As fire service leaders, we have a responsibility to know the procedures of our department. Whether it’s a work-related injury, a vehicle accident that involved an agency vehicle, etc., our people expect us to know the process that must be followed to mitigate these situations. Of course, folks who are new to their leadership positions certainly shouldn’t be looked down on if they do a quick refresh to make sure that they check all of the figurative boxes.
Although we might be good at these common situations, what about the more personal moments when a coworker comes to us with a problem? Are we ready for when people come say that they are experiencing work-related post-traumatic stress disorder? What about the people who come in, break down in tears and tell us point blank that they almost committed suicide the night before?
I don’t know whether the term exists already, but I came to refer to such situations as now or never moments. These are instances when we might get one shot and one shot only to show that we and our organization truly care about the people who work there. The fire service is getting better overall in recognizing the importance of mental health in its responders, but sadly, there are agencies out there that have yet to embrace the science and importance of it.
One chance to get it right
If people come to us with PTSD concerns, suicidal thoughts, depression, etc., we must understand that it took a great deal of courage for them to open up and bring a very personal struggle to light. They obviously feel that we are someone who they can trust with this, someone who can steer them in the right direction and help them. We now have a very heavy responsibility in our lap. How we handle the situation and our interaction with them literally can make the difference in these people trusting all the “it’s ok to not be ok” talk that they might hear and give them a sense of relief knowing that the organization does indeed care about them and will do anything within its power to get them the help that they need. If we handle it the correctly, it can reassure them that they can be open with us and bring things to them without fear of negative repercussion.
Do we immediately go on the defensive and start to worry about how it could affect the department? Do we jump immediately to see these people as liabilities instead of human beings who have been an asset to our organization for years and now need a little help because of the things that they have seen/done in the course of their service? What is our tone of voice in our response? Do we show empathy during the interaction and acknowledge their feelings?
If we handle the situation poorly, the outcome can have significant negative repercussions. At best, such people never will open up again. They will see all of the things that they might hear about mental health in the organization as nothing but meaningless buzzwords, and they will suffer in silence, which rarely ends well.
Furthermore, word travels fast in the fire service, too. If such people tell anyone else within the department of how their problem was received or handled by leadership, it can affect morale within the department negatively and create a rift between line personnel and administration. If these people walk away feeling as though the department to which they’ve given blood, sweat and tears instantly viewed them as a liability or a problem to be dealt with, do you believe that these people are going to continue to strive to be as good in their job as they can be? Worst-case scenario, these people follow through next time that they feel suicidal. How will we feel then, knowing that help was sought from us and we didn’t provide it? Is that something we want to live with for the rest of our life? One chance to get the interaction correct. No pressure, right?
Consider this now
We must think about these sorts of situations beforehand. We must know the benefits that are available to our people if they need them. We must not get sucked into the management zone where people are seen as employee numbers instead of human beings. These people still could have many years of dedicated service ahead of them, and they might just need a little boost to get through a rough patch. The rough patch is likely because of experiences in the line of duty. We owe them this help.
