PELHAM, Ala (WIAT) Local first responders are going through peer support training to help put an end to rising suicide rate of first responders.
According to the Professional Fire Fighters of Alabama, suicides left more first responders dead in 2017, than all line of duty deaths combined. In 2017, 103 firefighters and 140 police officers committed suicide, whereas 93 firefighters and 129 officers died in the line of duty.
The Professional Fire Fighters of Alabama organization is working to change that, by partnering with local fire and rescue, and police departments to create peer groups so first responders can talk about what they are going through. Toby Rigsby is a captain at the Hoover Fire Department and works with the Professional Fire Fighters of Alabama.
“These events that happen, they compound over and over and over. And the longer you’re on the job, those things pile on top. We found that firefighters they don’t have the avenues, other then each of us, at the fire station to work through those issues that they have.” said Rigsby.
The training at the Pelham Civic Center over the weekend was presented by the company FORMILL and sponsored by Bradford Health Services.
Rigsby says mental health issues is serious problem that can impact first responders personal lives and work.
“Almost 50 percent of firefighters have contemplated suicide. That’s a big number. Nearly 19 percent have a plan of how they would commit suicide or end their life.”
Rigsby is on a committee that works to train fire departments and law enforcement agencies to create peer support programs. The committee also works with mental health agencies in the state to form relationships with people who know them and what they are going through.
“As firefighters we have a unique background. And for us to go and talk to some people who don’t really understand the background we’re coming from, what we do and what we see, we’re not able to sometimes get the help we need. We need to find the professionals that know us, have a passion for us, to help us work through those issues.” said Rigsby.
Risgby says some first responders are limited to the mental health professionals they can see under their Employee Assistance Program.
Shannon Creenshaw is a Mental Health Specialist with Active Transitions, LLC in Birmingham. Creenshaw works first responders. She says they can experience post traumatic stress syndrome, substance abuse, and other mental health issues. Creenshaw says it’s important for first responders to know that getting help is not a sign of weakness.
“Their stress level, and their trauma, may be different from the next person. And just because they’re experiencing something that someone else says, ‘ Oh that was nothing, you should, you know, be use to this.’ That’s no so. If it’s trauma for you, it’s trauma for you.” said Creenshaw.
Creenshaw says its essential for first responders to take their mental health seriously.
“Just like when you are the one that’s rushing in and wanting to protect those people in the field, you have to first be able to protect yourself. Therapy is a way to pour back into yourself so that you’re learning how to cope with the stress of it all, because it’s truly high stress.” said Creenshaw.
Rigsby says the Professional Fire Fighters of Alabama organization is in the process of working with state legislature to create funding for first responders to get the mental health services they need due to the stress of their jobs. Right now the state only covers physical health services. Stay with CBS 42 as we continue to cover these developments.