2 Backdraft Magazine | A Volunteer Fire Service Publication | Volume 5 | Issue 1 | www.thebackdraftmagazine.com
As chief officers, we are pulled in many directions,
and often everything is on the front burner. One thing
that is rarely discussed on both volunteer and paid
departments is suicide prevention. In fact, unless you
have personally dealt with a suicide event, it can be
difficult to comprehend that your fire fighters could be
at risk. However, suicide is on the rise in the general
population and we are quietly seeing suicides in the
fire service. This risk is for active, retired, career and
volunteer members. Also, those members who are
newly retired may be at higher risk.
Jeff Dill, from the Fire Fighter Behavioral Health
Alliance, has been collecting data on fire fighter
suicides. This valuable information is being gathered
in more of an unofficial manner, and it is quite
startling. Over the last five years, he has collected
170 fire fighter deaths related to suicides. Those
numbers again are not from a required collection
process but from people submitting the information to
his database. Almost every state is seeing fire fighter
suicides, and yet most Chiefs may not realize the
threat to their department.
According to the CDC, suicide rates among the
general public with those aged 35 to 64 increased
in all states with statistically significant increases
occurring in 39 states.
Suicide Prevention
We Must Do Something!
By Jim Sideras, RN, MSN, MIFireE, CFO, CEMSO
Fire Chief, Sioux Falls Fire Rescue