Sounding the alarm: Suicide in fire, EMS services a perplexing problem
In the United States last year, at least 103 firefighters and EMS personnel took their own lives – compared with 87 killed in the line of duty.
That startling fact comes from Jeff Dill, who retired this year after 26 years with fire departments in the Chicago area and who founded the nonprofit Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance four years ago.
Jeff Dill
Dill, a licensed community counselor, will be in Akron on Friday, May 8, to lead a suicide awareness and prevention workshop, “Saving Those Who Save Others,” at The University of Akron. Chiefs, other executives and rank-and-file members from at least 10 Summit County fire departments are registered to attend the free workshop from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Polsky Building on the UA campus.
The 103 suicides represent only those that Dill has been able to verify by speaking with family members or co-workers of the deceased. He believes the actual number is much higher, since only about one-fourth of U.S. fire and EMS services are aware of and provide data to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. So far this year, the known suicide toll stands at 38.
Society’s expectations can be hard to meet
In most cases, the reasons behind the suicides are never fully understood, Dill says. But marital and family problems, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder are known issues among the firefighter-EMS cohort. He also points to an occupational hazard he calls “cultural brainwashing” – society’s expectation that those in uniform will always act like strong and brave protectors.
UA’s Training Center for Fire & Hazardous Materials received a grant from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to offer the free workshop. Robert Pursley Jr., director of the center and a captain in the Barberton Fire Department, says that although suicide is a known problem among safety forces, formal education and training on the matter is not common.
The training center, in conjunction with government agencies and industry, offers educational programs, fire and hazardous materials training, emergency management contingency planning, domestic terrorism preparedness and other applications of fire and safety technology.
With more than 30 certified Emergency Services Instructors, the center offers training for municipalities and businesses, and coordinates seminars and workshops presented by FEMA, the National Fire Academy, the Ohio Division of State Fire Marshal and other organizations.
In a show of support for families of fire and EMS service members who have taken their own lives, the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance is asking departments around the nation to park one rig on their driveway at 9 p.m. EDT May 22 and to turn on the emergency lights for one minute. The organization also is asking family and friends of those members lost to suicide to light a candle in their driveway at that time.
Media contact: Roger Mezger, 330-972-6482 or 330-730-4215, or rmezger@uakron.edu.