Mission Fields To Fireground: The Life Of Trevor Williams

Trevor Williams takes us inside the moments that reshaped his life and explains how surviving Haiti’s 2010 earthquake set the course for his career as a Los Angeles County firefighter and entrepreneur. 

We walk through the quake in vivid detail: blocked roads, aftershocks, food distribution that turned dangerous, helicopter drops, and the raw urgency of a field hospital where he learned procedures on the fly under the watch of exhausted doctors. Trevor talks about PTSD, why sharing his story became therapy, and how closure helped him heal in ways his evacuated family had to find later.

Trevor is the creator of the Williams Key—an L-shaped forcible-entry tool that opens gates and outward-swinging doors without damage, getting firefighters to patients faster. What started as a personal solution now rides on engines across every state and in departments around the world, with countless saves tied to faster access. He’s since expanded into a full line of entry tools and training insights that help crews choose precision over destruction when seconds matter.

Tune in to hear Trevor's captivating story and how he turned his experiences into purpose. Subscribe, share this story with a friend in public safety, and leave a review to help more listeners find conversations they can relate to. 

IG: @thewilliamskey

Website: www.williamskey.com    www.estatefiredefense.com

Email: trevor@williamskey.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:03

Welcome back to another episode of Chapter Blue. I'd like to welcome my guest Trevor Williams to the show today. Trevor is a firefighter in West Hollywood and is an entrepreneur of three first responder businesses. He grew up as a missionary in Africa and Haiti, and he now serves as a firefighter in Los Angeles for the past 15 years. Thank you for coming on today, Trevor. Tell us a little more about your background and what made you decide to be a firefighter.

Choosing The Fire Service

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Sure. Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm glad we're able to get this worked out. Um, so Trevor Williams, I'm 36 years old. I'm a firefighter in Los Angeles County for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Um been with County for about 10 years. I'll hit 10 years in February. Um, so in like three months from now. And before that, I was a volunteer firefighter for about five years with the city of Sierra Madre. Um what brought me to firefighting? Probably my upbringing. I I grew up in a missionary family. Um, we lived in Africa for nearly four years uh when I was younger. Um at the time it was called Zaire. It's called the Democratic Republic of Congo now. And we lived there during the Rwanda genocides. If you've seen Hotel Rwanda, um, we've we were experiencing that during that time frame. And Rwanda bordered Zaire, so uh that impacted us. Um at one point it got too dangerous for us to continue living in Zaire, and we moved to South Africa to get a little break. However, South Africa was also dangerous for its own reasons, a lot of gang violence down there. Um and eventually we moved out of Africa altogether. I lived in Virginia, lived in Connecticut, um, California right now. Most of my life has now been in California. Um, but when I was a teenager, when I was 12, my family moved to Haiti. Haiti is an island in uh the Caribbean, and if a lot of people now they've heard of Haiti, um, but before it was only Dominican Republic, like people had heard of, they like to vacation there, but not really to Haiti. And uh Haiti and the Dominican Republic together make up the island of Hispaniola. Hispaniola is about 565 miles south of Florida, to give some reference. But I lived there for three years during uh my high school and middle school age, and Haiti was also a little it was dangerous at the time there as well. Um it was kind of a like a condensed Africa, they had their own issues going on, a lot of civil unrest. President was being overthrown at the time, lots of roadblocks and violence. So after three years, it became too unsafe for us to stay there as well. Um, and I ended up in California. So we moved to California, and I was 15, 15 and a half at the time. And that's right around the time people were asking you, what do you want to do with your life? What do you want to be? And uh firefighting sounded kind of along the lines of the missionary work. It was exciting, it was active, I was able to help people, and I couldn't see myself sitting behind a desk. So I started to pursue that. Um, out here in Los Angeles, they have really good programs for kids that are interested in being firefighters. So I joined an explorer program, and with the explorers, they take teenagers in and they teach you all the fundamentals of like basic firefighting. So you're learning about pulling the hose and your ropes and knots and putting on the breathers and throwing ladders, along with etiquette. So station etiquette is huge. Um being on time, being clean cut, washing the rigs, sir, yes, sir, yes, ma'am, just being um it's a paramilitary organization. So just learning all that, and it's great for any kid to learn, you know, a little discipline goes a long way. And I loved all of it. Um, so I started to buy into it, and before long, they uh they sent me to to an explorer academy. And the explorer academy allows you to start doing your ride-alongs. And the ride-alongs are really where you find out if this is for you or not, because that's that's where you see the blood and guts and and the violence and the fire and everything that comes along with the emergency service and 911 911 responses. So I did that. Um, I finished the Explorer Academy in 2008, and I started my ride-alongs, and they were 24-hour shifts um when possible. Sometimes they'd only let you do 12 hours, but um, being able to wake up and go on a call um is a big part of it too, because it's that's the lifestyle and getting getting up and responding get get your heart rate going, and you gotta wake up really quick and be able to perform. Um, so I did I did that for a couple years, and uh as soon as I turned 18, started applying. I applied to 60 different fire departments. I traveled, I went to all the big cities, Vegas and Texas and Washington, FDNY and New York. Um, but ultimately I wanted to work for LA County because that's what I knew, that's where I'd been trained. And I I knew that that department specifically I I loved. And um, so uh, but I I said I I'll work whoever hires me first, you know, that's where I'll commit to. And um fortunately, LA County hired me first. So uh I was yeah, so I was about 26 years old, 25, um, when I got picked up with LA County, and I had done my EMT because they want you to have your EMT, and I'd worked as an EMT for a little bit. Um, I did some construction, I was a carpenter, that's how I paid the bills for the eight years I was trying to get hired. Um, but those those skills and being able to use your hands and everything that that comes in really handy on the job because they like tradesmen and uh being able to troubleshoot, problem solve, um, that's kind of a big part of the job. Um, so yeah, I can I can catch my breath there, take a break if you want to.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Wow, that's a lot. I actually have a lot of questions. So um you you said your family did a lot of missionary work. How did they get into that? What what got them involved in that?

SPEAKER_00 7:10

Um, I'd say God. My dad was uh my dad was a lawyer, actually, and he he left, I think it's called a practice. He left the practice to become a missionary out of the out of the blue. And um, he said he, you know, he felt called by God to do it. And we we weren't sent by the church or anything like that. He he got involved with a company called World Vision, which is one of the largest Christian nonprofit organizations, and they're still one of the biggest ones out there um in almost every country. Um, so he got involved with World Vision, and they had a spot in Zaire. And um, World Vision does a lot of stuff, so that they do education, they build houses, they dig wells. Um, a lot of people know about worldvision from sponsoring a child. You can sponsor a child with food and an education for like a dollar a day or something like that. It's probably gone up by now, but um yeah, so got involved with world vision and um for both Africa and Haiti, those are both world vision jobs, and he ended up being the national director of world vision uh in Haiti, and then there was an earthquake that we should probably talk about here soon. But there's a big earthquake in Haiti in 2010. Um, and after that, he relocated to New New York City and he was the the national director there for the New York City office.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Well, I can definitely see how that kind of opened your eyes to wanting to serve um and taking on your role as a firefighter. Um for as a kid and experiencing living in Africa and the dangers and Haiti and all of that. I mean, how did how did you perceive the world at that time? I mean, because you were young, I'm sure. And then having to be exposed to that, how did that affect you? And I guess maybe go into the Haiti uh earthquake that you experienced.

Haiti Before The Quake

The Earthquake Strikes

Searching For Family

SPEAKER_00 9:09

Yeah, so Africa, I was four when we moved there, but I I still remember um good good amount of it. Um, there was some there's some trauma there that like I I don't think really like messed me up or anything, but I definitely remember it. Um and I think that it I knew like my situation was different as a missionary there because there weren't a lot of kids that looked like me or that spoke English. Um, so I was different and didn't have a lot of people to to play with or interact with. So um luckily there was an international school um that I got to go to, and my mom was a teacher there. Um, so that's where I got to uh have friends and and interact with um the local Africans as well, the ones that were going to that school. Um but yeah, you you definitely kind of grow up a little faster. Um you're seeing like military guys with guns running around the streets and you hear gunfire at night. Our gunfire would hit our house at night. Um, so that was scary. I guess I knew what it was, and um it uh it I don't know, it's kind of uh I think I think as Americans we are in like a little bubble, right? And a lot of kids don't get to experience the rest of the world. You're in Thailand, which is really cool. That so you're getting to experience um a different country. And um when when you you don't travel and when you don't get to see that, especially poorer countries, um life is just normal and you think that that's how it is. And really, we're very blessed in in the United States and very privileged, and we take a lot of stuff for granted. So I recommend everybody travel at least, you know, and not just the nice places. Um, but if you can serve somewhere or go on a little trip to help out, um it'll kind of reset you a little bit and and and balance you out. Um Haiti was the same way. I was older, so I was able to get into more trouble, uh, more more independent, out on the streets running around with my friends. And um same thing. Lots of I you know, I saw my first murder in Haiti and um just it it seemed like the the violence was more um uh in one place, like like uh congested, I guess you could say. Um so I my mindset was probably like nobody else, like nobody else my age normally, um, where I I came to terms with death like at as a teenager where like every day I was like, today might be the day. I might not I might not make it through today. I might catch a bullet today, because that was normal. Like people were dying around me. Um, friends were getting kidnapped, like schoolmates were getting kidnapped. Um, we we had guards, we lived behind uh gates and barbed wire fences, and our car was bulletproof. Like we we had to be really careful. Wow. Um But I I wasn't, I was a teenager running around. So um, but yeah, I came to terms with that. And once once you can kind of like let go of of death and being afraid of it, you can start to live. Um, so my first year there was like I was terrified. I I I didn't it was like almost crippling, right? Like I'm like, I'm gonna die here. And then once I kind of let that go, I started to have fun and I started to be able to be a teenager and live my life. And um it uh it was it doesn't sound healthy, but it was healthy, it was like a healthy mindset to have. Um so luckily I made it out of there um to California, but in 2010, I hadn't been back to Haiti in five years, and um my family had moved back, so they actually left me in California once I turned 18. They're like, we're gonna go back to Haiti. And I was like, Cool, I'm gonna keep pursuing firefighting and I'll be okay at work in construction. I I can pay the bills and stuff. Um, and I I've always been kind of independent, so um it worked out, but I went to visit them in 2010. Um, and that was when Haiti had its biggest earthquake ever. They'd never had an earthquake before. And um, it was a 7.0 earthquake, it lasted 39 seconds long, and it killed 300,000 people, which is one of the most devastating natural disasters in modern history. Um, so it there's only 7 million people in the country, so it took out a big percentage of everybody that lived there. The infrastructure is very poor, unreinforced concrete buildings just stacked on top of each other, and it's a mountainous uh island. So there's mountains going all the way down to the ocean. And uh it just there was like a domino effect, and it just wiped out um thousands and thousands of houses, including the house that my family was living in. Um, and so I I've got a mama dad and two little sisters. And my two little sisters and my mom were it was a it was an apartment complex where they're living and five stories tall on the edge of a mountain, they're on the bottom floor, and uh that apartment complex completely pancaked down, all five stories with them inside. Um, so there's about a 24-hour period where we had no contact, all the cell phone towers went down, 7 million people were trying to make phone calls and texts, and the United States and other countries were trying to call in and contact, and it was just chaos and no no communication. Um, so I was at an orphanage on the second floor of an orphanage helping out there when the earthquake happened. I was okay. Buildings around my building collapsed, there's dust everywhere, people crying. Um but our that orphanage stood, and there were 110 orphans in that orphanage, and they were all okay. Um, cracks in the building, everything, like all the furniture tipped over and the paintings came off the wall, but the building stood. So that was good. We were able to get the kids out. Um, but I didn't know where my mom and my sisters were, I didn't know where my dad was. I didn't know the extent of the devastation because I was like down in the city. I couldn't see what was going on around me. Initially, I thought like a big truck was crashing into our building. That's kind of what it sounded like and felt like a rumble that just intensified. Um, but after five seconds, it wasn't fun anymore. It was 39 seconds seemed like an eternity. Um, but my dad eventually found me. He had been at the World Vision office, and now it's nighttime, so it's dark out. And uh he told me he had this like look I'd never seen uh from him before. And he pulled me aside. He's like, Hey Trevor, I went back to the apartment where your mom and your your sisters were. There's nobody alive in the apartments, and um, but he couldn't find them. Um, and so I was like, uh I was confused, right? I was like, I didn't want to believe anything bad had happened to them. Um, and he didn't have confirmation, but it didn't sound good, it didn't look good. And we also, yeah, again, didn't know like how many people were affected. Was it the whole world? Was it just Haiti? Was it the city we lived in? There was no communication, we were just like in the dark. Um so he had a vehicle, he took me, and he said, let's go to the pastor's house. He lives up the mountain, he has a satellite phone, we can call the the states and kind of make our game plan. So he took me, took forever. Um, all the there was rubble in all the roads. Uh most places have walls, so all those walls had fallen into the roads. And that's when I started seeing like the bad stuff, right? There's like parents with candles like trying to dig through rubble, kids with candles trying to dig their parents out, and um, there's a lot of blood in the streets because the the Haitian culture is very outdoor culture, so people were always walking, so they were getting hit by collapsed stuff. A lot of people were buried. Um, and we just like slowly made our way through this rubble um up the mountain. Meanwhile, um there's hundreds of aftershocks too, and each aftershock were they were big, so they're like 5.0 aftershocks, which brought down more buildings, and we didn't know if something bigger was coming or or what, but it wasn't safe to be inside or near any building, and they just kept hitting again and again. Um, nothing as big as the initial one, but they were still doing damage. So uh we made our way up the mountain, it took probably like two hours, and we got the satellite phone, the pastor gave us a satellite phone. We called my mama's parents, so my grandparents, and we just gave them a we didn't know much, so we're like, hey, me, me and my dad were alive, we haven't found any anybody else. You know, there is a lot of confusion right now, and um, we're gonna find them as soon as we can, but none of the phones work, we don't know where anybody is, and that's all we could do, and they didn't know what to do, and we just told them, pray, you know, that's the only thing you can do at this at this moment. Um, so we uh we tried to go to bed. I I couldn't sleep. Um again, the aftershocks kept hitting and hitting, and I didn't know if that's scary too, you know. I didn't know if the next one was gonna bring down the building I was in, uh, on top of thinking about my mom and my sisters and thinking that they might not be alive anymore. Um, so I started to like just plan for the next day and I made a list of everything we would need shovels and water and um yeah, I was just I didn't know what else to do.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

Um how old were you when this happened?

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Nine nineteen.

SPEAKER_01 19:57

You were nineteen, okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:59

And you just You were visiting at this time. So how long had you had when did you arrive there before this all happened?

Reunion And Aftermath

Staying To Help And Lead

Hospital Triage And Field Work

Exhaustion, Exit, And Return Home

SPEAKER_00 20:05

I'd only been there a few days. Um so I knew it was like not a coincidence. It's like I haven't been back in the country in five years. Um, just happened to go a few days before um this big thing happened. And um we we can deviate real quick just because there's some cool stuff that happened um like as a side story. Um I went to go teach firefighting, and uh I was gonna have a job, like a little month-long job with the United Nations and help them start up this new fire program and teach the Haitians how to be firemen and stuff. And um I had already been like gotten the blessing like through email and like setting it up, but there's a formality of it where I had to go in and do like a little interview and get my ID and badge and everything. And I was scheduled to do that on the day of the earthquake during the time of the earthquake. And the the few days before I was just kind of like, well, why don't why don't I do it now? Like let me see if I can reschedule and do it earlier. That way I'm not like wasting time. I'm already here. So I rescheduled and got my got the blessing, got the ID. And um, had I had gone during the time of the earthquake, that entire building collapsed. 300 people died in there, like I would have been in there. Um, so just like rescheduling that saved my life, you know. And again, I don't think any of this is coincidence. I think you know, I was there for a reason. Um, so yeah, I already and I didn't think about this until like months later where I was like, oh my gosh, like I found out that building collapsed. Um, but in the moment I I didn't know, and I didn't know for a while. Um, but back to my family. Um couldn't sleep that night the next morning, as soon as the sun's starting to come up. Um I was like, all right, dad, let's go. We gotta go find them. Let's let's go dig him out or whatever. You know, maybe they're all alive and they're just trapped or something. And I was trying to be optimistic. And um it was my first time seeing Haiti in the daylight because I was I was down in the city when it happened, and then it got dark, and then we went up the mountain and and and stayed there for the night. So I'm up the mountain looking down down Haiti, like down the mountains of Haiti all the way to the ocean, and it just looked like a war zone. There's fires everywhere, like the the sky was orange, smoke, you could hear people just wailing. Um and it was so it was like the most vivid thing ever. Like it's still stuck in my brain uh to this day, and this was like 15 years ago. Um and uh and my dad started talking about funeral plans, and that's when I like I lost it. I was like, oh man, he really doesn't believe they're alive. And this is now more real to me because I can see it in the daylight and see like, dude, the whole country is just leveled. This is really bad. And so that kind of all hit me all at once, and uh yeah, I just I lost it, and um so I was like, no, but I gotta be strong for my family, let's just go. And my dad's like, nope, we gotta eat, you're gonna need your strength. So it's like I wanted to go so bad, but my dad's a very calculated, wise guy, and uh he was saying all the right right things, except for the funeral part, but he he was being smart, he was being smart about everything, and um so we ate a little bit, started heading heading down the mountain, and there's people walking up the mountain with like all their belongings, just beat up like some people were bleeding, and then there's people walking down the mountain with all their belongings, and nobody really knew like had any direction or or knew where to go. But um I started making eye contact with with the Haitians there, and I look different, I'm not Haitian. Um, but we all like it was like a brotherhood almost, like we we all went through the same thing, and we had like that connection. So like I felt like my eye contact was saying, like, I'm being I'm being strong for you, and vice versa. Um so uh we got down the mountain and we stopped at my dad's office, the World Vision headquarters there, to just get all the stuff we would need to um dig, I guess we we needed shovels, and um we we got there and we started hearing like a commotion. And they said, Your your family's here. And so I was looking around, I didn't see them. I thought maybe they'd maybe I misheard them or something, but um my mom and one of my sisters came in one of the gates and they were like just covered in rubble and like holding each other and um and dirty and stuff, but alive, and then but I have two sisters, right? So I'm like, oh man, like where's where's the other one? And so I was like, okay, well, at least they made it, you know. And um, but somebody brought in my other sister, and she was like, I think four, like she's pretty young, um, or maybe she was seven, but they carried her in because she had like she couldn't see well, she had like a lot of debris in her eyes and stuff, but she was alive too, so they all made it. Um most beautiful thing. Like we we just held each other and cried, and um everybody, yeah, everybody made it. So um that was very powerful, kind of going from thinking you lost everything that you know, um, to getting your family back. Um, so that that always is uh sat heavy with me, but like I got a second chance, my family got a second chance, and um it's a huge part of who I am today and who my family is today. Um so everybody but me got uh evacuated to the states by the Air Force. Um we made our way to the United Nations uh heck the their headquarters there, or they were like flying out US citizens. And I told my dad, like I need to help. Like I'm an EMT, I'm a first responder, like I've had all this fire training. I wasn't a firefighter yet, but I I'd done a lot and I'd that was the direction I was heading. And um he didn't argue with me at all. He's like, You're right, here's the here's the keys, you know, get a hold of us when you can. And they left. They they got evacuated to the US. Um so the first night I I slept on the ground at at the UN and woke up to somebody stealing my bag, and I had to get up and bring it back. And um next day I found the car and I don't know how to drive in Haiti. Like it's it's very unfamiliar. I know how to drive, but um these are all like diesel stick shift, like off-road, dirt road, like type of scenarios. And um I had to make my way doing that by myself um to the back to the world vision headquarters where I like figured out how I was gonna help, how was how I was gonna be the most effective, and what I was gonna do next. Um, so I went back to the apartment. I hadn't been since since it collapsed, and I didn't have anything. I didn't have my money, my ID, my clothes, I didn't have anything on me. So I went back thinking maybe I could get some of that stuff, and it had already been looted. Like the uh prisons broke open right after the earthquake, like all the bad people were loose. Um, looting happened right away, grocery stores were getting looted, people were getting shot on site, like it just turned to chaos. And then there was a rumor of a tsunami coming, and there was one, but it was like it didn't hurt anybody. Uh it was small. Um, but before my family left, everybody was like, You're American, you have the golden ticket to get out of here. And I was like, No, my golden ticket is to stay because nobody's gonna be able to come in here, like the airport's like not functioning, and all the relief that wants to come and help is gonna have a hard time getting in here. So it was a few days before um like the military showed up and um the USAR teams and stuff. So I got to pull I didn't pull anybody alive out, but I got to pull body parts out and and search. And um I worked with uh what I do first. We did food food distributions. Um, so worldvision had some food and they they put me in charge because my dad was the boss there, and they're like, Oh, you must be just like your dad. And I'm like 19 with no experience. And um, so it went bad. It went really bad. It got out of hand, it got really dangerous. We didn't get to distribute much food. And we yeah, I I feel like we almost died because people just attacked us um as we're trying to like because they're desperate. Like there's there's no the no grocery store, like the grocery stores were gone. It's already the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. People are already starving before the earthquake. Um, so I I had to kind of reevaluate that approach, and we tried one more time with a clear exit uh and a clear entrance and some security and more order, and we got a little bit farther, but it it still got out of hand. So I was like, okay, the stuff on the ground isn't working. Um, I eventually met up with some helicopter pilots at the airport, and they were doing food distribution, and they would hover and they'd throw it out of their helicopters, and I was like, that looks like fun, and I want to help. So I did that for a week. I told them my story. I was able to kind of just talk my way into wherever I wanted to help. Um, because I knew the language enough to get around from living there for three years as a teenager, and I was there when it happened, and everybody else had was just coming in. So I was valuable, I guess, um as far as my experience went. Uh I we what else I do. I worked in a hospital. Um, I ended up getting my EMT card out of the rubble. It was all beat up, and I had my national registry. I'd just taken it. I don't know if you're familiar with that, but it it allows you to work as an EMT in in all 50 states uh at a national level. And I just gotten that and I was proud of it. It was in my wallet. My wallet had been looted, like they found it, took the money out, but left my EMT card. So I took that to this, uh, it was it was like a mash hospital at the airport. It was like a big circus tent. And I was like, I'm an EMT, how can I help? And they looked it up. They actually looked up my national registry, and then they're like, Okay, now just do as much as you can. Like you're you're a doctor now. Like you learn how to start IVs, learn how to push meds, like, and I'm under the the care of you know actual doctors, but I was like holding legs while they were getting amputated. Um, I was helping like they took the kid's eyeball out, just all sorts of crazy stuff you'd never get to be a part of in in the United States, and you just would work until you dropped. Like you could work as long as you want, and they continued to pull bodies out from rubble, and everybody needed help. And then on top of that, there's like the gang violence going on because as I mentioned earlier, the prisons were like broke open. So all the worst people were out on the street trying to rob people and shoot people, and so we were having like gunshot victims coming in and motorcycle accidents on top of everything else. Um, so I did that until I got burnt out. I did that for about a week. Um I helped with like a rubble removal crew. We dug uh we dug like wells out that had been covered with rubble so like these cities could get clean water again. Um, so that felt like productive. Um, I worked with a small search and rescue team. Uh again, nobody alive, but we we tried, you know, just getting body parts out. And that was most of it. Um I I stayed for about a month and eventually I was just tired. And I I felt like I'd done as much as I could do without just getting absorbed into the country and like dying. Um, so I I felt in my heart it was time for me to go home. So I made my way to the airport, which was closed, and everybody's like, you're not gonna be able to leave. You know, that there's been people intense on the tarmac for weeks trying to get out, and there's only like some private charters coming and going, but nothing commercial. Like, on top of that, I don't have any money, I don't have my ID. I have like no way of getting out, but I like I just knew. I just knew in my heart, like, go to the airport, it is time. Um, so I was like, all right, I'm gonna see how far I can get, go to the airport. Um, there's like people there. It they're not doing like flights, but there's still people that are kind of working there and making sure it doesn't get like ransacked. Um, but I I walked in, I walked past security, nobody stopped me, kept walking, kept walking, made my way all the way out to the tarmac where it was true. There's people camped out everywhere trying to leave. And within half an hour, somebody came up to me and they said, Hey, uh, we just had like this opening on this private charter. We felt like we should ask you, um, are you trying to get out of here? Like, do you want to hop on this plane? And I was like, Yeah, I don't have any money, but um where are you going? And they said, uh the Bahamas. Um, like we'll stop in the Bahamas, refuel, and then make our way to Florida. I was like, okay. Um, so yeah, quicker than any US airport, I was on a plane in the air, leaving Haiti, um and just flying by the seat of my pants, like seeing what happens next. No cell phone, like no way to contact anybody that knows me. Um, but yeah, we stopped in Bahamas, landed in Florida. Um, I was worried about customs because again, no ID, like nobody knows who I am. And now I'm in a new country from Haiti, and now I'm in the United States, and nobody stopped me. I just they were checking other people's IDs, they nobody stopped me. So I ended up outside the airport. It was getting dark, it started to rain, no cell phone, no money. And I hopped in this van. And you know, they have like shuttles and stuff. So um I hopped in a van, asked one of the guys if I could borrow his phone, called my dad. Hey, I'm back in the States, I don't know where I am, I'm somewhere in Florida. Um, and he said, try and get to this airport, I'll schedule you a flight, and then you can you can fly home. And so I shared my story, and they the people in the van were like, Yeah, sleep on our hotel floor tonight, you know, and so I did that the next morning, and we drove for like an hour. So luckily it was towards that next airport that I needed to be at. Um, so everything just lined up perfectly, and really, really weird, but I was like in this groove of like, just do it, just trust what's what's happening and it's all gonna work out. Um, so free shuttle to the airport in the morning. Oh no, free continental breakfast first, and then free shuttle to the airport in the morning. Um and then I still didn't have my ID, but I I had to like talk my way into like them letting me on the plane, and they did, and I flew back to California.

Healing, PTSD, And Storytelling

SPEAKER_01 36:23

So wow, wow, I'm I'm completely speechless. It is uh it's a crazy story. Um, but there's so much in there that is, I mean, it gave me the chills. Like some of the things that you're talking about is like you knew you had to be there. There's this, I want to say that this is something I've experienced since I lived in Thailand, breaking off from the first responder world and kind of getting to know who I am. Um, that connection that you have with yourself and trusting what you feel and what you know you're supposed to be doing, um, I feel like I've I now know what you're talking about. And I don't know that everybody knows that feeling, but you listen to it and it it takes you to the right places if you trust it, and it sounds like that's what happened for you. And um wow, just that's an amazing story. So with everything that you experienced there, how did that affect you? Did it affect you?

Resilience On The Fireground

SPEAKER_00 37:20

It definitely affected me. Um yeah, it's been so that was January 12th, 2010. Um it's been 15 years, and almost every day I wake up and I thank God I'm alive. And for a second chance, thank it for my family. Um I when I got back to the States, I wanted to keep helping, but I didn't know how. And I so I started a nonprofit organization building houses for earthquake survivors in Haiti. And as a 19-year-old kid with no prior experience, no guidance, like it's tough. Like you got to figure out like the legality of a 501c3 and like building your team and a board of directors, and then fundraising and um what and this is like two different countries I'm working in, Haiti and the US, and what does that look like, you know? So um I would I've always been kind of like a very motivated go-getter individual. So all day long I was like phone calls and emails, and like just trying to figure out how to do it and talking to other people that had started nonprofits, and it was working, it was working out. Uh firm foundation is what I called it. It's not a foundation um in the like the legal sense, but um firm foundation is like a solid place to build a house. And firm is is the I use the Creole spelling for firm, uh, which means solid or strong. So like strong foundation, and it's f I r m e, which would you might pronounce it firm or something, and and like the at least here in LA, they're like, oh, Fear May, it means something different. But um so firm foundation, and uh I started talking. I started sharing my story at churches and colleges and like whoever would would hear me. Um so I wanted to spread awareness, and I think that's where the the therapy came in for me. It was sharing my story. And um I've I've shared that like I just shared with you. Um I've shared this story hundreds of times. And eventually um I I started to feel better, and I started to feel less like uh affected by PTSD. And for a while I couldn't sleep. I was I was like very twitchy, like loud noises would affect me. Um, like don't sneak up on me, all this stuff. Like I I had all these symptoms of like being traumatized and seeing a lot of stuff. I saw a lot of death there too. Um, they had dump trucks of bodies that they they had to take out and do mass grave burials and stuff. And that was all happening while I was there too. Um, but I got to share my story many, many times. And I think that's where I would like healed, or I started to heal. And um, every once in a while, um I'll get interviewed like like you're doing now, and somebody asked me like a question I'd never thought of before. And I I think that's where like the continued healing comes from because it kind of gets to unlock a new part of my brain where it's good to revisit and um and just work through it. And is is this something that I'm still struggling with or not? You know, and um now I I I feel like I'm I'm pretty good. Um and as a firefighter in a busy city, I see a lot of stuff on the job too. Um, but the worst day I ever had has never been on the job. And I already hopefully I already dealt with that, and I'm not gonna have a day worse than that. I hope not. Um, but that's my threshold, right? So my threshold is like way up here, and most of the like emergency calls are like down here in this level. So I can go home and be fine, and I I can see this stuff and be fine. Um, where a lot of other people's worst day is like some, you know, they they got their coffee, their Starbucks wrong and they got in a car accident, you know, and like they've never had a day worse than that, and the world is ending for them. Um, but for me, I'm very chill and and collected in these violent and bad scenarios now with my job because I just I've seen worse and and I know how I handle all this stuff, and that's not gonna that stuff's not gonna keep me up at night, where maybe it would have if I that was the worst thing I'd ever seen or experienced.

SPEAKER_01 41:47

Yeah. So I have a couple questions from you being exposed to this as a kid. Um, you know, you were already placed in a a dangerous environment, and you kind of already had the idea of what an ugly world was like. So you prepared yourself with death. You mentioned that you kind of accepted that you can die at any time. Um, and then you experienced the earthquake, and that just kind of opened up a whole different part of your brain and and how you viewed the world. So, do you feel that all of that preparation from being young and being exposed in an early time in your life until the earthquake um helped you be able to compartmentalize? Yes, I I struggle with that word. Um, but yes, do you think that it helped you do that? Uh, you know, you were only 19 years old, and uh talking to you now, just how you describe your story, your experience, and everything that you went through, you're very detailed, but you also have a lot of composure, and the way you um hold yourself together, telling these details is is actually very impressive. I mean, a lot of people don't know how to release those emotions or talk about their story in a way where it's very clear. And we, I mean, I can imagine everything that you're saying in my head, and I can vividly see these pictures that you're describing to me. And this is something you went through and you saw. So, do you feel that having this exposure at a young age helped you do that?

Why Talking Helps Trauma

SPEAKER_00 43:25

Yeah, absolutely. Um, I don't think I would have stayed in the country if I wasn't comfortable with like death and and uh the country already. Like I'd already like been through all these bad scenarios even before the earthquake that we haven't talked about, but like I went through a lot a lot of other bad scenarios too. Um where I was I was comfortable staying in Haiti on my own. Um in like Haiti is a yeah, Haiti has been a hard country for years and years and years, and the most kidnappings per capita, and just like yeah, just ton like they kill people in ri really bad ways for no reason. And I knew all this and I'd seen all this, and um I just knew that I was supposed to be there, and I didn't feel like that was gonna happen to I didn't feel like I was going to die um because I felt like I had a like a higher calling to be there, like that there was a reason I was there. Um and so I mean at one point, and I didn't share this earlier, um I was held at gunpoint, told to get into a car, and they took me and demanded water, and I I had to get water delivered. I was basically kidnapped. Um, and if I didn't get water delivered, I I don't know what would have happened, but at the same time in my head, I got it delivered. Um, at the same time, I didn't feel like that was it for me, like this is the end. I'm like, nope, I'm gonna get through this, and I got bigger things to do. Um, so that's how like, yeah, that's how my brain was functioning during that time. Um and you don't know until you're in that situation um how you how you're gonna respond, but that's how I responded.

SPEAKER_01 45:26

So, how has this experience affected you or helped you in the first responder field?

SPEAKER_00 45:38

Um I think the biggest part is kind of what I touched on where I'm not I'm not phased very easily. Um, so I can focus in these high stress environments on these critical calls and still do my job well, like the way I was trained and not get distracted by the blood in the guts or the gunshot wounds or whatever it may be. Um and then being able to help others that are like my colleagues, other firefighters who maybe don't have the same experience that I do, that are newer on the job, um and working through that because that the job's not for everybody. And uh if you can't manage your stress appropriately, uh it's it's an ugly life. You know, you know, people um end up with addiction problems or being depressed or like suicide or whatever it may be, like that those are all the negative side effects of not being able to deal with your mental health, right? So if I can be an advocate for others and recognize, you know, when somebody's struggling, um, I think that pays dividends as well, you know, being being able to kind of look after my brothers and sisters in the fire service.

SPEAKER_01 47:04

So would you say that I know you mentioned talking about your story is something that helped you a lot. Would you say that that's something that you recommend to others that you work with, you know, hey, to talk about your story, or is there other things that you suggest to them when they're struggling?

SPEAKER_00 47:21

Talking is the biggest one. Um I I didn't even do it on purpose for me. I it just came with the territory of starting the nonprofit. Um, and also initially, like I was a pretty interesting person to talk to. Like, I was I went through all this, nobody else had gone through that. So people talked to me, whether I wanted that or not. And they weren't sensitive to like what I'd been through. They just it was like a cool story to them. Um, so I had to like it's kind of like um if somebody asks you, like, what's the worst call you've ever been on? Like, I don't want to share that with a stranger or like right off the bat, you know, that's like that's hard, and I don't want to like relive that. Um, but I I I don't know. I guess you just eventually get desensitized to it and it turns into a story um versus like reliving it. But still with like this and and sharing my experience, like half the time I tell the story, I I start crying. So it's like I'm always fighting that, um, especially like with my family and like the the emotional part of that story. And I don't like to cry. Like I can't help it, you know. Sometimes it just hits me. And I I know when it's like about to happen, so I'm like, I I try not to, right? I'm like fighting it the whole time. Um, so it's still like very real to me, and it's not just a story. Um, but I I yeah, I just think it's really healthy, and um, that's what I recommend to everybody initially, right? Like talk, and that's why people see like therapists and and stuff. Although, here, this is a good point. My family struggled a lot more than I did because they got um pulled out of Haiti quickly, and they did like my mom, they thought she broke her arm and her leg, and like they had like medical needs. Um, so they just got taken out to get taken care of. Um, but they didn't have the closure that I did, where I got to be there for weeks afterwards and kind of see the progression of everything going on and talk to other people that had been through what I went through. Um so yeah, their their recovery was less healthy. They they they ended up going to therapy for years and really struggling with PTSD. Um, but they didn't start a nonprofit initially and they didn't share their story, and they they just didn't have good closure. Um so that set them back years, I think. You know, that that's my um understanding of it. And they're good now, but it took them a lot longer than it took me. They also went through like a little bit harder of a situation like in a in a collapse. Um but there's a lot of factors, and everybody processes differently. Um, but I do think like the talking for me, hours and hours of sharing my story um has really helped. And that's kind of what I that's the first thing I recommend to anybody before you like do something else that you think is gonna help you, like just talk about it. I tried to write a book um when I first got out of Haiti, and I thought that that was gonna be like the therapy for me to like go through everything in detail in my head, put it down on paper, and I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it, it was too hard. Um, so and I still haven't written a book, like I've I've written some, but it's not a finished book, and I could probably do it now, um, after like all this time has gone by and sharing so much and like really diving into it over the years, um, but alone, like on a computer, like with every little thought, it was too hard. Yeah, um, so yeah, everybody's different.

SPEAKER_01 51:07

But the first time that you shared this story, I know it had to do with your nonprofit, but what about your first podcast? How did that go? Did somebody invite you to do it, or did you say, hey, you know what? I think I'm gonna take this opportunity to talk about my story. How did that happen for you?

Entrepreneurship And The Williams Key

SPEAKER_00 51:24

That is a new question. All right, let me think about this. Um, so podcasts didn't come around, um, or at least they weren't as popular 15 years ago, right? That it's kind of in the last five years they they've really taken off and become popular. And I only started doing podcasts um when I started a business. And the and the business was like initially what would kind of make make me interested to people. Um, and then this would come up. This is like a a side story of like talking about the business or being a firefighter. Um but where I really got to share the most um was probably probably like my church initially. Um, and then I started getting invited to like youth groups to share, like so more like kids closer to my age, like teenagers. Um and then it kind of just it grew from there. Um stuff started getting online and I yeah, I started getting invited to colleges and stuff, and and then I wanted to raise money and I I wanted to hold fundraisers. So at the fundraisers I would speak. And um at the time I was uh in the acting and modeling industry as well. Um, so I ended up meeting a lot of people that knew how to throw events. Um, so that really helped uh when I wanted to throw an event, like there was like wedding planners that I knew and like event planners, and uh we we did like high fashion runway shows and turned that into like fundraisers, and I would get to speak and kind of address a whole new audience um versus like just the Christians at at the Christian churches. Now I'm talking to like everybody. Um, and then that's getting filmed and and put out there on social media and and stuff. So it just yeah, I just kind of grew from there.

SPEAKER_01 53:29

That's awesome. Tell us a little bit about your businesses.

SPEAKER_00 53:33

Um, I've always been uh the entrepreneurial type. Um I've started a lot of businesses over the year over the years. Um, me and my wife bought a tanning salon at one point. Uh it was bad timing. It was it was during 2020, right, when all these businesses started to get shut down. So we we struggled through that for a few years and it didn't make it. Um, but as a firefighter, and even before being a firefighter, um, I was always kind of like inventive and creative, and I would I would make stuff. Um, so I made a a tool, a firefighter tool called the Williams Key. My last name is Williams, and it's something I made for myself. And I had a little toolbox um just full of like wazoo tools I'd kind of acquired or like made, and there were like more rare stuff. There's like lock pick kits in there, and my background was as a carpenter, but specifically uh a door hanger. So I'd install doors and locks, so I knew doors and locks really, really well. And that's a great skill to have as a fireman because we got to get into these doors all the time. And if the house is burning, we'll break it down, that's fine. But if it's like somebody fell down and can't get up, we don't want to break their door. Like if I can get in without doing damage, I'd prefer to do that, and especially if I have the skill set. Um, so the Williams key. I think your listeners are non-visual, right? It's like all auditory for the most part. Okay, so I can describe I can show you, but I can describe the key. Um, it's a very basic metal tool, it's an L-shape, and there's a blade side and a and a hook side, and the blade side can slide behind uh anti-vandal plate and toggle a lock and open open a door. Um it's it's mostly for like gates and like outward swinging doors. Um, in my district, I work, I work in West Hollywood. A lot of apartments, a lot of commercial. We use this tool every day. Um and uh yeah, so initially I just made it for myself, and then people saw me pulling it out on every call and it working, and then everybody in my station wanted one, and then from there it just started spreading. And now um it's I've sold like 60,000 of them every every state, every major city, every major department, somebody owns one at least. Um, and then about probably 30 different countries, so internationally as well. Um, and then this past actually, this month, um, there's a deal I've been working on for about three years, uh, a subscription box. So getting this tool into a subscription box. Um, so this month, 10,000 over 10,000 keys are are going to people that don't even know they're getting them. And I'm hoping that'll generate some sales too, because they'll be like, oh, let me go on WilliamsKey.com and check out what else he's got going on. And if they like it, maybe they'll buy one for a friend or something. So yeah, uh it's really taken off. Um, it's been nice uh kind of being recognized uh as the Williams Key guy. Um and yeah, it's it's helped a lot in the in the fire service, and people come to me with like training questions and chiefs talk to me from all sorts of different departments, and um that's when the podcast thing really really took off was was with the Williams Key. And um yeah, it's it's it's been a journey for sure.

SPEAKER_01 57:07

And did you ever imagine yourself in this position?

Saving Lives Through Better Forcible Entry

SPEAKER_00 57:10

No, not at all, because like I didn't even mean to start the business really. It just like I was just feeling a need, like a demand. And the first one I made, first couple I made were like handmade, and it took me hours to make them. And before long, so many people asked, I was like, okay, I need to figure out how to get these fabricated in like a warehouse or something, and because I don't want to be making these, and I just want to help my my trade and my craft and help firemen be better at firemen, and um maybe using this tool and instead of waiting for the property manager with a key might save a life. Like maybe they didn't really fall, they had a heart attack or something. And and I get that feedback, I get those stories, and people have stopped suicides, and they've gotten to people who've had heart attacks in enough time to save them, and um, so that's like where I'm like it's hard to quantify, but like I do hear the stories sometimes, and like that's super, super rewarding, like knowing that something that I made made a difference in a different state, in a different department, and like now somebody is still alive because of that um chain of events. So the Williams Key is allowed me to like have a business platform, but I've continued to invent stuff and continue to make tools. So now I have a whole store of different things that I've made, and most of them are fire related and have to do with doors, like door wedges, and there's other tools that can open doors. Um, but it's been fun, it's been fun, and um, the biggest like concern is like, oh, what if a this gets into the wrong hands? You know, what if a burglar, you know, buys one or something, and I just tell people they don't burglars don't care about like protecting your door, and they'll use a brick or a crowbar, you know. They they don't care about that stuff, and they're not gonna spend money on my tool, so a brick is cheaper. Um, so I I debunk that every once in a while, but yeah, for the most part, there's been no issues. Um, I haven't gotten any like bad stories of like I got robbed because of your duel and I'm suing you or something like that. I've never gotten anything like that.

SPEAKER_01 59:22

Well, that's awesome. I am just at awe with your story. Um, I know that this is something that you experienced, and even now it may seem that it's easier to talk about, but I can only imagine that there are some times where it's very difficult still, and it probably tugs on you a little bit. Um, but I truly believe that you have a reason to be here. You have accomplished so much. You have put yourself out there, you've made a difference, and that is something to be so proud of. So I I can only imagine that you are proud of yourself. I'm sure your family is very proud of you. Um, And as a first responder, like I'm I'm sitting here and I'm proud of you. I can't imagine everything that you went through and how you've come out on top. That's amazing. And I think that nobody deserves it more. So thank you for sharing that with us today. Um, for the listeners, if they want to be able to contact you, do you have any contact information that you can share with them?

Estate Fire Defense And Wildfire Prep

SPEAKER_00 1:00:24

Sure. Uh email is best. Um Trevor at the Williamsky.com is a good one. Um, I'm on all the social media platforms. That's yeah, send me a message on on Instagram. I check that one a lot too. So the WilliamsKey um on Instagram. Uh good way to get a hold of me. Um I'll do I'll do one more plug I forgot to share. Um I I recently started another business and it it's relevant. Um, so there's big fires that happened earlier this year in January in California, and the Palisades burned down and Malibu and a city called Altadina, and like we had 100 mile an hour winds, and it just took out hundreds or thousands of homes. Um, so me and some firefighter buddies, we started a new business uh doing home hardening and um and rebuilds. So we're we we were we're going around and we're actively doing this now, um, helping people prepare for the next big fire. That the houses that uh withstood withstood this last fire or they're got lucky. Um now we're teaching and we're doing inspections and we're teaching, and then we're sending construction crews in um to fortify the houses and do like fireproof paint and replace wood with metal and cover up all the holes in the eaves, and uh we do outdoor sprinkler systems and brush clearance, a whole bunch of stuff. Um, so that's a new business. I I I do need to mention it, and it's called Estate Fire Defense. Um so that's that's the newest venture, and people are like very welcoming of it. You know, they want a solution um to be able to protect their homes, and um it's it's going well.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:12

So how do you have time for all of those things with being a firefighter?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:18

I don't have any uh any time off really. And when I am off, like today, I'm I'm doing things related to all his businesses and phone calls and meetings all day long and inspections, and I'm the drone guy, so I fly the drone for the inspection, and then uh well, I'm also the construction guy and the firefighter. So it kind of all comes together.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:39

Okay. Um, so your estate fire defense, is that something that you guys only do in Hollywood right now, or are you guys doing the whole state? How does that work?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:48

Uh right now it's local to Southern California, LA County. So um, and it it's usually like a little bit more expensive houses that want this service and and can afford it. Um so like these would be like multi-million dollar properties, um, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Hidden Hills, Calabasas area, Woodland Hills. Um, but we will inspect anybody's house for free. And we we can definitely recommend um steps to take. And you, you know, we work with everybody's budget. And if you can't afford all of it, you know, let's start with doing some paint or you know, or or doing some brush clearance, you know, something small. And it might take you a little bit longer if you don't have the means, but hopefully we can figure out how to uh increase your odds to withstand the next fire and just be educated in general.

Balancing Duty And Business

SPEAKER_01 1:03:43

Awesome. That's actually a really good business for other firefighters to maybe not take on in their state, but that's good knowledge to have in order to have preventative measures, you know, in their communities. So thank you, Trevor, for your time, for sharing your story. Um, just everything. I I had nothing to say. I was so zoned in. I enjoyed everything that you shared today and hope that you guys got a lot of value out of Trevor's story because I know I did. Um, if you are in fire and you're interested in the Williams Key for your agency or for yourself, please visit WilliamsKey.com. But as always, you guys be safe out there and we will see you on the next one. Thank you again, Trevor.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:28

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:30

Thank you for joining me on chapter blue. If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to follow and tag me on social media and share with your friends and fellow officers. If you're interested in joining an episode, I'd love for you to be a part of the conversation. Until next time, stay safe, take care of yourself, and remember you're never alone in this journey.