Firefighter honored for saving colleague from suicide
EastIdahoNews.com Nate Eaton East Idaho Real Heroes March 14, 2019
POCATELLO — Dustin Hale was ready to end it all.
The Pocatello firefighter had decided life wasn’t worth it and didn’t care to live anymore.
“I had reached a point where I couldn’t see a way out,” Hale says.
Hale served ten years in the U.S. Navy before joining the department where he worked for five and a half years.
He was a paramedic and dealt with traumatic, life and death situations nearly every day.
“You take those images home and you see all that pain and suffering and some people are ok with it,” Hale tells EastIdahoNews.com. “I seem to absorb all that and take it with me all the time.”
The PTSD from his job led to insomnia and Hale would sometimes go two or three days without sleeping. He turned to alcohol and it got to the point where he could no longer do his job.
“I knew that I wasn’t the person I would want showing up to take care of me,” Hale says.
Hale’s behavior was so bad the department needed to let him go but on the day he was supposed to meet with administrators, he never showed up.
“I reached out to try and contact him and was unable to get a hold of him,” recalls Pocatello Fire Captain Andy Moldenhauer.
Moldenhauer didn’t feel right about Hale’s absence so he met up with Hale’s sister and went to his house.
“The fire department is a brotherhood and I relayed to him that even if he was no longer an employee of the fire department, he was still a brother,” Moldenhauer says.
Those work brothers spoke for four hours with Hale initially refusing to even think about getting help.
“He admitted to having a gun in his mouth earlier that day and that was the point when I tried to turn his experience as a paramedic on him and say, ‘You’ve now obligated me to stay here,'” Moldenhauer says.
Eventually, Hale agreed to go the VA Salt Lake City Center and Moldenhauer, along with a battalion chief, drove him to Utah. read more here
‘Facing the monster’: Spokane firefighter battles PTSD
The Spokesman Review Megan Rowe March 3, 2019
“It turned out to be a very difficult recovery from the injury. A lot of pain, sleepless nights, strong medication. … Somewhere in that process, all of the events I’ve witnessed over the years and all the sadness just flooded back to me.” Lou Franchino
Not long ago, had you asked Lou Franchino, a Spokane firefighter for 23 years, if he would ever return to work, he would have said no.
He was experiencing extended bouts of insomnia. While awake, he described a near-constant state of anxiety. Traumatic calls flashed through his head at a breakneck pace: People who shot themselves in front of their family members, people who died in fires, from sudden infant death syndrome or a heart attack at a family dinner. Franchino was having breakdowns, erupting into tears at a moment’s notice. He felt trapped as a car passenger.
“It’s like being on anxious, high alert, all day long, 24 hours a day, you just can’t turn it off,” Franchino said. “And you talk to yourself like ‘Come on, calm down, you’re safe, everything’s fine.’ You can’t turn it off.”
Franchino sought answers from multiple doctors and everyone arrived at the same conclusion: Franchino was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Luckily for Franchino, Washington legislators passed a law last March which allowed him – and all other first responders – to receive treatment through workers’ compensation. A similar bill is expected to be signed in Idaho by Gov. Brad Little. read more here
'I could feel my skin burning again' | Former firefighter opens up about his fight with PTSD
KDSK News Author: Casey Nolen February 20, 2019
Firefighters and police officers are five times more likely to suffer from PTSD and more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty.
"A broken arm, you can put a cast on it and it will heal. PTSD and what firefighters and police officers deal with, this is something they can struggle with the rest of their life," said Anthony Bass with SSM Health Treatment and Recovery who counsels first responders.
It was a snow covered January night in 2014 when Tim Kirchoff and his crew arrived at a burning house on Nancy Drive in St. Charles. The fire looked like it was mostly out, but it flared up while Kirchoff and three fellow firefighters were in the basement, trapping them.
"I got to the point that I curled up on the floor and basically told my wife and kids goodbye," Kirchoff said. He can remember the fire like it was yesterday. "I knew this is the way I was going to die."
Somehow all four trapped firefighters made it out alive. Several surgeries helped mend Kirchoff's injuries on the outside. But inside, he was only getting worse.
"I was having nightmares. I was reliving it. I could literally feel my skin burning again; I couldn't sleep," said Kirchoff of the months after the fire. read more here
Law enforcement peer group meets in Dothan hoping to help others
WTVY News By Ken Curtis Feb 19, 2019
A few years ago, Houston County Sheriff Donald Valenza's fellow officer took his life. Valenza often wonders if he could have done something to prevent the tragedy.
Law enforcement officers, others attend seminar in Dothan to help them cope with job stress. Photo from February 19, 2019.
That prompted him to to organize seminars that help law enforcement officers cope with job related stress.
Alabama Fire Marshal's Office Investigator Jason Clifton attended his fourth seminar in Dothan Tuesday.
“It's a life changer to know you're not alone and you don't have to keep it bottled up inside because, if you keep things bottled up inside, you'll create a bomb that will explode,” Clifton said.
In 2017, more officers nationwide died from suicide than in the line of duty,” according to the website officer.com. Statistics show 140 police officers and 103 firefighters committed suicide.
Making the figures more disturbing, the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliances estimates only about 40 percent of firefighter suicides are reported. read more here
Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos February 16, 2019 Maybe it is the margarita I had with dinner tonight, but I've been sitting here for a while, reading about more suicides, and shaking my head...totally speechless. None of these suicides make sense. Can someone please give me a reason that would explain how someone values lives so much, they are willing to die to save someone else...then take their own life? How does that work? How do they reach that as the solution to their problems when there are so many other options for them? How do they have no problem asking for help, or backup, when the odds are stacked against them being able to prevent deaths, but cannot open their mouths to do the same when it is their life on the line? Any ideas? Within all the reports I read, there are others that tell how they will go to great lengths to prevent the suicide of a stranger. It happened here in Orlando when an amputee veteran had a knife to his throat and then asked Officer Wesley Cook to put a bullet in him. Officer Cook, a veteran as well, talked to the veteran about what can happen for him, instead of the only thing he was thinking about.
Officer Cook showed patience and compassion for the veteran in crisis and it changed the outcome because he understood what was going on. So again, tell me how it is that this officer, knew what was going on within the mind of this veteran, but so many police officers are taking their own lives all over the country? 159 did last year.
It happens to Firefighters too. Even volunteer firefighters like "Tim Ebert died by suicide last week" in Wisconsin.
"He was a student at UW-Platteville. So, between being a student working part time and being a volunteer on the Fire Department, he was a pretty busy guy," Simmons said.
We know suicides in the military are up as well in the veterans community. What we do not know is how to get the nonsense out of their conversations and start real ones that can help them make sense out of their lives. They still do not understand what PTSD is!!!!
If we get them to see how none of this makes sense...then maybe they'll have a chance to make sense out of their lives.
'I remember every tragic thing I've seen' - Local firefighters open up about mental health
News Channel 9 Kayla Strayer January 30, 2019
"The worst things that I've personally seen are burn injuries to children," Hyman said. "Trauma to children, those are some of the worst ones."
The Chattanooga Fire Department launched a peer support program in an effort to help firefighters deal with the mental stress of their jobs. (Image: Jim Lewis)
It doesn't go away at the end of the shift.
"I remember every tragic thing I've seen, especially kids," Lewis said.
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Suicides among first responders are on the rise, says Chattanooga Fire Chief Phil Hyman.
"Our firefighter suicides throughout the nation have actually exceeded the line of duty deaths that we have," Chief Hyman said. "In 2017 we had 103 firefighter suicides, and only 93 line of duty deaths."
First responders deal with death and destruction, sometimes on a daily basis.
"We expose our members to a lot of bad stuff that's the nature of our job," Hyman said. "Most of the stuff you see you can't unsee."
Dallas Bay Volunteer Firefighter and Chaplain Jim Lewis says, "It's a slideshow in your head."
A sickening slideshow of tragic images.
read more here
Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos January 26, 2019 Why do people decide that they are willing to take jobs that could cost them their lives? Did they just wake up one morning and think, "I'd die for that chance?"
Whenever it happened, whenever they went to begin training for the jobs dedicated to saving lives, or defending a nation, that is exactly what they decided was worth it. Now, all of us can understand when what they try to save us from, changes everything for us. So why can't we understand what all the times they do it, does to them? How oblivious are we? How self-centered are we when we ignore what those jobs are doing to them? We get PTSD from one traumatic event. They get PTSD from far too many of them. Then they have this twisted thought that they were supposed to be better, stronger, and beyond reach of the residual demon of destruction. More to the point is, how oblivious are the leaders of the men and women suffering, that they do not see their jobs cause more deaths than doing the job itself? More in the military die as a result of suicide than die doing their jobs. More die in the National Guard and Reserves to suicide than die doing their jobs. More Police Officers dies to suicide than dies doing their jobs. More Firefighters die to suicide than die doing their jobs. According to the CDC, suicides in America have continued to increase. While some want to suggest that since it has happened to everyone else, then, it is just the way things are. As pathetic as that thought is, what they do not acknowledge is fueling the loss of lives. These men and women decided that saving lives was worth dying for...but their own life was not worth fighting for anymore. Why? Who gave them that impression? Who allowed the thought to penetrate their brains that they were supposed to just suffer silently instead of turning to all the others they served with to help save their own lives? Would they do whatever they could to save one of their own? The pain is running silent, angry and deep. It is time to look in their eyes and tell them that it is time to #BreakTheSilence and #TakeBackYourLife because this time, the life needing saving is yours!
Barry Manilow - Read 'em And Weep
Lyrics
I've been tryin for hour just to think of what exactly to say
I thought I leave you with a letter or a fiery speech
Like when an actor makes an exit at the end of a play
And I've been dying for hours trying to fill up all the holes with some sense
I like to know why you gave up and threw it away
I like to give you all the reasons and what everything meant
Well, I can tell you goodbye or maybe see you around
With just a touch of sarcastic thanks
We started out with a bang
And at the top of the world
Now the guns are exhausted
And the bullets are blanks
And everything's blank
If I could only find the words
Then I would write it all down
If I could only find the voice
I would speak
Oh its there in my eyes
Oh can't you see me tonight
Come on and look at me
And read 'em and weep
If I could only find the words
Then I would write it all down
If I could only find the voice
I would speak
Oh its there in my eyes
Oh can't you see me tonight
Come on and look at me
And read 'em and weep
I've been whispering softly
Trying to build a cry up to a scream
We let the past slip away
And put the future on hold
Now the present is nothing but a hollowed out dream
Lakeland Fire Department rolls out Peer Support training
The Ledger By Kathy Leigh Berkowitz Posted Jan 20, 2019
The program was created to combat depression, suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder faced by first responders.
LAKELAND — Deaths of first responders to suicide, increased depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other symptoms of mental health trauma have led some fire department leaders to change the way they want to see their peers cope with the often stressful and heartbreaking job. “Tradition is you just suck it up and go about your day, and just let it go,” Lakeland Fire Department Lt. Phil Green said Tuesday as the agency rolled out training for peer support last week.
Firefighters fight the macho mentality, the pressure of presenting as invincible, Green said. “There is a fear of saying, ‘I am not OK’,” he said, but “we are human just like everybody else.” Green, 36, was one of those peers chosen to take the training in an effort to be a sounding board for fellow firefighters. At 14 years in fire services, he said now that the awareness is there, he hopes people speak up when they need to talk. First responders face all kinds of trauma on a daily basis. “Vehicle accidents, all different ages. People hang themselves, shoot themselves. Some are burned to death. I have seen children die. ... I have actually stepped in brain matter on scene. I have placed bodies in body bags,” he said. One day Green said he answered a very bad call involving a child. As a father of a 4-year-old girl, Green said the call had “gotten to” him.
He met with a few other firefighters. “We said, let’s go get some coffee.”
An anonymous survey was distributed throughout the department, asking firefighters to write down the name or names of people they would turn to if they needed help coping with something. Those whose names popped up numerous times were gathered and brought to the training as the first peers to be certified under the program.
New Law Protects Privacy of First Responders Seeking Mental Health Treatment
NECN Karen Hensel January 16, 2019
Those stories included the night that Boston Police Sgt. Brian Fleming recalled nearly took his own life. It was his first time the now-retired officer and peer support counselor talked about what happened. "I took a gun out, put it to my head," Fleming said. "I wanted to die."
Massachusetts police officers and firefighters say a new bill signed into law Wednesday will allow them to ask for help and will save lives.
Surrounded by first responders and lawmakers, Gov. Charlie Baker signed the bill allowing first responders to seek guidance from their peers confidentially. They say that one-on-one conversation with someone who has also been through similar experiences will help them cope with the traumatic events experienced in the line of duty.
They say they can now confide without fear the conversation will be used against them on the job.
"Providing law enforcement officers with the ability to confidentially seek guidance from their peers will help them cope with the events they experience in the line of duty," said Baker. "We are thankful for the Legislature and law enforcement for their advocacy on this bill to increase support for services and reduce stigma around mental health issues. I am glad people saw it through and got it done." read more here
Lakeland Fire Department addressing post-traumatic stress in firefighters
FOX 13 News Ken Suarez January 14, 2019
Until recently, firefighters were expect to work out their problems on their own and not share them. The result can be post-traumatic stress, or in more severe cases, post-traumatic stress disorder.
LAKELAND, Fla. (FOX 13) - If you think you’re stressed at work, imagine being a firefighter. They deal with people during the lowest points of their lives, while their house is burning, or just moments after a terrible, possibly fatal car crash.
What’s worse, according to Assistant Chief Rick Hertzog of the Lakeland Fire Department, it is difficult for firefighters to move on after experiencing an especially traumatic situation.
“We pass by these locations where we run these calls over and over again,” he told FOX 13, noting the stress “continues to build up inside of us until sometimes we are just unable to cope.”
Traditionally, if firefighters confided that they were having a hard time emotionally, they would have been told to just deal with it and move on.
“That's how they handled it, they buried those feelings down,” said Tom Howard, a trainer from Illinois Firefighter Peer Support. read more here
Firehouse Forums Riley Johnson January 13, 2019
Former Lincoln Fire and Rescue paramedic Rob Ravndal is sharing his experiences with PTSD to help change cultural attitudes toward first responders.
Former Lincoln Fire and Rescue paramedic Rob Ravndal. LINCOLN, NE, FIRE and RESCUE
Paramedic Rob Ravndal went on hundreds of emergency calls before the one response that ultimately ended his career at Lincoln Fire and Rescue.
The trauma of that call, a 3-year-old's drowning in 2015, sent the father of young children into a spiral.
Nightmares. Breakdowns. A general sense of fear.
Even after his bosses pulled him off the ambulance, Ravndal struggled at work and at home as he grappled with post-traumatic stress disorder.
One in five firefighters or paramedics nationwide will suffer from PTSD during their career, according to the Journal for Occupational Health Psychology.
Ravndal sought treatment, eventually becoming the first Lincoln firefighter to use a service dog. But he never returned to full-duty and ended his nine-year tenure in October, walking away from the job the he said made him feel like a superhero.
Ravndal, 46, hopes sharing his experiences grappling with the disorder and trying to continue his career will help change the culture toward first responders experiencing PTSD.
"If the people don't do something to change it, they can't be upset if they call 911 and nobody comes," he said.
read more here
Breaking your silence: First-hand accounts from our first responders and their families
Our Stressed Into Silence series has prompted several of you to come forward with your experiences with PTSD. These are your stories.
Author: Brooke Hasch, Rob Harris, Courtney Hayden
December 21, 2018
Over the last week, WHAS11 has aired a series called, Stressed into Silence, shedding light on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among first responders. Their stories - raw and powerful. The vulnerability of those who came forward have inspired others to break the silence.
For this firefighter, it was a call he should not have gone on. It was Mother's day and the address was his parent's house. Listen to him talk about getting help.
One thing I need to add here is that if you understood that PTSD only comes after you were hit by it and survived it, then there would be no need to feel ashamed of the damn thing.
Turning heartache into action requires more than love
Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos December 15, 2018 When you suffer a loss of someone you love, the pain can be so great, the only way to relieve it, is to find something else to fill the void left behind. While it is totally understandable to want to do something, doing the right thing requires so much more than the desire.
After more than half my life has been dedicated to defeating PTSD, it began because of the pain I was introduced to when I fell in love. I knew what was attached to the stigma preventing veterans from seeking help. What I did not know was how to get it out of the way. It required a couple of years of research before I began to write about it. About ten years later, personal computers connected people just like me across the country, and we learned more. We shared more and then we began to change the conversation. To say it is heartbreakingly frustrating to see the outcome today, is far from adequate. Putting my fist through my computer is closer to how I feel every time I read about someone starting a charity because they are hurting. How many more do we need before people finally wake up and take all of this as seriously as it deserves to be taken? I was reading a report about a firefighter's Mom in the process of starting a charity because her son committed suicide. It has not even started yet, but managed to get the attention of the Chronicle Herald. It has a lot of claims in it that have been proven to have already failed, but that is not even mentioned. The Mom knows what pain she feels, but did not know the pain her son was carrying, and lacked the knowledge to know what his job was doing to him. But this Mom decided that experience should be turned into yet another effort, based on what failed so she can share it?
(The Mom) highly praised the assistance (her son) received from Halifax Regional Fire services.“I can’t even begin to tell you how supportive they were,” she said. “Within the resources they have and the skills and tools they had, they over-performed by 500 per cent.”
She praised it after her son was failed by it? Then she talked about how there are things in place that work? We have got to stop being silent when so much of what works is not worth them mentioning!
Here in the US, we have far too many just like her, and that is our biggest problem. Wanting to do something and knowing how to do it are two very different things.
Preventing suicides requires a serious effort, but we have not seen as much dedication toward discovering what is already available and what has been proven to have failed. Resilience training failed with catastrophic results. The DOD began that "effort" over a decade ago, yet ever since 2012, we have seen more service members commit suicide, than those killed in two wars every year.
This "effort" actually hinders them from seeking help because they are told they can "train their brains" to be mentally tough. Since they do not actually understand what PTSD, they end up believing they are mentally weak, instead of knowing PTSD hit their core because of the strength within them. How long do we allow all of this to go on because we do not want to hurt someone who has suffered a loss? How long do we let people, with good intentions, spread what failed, because we feel sorry for them? The number of known suicides has gone up because we have simply allowed grief stricken people to do whatever they wanted to do, blindly supported them in their "efforts" because we did not want to inflict more pain? Seriously? We managed to allow the pain to spread out so that more families knew exactly what the provider had been through the hard way. It happened to them! If we keep failing to get serious about all this, we will continue to see more and more take their own lives because we failed to show them the way to take control of their healing. Too many never even knew they could! #TakeBackYourLife
Our first responders answer the calls on our worst days. Over time, their exposure to the stresses of the job and traumatic events can take a toll on their mental health. But few will openly talk about it. There's a stigma that comes with this discussion and we're trying to break it.
One of the biggest dangers our first responders face today is Post Traumatic Stress, more often referred to as PTSD.
First responders are often ignored and under-appreciated and for many who struggle - they struggle in silence. They'll tell you there is a fear that asking for help is a sign of 'weakness.' It's not.
Join us next week (December 17th - 21st) as we investigate and attempt to break that stigma. We look to uncover institutional problems and show innovative solutions to help those suffering from PTSD.
Be sure to watch our Battle After the Blaze coverage where we looked into firefighters across Kentuckiana that were facing a health threat that surfaced years after fighting fires and saving lives.
read more here
Stressed into silence: When the worst calls hit home for first responders
911 dispatchers communicate with us during our worst moments and those calls can continue to haunt them long after they've disconnected.
Author: Brooke Hasch
December 17, 2018
LOUISVILLE (WHAS11) — First responders are handed the worst of what humanity has to offer on a daily basis. Over time, their exposure to these stresses can take a toll on their mental health. But few will openly talk about it.
"No one ever calls us when they're having a good day," Chris Presley, a MetroSafe supervisor, in Louisville. read more here
Hero Grenfell Tower firefighter 'I have been cast out of a job I love'
THE DAILY MAIL By KATHRYN KNIGHT 7 December 2018
Charlie Kaye was one of hundreds of firemen at Grenfell Tower blaze aftermath Nine months later he ran into a burning building in a desperate bid to save a man Mr Kaye, 32, contravened Fire Brigade rules as he entered without his partner His heroism led to a dismissal for contravening health and safety regulations
Like many dedicated firefighters, Charlie Kaye has spent his professional life propelled by two instincts — to save lives and help others.
Charlie Kaye (centre left) was one of four firefighters to receive a prestigious Borough Commander’s Award for bravery for helping to save a woman who had collapsed from a blood clot
In ten years of distinguished service he’s battled blazes all over London and attended harrowing road and rail accidents — each one leaving its mark.
‘I have lost count of the number of fatal incidents I’ve attended. Each one eats away at you a little,’ he recalls. ‘But that’s the job.’
It’s a job which, in June last year, led him to one of the most distressing points of his career, when the 32-year-old was one of the hundreds of fireman to attend the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, helping to clear bodies from the wreckage of the West London tower block. The sights of that day are permanently seared on his mind — along with the guilt that this time, there was no chance of saving anyone. read more here
Google donates $1 million to First Responder Support Network to assist with PTSD recovery
9to5 Google Ben Schoon Oct. 26th 2018
The First Responder Support Network (FRSN) was developed by and for first responders. Their goal is to provide education and assistance to those still recovering from incidents that impact their day-to-day life and thoughts, such as a child who didn’t make it or a wounded colleague.
With all of the disasters that happen around the world nowadays, we sometimes forget about the first responders whose career it is to be on-site at these tragic events. Today, Google is donating $1 million to the First Responder Support Network to assist in helping these first responders with PTSD and other aspects of recovery.
Google announced in a post today on The Keyword that the company would be making this donation to the First Responders Support Network. The FRSN provides support for first responders who are dealing with PTSD and other issues following incidents.
The network offers one-week residential programs for first responders to help educate, and help them cope with their situations. The waiting list for this program can often be up to 6 months long. read more here
