Call Residue Podcast

You can train for fire, trauma, and protocols, but nobody trains you for what stays in your head after the scene is over. We sit down with Jake Braaten, a brand new paramedic, to talk about the quiet weight that builds over time: the “residue” you carry home from EMS calls, hospice moments, and those first critical incidents that change how you sleep, think, and relate to people you love. 

Jake’s path starts far from the a...

Two days on shift sounds like a schedule. It’s actually a lifestyle that reaches into your kitchen, your sleep, your parenting, and your marriage. I’m Jake, a firefighter paramedic, and I’m joined by my wife, Kristie, to tell the truth about what our home life looks like from both sides of the job, with the unfiltered details that never made it into any academy lecture.

We talk through the practical reality of a 48/96 sche...

The first time you watch a CPR end in death, the hard part is not only what happened on scene. It is the ride back, the silence, and the moment you realize nobody taught you where to put any of it.

I’m Jake, a firefighter paramedic with 16 years in fire and EMS, and Call Residue starts with the story I still remember from being a brand-new volunteer at 25. I talk about why first responders lean on dark humor, why the cultu...

I’m Jake Kelly, a firefighter-paramedic in fire and EMS, and I’m building Call Residue for the parts of this work that don’t fade when the shift ends. I share why I’m doing this, what I’ve lived through, and why I believe you’re not alone in sobriety, trauma, and hard lessons.  

•  turning a lifelong stutter into a reason to speak 
•  introducing my background in fire, EMS, and recovery  
•  focusing on sobriety struggles in paid and vo...