The Firehouse Yak: How the Fire Service Psychology Association is Leading Efforts in Firehouses
Retired chief Robert Avsec and Dr. Tracy Hejmanowski, who work with the Fire Service Psychology Association (FSPA), dive into the topics of firefighter mental health and psychology as part of the annual Mental Health Awareness Month. Avsec relates firefighter mental health support for firefighters like hazmat responses, with four levels of resources, which was the basis of a report he wrote and helped guide the organization of the FSPA.
From the awareness level, where the topic of mental health is no longer taboo in most firehouses, to offering peer support, up to have properly trained clinicians who can assist firefighters in a variety scenarios, from responses during their careers to family/home life or other factors that can stack up.
Dr. Hejmanowski, an experienced clinician for military and public safety responders, looks at the various resources available to firefighters and what they need to know as they navigate the process as a helper who is seeking guidance themselves. The two explain the ongoing outreach by FSPA as they work toward a goal of supporting departments across the country.
Related links:
- Robert Avsec’s full bio
- Dr. Tracy S. Hejmanowski
- Fire Service Psychology Association
- A Comparison Between HazMat Response Levels for Firefighters and Mental Health Clinician Scopes of Practice
- 9th Annual Fire Service Psychology Conference
- First Responder Project
- Halfway There: A Generational Shift in Firefighter Mental Health
- The Firehouse Yak: David Griffin – Retirement and Lessons from the Hardest Days
- The Favor Strategy: Reframing How to Help Firefighters in Emotional or Mental Distress
- The Brotherhood Barrier: How Group Bonding Shapes First Responder Attitudes Toward Treating Mental Health
- Firefighters' Mental Health Is Aided When Departments Plan for Major Incidents
About the Author
Peter Matthews
Editor-in-Chief
Peter Matthews is the editor-in-chief of Firehouse. He has worked at Firehouse since 1999, serving in various roles on both Firehouse Magazine and Firehouse.com staffs. He completed an internship with the Rochester, NY, Fire Department and served with fire departments in Rush, NY, and Laurel, MD, and was a lieutenant with the Glenwood Fire Company in Glenwood Landing, NY. Matthews served as photographer for the St. Paul, MN, Fire Department and currently is a photographer for the Fort Worth, TX, Fire Department.
Dr. Tracy S. Hejmanowski
Dr. Tracy S. Hejmanowski is a licensed clinical psychologist, with 26 years of experience working with military and civilian first responders. Her military involvement began with assessments of repatriated Prisoners of War (POWs) and ultimately led to her serving as an active duty Navy psychologist, then as the program manager for a Deployment Health Center for 11 years. Hejmanowski has served as the sole civilian on the Pentagon-level U.S. Air Force Ready Firefighter working group to establish behavioral health programming and policy. She volunteered as a lead facilitator for veterans retreats for 10 years and continues working as a contractor with Navy and Army Special Forces focused on optimizing post-deployment resilience and readiness.
In 2018, Hejmanowski entered her second career phase within the law enforcement and fire service communities. She currently specializes as a public safety psychologist and serves as an embedded consultant, peer support and CISM trainer and internal crisis response provider for four sheriffs’ offices and two fire departments in Florida. In 2020, Hejmanowski founded First Responder Project, an all-volunteer non-profit that provides no-cost retreats for all first responders and their families.
Hejmanowski frequently presents across the country on the complexity of occupational exposure and trauma-related subjects and she trains clinicians in first responder occupational awareness and cultural competency. She has been recognized with the National Combat Operational Stress Control Caregiver of the Year, Healthcare Hero of Jacksonville, and Fire Service Psychology Association’s Psychologist of the Year awards for her prevention and intervention initiatives.
Tracy lives with her husband in northeast Florida, from where they stay very closely connected with their four children, who are embarking on college and early careers.
Robert Avsec
Robert Avsec currently serves as the Operations Chief for the Fire Service Psychology Association, where fire service leaders, psychologists, and masters-level clinicians are working to “bridge the gap between professional psychology and the fire service.”
Avsec served with the Chesterfield, VA, Fire & EMS Department for 26 years and retired as a battalion chief/paramedic. He was an instructor for fire, EMS and hazardous materials courses at the local, state and federal levels, which included more than 10 years with the National Fire Academy. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati and his master’s degree in executive fire service leadership from Grand Canyon University. He is a 2001 graduate of the National Fire Academy’s Executive Fire Officer Program.
He authors the blog Talking “Shop” 4 Fire & EMS and has published his first book, “Successful Transformational Change in a Fire and EMS Department: How a Focused Team Created a Revenue Recovery Program in Six Months – From Scratch.”