Meet Jeremy Fuller | EMS and Training Captain at Little Elm Fire Department

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeremy Fuller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeremy, what do you attribute your success to?

Building good relationships based on trust then investing in those relationships by serving members and supporting them the best I can so they can be set up for success themselves. If I can help lead others to success, I as well will also experience success. And to add, Success to me has very little to do with money.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

After a lot of unfortunate events kept happening to me through my career in the fire service, I began to recognize the extreme need for some kind of mental health program for my peers. It’s such a great career that I wanted my peers to be able to enjoy it and be able to retire healthy and happy for their families as well. I failed for years trying to come up with something that would work for our Public Safety servants. My step mother had endured a long fire service career with her father and my dad as well so she knew the need as well. She created an equine therapy non-profit for first responders called OurWatch. We were out at the ranch taking care of the horses one day when a forensic psychologist from California showed up with some interest in the OurWatch program. I recognized that she was talking different than any doc I’d ever talk to. We started working together to create a comprehensive health and wellness program for Little Elm and with its success, many agencies in the area started reaching out and wanted the same thing. So we regularly met with and helped these agencies establish their own programs. It spread like wildfire and she soon had to create a business called F1RST (First Responder Stress and Trauma) that now has over 20 culturally competent therapist. With the comprehensive approach (mental and physical health) along with having culturally competent therapist that everyone in the program comes from some sort of first responder background, F1RST has become the ultimate provider for first responder wellness in the Texas/Oklahoma area. My people now have an outlet to invest in their own wellness for a happy life during and after the career. I’m very proud to have helped bring this to the people that deserve it. I look forward to being a part of first responder mental health after retirement and doing anything I can to help.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I’m from the Lewisville Lake area here in Little Elm. I’ve been a lakerat my whole life I suppose as I’ve lived on the lake most my life. To me, there’s nothing better than boating and hanging out on the lake with great friends and family. I have some friends from firefighter friends from out of state that come down occasionally for a stay on the lake. When they first started coming down, I told them, “y’all wanna have some real fun, come here on Fourth of July.” So they did. Now they wanna come stay every summer. Lol. There’s nothing like the Lake Life.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
All of my parents (4) have been supportive of me through my whole journey as a baseball player and in the fire service. They always pushed me to be strategic in my will to WIN as well to always treat people with respect. I’ve also had several great mentors and friends through my fire service career that I couldn’t have done it without. They are all humble and know who they are to me. No need to mention names there as I’m sure they prefer to have it that way. As well, My wife and two kids have been my rock through a black cloud 20 plus year career in the fire service. They definitely deserve some praise for who I am and where I’m at today.

Website: https://f1rst.org/

Other: https://www.ourwatchusa.org/