MyOmnia,

  "You never know when a firefighter is in need of someone who understands." - MnFIRE Peer Supporter  After a horrific house fire in which children have perished, a multiple-casualty vehicle accident on a highway, or the line-of-duty death of a fellow peer support firefighter , firefighters must endure more than physical fatigue, their own psychological scarring that may last a lifetime. How do such courageous first responders deal with the unimaginable and return to duty in one piece psychologically?  The Hidden Crisis in Fire Service Mental Health  The fire department is struggling with an unprecedented mental health emergency that needs to be addressed promptly. There are at least 100 firefighter suicides annually. The suicide rate among firefighters is 18 per 100,000 versus 13 per 100,000 for the general population, cites the "Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders.  These grim statistics demonstrate a profession besieged from ...

  "Firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. With an estimated 100 suicides each year and a suicide rate of 18 per 100,000, firefighters face a significantly higher risk compared to the general population's 13 per 100,000."  — California State Firefighters' Association  Who do heroes call upon when they are in need of assistance? The courageous men and women who charge into harm's way to save lives are confronted by an enemy that's both invisible and silent, taking more firefighter lives than smoke and fire combined. Firefighter mental health has become one of the most critical issues in emergency response today, with rates of suicide far exceeding line-of-duty fatalities and mental health issues that impact the entire fire departments nationwide.  The Silent Crisis Consuming Our Fire Service  The numbers involving firefighter mental health are dismal and serve as a wake-up call. The studies indicate that about 20 percent of fir...