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‘I held it in for so long’: Lauran McColloh shares the story of her first fire – a double LODD

The battalion chief explains how so much of her decision-making is rooted in the 2008 Salisbury Millworks blaze

No one thought she’d stay. Lauran McColloh was a new firefighter, just 18 years old, facing a double-LODD incident – on her very first fire. What’s more: One of the fallen firefighters was her friend Victor Isler. But McColloh didn’t consider quitting; firefighting was her dream. Now a Salisbury FD battalion chief, McCulloh joins Better Every Shift to share how she processed the abnormality of experiencing such trauma so early in her career and, more recently, how she discovered the power of vocalizing her experience – something she hadn’t done for 15 years.

We dig into all this:

  • Impact: How the Salisbury Millworks fire drives her decision-making
  • Passion: McColloh’s focus on building relationships
  • Supervision: Tailoring management approaches to individuals’ long-term goals
  • Episode power quote: “Why are they sharing my story? I should be sharing my story.”
  • Hot seat sneak peek: How “wind therapy” helps her blow off steam.

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