Firefighter Suicide: the Need to Examine Cultural Change

摘要

It is well documented that first responders face profound physical and psychological demands on the job from multiple car pile-ups to child drownings. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) reported that fire departments are four times more likely within a given year to experience a suicide than a "traditional" line-of-duty death. Research suggests that firefighters are not immune to the excessive stressful nature of their careers, making mental health a critical issue of firefighter wellness and safety. Firefighter culture demands members be mentally tough as well as physically strong. Silence regarding personal problems and the use of poor coping mechanisms (e.g., alcohol) are found all too often within the firefighter culture. Recently, during the NFFF Tampa 2 Summit in 2014, fire service personnel and researchers further discussed and developed programs and concepts to combat the tragedy of suicide in the fire service. A small number of departments have created programs to address suicide, most notably Phoenix, Arizona; Chicago, Illinois; and Houston, Texas. Sadly, these programs were initiated following a number of suicides in their departments. It is becoming increasingly clear that fire departments need to have proactive programs for education, prevention, and intervention and also need to establish policies and procedures in the aftermath of a suicide if they want to make a difference in the suicide rate.