Brothers and sisters,

Here’s the vision I’m building: The Cost of Saving a Life (TCOSAL). The mission is simple—“To save the lives of those who save lives through radical vulnerability, intentional kindness, and true storytelling.”

The headquarters is an early 1900s estate in Connecticut. It’s huge—multi-story, thousands of square feet, and sitting on several acres. After a flood, it was gutted down to the studs. Right now it’s a skeleton—no insulation, no walls, no finish. Most people see a liability. I see a blank slate.

The plan is to rebuild it legally and by the book: permits pulled, inspections passed, licensed GC on paper. But the actual manpower will be firefighters. We all know how this works—everyone’s got a second trade. Carpenters, electricians, roofers, masons, welders. Cover travel and a bed, and brothers and sisters from across the country will rotate in, stay a week or two, and put their skills into the house. Think of it like a firefighter barn-raising.

Materials will be salvaged and reclaimed as much as possible—wood, stone, fixtures—and yes, pallets. Lots of pallets. Cheap, durable, symbolic. Every piece of the house will carry the story of resilience, rebuilt out of what others threw away.

The aim will to be restore to its early 1900s glory as it was originally built.

And when it’s done? That’s when the real mission starts. This place won’t be a conference hall or another training center. It’ll be a respite. A place where a firefighter, medic, cop, dispatcher—anyone in this family—can enter a raffle for a free stay. The only ticket in is honesty: saying I need help.

If your name gets pulled, you come stay. Your own room. No cost. No substances. Just space to breathe. Free massages, outdoor trips, creative outlets, and mental health–focused experiences that remind you life is still worth it.

The property itself becomes the metaphor: stripped down to the bones, rebuilt stronger, with every wall touched by the same hands it’s meant to serve.

That’s TCOSAL. That’s the vision.

—Seth Greely, FFPM, PEM

AKA. “China Doll”