DETROIT – He let himself slip into a dark place.
With a gun in his hand, the Detroit firefighter’s life was seconds from ending until an unlikely hero stepped in.
“It kind of all snowballed,” recalled Matt Dunaj. “It was a perfect storm and it all led up to that moment.”
Dunaj said he knew he wanted to help people since he was young. On the outside, he has the look of a firefighter, but on the inside, the years on the job were taking a toll.
“It adds up. Especially if you don’t deal with it the proper way,“ Dunaj said. ”It’ll come back and haunt you."
And that’s exactly what happened in August. He reached the point of no return in his basement with a loaded gun.
Dunaj said his dog Mia heard him load the gun and came to him.
“And in that moment, thank the Lord the dog was home because she heard it and as soon as that happened she came up to me and in that unconditional love she licked me in my face and kind of got me out of it,” Dunaj recalled.
The next day, he had his brother take his gun. Dunaj reached out to the IFF Center for Excellence and within two weeks, he was getting the help he needed.
He said he has a new lease on life and has been able to manage his stressors and mental health better.
Dunaj decided to speak publicly about his struggle after a coworker killed themself. He wants everyone who is struggling to seek help.
“Don’t stop -- keep moving forward,” Dunaj said. “Eventually, something will stick and you’ll get the help you need. I’m living proof.”
You can watch Jason Colthorp’s full interview in the video player below.