Growing up as the daughter of a firefighter, I’ve witnessed first hand how the job affects my father. I remember being twelve and my dad coming home from work one morning with his mood completely off. I remember asking him what’s wrong and his response was “I had to go to a really bad scene last night, I didn't sleep.” Since that day, I never questioned my dad’s behavior post shift. I understood. How bad can a first responder’s mental health get from the job? Due to constantly being around traumatic scenes while on the job, these workers experience being around dead bodies, bodily fluids, dismembered body parts, and even death. I believe being around and witnessing such traumatic events as often as they do, there is no doubt that their mental state is going to suffer. “Yes they are trained professionals but they are also human beings” (Schneidereit, Paul). Many first responders over time experience suicidal thoughts; some actually attempt.
The number of mental health claims filed by first responders has drastically increased in only five years. Due to the increase of mental health issues in these workers, many are leaving the profession to find unrelated workplaces, thus making these first responder jobs lack more workers. According to the article Huge Jumps in Mental Health Costs for Hamilton’s First Responders, in 2022 the paramedic field was missing about 250 more paramedics; making those who decided to stay to be pushed more and more.
I have learned a lot about this work field and what they encounter that affects their mental health. For starters, being a firefighter does NOT mean just putting out fires. All firefighters must be EMT certified meaning they are required to know the basic medical procedures for emergency situations where a civilian is injured. With that being said, these firefighters/EMTs and especially paramedics encounter loads of traumatic scenes while on the job. Attending to people is not the only task these workers have to focus on; animals fall under their jurisdiction as well. Whether it's pulling a dog from a house fire and administering an oxygen mask over its mouth or even having to save a cat from a tall tree like the stereotypical firefighter; these workers are built to out stand any challenge even if it has nothing to do with a civilian.
Of course these workers are trained professionals and should be able to withstand any obstacle they encounter, however that doesn't mean they are mentally trained as well as physically. “There is no training in the world that can lower the impact of walking around body parts” (Mitchell, Jefferey). No one will really understand the massive toll that these traumatic scenes can bring onto a person until they live through it. Could you keep it together if you were the one pulling a dismembered body part from a scene? Or if you were the one to cover the lifeless child with a sheet after a bad car accident? Not many people could; but first responders have to.
PTSD has been the most seen mental issue among first responders; thus being due to the traumatic events and scenes that these workers have to witness. PTSD is defined as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and can greatly affect a person’s mental state just by reminding them of the horrors they once witnessed or experienced. Because of PTSD, first responders have trouble even staying at work, many workers who claim they experience PTSD due to their job have to leave work for weeks to even years just to mentally recover; some never return.Adrenaline works hand-in-hand with PTSD in this case. "Adrenaline usually carries the worker through the immediate situation, then an hour later, you realize" (Willis, Pail) The body has a way to protect the brain from trauma by pumping adrenaline through your veins; after the adrenaline wears off and the brain has time to process, PTSD sets in. There have been many organizations and programs that have been greatly funded to support and urge our first responders to get the help they need. Many jurisdictions make it a requirement to have mental health meetings or to simply keep a first responder hotline available at all times in case one of these workers needs to defuse.
Defusing is a process that was created by first responders themselves to help cope with their traumas on their own. Because most of these workers never reach out to get the help they need, defusing has stepped in to still offer a breath of fresh air. “I don't want to talk about it because I'll be weak” (Willis, Pail). Defusing starts by asking the question “What happened?” From there advice and tips are offered. These workers are told to keep themselves busy and the mind distracted until they are tired enough to sleep. They are to avoid fats, sodium and caffeine in times of severe stress. However, defusing can only be effective one to three days after the event due to the brain’s processing. It takes about 24 hours for the brain to fully process and comprehend the experience and trauma before being able to express and understand what they went through.
I sat down with my father on his day off to get more insight on how being a firefighter affects him. After asking him questions about his and his coworkers experiences, I now understand just how well these workers can hide their struggles. I asked him, “Have you or someone you work with ever experienced suicidal thoughts due to the job?” His answer was yes. He told me he has personally had suicidal thoughts due to a majorly traumatic scene that left him thinking about it for months; his captain was not so lucky as he actually attempted.“My captain has attempted twice and turned to substance abuse after having to pull a mother and her baby’s bodies from a car in the canal.” I learned that scenes that involve children have a much greater effect and impact on these workers because most of these workers are parents themselves. “You can almost always justify in some way adults doing each other in because they’re adults responsible for their actions. But children are innocent” (Grubisic, Joseph)
According to my dad, being a first responder is a tough job but a necessary job as well. It has its pros and cons; you save peoples’ lives but at the cost of your mental health. After researching on this topic, it's true to say that yes, being a first responder is not for everyone and that it comes with many factors that you need to overcome. These people save lives on the daily but at a major cost; their own mental state. After being around and speaking to most of the firefighters, EMT's, and paramedics that serve our valley, I have realized that most of them have the same trait; tiredness. These workers are on call at any time of the day or night meaning life doesn't stop for them to get a quick nap in. I find it to be a skill to be able to work in such a fast paced and very pressured job with such little sleep or food to fuel them.
In conclusion, I believe first responders are God’s angels and they deserve the praise and appreciation that they lack; most civilians don't even realize the amount of stress and trauma these workers are put through every day. I chose this specific topic for the sole purpose that I myself want to become an EMT paramedic. Even though the job comes with many challenges, I know that the world would not survive without it. Many people don't appreciate our first responders the way they deserve. These workers put their own mental state on the line just to finish a job and save a life. No one really knows the things they see, the things they have to touch, or the people they have to interact with that can all take a toll on them. First responders are our heroes.
Works Cited
"Do not take our first responders for granted: Appreciate our first responders (Letters, Jan. 31)." The Spectator, Feb 03, 2015. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/do-not-take-our-first-responders-granted/docview/1658509615/se-2. Accessed Oct. 15
Edgelow, Megan, et al. "Organizational Factors and Their Impact on Mental Health in Public Safety Organizations." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 19, no. 21, 2022, pp. 13993. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/organizational-factors-their-impact-on-mental/docview/2734633714/se-2, doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192113993. Accessed Oct. 15
"Huge jump in mental health costs for Hamilton's first responders." The Hamilton Spectator (Online)Torstar Syndication Services, a Division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, 2020. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/blogs-podcasts-websites/huge-jump-mental-health-costs-hamiltons-first/docview/2383819395/se-2. Accessed Oct. 15
Rose Wong -- Times. "When helping others takes a toll: Tampa Bay first responders open up about the mental cost of constantly being exposed to trauma." Tampa Bay Times, Dec 26, 2021, pp. 1. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/when-helping-others-takes-toll/docview/2614227866/se-2. Accessed Oct. 15
Schneidereit, Paul. "Jobs that will break you: Paramedics lead PTSD casualty count." Chronicle - Herald, Jul 08, 2022. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/jobs-that-will-break-you/docview/2686881964/se-2. Accessed Oct. 15
Willis, Dail. "After Seeing Horrors, Emergency Crews Need Emotional First Aid Mental health: Tough workers are not immune to stress disorders, " the counseling group says. Talking about traumatic incidents is vital.: [Bulldog Edition]." Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Full Text), Apr 25, 1993, pp. 5. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/after-seeing-horrors-emergency-crews-need/docview/282051466/se-2. Accessed Oct. 15
Comments