May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and while doing some research about the topic last year, I was surprised to see that this topic was first acknowledged as an annual theme in 1949, by the National Association for Mental Health (now known as Mental Health America). For nearly 80 years, mental health has been top of mind for the public, and those discussions have become a major driving force of new and growing programs in the fire service.
If you mentioned “mental health” 15 years ago in a firehouse, many might have assumed that the conversation was about a patient who a firefighter encountered. Rarely would the fact that it could be about somebody who members worked with or knew from their department be considered. As I think back about 20 years, I can recall about a half-dozen first responders who I knew who took their own life, but the discussions afterward always focused around home life, finances or relationships and never tied back to the job that they did and so often loved. Since those first few articles and classes on mental health in the fire service appeared just over a decade ago, a tremendous amount of effort has been done by those in and who care about the fire service to take care of its members.
I applaud those who have had some of the tougher conversations and continue to champion many efforts, from breaking the stigma to enacting peer support programs and developing support for those who were left behind by a brother or sister in crisis. It’s great to hear how many members of the fire service have opened up to find the support that they need.
Quite often, we used to hear about the challenges that firefighters face when they try to seek support from their employers, such as employee assistance programs, and how those resources don’t understand the rigors that public safety responders face, which sometimes meant that those firefighters would stop seeking support when it was connecting with them.
I encountered some challenges recently as I sought assistance from a trained professional as I help my parents during their aging process and tried to understand the process. There was no crisis, but I sought someone to provide guidance and advice. Nevertheless, the process, using a website drop-down menu to find initial answers, was rather cumbersome. Within a day or so, I had an appointment scheduled. Since then, I’ve had effective conversations that helped put the pieces of the puzzle together. Again, not a crisis, but I can see how firefighters could find that responsiveness lacking what they need.
I encourage all department leaders to seek valid resources for their members. A peer support program is a great foundation, but access to the right clinicians can provide your members with the true support that they need.
I remember 20 years ago when Dr. Burton Clark enacted the National Fire Service Seatbelt Pledge after several unbelted firefighters lost their life in fire apparatus crashes. In a conversation about culture change, Dr. William Jenaway said that it takes nearly a generation of time—20 to 30 years—to have a cultural shift. Since Clark’s efforts, the number of firefighters who have been injured or killed because they weren’t wearing their seat belt is down significantly. We’re about halfway through a cultural shift in mental health, and I hope to see the number of members who take their own life as a result of struggles with the effect of their job decline as open discussions are paired with proper resources.
Tip of the helmet
Late last month, Dr. David Griffin retired from the Charleston, SC, Fire Department. Griffin keynoted Firehouse Expo 2014 and began to author Firehouse’s Leadership Lessons column in 2015, writing about everything from leadership to resilience from his personal perspective following his response to the 2007 Charleston Sofa Super Store Fire. I want to wish him all the best and to thank him for having the courage to continue on his mission to educate the fire service on tragic blazes and the long-term effects of a firefighter fatality fire on a department, its member and himself.
