'Survivor: Edge Of Extinction' Castaway Is Firefighter From Livermore

LIVERMORE (KPIX) - 'Survivor: Edge of Extinction' premieres soon, marking the show's the 38th season and one of the new castaways is Livermore resident and firefighter Eric Hafemann.

He is now back home.

"It is cold, you get hungry and weak ," says Hafemann.

He said his wife and two kids, one with special needs, gave him the strength to keep going.

When asked how he brushed his teeth he said, "You don't. We would take stick and use them. But your teeth don't get that dirty because you aren't eating much. There is no sugar out there "

He says it was a 24/7 job trying to keep tally of what everyone was doing every day.

"Eric is the guy you don't want to get deep in the game. He could win," said Survivor host Jeff Probst.

Hafemann says he has applied to be on Survivor for years.

"My first time I applied I sent in a VHS tape -- that was years ago," he said.

Leading up to the show Hafemann says he prepared himself for starvation by leaning down.

So what was the first thing he ate when he got home?

"First thing I got when I had access to food was an Oreo dipped in peanut butter," said Hafemann. "You can't stop eating when you get home "

Hafemann says he still has dreams he is back on the island. He loves adventures but his main takeaway from the experience was realizing the best things in life weren't on an island. He said it's his wife and two boys.

No one know who the winner is. The live reveal happens when the final votes are read May 20th.

'Survivor: Edge of Extinction' begins Wednesday on CBS at 8 p.m.