Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Retired Fire Chief Deena Lee, in Episode 237 of the Transition Drill Podcast, talks about leadership under pressure, being a woman in the fire service, and the messy reality of transition, behind a forced retirement, when you don’t get to leave on your own timeline.
Deena grew up in Long Beach. Her parents divorced when she was young. Her dad was a Marine and Vietnam veteran, and later in life they reconnected in a way that shaped how she thinks about integrity and service. She describes a Gen X, latchkey childhood where she felt “parentified” and responsible early, including a moment as a kid where she stepped in to help a stranger when the adults froze.
After high school she followed the “safe” path she was told to want: marriage, kids, stability. It didn’t fit. She left, became a single mom, took an EMT class to be more capable for her kids, and found she was good at it. In 1996 she worked as an ER tech at Long Beach Memorial, surrounded by firefighter paramedics who nudged her toward ride-alongs. She did them. Something clicked. She changed her major to fire science, volunteered with a department, and started gaining experience. She took 13 tests to be a firefighter before she finally got hired full-time in 2003.
From there, it’s the real career arc: small-department politics, proving yourself, and promoting fast. Deena became a captain with just over four years on the job and talks candidly about the resistance, the back-channel commentary, and the leadership mistakes she had to learn in public. She also breaks down the isolation of being a solo female and how that drove her to build community for other women through the Women’s Fire Alliance, including mentor and text support groups for the day-to-day realities of the job.
Then comes the part every veteran and first responder will recognize: senior leadership. As an at-will fire chief, she says she was pushed out early, forced to “pack the parachute” on the way out. Her first day included a city council setup meant to get her to publicly support cutting an engine company. She refused, and she paid for it. Nearly three years later, she’s still processing the transition, and she’s using what she learned to help other women carry less out the door than she did.
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QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS:
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EPISODE BLOG PAGE AND CONNECT WITH ANTONIO:
transitiondrillpodcast.com/post/transition-drill-podcast-marine-corps-combat-engineer-to-wounded-warrior-project-antonio-bonfiglio
SPONSORS:
GRND Collective
Get 15% off your purchase
Link: thegrndcollective.com
Promo Code: TRANSITION15
Blue Line Roasting
Get 10% off your purchase
Link: bluelineroasting.com
Promocode: Transition10
Frontline Optics
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Link: frontlineoptics.com
Promocode: Transition10
#transitiondrillpodcast #militarytransition #firstresponders
Retired Fire Chief Deena Lee, in Episode 237 of the Transition Drill Podcast, talks about leadership under pressure, being a woman in the fire service, and the messy reality of transition, behind a forced retirement, when you don’t get to leave on your own timeline.
Deena grew up in Long Beach. Her parents divorced when she was young. Her dad was a Marine and Vietnam veteran, and later in life they reconnected in a way that shaped how she thinks about integrity and service. She describes a Gen X, latchkey childhood where she felt “parentified” and responsible early, including a moment as a kid where she stepped in to help a stranger when the adults froze.
After high school she followed the “safe” path she was told to want: marriage, kids, stability. It didn’t fit. She left, became a single mom, took an EMT class to be more capable for her kids, and found she was good at it. In 1996 she worked as an ER tech at Long Beach Memorial, surrounded by firefighter paramedics who nudged her toward ride-alongs. She did them. Something clicked. She changed her major to fire science, volunteered with a department, and started gaining experience. She took 13 tests to be a firefighter before she finally got hired full-time in 2003.
From there, it’s the real career arc: small-department politics, proving yourself, and promoting fast. Deena became a captain with just over four years on the job and talks candidly about the resistance, the back-channel commentary, and the leadership mistakes she had to learn in public. She also breaks down the isolation of being a solo female and how that drove her to build community for other women through the Women’s Fire Alliance, including mentor and text support groups for the day-to-day realities of the job.
Then comes the part every veteran and first responder will recognize: senior leadership. As an at-will fire chief, she says she was pushed out early, forced to “pack the parachute” on the way out. Her first day included a city council setup meant to get her to publicly support cutting an engine company. She refused, and she paid for it. Nearly three years later, she’s still processing the transition, and she’s using what she learned to help other women carry less out the door than she did.
CONNECT WITH THE PODCAST:
Instagram: instagram.com/paulpantani
WEBSITE: transitiondrillpodcast.com
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/paulpantani
SIGN-UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER:
transitiondrillpodcast.com/home#about
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS:
paul@transitiondrillpodcast.com
EPISODE BLOG PAGE AND CONNECT WITH ANTONIO:
transitiondrillpodcast.com/post/transition-drill-podcast-marine-corps-combat-engineer-to-wounded-warrior-project-antonio-bonfiglio
SPONSORS:
GRND Collective
Get 15% off your purchase
Link: thegrndcollective.com
Promo Code: TRANSITION15
Blue Line Roasting
Get 10% off your purchase
Link: bluelineroasting.com
Promocode: Transition10
Frontline Optics
Get 10% off your purchase
Link: frontlineoptics.com
Promocode: Transition10
#transitiondrillpodcast #militarytransition #firstresponders
