members have since died from World Trade Center related illnesses.

In this episode of Responder Resilience, retired FDNY Captain Paul Brown and executive coach Andre Kotzé join hosts Lt. David Dachinger (Ret.) to discuss their new book, Rising from Ground Zero: 9/11 and the FDNY's Path Through Crisis and Transformation. Built from 90 hours of raw testimony, the book documents the day of the collapse, the recovery, and the institutional transformation that followed, co-authored with Dr. Gregory P. Shea and Lauren Starkey.

Paul, a third-generation FDNY firefighter, and Andre, a former mountain rescue operator and organizational development expert, discuss what it took to rebuild command, culture, and mental health support inside the busiest fire department in the world, and why they believe institutions can experience their own version of post-traumatic growth.

The authors have committed 51% of the book's net profits to charities supporting FDNY members and their families.

**Resources for Responder Wellness:**

• Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q

• Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com

• Fitness: FightCamp (code RESILIENCE for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr

Learn more about the book: https://www.risingfromgroundzero.org/
André Kotzé:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-kotze-b38a3617b/
Paul Brown:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-brown-54079b124/

Contact Responder Resilience:
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: [email protected]
Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/

Terry Hastings didn't set out to become New York State's first Chief Wellness Officer. He built the case for the role one needs assessment, one training module, one hard conversation at a time.

He partnered with the Institute for Disaster Mental Health and the Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz to survey over 6,000 first responders statewide, the first assessment of its kind in New York. What they found: 16% reported suicidal ideation, four times the general population. Among dispatchers, it was 21%.

Now Terry's leveraging that data to lead the largest state-level wellness effort in the country.

In this episode, Terry breaks down:

• Why dispatchers reported the highest rates of suicidal ideation at 21%
• The gap in culturally competent mental health care and what New York is doing to close it
• Why Brazilian jiu-jitsu became central to his own wellness practice, and the new course he's launching for public safety professionals
• What a Wellness Officer Roundtable actually accomplishes

Guest: Terry Hastings, Chief Wellness Officer, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

Hosted by Lt. David Dachinger (Ret.), Dr. Stacy Raymond, and Bonnie Rumilly, LCSW/EMT

**Resources for Responder Wellness:**

• Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q

• Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com

• Fitness: FightCamp (code RESILIENCE for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr

Contact Terry Hastings:
Website: https://www.dhses.ny.gov/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terry.hastings.12
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terry-hastings-8686b215/

Contact Responder Resilience:
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: [email protected]
Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/

The injury gets treated. The claim gets filed. The responder gets lost in between.

Retired Battalion Chief David Picone spent years inside a system that's supposed to cover everything: prevention, behavioral health, cancer, rehab, the claim itself,  and watched it fail at the seams. So he rebuilt it. Thirty-four integrated policies. Injury rates down. A wellness center built like a Division I athletic program. Now, as CEO of the Health & Safety Leadership Alliance, he's taking that blueprint national.

Dr. Ramsey Ali sees what happens when the system fails. As Director of the First Responder Institute and PTSD IOP at Institutes of Health, he treats the complex cases: PTSD tangled with chronic pain and substance use, that siloed care left behind.

One built the system. One treats its casualties. In this episode, they expose where first responder wellness actually breaks down and what it takes to fix it at the system level, not just at the individual level.

In this episode:

• Where individual resilience ends, and organizational failure begins
• What workers' comp gets wrong about mental health claims
• What a department doing this right actually looks like
• The one thing Picone and Ali would change about how employers approach responder health

**Resources for Responder Wellness:**

• Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q

• Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com

• Fitness: FightCamp (code RESILIENCE for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr

Contact David Picone and Ramsey Ali:

 Learn more about HSLA: http://hslalliance.org
First Responder Institute at Institutes of Health: https://institutesofhealth.org

Contact Responder Resilience:
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: [email protected]
Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/

Twenty-five years later, 343 still means something. It's the number of FDNY members lost on 9/11. Now it's also the number of miles a five-day ride will cover, from Boston to the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.

Suzanne Stone, President and CEO of Livestrong, joins Responder Resilience to talk about the First Responder Ride for Resilience: why it exists, who's riding, and what it means for a first responder community still absorbing the cost of that day, and every day since.

Livestrong has spent almost 30 years working the "soft side" of survivorship, the part that isn't clinical. For first responders, that means occupational cancer risk baked into the job itself, families left without a playbook, and a culture that doesn't always know how to ask for help. Suzanne breaks down what Livestrong is building specifically for fire, police, and EMS. That includes a culturally competent survivor's guide, Ellis (their AI-powered survivorship companion), and a fertility preservation discount network covering 150+ clinics nationwide.

The ride itself runs September 6 to 10, 2026, gathering in Boston and finishing at the 9/11 Memorial and Battery Park in New York. It arrives September 10 so active-duty riders can be back at their firehouses on the anniversary itself.

**Resources for Responder Wellness:**

• Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q

• Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com

• Fitness: FightCamp (code RESILIENCE for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr

Contact Responder Resilience:
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: [email protected]
Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/

LIVESTRONG:
🔗 Ride details & registration: https://911ride.org
🔗 Learn more about Livestrong's work: https://livestrong.org
📫 Questions or want to get involved: [email protected]

"Cultural competence" gets thrown around a lot in mental health circles. Dr. Brooke Bartlett has a harder definition: specialized, ongoing training paired with hands-on experience- not a one-hour class, not having an uncle who's a firefighter, not a personality trait you either have or don't. Bartlett, licensed clinical psychologist and founder of the Center for Trauma, Anxiety, and Stress, joins Responder Resilience to unpack what it actually takes for a clinician to earn - not perform - fluency with the first responder population. She breaks down the fastest ways clinicians lose trust in a first session, why overcompensating with jargon backfires faster than admitting what you don't know, and why leading with curiosity beats leading with credentials every time.

To ground the conversation, she uses moral injury as the case study - walking through its three pathways (acts of commission, omission, and institutional betrayal), the neuroscience that separates it from PTSD, and why "should have, could have" is the phrase she hears most from first responders. It's a clear example of why cultural fluency isn't optional: you can't treat what you don't understand.

Dr. Bartlett offers live and on-demand continuing education courses for clinicians on cultural competency for first responders and on assessing and treating moral injury - details at centertas.com/events.

Subscribe for more conversations with the people building a stronger, more resilient first responder culture.

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Connect with us:
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★ Resources for Responder Wellness ★
• Fitness: FightCamp (code RESILIENCE for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr
• Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com
• Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q

CONNECT WITH RESPONDER RESILIENCE
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: [email protected]

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DR. BROOKE BARTLETT
🔹 Website: centertas.com
🔹 Instagram: @doctorbrookephd

What happens when every traditional treatment fails — and a first responder is still drowning?

Retired FDNY-EMS paramedic and Army combat medic Carmine Fiore survived 30 treatment centers and 15 heroin overdoses before trying something the first responder world rarely talks about: Ibogaine-assisted treatment at Ambio Life Sciences in Tijuana, Mexico.

In this episode, Carmine joins host David Dachinger and psychedelic-assisted therapy provider Candace Maisel, LCSW, for a candid, deeply personal conversation about what it took to finally heal — and what that healing actually looks like.

In this episode:

• What cumulative trauma looks like when it's been suppressed for years — and why it doesn't just disappear
• Carmine's Ibogaine journey: the childhood memories, the generational trauma, and the moment Ibogaine delivered a message about his late father
• The neuroscience behind psychedelic healing — BDNF, GDNF, neuroplasticity, and why the brain's post-treatment window matters
• Why psilocybin's 6-8 hour duration gives it an edge over ketamine for deep trauma work
• What integration really looks like — and why the medicine is only the beginning
• What Carmine would say to the first responder white-knuckling it right now, afraid to ask for help
• The Casey Skudin 343 Fund — and how it's helping first responders access treatment they couldn't otherwise afford

Responder Resilience is an informational podcast. The experiences and perspectives shared in this episode are not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Psychedelic-assisted therapies carry real risks and are not appropriate for everyone. Please consult your physician or a licensed mental health professional before pursuing any treatment options discussed here.

Subscribe to Responder Resilience:
🎧 Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

Connect with us:
 🌐 ResponderTV.com
 📘 Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

★ Resources for Responder Wellness ★
• Fitness: FightCamp (code RESILIENCE for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr
• Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com
• Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q

Contact Candace Maisel, LCSW
https://ct-psych.com/candace-maisel-lcsw
https://www.linkedin.com/in/candacemaisellcsw

Contact Carmine Fiore
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmine-fiore-241a701a8/
https://www.instagram.com/carmine12285
https://www.thetravelagency.co/

Contact Responder Resilience:
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: [email protected]
Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/

She lost him. Then she found a way through.

Lt. James Crawford (Ret.) of the Chicago Police Department was a pastor, a mentor, and the man everyone leaned on. Months after retiring, he died by suicide. His wife, Erie S. Crawford, LSW, PhD — a licensed social worker who saw the signs — made a decision in her darkest hour: this loss would not take her too.

She buried him on a Saturday. By Monday, she was in therapy, fighting for her own healing. What she built from that fight is now helping suicide-loss families across the country find their way back to life.

In this episode, Dr. Crawford joins hosts Lt. David Dachinger (ret.) and guest co-host Lynette Shaw-Butler for a conversation about loss, love, and the long road back.

In this episode:

 ▪ Why the "strong ones" carry pain silently — and how families can gently open that door
 ▪ The warning signs she saw, and what she wants other spouses to know
 ▪ The retirement transition: why a plan for what's next matters as much as the pension
 ▪ What suicide-loss families need after the funeral, when the initial support fades
 ▪ The S.U.N.R.I.S.E. Healing Journey: Surrender, Understand, Nurture, Reconcile, Integrate, Strengthen, Engage
 ▪ Her guiding truth: when night ends, the sun rises

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). Healing is possible — and you don't have to walk it alone.

Watch on YouTube | LinkedIn | Facebook | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Full archive: ResponderTV.com

🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week. https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience

★ Resources for Responder Wellness ★

• Fitness: FightCamp (code RESILIENCE for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr
• Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com
• Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q