Firefighter Resources

Local, state, and federal fire departments each have unique roles in protecting our country from the devastation that a fire can bring to a community. Working in the fire service is usually a dream job. It is challenging, exciting, and colleagues become like a second family. There are times when one critical incident, or too many in row can change the way someone feels about their loved ones or this great career. It is tempting to think that work can be left at work and that family is not affected by what happens at the firehouse. The reverse is also false; home life stays at home and family does not affect the job. To be a strong firefighter means staying psychologically fit to manage home and work life stressors.

I see psychological fitness as a dynamic system made up of three parts that can change quickly; I compare it to the fire triangle. Three things must be present to have a fire: fuel, oxygen and heat or ignition source. Remove one, and the fire changes drastically.

Psychological fitness can be thought of as a triangle. If one thing such as behavior, thoughts or mood is changed, psychological fitness will also change.

If a paramedic or firefighter starts thinking “woulda, coulda, shoulda, or what if?” and then withdraws from other friends and family (behavior), she could experience the anger which accompanies these self-blaming thoughts. If she changes her isolation behavior to attending a debriefing then her peers could help her with a more realistic perspective (thoughts) on the situation. This could improve her mood.