By Tony Bratcher
In 2016, 75 firefighters died in the line of duty, according to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. According to the Firefighter Behavior Health Alliance, 139 firefighters were reported to have died from suicide during that same period. Firefighters are 1.5 times more likely to die from suicide than in the line of duty. These numbers are staggering to me, considering that most firefighters continue to say that they love their job or that it’s the best job in the world.
Firefighters are exposed to heat that can reach more than 1,200°F, car crashes that can bring down extremely hazardous electrical wires, international and domestic terrorism, hazardous materials of which just one inhalation can kill them, and environments that are much more immediately dangerous to life or health. Despite this death and destruction that we encounter every day and the repeated routine exposure to hazardous incidents, it’s what we cannot see that is killing us.
Firefighters have been described as strong, capable, confident, and caring. We continuously train every shift to better ourselves to prepare for the fires, car accidents, terrible medical calls, and any other situation that is thrown at us. We do this for the communities we serve; we train to return home to our families after our shift is finished. It is time we equip and train our firefighters to fight the enemy that lives within their heads. We must be proactive in protecting our firefighters’ minds and mental health.
To be equipped for this battle, we must first reflect on how we got here. This problem isn’t new and not just for firefighters; it’s nationwide. You don’t have to look very far to find someone who is dealing with depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder. Many Americans are in treatment or on prescription medications for these illnesses. My guess is these illnesses have lived in our firehouses for as long as we have. The firefighter’s job hasn’t changed much since its inception. The types of incidents we respond to have changed, but the mission has always been the same. We respond when someone calls 911, and we fix whatever problem that is reported on the other end of the line—fires, overdoses, domestic violence, deaths, and overall destruction.
Firefighters have seen some of the worst events known, many of which never make the news, and that’s probably a good thing. Sure, maybe society has gotten worse, and people have less regard for human life and think less of others. This could also be attributed to the mental health issues in this country, but it’s safe to say things have gotten worse. Mental health issues in the fire service are nothing new; we struggle with what we have to see every day and probably have since the beginning of the fire service. So why are we just talking about this now? Why have we not been treating our firefighters’ illnesses? It’s because we are the problem solvers, not the ones with the problems.
Firefighters help fix others when they are broken; admitting that we are the broken ones is tough. At any firehouse in the country, firefighters around the kitchen table will talk about anything and everything— politics, sports, religion, and current events. You name it, we will talk about it. We like to talk but not about our mental health issues. We don’t like to talk about our problems. We don’t want to seem weak around the crew. We don’t want our fellow firefighters to doubt our ability to do the job.
Only recently has the conversation started to shift, and we truly began to talk about the elephant in our firehouses. Fire departments around the country are struggling to find answers to this growing problem. When a firefighter dies in the line of duty, we study the death, we research the cause, and we train to make sure it never happens again. Why don’t we take this same approach to our suicide and mental health problem? What is stopping us from kicking these mental health issues out of our firehouses forever?
We have the numbers, the data, and a solution for everyone else’s problems. It’s time we solve our problems. We can’t rely on politicians to help us, we can’t wait for administrators to help us, and we have to be the ones who support us. When a problem arises in the firehouse or a situation comes up, the company officer is notified and tasked with solving the problem.
The company officer is one of the vital positions in the fire department, the one who serves the firefighters and sees to it that their needs are met and that they are healthy and safe. Company officers ensure that the fire department’s goals and vision are achieved, the middleman between the chief and the firefighters. Like a parent, they make sure that their firefighters are happy, healthy, and safe as they do their job. So, as a parent, if you see your child going down a wrong path, it’s your job to step in and intervene. It’s time that all the company officers put on their work boots and begin to tackle this problem before it is too big and destroys our fire service.
Five Principles for Company Officers
Company officers can follow the five principles below to assist them in recognizing when problems arise, when their firefighters are struggling, and how to help them. Start this proactive plan when you get promoted and continue it throughout your career with all firefighters under your command. Fire service mental health issues are comprehensive; they can be hidden behind other problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sleep deprivation, increased alcohol consumption/drug use, relationship or marital issues, anxiety, and depression. Company officers must recognize these problems and be proactive before they affect their firefighters.
Be Present
As company officers, we must be present in our crew’s lives and active in their training, safety, and job satisfaction. Broken families and absent fathers and mothers contribute to most of the problems in this country. Some children must confront issues without the love and support of their parents. The fire service is no different. Our firefighters need their officers to show up, to love them, and to support them. They need us in their corner, to have their backs, and to stand up for them—to be present in their careers and in their personal lives.
What firefighters do in their off time is often none of our business; that’s why it’s called a private life. However, because of what we do and see, we are firefighters every day of our lives. Often, our personal life and our firefighter life go hand in hand; we can’t separate the two. As company officers, it is our job to set the tone early in their careers that we will be involved in their lives, but we have to gain their trust, to earn the right to be present. We do this by showing up for them every day. We develop this relationship by being their cheerleader or by coaching and helping them to grow from young firefighters to more senior firefighters.
Be Available
Every fire chief I have ever worked for comes in and says, “My door is always open.” But, more often than not, this is not so. Chiefs are busy with the duties of their job, which often doesn’t leave much time for an open door. Company officers must fight the urge to close our doors to our firefighters. We have to make sure our firefighters know how to contact us, and we must be available at all times for them.
Many of us have some administrative responsibilities and reports to do, papers to file, and so on. Let’s prioritize our time and ensure that we accomplish all of this and meet our crews’ needs. Our teams come first; they need to know they are our priority and see this on every shift. If that means we have to arrive early or stay late to complete our duties, then so be it. They come first, end of the story.
Make sure they have your phone number, know they can call anytime, and know that everything is confidential. And, you must answer any time they call. If your children are out and they call you, you would respond. The same goes for your crew. That’s why the fire service is a family. We are there for each other when they need us.
Be a Friend
In From Buddy to Boss: Effective Fire Service Leadership, author Chase Sargent explores the difference between serving with a group of firefighters and leading them. Every day, I tell my son that he is my best friend, and I genuinely believe it. That doesn’t mean that I won’t ask him to clean his room or tell him when he is wrong. Part of being a parent is disciplining him and taking corrective action to change his behavior or keep him safe. I just hope that the unconditional love that I show him is enough to help him listen to me and do as I ask.
FROM “BUDDY” TO “BOSS”: LESSONS FOR NEW COMPANY OFFICERS
The same principle goes with your crew. Suppose you spend time being present in their lives and available to their needs. You can be their boss and their friend. The love you show them as their friend can be the same love you show them as their boss. I don’t discipline my son to be mean; I do so because I love him and want better for him.
This is also how I approach my crew. I hate to have to discipline, but discipline can be the purest form of love. I love my team and want what’s best for them. If I have done my job as their friend, then they will respect me as their boss, and the disciplining incidents should be few and far between. When the discipline is finished, we can get back to being friends. It’s mutual love and respect that exists between firefighters and company officers.
Be a Student
Before you can take care of them and their needs, you have to take care of yourself and your needs. As they say on the plane, “Put your own oxygen mask on before you help others with theirs.” I have to be mentally capable of caring for myself before I can care for them. They need to see me taking care of myself. Students have to spend time studying before they take an exam.
As a company officer, you must study your crew. Get to know them like the back of your hand. What are their likes and dislikes? Understand what parts of the job they enjoy and with which ones they struggle. The crew is like a puzzle; it’s the officer’s job to make the pieces fit. Study their families—get to know the names of their spouses and their kids and what’s going on in their world. Chat with their significant others and let them know how to get a hold of you if they ever need you. This takes time and patience. Nothing about this is easy. It is a lot to ask of a company officer, especially if you have a lot of firefighters serving under you. Like studying, this is a process, but it pays off if you put in the time and work.
Be a Leader
Leadership is hard, tough work. Leadership is not for everyone. You are going to have to make the hard choices sometimes. Not everyone is going to agree with every decision you make. My son doesn’t like it when I take his tablet away or when I make him clean his room. I certainly do not like arguing with him or like when he is upset with me but, as a parent, I must lead him in the right direction. He knows without a doubt that I love him and want to do what’s best for him.
My crew probably doesn’t like every decision I make for them either, but they know a decision has to be made, and it’s my job to make it. I hope that they respect me enough to see the amount of thought I put into all my decisions and how they affect them. We have to take care of them and be there for them, and if it means sacrificing ourselves for them, then that’s what we have to do. I always tell my crew, if something terrible has to happen, it should happen to me. We have to be prepared to put our necks on the line for their needs. We have to be there to help them; if we can’t help them, we have to know who can. When we see one of our firefighters spiraling out of control, we have to step in and intervene as their buddy and their boss. I wouldn’t let my firefighters run into a burning house without gear on, so why would I let them run down a destructive path without stepping in to stop them?
When we have to go outside to get them help, through employee assistance plans, rehab, or licensed counseling, we need to be there with them whether we are checking in, driving them to appointments, or whatever else they need. We need to be there every step of the way. They are ours to love and protect.
These five principles will not make suicide and mental health issues disappear from our firehouses, but they can make our crews more proactive in reaching out if they need help. The old way of doing business doesn’t work anymore. We can’t continue to sweep our problems under the rug. Firefighters are dying, and they are taking their own lives at an alarming rate. We have to foster environments where they want to talk, they come to us for help, and we get them the help they need. We are the only ones who can help us. Firefighters are problem solvers; it’s time we solve our own problems.
References
Gagliano, A & M. Gagliano. (2018). Exposure to Danger. In Challenges of the Firefighter Marriage (p. 6). Fire Engineering Books and Videos.
Leduc, T. (2020, January 16). Firefighter Behavioral Health and Suicide: A Rising Tide. Fireengineering.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://bit.ly/3FmRZxT.
Tull, M. (2018). Rates of PTSD in Firefighters. Verywellmind.com. Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://bit.ly/3uK2E0W.
United States Fire Administration. Firefighter fatalities in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://bit.ly/303HAHp/.
Tony Bratcher is a lieutenant with the Sugar Creek Township Fire Department in New Palestine, Indiana. He is a logistics specialist with Indiana Task Force 1 and president of Hancock County Professional Firefighter Local 4787. Bratcher is on the board of directors for Next Rung, a nonprofit that provides first responders with peer support and licensed counseling. He is pursuing a BS in fire administration from Columbia Southern University.
