Need to vent!

[firechixrock]

sorry we just had a really bad weekend at our hall had 2 deaths one of them a 23 year old kid that I knew, (well small town it's hard not to) but we had 3 calls in the last 24 hours 2 of them were fatal and I just wanted to vent about it!! I like to get things out and not dwell.
thanks for listening!!

[SAFD46Truck]

Sounds like a tough weekend, it's always the worst feeling to pull up on scene and know the victim. My condolences to your FD and the victims family. -46

[NJFFSA16]

If you or any of the Hall's members need help in dealing with Post Traumatic Stress....consider a debriefing, or bring in a specialist to talk with those affected.

http://www.ncptsd.org/facts/index.html

NJ

[spearsm]

I understand where you are coming from. It's bad enough when it is seasoned adults, but when the deaths are involving new adults, children--makes it even more difficult. I personally had a hard time after a 10-50 w/ entrapment. The subjects brother was following him..parents arrived before we could get him out of the car. The car had wrapped itself around an oldgrowth pine(roof making the impact to the tree) 2ft off the ground. It took time to recover from that one. Yes, I understand what you are feeling. Please seriously consider NJFFSA16's post...very helpful..

May your heart be at peace.

[MalahatTwo7]

Originally posted by NJFFSA16
If you or any of the Hall's members need help in dealing with Post Traumatic Stress....consider a debriefing, or bring in a specialist to talk with those affected.

http://www.ncptsd.org/facts/index.html

NJ

What the Man Said. Our dept has done this 3x in the past 3yrs and the program works very well. In every case, our guy has been at the station waiting for us got get back. I am sure that your Chief has the number, but if there is any doubt, pm me - I have a Duncan contact for C.I.S.D debriefers, and they are very good. Otherwise any of us in here are always glad to help, we have "good ears".

Take care and stay safe out there.

[firechixrock]

Originally posted by spearsm
I understand where you are coming from. It's bad enough when it is seasoned adults, but when the deaths are involving new adults, children--makes it even more difficult. I personally had a hard time after a 10-50 w/ entrapment. The subjects brother was following him..parents arrived before we could get him out of the car. The car had wrapped itself around an oldgrowth pine(roof making the impact to the tree) 2ft off the ground. It took time to recover from that one. Yes, I understand what you are feeling. Please seriously consider NJFFSA16's post...very helpful..

May your heart be at peace.

wow that sounds exactly like the accident yesterday, took half an hour to get him out of the car it was pretty bad he hit a tree, roof making the impact, and the rest of the car wrapped around.
And we do have pts offered to us after every serious call.
thanks to all
Dawn

[wyesguy24]

Best thing you can do is to vent. You keep it bottled up and it will come back to haunt you. We are fortunate to have an established a CISD team. Never hestitate to talk to someone.

[HM604OH]

Early in my fire service career, my volunteer department responded to a car vs. train incident involving four teenagers. Two of the four were killed instantly and the other two died before we could get them to the hospital (2 minutes away). Being a small town, all of us knew at least a couple of the kids or their parents. As you know yourself, it was a difficult night.

My regular job was teaching high school in a town about 25 miles away. As I faced my students on Monday, I couldn't forget what we had seen and done the previous Saturday night. What made it really tough was facing 30 kids who were the same age as those killed in the wreck. I finally closed my lesson book and told my class that on that morning, we were goind to talk about something even more important than American History. I didn't give them the gory details, but I did tell them that I saw four teens die and that there were several things they needed to be aware of. They are not imortal and they need to use common sense when they drive. They needed to learn to not take chances. The risks are simply too great. Finally, they need to know that whether they realize it or not, they are loved. They are loved by parents (even if they don't always get along), they are loved by friends, and they are loved by their teachers. I told them about a school less than 30 miles away that was going through a very rough day and that I hoped that our school would never experience what those teachers and students were dealing with.

I didn't really "vent" (I would never do that to my students), but I felt better afterwards. Several students came up to me after class to thank me for sharing with them and to say that the story had a real impact on them. The important thing to me was to use the opportunity that I had to prevent a similar thing from happening with my students.

You and other members of your department may want to look for opportunities to talk to young people and pass along the importance of driving safely and not taking chances on the road. It may save a life and you will feel better yourselves.

BTW, I left the teaching profession at the end of that school year to become a full-time firefighter.

[firenresq77]

chix, just make sure you talk to somebody. It'll just get worse for you if you don't........

[ROOKIELZ]

Vent at will, honey. I am here for you. You have my full attention.