Producer/Host
Responder Resilience / Mind Health Media, LLC
Fleming Island, FL
David Dachinger is a retired Fire Lieutenant/EMT who has dedicated over 21 years to leading emergency services. As a company officer, he often held critical roles such as Shift Commander and Incident Commander. Today, David hosts the podcasts ""Responder Resilience"" and ""Igniting The Shift Within,"" where he engages with experts on first responder mental wellness, leadership, retirement, and post-traumatic growth. David also serves as a peer coach for 22Zero (https://22zero.org/), continuing his commitment to supporting first responders.
David's journey as a stage IV cancer survivor since 2014 has fueled his passion for advocating firefighter wellness. He is the co-author of the bestselling books ""Helping the Helpers-The Clinician's Guide to First Responder Mental Wellness"" and ""Live Calm With Cancer (...and Beyond).""
A two-time Grammy Award® nominee, David's career in the music industry saw him collaborate with legendary artists like Roberta Flack, Usher, Celine Dion, and The Isley Brothers as a mixing engineer and producer.
“Alcohol use is deeply woven into first responder culture, yet its impact on clarity, decision-making, fatigue, and mental health is rarely addressed openly within EMS and fire services. This session examines how routine alcohol use—both on and off shift—can affect cognitive performance, sleep quality, emotional regulation, burnout, operational readiness, and long-term wellness.
Drawing from lived experience, emerging research, and the development of the Zero Proof Hero movement, this program offers a practical, non-judgmental look at how alcohol culture influences provider performance in real-world settings. Attendees will explore why many responders underreport drinking habits, how alcohol can contribute to performance inconsistencies and preventable errors, and why even “normal” drinking patterns may quietly impact resilience and daily readiness.
The session provides clear, realistic strategies that first responders can begin using immediately—without requiring drastic lifestyle changes—to improve clarity, decision-making, and day-to-day performance. This presentation is designed for EMS providers, firefighters, educators, leaders, and instructors seeking to strengthen crew culture, reduce burnout, and enhance operational consistency.
The focus is practical, relatable, and highly relevant to the wellness and performance challenges currently facing the first responder community.”
