Aloha,

I’m curious if folks have any sample fatigue policies their departments use. I am working to address and educate department policies regarding this topic and would like to see how other agencies address it.

Mahalo,

Alicia Rodriguez, PsyD

Hawai’i

Rick,

Thank you for sharing what was obviously stressful to you as an individual and prime example of an organization that was severely lacking in the “psychological safety” department. I’m grateful that you “found” FSPA because I think input and participation from fire service leaders is just as critical to our efforts to “build a bridge…

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Chiefs Ali and Rhodes have truly brought this topic into the open. When I got in to public safety over 38 years ago, I knew that I was going to see bad things and do hard things. What I did not expect was the way that I would be treated. I went into it knowing that I was expected to risk my life to save others and potentially see…

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Chief, I agree. The low level of MH professional involvement (Saturday Membership Meeting) is bad. My challenge to the MH profession is to address the question, “why” are suicide rates going up not down. What are we missing?

Dr. Charles Allen

As a retired fire department battalion chief and a fire service member of the Fire Service Psychology Association, I’m deeply concerned about the efforts to develop national-level strategies for improving firefighter mental health services and reduce firefighter suicides without the guidance and direction of licensed psychologists. IMO, doing…

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My fire service colleague, Dena Ali, a battalion chief with the Raleigh (N.C.) Fire Department “hits the nail on the head” with one of her latest articles in Fire Engineering magazine, <b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; color: var(–bb-body-text-color);”>It’s Not The Calls: Firefighter Mental Health and Organizational Leadership.…

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This is interesting. It’s a great utilization of the emergency response infrastructure to support mental health care. 🙂

Providing equal access to immediate mental health and medical care and equal opportunity for justice diversion for people with mental health emergencies when a public safety risk is present is a true demonstration of health systems equity. It may look startling to some who don’t truly look past the presence of a police officer, but for the lives…

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As has become her MO, Stephanie White has “hit another one outta da park!” My late wife, Wilma Avsec, had a great phrase for getting me to “snap back” to reality, “You’re not the chief!” Thank you, Stephanie, for contributing to the conversation about improving firefighter…

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Suicide Surveillance, Prevention, & Intervention Measures for the US Fire Service: Findings and Recommendations for the Suicide and Depression Summit.

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation
Everyone Goes Home® Project
Behavioral Health Initiative (Fire Life Safety Initiative #13).