85% First Responders dealing with mental health issues from job

THE CALIFORNIA REPORT

'A Little Broken' - First Responders Grapple With Unseen Scars of the 2017 Fire Siege

KQED News

Sukey Lewis

October 12, 2018

Shortly after Lucas Boek joined his local fire department, he saw a veteran firefighter walk into firehouse and drop all his gear. “’That’s it, I’m done,’” Boek remembers the man saying. “’I can’t do this anymore.’ And he left.”

A Cal Fire firefighter watches for spot fires from a controlled burn at the edge of the Ranch Fire in 2018. (Anne Wernikoff/KQED)

Over the years, the incident stuck with him.

Now, Boek is sitting and talking with two other men in a Ukiah high school classroom. Between the three — medic Corey Bender, 44, and firefighters Lucas Boek, 40, and Brendan Turner, 46 — they have nearly 60 years of experience in emergency response. Sixty years of running toward car accidents, gunshots and flames.

But it’s not the physical danger of the work that these guys are talking about today.

It’s something else, something that until recently has been pretty difficult to discuss openly: their mental health. A 2017 study found that police officers and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. Another survey done last year by the University of Phoenix found that 85 percent of first responders have symptoms related to mental health issues.

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Allentown Firefighters need help to fight PTSD

Local firefighters union Allentown 302 president speaks against PTSD

WFMZ 69 News
Josh Rultenberg
October 12, 2018

In a statement Schlossberg says "Jeremy Warmkessel's op-ed today couldn't have been more accurate. Our first responders deal with so much, and they deserve more than we are giving them now."

ALLENTOWN, Pa., - It's been almost two weeks since a man blew himself up in a car in Allentown along with his 2-year-old child and another man.

"Typically, we're not going to a scene of that magnitude on a regular basis and thank goodness for that," said the president of the local firefighters union Allentown 302 Jeremy Warmkessel.

But first responders did respond to the explosion which Warmkessel says hit home.

"Anytime that you have a situation that involves children, no matter what the situation is, I think people tend to take it a little bit harder," said Warmkessel.

That incident, among others, is why Warmkessel, wrote an op-ed about PTSD in the Morning Call.

"Inside Allentown in the last 20 years we've suffered three suicides. So it's real and it's on a grand scale," said Warmkessel.
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Foundation says 2 firefighters commit suicide every week

Firefighter’s widow shares husband’s battle with PTSD, hopes to help others
KOLD 13 News
By Heather Janssen
October 7, 2018

He took his own life in April of 2017.
“To see him lose hope in himself from all the things he experienced was absolutely paralyzing,” she explained. His struggles with PTSD impacted the entire family, but the Samaniegos' story doesn’t stand alone.

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Helping others was second nature for Jose Samaniego, until he was the one who needed the help.

“(He was) so selfless. He was so laser focused on helping other people,” his wife, Serena Samaniego, explained.

He was a loving husband, a devoted dad, and a dedicated Golder Ranch firefighter.

But Jose struggled with post-traumatic stress and addiction. What he witnessed at work often haunted him when he got home.

Serena saw it firsthand.

“It was the middle of the night nightmares and not being able to sleep. It was being distracted and irritable throughout the day,” she said.

These were all signs of his struggle as he became imprisoned in his own mind, until he couldn't handle the battle anymore.

Mike McKendrick runs the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation. He said it’s likely two firefighters take their lives each week.
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Female Firefighter takes on PTSD and Ironman!

Woman to compete in Louisville Ironman wearing firefighter gear for PTSD awareness
WDRB News
By Fallon Glick
October 5th 2018

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- If you think competing in an Ironman is tough, imagine what it's like in full firefighter gear.

That's exactly what Diana Woolf will be doing at the Louisville Ironman next weekend. The 47-year-old has been a firefighter for 23 years, and she’s raising awareness about PTSD among firefighters.

“I've lost friends. I mean, if my husband wasn't a firefighter, I probably would have lost him,” Woolf said while acknowledging her own PTSD. “And myself, I contemplated suicide at one point.”

Woolf found herself in hole she couldn't climb out of because her PTSD until she started competing in triathlons. In a way, it acted as therapy. Now, the Village of Highland Hills, Ohio, firefighter is gearing up, literally, for the Louisville Ironman.

“The jackets, the pants, I wear the liners, which is a huge portion of our gear," Woolf said. "It's like a thermal barrier, but it also contains a lot of heat, which is what makes it most difficult. I wear the helmet, and then I wear the air pack on my back."

She'll be wearing all 37 pounds of it during the marathon portion of the Ironman. She hopes to shed light on the silent killer, because she said most firefighters aren't talking about PTSD.

“They're not saying they're having problems, because it is such a sign of weakness, which is the point of why I'm doing this ... to show that you're not weak," Woolf said. "You complete a full Ironman in fire gear, and you can have PTSD, so just come out and say 'I have problems. I need help,'"

Woolf said, statistically, more firefighters die of suicide related to PTSD than line-of-duty deaths.
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Turn on your hazard lights

Flash for a healing chance
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
October 7, 2018

When your vehicle is having trouble, there is a simple button you push to let others know you need help. It turns on your hazard lights.

Everyone behind you sees those lights. They will either pass you by with caution, or they may try to help you.

This is from WheelZine
When to Use Hazard Lights
Though most people use hazard lights for mundane and unimportant things like speaking on the cell-phone while in traffic (which is illegal, mind you) or lighting a cigarette or adjusting the music system, the actual purpose behind the installation of these lights is to communicate a possible danger to the oncoming or passing traffic. Given below are some of the occasions when you can and should use hazard lights.

• When you are experiencing a sudden car problem in the middle of traffic, switch on the lights and slowly pull over. Keep the lights flashing till the problem is solved.
• In case of dense fog, you can switch on the hazard lights to warn traffic on both the sides of the road.
• When traffic on a usually traffic-free road is slow or stalled for some reason, you can turn on the hazard lights to indicate to the traffic behind you that traffic ahead of you is stalled.
• Another situation in which you can turn on hazard lights is when you are moving up a steep slope, which has caused your vehicle to slow down considerably. The blinkers will tell the vehicles behind you to proceed with caution.

In the 70's we had Mood Rings that were supposed to let other people know how we were feeling.
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Fire Department Captain opens up about PTSD and being courageous

Local firefighter opens up about dark side of the job
By: MADELYN JANSSEN
Posted: Sep 27, 2018

Robinson wants other first responders to know it's not only ok, but good to talk about how the calls affect them. And he wants to be an example of how you can come out the other side, and find a path back to happiness. Society, friends and family can all play a part in breaking the stigma around asking for help. "Ask the tough questions if you think someone is struggling. You will never regret asking, you will regret not asking."

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - "Suck it up buttercup." That's the stigma Kern County Fire Department Captain Derek Robinson is fighting to change. He's been with the department for more than 17 years. It was only last year that he himself dropped the act, and decided it was time to ask for help. In August he detailed that fight to overcome his emotional injuries, in a Facebook post. He's sharing that to help reach anyone else struggling with the same demons.

A study last year said first responders are more likely to die from suicide than in the line of duty. PTSD and depression rates among first responders are as much as five times higher than among civilians. Robinson didn't realize for years that he was among those suffering. But the Friday after Thanksgiving 2017 he was called to a scene that changed that. A family was ripped apart by a drunk driver. A mother and child killed in a crash along Highway 99. "You can't respond and not feel something, especially when you see the impact on the family. Here's a family on Thanksgiving day traveling and their lives were not just interrupted, but completely destroyed and they lost a mother and a child, you can't absorb that. You just can't." Robinson suffered from sleepless nights. He turned to self-medication at times. He lost relationships and lost his passion for the job. 

Years of repeated exposure to trauma had taken their toll. It was a month after that Thanksgiving crash that Robinson decided to seek help. That changed everything. "Where I am now is drastically different from where I am today by getting help. This is more of an injury and same as a physical injury it can be dealt with."
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"Break the stigma of mental health in public service"

New Florida law will allow first responders to claim benefits for PTSD
ABC 7 News
by Annie Hubbell
September 21st 2018

Under the law, a first responder must be diagnosed with PTSD after witnessing one of seven qualifying events, all including death, and the claim has to be filed within 90 days of it happening.

Fire officials hope a new law will help break the stigma of mental health in public service.

When you're in work mode, you're in autopilot," Assistant Chief of Operations for North Collier Fire and Rescue John McMahon said. "The problem occurs when the individual is done with that call. That person then goes back to being a human being."

Starting October 1, Florida worker's compensation benefits for first responders will now include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD is a psychiatric disorder when a person experiences a traumatic event.
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ABC-7.com WZVN News for Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Naples, Florida


Think about the part where it said, "a traumatic event" which is how civilians end up getting hit by PTSD. Now think about how many of them you experience in your career. If they can get it from one time, which turns out to be over 7 million Americans, then it should be easy to accept the fact that no matter how tough you are, the odds are, you will need help too!

The 90 days is more than a problem about filing a claim. The truth is, the sooner you get help to heal, the better the chances are, the worst will not happen. As soon as you get help to heal from what you survived, you begin to #TakeBackYourLife.

If you have a hard time understanding what PTSD is, this may help. I created it for National Guards and Reservists, but it was used to help first responders. I even got an award for it back in 2008 from the IFOC.

Edmonton Firefighter Suffered in Silence

#BreakTheSilence
Marc Renaud took a job to save others as a firefighter. He was surrounded by others willing to die to do the same. 

So why didn't he think he was worth saving too?
#TakeBackYourLife

Edmonton firefighter’s death prompts discussion about PTSD, mental health
Global News
By Julia Wong
Digital Broadcast Journalist
September 1, 2018

Paul Semeniuk, president of Mental Rescue Society, said showing support is key to helping someone in distress.

“A lot of people… don’t want to say the wrong thing. They don’t know what to say to show comfort or show empathy. A lot of people will just step back. I think it’s important that we step forward and show we are supportive,” he said.

Hundreds of firefighters from the Edmonton area gathered Saturday at the funeral of one of their own, as the fire chief spoke openly about mental health and post traumatic stress disorder.

Marc Renaud, 29, died by suicide last weekend. Renaud, who was off-duty, had been with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services for approximately seven years.

In 2014, another firefighter in Edmonton died by suicide, according to the organization Heroes are Human.
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KY Firefighter Shares His Battle Against PTSD

KY Firefighter Shares His Battle Against PTSD
Firehouse
August 24, 2018

Veteran Burlington firefighter Phil Hall opens up in this news segment about his struggle with PTSD after 18 years of witnessing difficult incidents.

PTSD Patrol: Your buddies are your shock absorbers?

Shock Absorbers Surround You!
PTSD Patrol Sunday Morning Empowerment Zone
Kathie Costos
August 26, 2018

When we got the idea to turn PTSD Patrol into something related to vehicles, it was odd, to say the least. Once explained that people understand the vehicle they drive a lot more than the vehicle they live in, it only made sense to do it this way.

There are a lot of automotive parts that can be used to explain the vehicle you live in. Your body is your ride and we are all different but the stuff that makes it work can be linked to the stuff that goes into the vehicle you drive.

If you took a job to save others, you took on a lot more than most people have to deal with on a daily basis. That is why there are over 7 million citizens with PTSD, and you helped most of them survive.

If lives of strangers meant that much to you, then don't you think they matter to those you serve with? Ok, then why don't you get that your buddies would want to save you too?

Read about shock absorbers From Firestone

HOW DO STRUTS AND SHOCKS WORK?

The suspension on your car is made up of many components, including a set of springs that absorb bumps and road impact, a set of struts that support your springs, and a set of shocks (short for shock absorbers) that limit the bounce your car experiences by absorbing residual movement in suspension springs.

Without properly maintained struts and shocks an unexpected pothole, or even a gravel road, can actually cause the wheels of a vehicle to bounce off of the ground, which can easily lead to loss of control and collision.
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Los Angeles County Fire Department Mourning Capt. Wayne Habell

Funeral Plans for Los Angeles County Fire Captain Include Santa Barbara Burial
Noozhawk
By Janene Scully, Noozhawk North County Editor
August 24, 2018

Memorial for Wayne Habell set for Saturday at Camarillo church; graveside service will be Monday at Santa Barbara Cemetery

Firefighters from the Montecito Fire Protection District salute as a motorcade bearing the body of Los Angeles County fire Capt. Wayne Habell is transported south to Camarillo on Thursday. Services will be Saturday in Camarillo and Monday at Santa Barbara Cemetery. (Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo)

Los Angeles County fire captain Wayne Habell will be buried at the Santa Barbara Cemetery on Monday afternoon following a funeral two days earlier at a Camarillo church.

Habell, 43, died earlier this month of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

His body was found Aug. 18 in Hot Springs Canyon above Montecito after he had been missing for several days.

He was last seen Aug. 13 leaving his home in Newhall headed to a gym in Stevenson Ranch. On Aug. 17, his vehicle was found parked near the trailhead on East Mountain Drive.

Habell had served the agency for 13 years, according to the Los Angeles County Firefighters IAFF Local 1014.
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Original story
Missing Firefighter Captain Wayne Habell

108 firefighters took their lives last year, most go unreported

Fire Captains talk post-traumatic stress injury in firefighters
KUSI San Diego
Carlos Amezcua
August 20, 2018

Last year, 108 firefighters took their lives. It is estimated that 40% of suicides within the firefighter community go unreported due to the stigma placed on mental health issues.

Post-traumatic stress injuries are having a devastating impact on all of our first responders, including firefighters.

Carlos Amezcua sat down with Fire Captain Jeff Griffith and Jeff Dill from the National Firefighters Behavioral Health Alliance to talk about firefighter PTSI and suicide prevention.

Post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI) is a mental health injury and is the leading cause of death for first responders. PTSI occurs with repeated exposure to life altering events, such as being on the front lines of repeated disaster. Fires, homicides, mass shootings, and domestic violence are just a few of the traumatic events firefighters face on a regular basis.

These are life changing events, not only for the individual civilians involved, but also for the first responders who address these issues regularly in the line of duty. According to Jeff Dill, firefighter suicides out pace line of duty deaths by 50%, in other words, half of all deaths in the firefighting community are suicides.
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Fire Department Captain "I thought I was bulletproof"

First Responders and PTSD: Still waiting to just get over it? Pay attention! Your life is calling in sick. Time to #TakeBackYourLife

First responders can be haunted by close encounters with suffering and death

“I thought I was bulletproof. I thought nothing ever bothered me.”

Captain Rick Stack, a long-time North Attleboro firefighter, has been diagnosed with PTSD.

But beneath the aura of command he cultivated, invisible damage was webbing slowly outward. Stack didn’t know it yet, but the job was taking a toll — week after week, month after month, year after year. In time, his own suffering would break through the surface.

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Fire Captain Lost Battle With PTSD

Missing Orting firefighter who suffered from PTSD found dead
BY Q13 NEWS STAFF
JULY 22, 2018

ORTING, Wash. — A member of the Orting Fire Department who suffered from PTSD was found dead Sunday. Captain Art Vazquez had been missing since Saturday.

“It’s with a heavy heart that Orting Valley Fire and Rescue and the International Association of Firefighters Local 4459 announce the passing of one of our beloved members, Captain Art Vazquez,” Orting Valley Fire and Rescue said on Facebook.

The post went on to say Vazquez “took his own life as a result of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”
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Firefighters and Paramedics PTSD Levels Near Combat Veterans

The other victims: First responders to horrific events often suffer in solitude
Tampa Bay Times
By Heidi de Marco, Kaiser Health News
Published: July 9, 2018

The "first responders" who provide emergency aid have been hit hard not just by recent large-scale disasters but by the accumulation of stress and trauma over many years, research shows. Many studies have found elevated rates of post-traumatic stress disorder among nurses, firefighters and paramedics. A 2016 report by the International Association of Fire Fighters found that firefighters and paramedics are exhibiting levels of PTSD similar to that of combat veterans.

Medical personnel tend to a victim after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. The "first responders" who provide emergency aid have been hit hard not just by recent large-scale disasters but by the accumulation of stress and trauma over many years, research shows. [Sun Sentinel]

The day a gunman fired into a crowd of 22,000 people at the country music festival in Las Vegas, hospital nursing supervisor Antoinette Mullan was focused on one thing: saving lives.

She recalls dead bodies on gurneys across the triage floor, a trauma bay full of victims. But "in that moment, we’re not aware of anything else but taking care of what’s in front of us," Mullan said.

Proud as she was of the work her team did, she calls it "the most horrific evening of my life" — the culmination of years of searing experiences she has tried to work through, mostly on her own.

"I can tell you that after 30 years, I still have emotional breakdowns and I never know when it’s going to hit me," said Mullan.

Calamities seem to be multiplying in recent years, including mass shootings, fires, hurricanes and mudslides. Just last month, a gunman burst into the newsroom of the Capital Gazette in Annapolis, Md., killing five journalists and injuring two others.

Many of the men and women who respond to these tragedies have become heroes and victims at once. Some firefighters, emergency medical providers, law enforcement officers and others say the scale, sadness and sometimes sheer gruesomeness of their experiences haunt them, leading to tearfulness and depression, job burnout, substance abuse, relationship problems, even suicide.

Many, like Mullan, are stoic, forgoing counseling even when it is offered.

"I don’t have this sense that I need to go and speak to someone," said Mullan. "Maybe I do, and I just don’t know it."
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Suicide Prevention Begins With Courageous Captains

Preventing suicides begins in your own house! 
Combat PTSD Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 9, 2018

In case you forgot what being a Captain is,
Definition of captain

1 a (1) : a military leader : the commander of a unit or a body of troops
(2) : a subordinate officer commanding under a sovereign or general
(3) : a commissioned officer in the army, air force, or marine corps ranking above a first lieutenant and below a major

b (1) : a naval officer who is master or commander of a ship
(2) : a commissioned officer in the navy ranking above a commander and below a commodore and in the coast guard ranking above a commander and below a rear admiral
c : a senior pilot who commands the crew of an airplane
d : an officer in a police department or fire department in charge of a unit (such as a precinct or company) and usually ranking above a lieutenant and below a chief

Considering that military suicides have averaged about 500 a year since 2012, while combat deaths within the same years were much lower, it is time for Captains to step up.

Considering that law enforcement suicides have gone up, while deaths in the line of duty have not gone up the same way, time for Captains to step up.

It isn't as if no one has been talking about this. This report from AP came out in 2008. Yes! 2008, ten years ago!


Considering firefighters are committing suicide in higher numbers, according to a report from CBS, emergency responders are ten times more likely to commit suicide and that came from Emergency Medical Services. 

Battalion Chief Erik Sutton and Battalion Chief David Dangerfield, posted about firefighters and PTSD, before he committed suicide, among many more, are still finding it hard to ask for help.

How many will it take before Captains get some courage to actually do something that will get rid of the stigma?

81% of the firefighters feared they would be seen as weak according to an NBC survey.

Is it that they are under some kind of delusion that the people under them are no longer the kind of people who would die to save someone else? Do they know their own people?

If the stigma of PTSD among those who would die for the sake of someone else is still stronger than the events they face on a daily basis, then the Captains and other leaders need to start figuring out how they need to change the message.

The only way to do that is to actually find out what PTSD is and the difference between what civilians get from one event AND THE TYPE OF PTSD RESPONDERS GET FROM FACING DEATH RESPONDING TO THE OTHERS THEY WOULD DIE FOR!

This isn't rocket science but it is common sense. When we have so many still taking their own lives after all these years, they ran out of excuses!

PTSD Patrol Road Crew Needs You!

This is how we change the conversation from doom and gloom to the message of #TakeBackYourLife and heal PTSD. This is for everyone who has survived traumatic events...including me.

This is a BOGO...buy one and one will be given to a veteran or anyone who wants to join the road crew.

If you want to do a video, you get a shirt. Just link it to PTSD Patrol from your own cell phone or YouTube. It has to be positive and related to driving! Much like driving a car, we're trying to get the message across they can take control of the vehicle they live in.

If you want to just be able to open a conversation to let someone in need that you care, you get a T-shirt.

If you want to just get a T-shirt to support this cause, please donate $25 and then you get one and just bought one for the road crew.

Message me your address and the size you want. I'll send you my business cards so that you do not have to talk more than you are comfortable doing.

Also. PTSD Patrol is doing Sunday Morning Empowerment Zone videos. Be sure to check it out!

The money is going directly to my work under my tax exempt with Point Man.

Canada faces "epidemic" of suicides among people who have PTSD

Senate passes bill to create PTSD strategy, sponsor hopes it curbs suicides
CTV News Canada
Rachel Aiello, Ottawa News Bureau Online Producer
June 14, 2018

Under the bill, Federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor has to call a conference between her federal defence, veterans affairs, and public safety counterparts, alongside other stakeholders, within a year of the bill becoming law. Six months from then, the health minister has to report to Parliament with the official plan.

Hundreds of police patrol Parliament Hill before protest

OTTAWA – In 18 months, Canada is set to have its first federal plan to address post-traumatic stress disorder, after a private member's bill passed the Senate Thursday.

Bill C-211, sponsored by Conservative B.C. MP Todd Doherty, aims to curb what he calls an "epidemic" of suicides among people who have PTSD.

The bill requires the federal government to work alongside the provinces and territories, and members of the medical community, to create a federal framework to fully address post-traumatic stress disorder, from recognizing symptoms to treatment.

While the framework will apply generally, Doherty's inspiration for the bill was the paramedics, police officers, nurses, firefighters, military members, corrections officers, and RCMP who deal with PTSD as a result of their jobs.

"It is bittersweet. Today is a good day, but there are a lot of men and women that have lost their lives, and today we send a message that we, collectively, we are going to fight for those who fight for us," Doherty said.

He said numerous lives have been lost since his bill was first introduced, but in the last week alone, he's aware of four first responders who died by suicide.
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We suck at risking anything for them

We build monuments to honor the lives lost of those who risked all for us. 

We have ceremonies talking about all they gave.

We have politicians making speeches about how much our heroes matter.

When do we finally acknowledge we suck at risking anything for them?

Police officers fight to save victims of crimes and accidents...and each other.

Firefighters fight to save victims of fires and accidents...and each other.

Reserve and National Guard members fight to recover victims and save survivors of natural disasters...and each other. 

Servicemembers risk their lives for strangers...and each other.

The price they pay for all they do for us will never be repaid by us. It haunts them and they forget they did not do their jobs alone, but fight this alone.


Friends do not let friends decide to give up. They fight for them when they cannot fight for themselves.

Friends to not let friends suffer in silence. They speak up for them.

Friends do not walk away because they do not know what to say. They find someone who does.

Friends do not let friends repeat lies. The number of these men and women, who did all they could to save lives of strangers, but not their own, is unknown. 

If you do not know why, then you have not bothered to take the time to research anything.

Stop spreading something that is simply not true. It is the least we can do.

Firefighter Battles Own Mind with PTSD

Retired Firefighter Battles Own Mind with PTSD
FOX 16 News
By: Mitch McCoy
Updated: May 23, 2018

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - In a game of chess, you have to find your intellectual self to not only predict the next move but to make that one move to win.

"There's no way to come back from that," says Britton Turner.

Retired Little Rock Firefighter Britton Turner knows the mind can also play tricks.

"You have this compartment in your head that is only so big and it can only carry so much," says Turner.

Decades of service to the Capital City means saving lives going call to call. "She's screaming," recalls Britton. "It triggered something in my head."

It changed the former Captain's life forever.

"It was actually a patient's mother because she reminded me so much of my mother and what my mother would be doing if I was in the same place," says Turner.
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