For fire fighters,
by fire fighters. It’s okay to ask for help.

This place saved my life.

I came here as a broken human who had forgotten who I was and how to live in this world long ago. War trauma, 20 years of work trauma, on top of some nasty childhood trauma had me with no self esteem and the worst trainwreck of negative thoughts. I was already diagnosed with PTSD, depression, anxiety and using any substance put in front of me to make it all go away. 10+ years of therapy and this was not my 1st go round with intensive residential treatment. This place was everything I needed all along. It took me 60 days to deal with it and I don't regret the time at all. It certainly wasn't lost time even though I left a lot behind to come here. It's worth it and you're worth it to take the step to come here.

The clinicians are great and between them and the classes, it will help you look at all the parts that you tried to hide away, learn from them and help yourself change to be who you want to be. The rules you see online aren't really how it goes. You're respected as being a professional with a bunch of other professionals. You won't be hanging out with "your patients" that you might be imagining. Youre not locked down in a building all day, you'll spend more time doing what you want on campus then you do in programming. You do have limited cell phone access but you have everyday phone access from their landlines. You may become an Amazon preferred client if so desired. Books, cards, games, Legos, etc are all welcome to be had here. The food is decent to good by Army standards, with meals made but also a good salad bar selection and assortment of snacks. You'll be able to order groceries as well to get what you want.

I'd say the average stay is around 30 days if you need a graduation certificate. 45-60 for significant trauma needing EMDR with designated trauma groups. Not a soul leaves at 2 weeks "done", so don't listen to what the ARS guys say. This place is run significantly different from the other ARS for a reason.

Excellent facility! This place saved my life! Great staff!

Smartest decision of my life. 100/10

This place is amazing. I am in disbelief that a place like this exists and that it was available to me. Coming here was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. The staff from housekeeping, maintenance, kitchen, and clinical/ medical are not just employees. They care and are passionate about you and your journey.

When I got here I was broken, ashamed, exhausted. My life was falling apart and I couldn’t get out of my own way. They take you apart and help you examine yourself piece by piece. They are very good at what they do.

I will forever be grateful for the ways that the CoE helped me, and grateful to myself for making the very difficult decision to come here.

If you have questions, please reach out.

Where do I begin? When I came through the gate, I was broken (or as I've learned -- bruised). I was immediately let out of my car and met by two of my peers who whooshed me to admissions. From that point on, all I felt was acceptance, belonging, and that I was in a judgement-free zone.

In my mind, I was broken, unrepairable, and had issues that no one could fix. Boy was I wrong. Whether it was in individual sessions with Remi (My Clinician), or group therapy with Dan, Pat, Ashley, Tiffany, Alanna, Kourtney, Kimberly, and others -- I was given the tools, grace, and ability to begin to fix myself.

Plus, the clinicians aren't here to just get a paycheck. They genuinely CARE about the patients, you can literally feel that in the sessions.

At my clinician's suggestion, I underwent EMDR treatment and literally felt chains being removed, and childhood trauma no longer had the power that it did on me before coming here.

Insofar as the facilities, the station houses are comfy, the supporting staff are incredible, and the Fire every evening is the perfect place to unwind, and listen to your peers share their journey to what led them here to the COE.

I could go on and on about how magical this place is, but Google doesn't have the bandwidth for me to sing my praises. I feel like every single person in the fire service would benefit from coming here.

ONWARD!