The Philosophy of a Lopez Island EMT-Firefighter (w/ Justin Hagge)

Justin Hagge is an EMT-Firefighter on Lopez Island–one of the San Juan Islands in Washington State, USA, just below the US border with Canada. Justin was previously director of the Lopez Island Dump, and before that a high school social studies teacher in Denver, Colorado.

Justin and Dave chat about what it’s like to live on Lopez Island, which has a permanent population of just over 3000 people. Hint: it’s not always as quiet and cozy as you might think! They cover Justin’s transition from school teacher, to technical infrastructure support, to waste management, to emt, and now to emt-firefighter.

They talk about life and death situations, acting under intense mental and physiological stress, and what it is like to be present as Justin’s patients (and fellow islanders) pass away into unhaltable death, as all are eventually slotted to do. They also discuss the fantasy and sci-fi novel genres (including the “Wheel of Time” series), German youth slang (“Hey, Fatty!”), the excessive waste produced by contemporary Americans, grindcore music, and much else besides.

Statement on Justin’s transition from the Lopez Dump to Lopez Fire and Emergency Medical Services.

Justin’s recommendations:

“The Waste Stream” (Upcoming 2025 Documentary)

James S.A. Corey, “The Expanse” (Book Series)

Trap Them, “Darker Handcraft” (Album)

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The Philosophy of a Lopez Island EMT-Firefighter (w/ Justin Hagge)

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