2nd Alarm Project Conference - Orlando, Florida

Last week, a few of members of our Elbow Tree Cooperative counseling team traveled to Orlando for three days to attend the 2nd Alarm Project Summit hosted by UCF Restores. The theme of the summit was "Redefining Operational Readiness - Resilience, Adaptability, Proactive Strategies." Attendees were from every corner of the first responder community embedded in departments throughout the state of Florida. 

There were two conference presenters who gripped my full attention. The first was Eric Tung, founder of Blue Grit Radio, and even more substantially, "a police officer with 17 years of experience, currently serving as a patrol operations commander in Washington State. Eric started Blue Grit Wellness to share his journey through law enforcement and the lessons he's learned about true health—mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, social, and career." Eric spoke of a tough call that really shaped his perspective on trauma and recovery in his role as a first responder. He spoke as an insider trauma survivor while also inviting "outsiders" like me to get a fuller understanding of the obstacles and opportunities trauma recovery presents. He shared his vulnerable story and the conference fall were glued to his story.  

​The second presenter, FF Brenden Cawley,  closed out the conference by Remembering Black Sunday. FF Cawley recounted his experience of the day on his second fire as a probie, "FDNY suffered line of duty deaths at two separate fire operations on January 23, 2005, “Black Sunday.”  Firefighter Richard Scalfani of Ladder Co. 103 was killed in the performance of his duties while operating a private dwelling fire on Jerome St in the East New York section of Brooklyn.  Just hours prior, six members of Ladder Co. 27 and Rescue Co. 3 jumped from the top floor of a 4-story apartment building on E. 178th St in the Bronx.  Lieutenant Curt Meyran, FF John Bellew, and Lieutenant Joseph DiBernardo succumbed to their injuries." (Content credit) 

Photo by Caige McAuliffe, LMHC

2025 Conference Flyer

Aloft Hotel & Conference Center