4 Backdraft Magazine | A Volunteer Fire Service Publication | Volume 5 | Issue 1 | www.thebackdraftmagazine.com
· Calmly control the situation; do not use force.
· Actively listen to produce relief.
· Important to understand with what, where, and when they plan to kill themselves. The fact that they
acknowledge their plans generally suggests that they are accepting help.
ESCORT THEM
· Never leave them alone.
· Escort to the chain of command, a behavioral health professional, or suicide prevention.
· Call 800-273-8255 Sioux Falls Suicide Prevention
· Don't keep their suicidal behavior a secret. Adopting an attitude that you are going to help them will save their
life.
· Stay with them until they receive appropriate help. Don't leave them alone.
· Being there will make the difference.
There are other simple things that you can also do to raise awareness and decrease stress to your fire fighters.
· Ensure your department has the following meetings after traumatic incidents.
o An initial defusing immediately following the incident
o A more formal debriefing 24-72 hours post incident
o And a post incident analysis 2 weeks of traumatic incidents
· Your department computer screen savers can a slide related to helping others on the department if there is
a concern for their welfare.
· Work with your union in a cooperative manner to address the issue on various perspectives. The more people
that are discussing the issue from both leadership teams will further the awareness to get people talking
about the issue.
· Report any known fire fighter (active and retired) deaths related to suicide to the Fire Fighter Behavioral
Health Alliance website at FFBHA.org.
Chief officers must be a forefront of this issue. The trend concerning suicide rates is on a raise across the country.
Our fire fighters are not immune to suicide and it is our responsibility to decrease that risk. A suicide will impact
families, the department, question the ability of the leadership team, and raise issues that will persist for years.
We must do something now as leaders of our organizations.
If you would like electronic formats of anything mentioned to use for your department,
please contact me. If there is anything I can do to help with the issue, please do not
hesitate to contact me at:
jsideras@siouxfalls.org, sideras@post.harvard.edu, or 605-201-0798.
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