Today, we recognise International Firefighters Day (IFFD) and the brave firefighters all over the world who dedicate their careers and lives to protecting the community.
The International Firefighters’ Day website states that IFFD “is a time where the world’s community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to ensure that their communities and environment are as safe as possible. It is also a day in which current and past firefighters can be thanked for their contributions”. https://www.firefightersday.org/
At ADA Australia we believe that the challenges firefighters and their families face should never be taken for granted. We’ve been privileged to have conducted in excess of 100 wellbeing sessions for Victorian firefighters.
From Belmont, to Craigieburn, to Dandenong and everything in between. The ADA facilitation team were welcomed into numerous fire stations across Victoria to deliver our alcohol and other drugs workplace training.
One thing that was evident wherever we went is that firefighters are a unique bunch. Their spirit, camaraderie and mateship was nothing like any of our facilitators had seen before (but when that siren went off it was all business).
Sure, most of us recognise that running into a burning building comes with its risks. But for firefighters and other first responders, it’s the risk factors occurring outside of the workplace that many fail to recognise.
It is simply fact that emergency personnel, ‘first responders’ to crisis, are at a particular risk of anxiety disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). People in these roles – like firefighters, police, ambulance, health workers and defence personnel – routinely put their personal safety and wellbeing on the line as part of their self-sacrificial work-day duties.
Many are witness to events and situations that can leave deep psychological and emotional scars. And may carry with them intense and unsettling images for months and even years afterwards. Feelings of extreme distress, flashbacks, nightmares, tearfulness, avoidance and difficulty sleeping are common – and normal – psychological reactions to experiences of this type. (See ADA’s The Little Blue Book of MENTAL HEALTH pp. 63)
PTSD, like all mental illnesses can be debilitating. But being alert to the warning signs is a first step to helping someone who may be struggling, the second step is in getting a conversation going, in picking your moment and having a chat.
In a workplace where mental health is the priority, managers and supervisors will be trained to recognise triggers for work stress, to recognise changes in behaviour that may indicate psychological distress and have the right policies and procedures in place to guard against psychological damage. (See ADA’s The Little Blue Book of MENTAL HEALTH p. 28)
Getting the culture right within a business isn’t always easy. But an ADA Australia Workplace Mental Health training program for your workplace, sporting club (or to your young apprentices) can be a first step to improving awareness and getting the culture right.
If you’d like to learn more about this program, or any of the other training programs we offer, please call ADA Australia on 1300 378 429 or email: enquiry@adaaus.com.au
To our firefighters, thank you. And if you would like to learn more about International Firefighters’ Day, visit the website at: https://www.firefightersday.org/
Additionally, if this information raised any concerns for you, please do speak to your GP, they can help you back to good health, or call a helpline: LIFELINE 13 11 14 or BeyondBlue 1300 22 4636.