(File Photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Mental Health

P.A. fire department emphasizing importance of mental health for members

Oct 4, 2022 | 5:00 PM

The hardest part of being an emergency worker is finding someone deceased.

This very situation happened to members of Prince Albert’s fire department this past Sunday after a woman’s body was found in a vehicle which caught on fire.

These types of situations aren’t as rare as everyone would want them to be, so the department has put an emphasis on mental health.

Alex Paul, P.A.’s Deputy Fire Chief, told paNOW that seven of their members have been trained as critical incident stress debriefers, while all staff have undergone Road to Mental Readiness (R2MR) training.

“It gives them some tools to see if a co-worker is a little bit off.”

Missing pet

'She means the world to our family': Woman seeks help in finding missing pet parrot

14h ago

BE CAREFUL ON THE ROADS

Semi flips outside P.A.; one of dozens of incidents on Sask. roads due to winter weather

14h ago

NO GO FOR BUSES

School bus routes outside P.A. canceled due to spring snowstorm

19h ago

Paul added the members who specialize in stress debriefers are very quick to reach out after these types of situations. This was the case on Sunday with those who responded reportedly feeling okay a few days after the discovery.

The fire department, when needed, also reaches out to other mental health organizations in town to help.

Time away from work is an option, however, Paul explained that he and many members usually choose to stay on the clock.

“You’re with your co-workers, you’re with the people who’ve experienced the same things, and you have that ability to share and talk.”

Speaking personally, Paul noted staying at home can be very isolated and can make it tougher to reach out for support.

Not everyone is the same as some might want to take time away from work, while some may simply be accustomed to these types of situations. What everyone can agree on is that there’s really no training that can properly prepare someone.

“I think people when they get into any emergency service whether it be police, fire, or EMS they understand that they’re going to see some things that aren’t pleasant throughout their career, but until you actually have experienced it you don’t know what your reaction is going to be to it,” added Paul.

—

Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow