The Fireground Fitness Podcast, Rayne Gray · Rayne Gray

Ep.90 Broken Crayons w/ Carlos Aviles

·1 hr 33 min·5 clips

His wife told him, “a broken crayon can still color,” and he went to the VA the next week.

The conversation opens with a plainspoken welcome and a promise to talk about life on and off the fireground. The host quickly brings Chief Carlos into the chair and asks where the beginning of his story really is. The answer starts with his Army time and the way it shaped him. He then talks about PTSD and the other problems he had to move through. That part of the conversation stays direct and personal. From there, he explains how he is finding himself as a fire chief. The show keeps returning to leadership because that is where his story lands. He talks about taking care of the men and women in his organization and the state of Florida. The host also wants to know what he is doing to reach younger firefighters. That thread gives the conversation a practical edge. Later, the conversation shifts into a city emergency that hit while he was still new in the job. He says he was a month into an emergency-management role when it happened. In that structure, the city manager sits at the top and he moves into the number-two operations position. He ends up coordinating public works and other departments while the response is unfolding. There is no real internal history to fall back on. He reaches for earlier experience and treats the event like a mission. Troop-leading procedures give him a way to set objectives and turn the response into a plan. That approach lets him stand in front of everyone when it matters most. He makes it clear the outcome depended on the organization pulling together, not just on one person. The first year in the chief chair sounds like a blur. The conversation stays grounded in service, recovery, and practical leadership from there. It closes on the idea that trust is built by showing up when the work gets heavy.

As heard by us

A soldier-to-chief story about PTSD, crisis leadership, and looking after people under pressure.

This episode follows Chief Carlos Avila from Army service into fire leadership, and the best parts are the least polished. He speaks plainly about PTSD, the rough stretch that came with it, and how those experiences shaped the way he leads in Florida.

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Why you'd press play

If you want an Army-to-fire-chief story with leadership under pressure, start here.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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