Beneath The Helmet Show - Firefighter Wellness & Mental Health (mind-body-spirit) · Arjuna George

From the Ashes: Justin Champion on Trauma, Recovery, and Mental Health in the Fire Service

·47 min·3 clips

Justin says he was 'ashes' on the inside while looking fine at the fire station.

1. Beneath The Helmet Show - Firefighter Wellness & Mental Health centers on Justin Champion’s trauma, recovery, and mental health in the fire service. 2. Arjuna George hosts as a retired fire chief, and Justin Champion appears as a firefighter, training captain, State Fire Academy staff member, and mental health advocate. 3. The episode asks what happens when a firefighter who looks strong at work is falling apart at home and decides to speak openly. 4. Justin says he has been in the fire service since 2006 after military service, and he now works at the State Fire Academy in New Mexico and for Santa Fe County Fire. 5. He describes a big family with five children of his own and two more through his wife, which he uses to explain how much his home life changed. 6. Justin says his trauma started with a rough childhood, a military father who served in Vietnam, and his own decision to join the Army. 7. He says he completed two tours in Iraq and one tour in Bosnia, and that what affected him most was seeing the destruction of people’s lives. 8. Justin ties the name 'From the Ashes' to the period when he felt 'destroyed' inside while still appearing fine to the firefighters around him. 9. He says the weight of firefighting and military trauma built until it affected his marriage and kept him from seeing his kids for a couple of years. 10. Justin says the turning point came when he was alone in a one-bedroom apartment and finally admitted, 'I need help.' 11. He says his first response was EAP, then the VA, then his church and pastor, which gave him counseling and spiritual guidance. 12. Justin says he told work he needed help, but the stigma that followed helped push him out of that organization. 13. He says sharing his story at fire departments, coffee shops, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook has become the best therapy he has had. 14. Justin says that same openness led to better relationships at home, including being closer to his kids and having a strong remarriage. 15. He argues that the fire service overuses slogans about 'brotherhood' but fails at 3 a.m. when someone actually needs a call answered. 16. Justin calls a suicidal or overwhelmed firefighter a 'mental mayday' and says leaders should respond with the same urgency as a fireground rescue. 17. He rates North American fire service psychological safety at 'a 4 or a 5' and says older firefighters often still equate help-seeking with weakness. 18. Justin says the style of the conversation is direct, personal, and instructional, with examples from his own calls, family life, and leadership experience. 19. Listeners who work in fire service, EMS, or peer support will get the most from this conversation. 20. Listeners seeking a light, non-personal wellness discussion may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Beneath The Helmet Show - Firefighter Wellness & Mental Health (mind-body-spirit)