Alex Anduaga has been a Tucson firefighter and EMT for almost ten years, and one call still sticks with him. A semi rear-ended a line of cars on I-10, and when he and his partner arrived, they were the only unit on scene. No captain, no battalion chief, nobody above him. So Alex took command himself, for twenty minutes, ordering helicopters and additional ambulances while triaging eight injured people, including two little girls in the back of one of the cars.

He walks through that call in detail, and it's the kind of story that makes you rethink what "firefighter" even means. Alex says 85% of what his department runs is medical, not fire, and most people have no idea. He also gets honest about something most first responders don't say out loud: how he's managed to avoid the moment where the job catches up with you emotionally, and why he thinks the guys who struggle most are usually the ones who tied their whole identity to the badge.

That idea carries into the second half of the conversation, where Alex talks about Chief's Window Cleaning, the business he built on the side using nothing but YouTube and word of mouth. He didn't pay himself for the first eighteen months. He reinvested everything back into equipment until the business could stand on its own, and eventually it grew enough that he was able to have his wife stay home with their two boys. His advice for anyone stuck in the planning stage of a business is blunt: stop prepping and just file the paperwork, because your own hesitation is the only real obstacle in the way.

What ties the whole episode together is something Alex keeps coming back to: don't let your career become your entire identity, because eventually that chapter ends, one way or another, and you need to already know who you are outside of it. Whether you're a first responder, thinking about starting something on the side, or just feel like your job has quietly become all of you, this one's worth the listen.

🎨 Connect with Alex Anduaga:

📸 Instagram: @alex__anduaga

💼 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alex-anduaga-58bb3b220

📘 Facebook: facebook.com/alex.anduaga.854210

💙 Presented by People Helping People Live 🎧 Real Conversations. Real People. Real Impact.

🎙️ Edited podcast releases every Tuesday at 6PM MST

🌐 Website: https://peoplehelpingpeoplelive.com

📺 YouTube: @peoplehelpingpeoplelive

📸 Instagram: @peoplehelpingpeoplelive

🤝 Sponsors

Diabetes Network of Arizona — Be the reason a Type 1 diabetic feels supported. 💙 Donate: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-.. 📞 480-518-5417

T-Town Boxing — Tucson's home for boxing, fitness, and discipline. 🌐 Website: https://boxingtucson.com 📸 Instagram: @ttownboxing

Mike Cylkowski — Advertising on streaming & TV platforms. 📞 515-305-5311

✨ When people help people, healing turns into hope — and hope changes lives.