Christopher Turnbull, B.S., A.A., NRP

From Author to Advocate

Chris Turnbull has been functioning in some capacity in the emergency services for over 20 years as a junior firefighter, Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), firefighter, and paramedic. Chris has served in a variety of employment models including private ambulance, hospital-based, firehouse-based, volunteer, and government-based. Chris has been an educator since 2010, teaching CPR at a local hospital and developing training programs for coworkers. Chris, his wife, two children, and 2 Newfoundland dogs are currently residents of the Delaware Beaches. Chris can be found in the summertime on a paddleboard in the bay or at a high school football game on a given Friday night in the fall.

The year 2020 will go down in history as the hardest-hitting year that we as Emergency Medical Service (EMS) providers will never forget. Chris was not immune to the effects of the ever changing policies, political unrest, and family stressors. In September of 2020, however, Chris found himself in a position that it was time to reach out for help. With no support structure and a deteriorating home life, it was time to make some changes.

Chris found a spiritual counselor (not the original intent) who aided him in finding his way back to church, a community that has been a huge support for him on a number of fronts. He learned how to communicate better at home and understand his children’s behaviors and needs better. He learned to journal rather than hold onto the emotions of the day.

In April 2021, Chris published his first book, The Double-Edged Sword. The book is a reflection of over 20 years of his career with lessons learned the hard way. He calls on EMS providers to take care of each other; watch out for signs that the home life is not good, watch for signs that a coworker is in a bad place, and he builds awareness of the stressors that push EMS providers to the edge of the cliff. Chris has since been an advocate for the mental health of EMS providers across the country and with the help of his book, the world.

In the summer of 2021, Chris was baptized, declaring a death to his old self and a rebirth into a life living for Christ. As his knowledge of the Bible and his own heart-change increased, Chris found himself in a position to make a very positive change to the way EMS providers are cared for in their times of need, personally or professionally.

Chris has composed and teaches a class on resiliency based on the unintentional lessons learned from his book. The class is a reflection of insights from his own story and elaborates on areas that the EMS industry, on the whole, overlooks.

Chris has been serving the Lord in and out of church with a men’s camping retreat that occurs biannually, taking a group into the quiet of the wilderness to navigate life, childhood, fatherhood, and married life from a biblical worldview together.

In May 2025, Chris graduated from Liberty University with a BS in Applied Christian Ministry. He has since begun a statewide support group for EMS providers, a way to network with each other and explore Scripture together.

Chris has been accepted into the Masters of Divinity program at Liberty University and will be completing the seminary in the near future.