“We’re all the same at the end of the day. Like we all have hearts to serve, and we all have the mindset to be the best that we can and to give our best efforts. And we got to be there for each other, because no one else understands these things the way that we understand them.” – Firefighter Blake
When he answered the call to join the fire service in 2015, Blake wasn’t sure what his journey would look like. The only thing he knew with certainty was that he wanted to impact the people he worked beside and, with a background in theology and psychology, he was poised to do just that. He couldn't have foreseen, however, that his impact would extend well beyond those in his immediate professional circle, and what would start as an apparel company would become Next Rung, a non-profit that has provided peer support and resources for counseling and treatment centers to more than a thousand first responders across the country since 2017.
Join former firefighter/paramedic and host Phil Klein as he sits down with Blake, a firefighter/paramedic and founder of Next Rung, as he discusses his professional transition from minister to firefighter and his goal to make a difference in the lives of first responders. Blake also shares how an initial report of an overturned vehicle with two children trapped underneath became the call that will stick with him forever – but not for the reasons he necessarily anticipated.
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For more information about Next Rung, please visit their website: https://www.nextrung.org/
