In episode 334 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Darren Placid.
Darren has worked as a firefighter in the London Fire Brigade for 20 years. He applyed in 2004 and successfully became a firefighter in 2005.
He is currently stationed at Romford Fire Station and completed a sponsored Hyrox on 5th December 2025 in full fire gear alongside his friend and colleague Carl to raise money for The Firefighters Charity. The charity provides mental health support to male and female firefighters across the service.
In a previous life, Darren was a professional footballer, playing as a goalkeeper until retiring in 2004, and played in the FA Cup for non-league team Heybridge Swifts in 2003.
After retiring, he didn’t know what to do with his life. He was away with his mates for a weekender and he happened to hear the fire service advertising on radio stations all weekend. He decided to apply, which caused some conflict with his dad, whom he later reconciled with, and the rest is history.
In this episode we discuss his professional journey, becoming a personal trainer, and his 20 year firefighter career.
For Darren’s mental health journey, we discuss his experience of Post-Traumatic Stress, particularly two incidents which shaped his life at different stages.
When he was 16, he was at a train station when he saw a man jump in front of a train and take his own life.
Fast forward a couple of decades and at the same train station, working as a firefighter this time, he had to deal with another incident of a young person jumping in front of a train too, and we talk about this very weird and dark ‘full circle’ moment.
We discuss how he dealt with that incident from a mental health perspective, the tools he put in place to manage the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress when they occurred after that incident, and how he’s moved forward to do his job to the best of his ability.
As always, #itsokaytovent
You can follow Darren on social media here.
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Music: Patawawa – Strange
