IAFF Peer Support Team Lends Ear to Orlando Responders

Guilt, frustration, profound sadness, anger.

They are among the myriad of emotions Orlando and Orange County responders are experiencing since they dealt with the nightclub massacre this past weekend.

They saw survivors hiding under bullet-riddled bodies, heard seriously injured people yelling for help and anxious survivors frantically calling for friends and they walked through rivers of blood as they did their jobs.

Now, those responders are getting help as well.

Presidents of IAFF Locals in Orlando and Orange County called for help for their members, and they've received it.

Among the IAFF peer support team meeting with Florida firefighters and medics are some who’ve also responded to horrific events, including Boston and New York. They are joined by Indianapolis personnel, said Pat Morrison, IAFF Assistant General President for Health, Safety and Medicine.

During sessions Tuesday, some who witnessed the horrific incident shared what they saw and heard, while others simply listened.

“We’re not doing de-briefing sessions. We let them know there’s help available from a number of resources when they need it…But, if they wanted to talk, that was OK too. They’ve been hit hard, very hard,” he said, adding that many are on an emotional roller coaster.

“We’re also reaching out to dispatchers. Sometimes there are overlooked. But, they were on the phone with people who were dying and people calling for help for loved ones…”

While in town, the team will be visiting fire stations and sharing a meal.

“We want them to know they are not alone, and they don’t have to suffer in silence.”

Confidentiality is vital, Morrison said, as there is still a stigma about people reaching out for emotional support.

“They need to look out for each other as well as themselves. We planted the seed so they can be observant.”

Morrison added that officials with the University of South Florida have offered their behavioral health specialists.

Peer support, however, is essential, he noted.

Those who responded to the nation’s worst massacre are back in their firehouses answering the next call for help.

And, Morrison said his team wants to make sure they know they’re not alone. 

Behavioral Health 

• How Firefighters Can Manage Stress
• Morrison: How Fire Departments are Addressing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Sendelbach: Assessing Risk Never Stops
• Lamplugh: Responding to Your Own Mental Health
• Lorber: Stress Awareness: Signs & Symptoms
• Ludwig: Suicides Among Fire & EMS Professionals
• Warren: When Firefighters Become Patients
• Ludwig: Suicides Among Firefighters and Paramedics
• Sendelbach: Continuing the Conversation
• Siarnicki: Who Responds to a Firefighter’s Worst Day?
• Kenny: Suicide Prevention: Do Something About It
• Wilmoth: Can We Talk?
• Video: Suicide in the Fire Service: Saving Firefighters
  
• Video: Soaring Firefighter Suicides Focus of Documentary