Rapid Fire - Addressing Mental Health in the Fire Service

Addressing Mental Health in the Fire Service

01/11/22 • 53 min

First responders are expected to be calm and level-headed but the stressors faced by those in the fire service can have a cumulative impact on mental health and well-being. Listen in as Andy Starnes and Dena Ali discuss the stigma associated with firefighters seeking help and how peer support resources can be a solution.

What You Can Expect To Learn

Biggest misconceptions about mental health in firefighters
Addressing feelings vs recycling them
PTSD & peer support resources
Implementing mental health solutions within the fire house
The cause of most firefighter suicides
Individual coping mechanisms

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Dena Ali is a Captain with the Raleigh (NC) Fire Department and previously served as a police officer for five years. She is also the founder and director of North Carolina Peer Support where she helped to develop their statewide curriculum. During her career she earned the NC Office of State Fire Marshal Honor, Courage, and Valor award for her steadfast effort to bring awareness to firefighter mental health. Dena is advocate of awareness, education, and understanding of mental health disorders and suicidality. She speaks on these topics and is a QPR Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Instructor. Dena holds a degree from North Carolina State University and an MPA from the University of North Carolina—Pembroke, where her research focused on firefighter suicide.
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What You Can Expect To Learn

Biggest misconceptions about mental health in firefighters
Addressing feelings vs recycling them
PTSD & peer support resources
Implementing mental health solutions within the fire house
The cause of most firefighter suicides
Individual coping mechanisms

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Join the Conversation by Following Us at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FireDex
Twitter: https://twitter.com/firedex
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firedexgear/

Previous Episode

Q&A with Season 2 Host Andy Starnes

Tune in as Season 1 host Retired Battalion Chief Bob Keys passes the reigns to Battalion Chief Andy Starnes of Charlotte Fire Department and Founder of Insight Training. Join us as we bid farewell to Bob and get to know our new Season 2 host as he shares stories about his journey in the fire service and how he hopes to help make firefighting a little bit safer!
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO LEARN:

What Hosting Has Meant to Bob
Where Bob's Next Adventure in the Fire Service Will Lead Him
How Andy Was Introduced to the Fire Service & What Organizations He's Currently Involved In
Future Expectations for the Podcast

ABOUT OUR HOSTS:
Battalion Chief Keys completed a total of 31 years of service, beginning as a firefighter for a high volume station in the Bronx. As a Captain and Lieutenant, he served various municipalities including Midtown Manhattan, until settling into East New York Brooklyn, where he became Battalion Chief. Within his new role he took charge of Research and Development where he learned how new innovations are tested and introduced to the fire service.
Battalion Chief Andy Starnes works for Charlotte Fire Department and is the Founder of Insight Training. He has been involved with the fire service as a volunteer since 1992 and as a career firefighter since 1998. He is a fire service contributor on many topics including thermal imaging, fire behavior, and terminology. Andy is also the founder of Bringing Back Brotherhood, a nonprofit organization designed to guide firefighters in the areas of behavioral health and counseling.
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Next Episode

Understanding Your PPE & How to Mitigate Exposure Risks

Understand how to reduce exposure risks and the importance of doffing PPE correctly. In this episode, Andy Starnes, Dr. Farzaneh Masoud, and Richard Kesler as this trio dives deep into THL & TPP, how to reduce inflammation and the future of gross decon.

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO LEARN

Effects of exposure within the body and cancer risks
How to reduce cross contamination in the fire house
Why PPE is helpful and not a hinderance
The importance of proper doffing
Understand how firefighter PPE works

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Dr. Farzaneh Masoud, Director of Research at IFSI, has earned her Ph.D. from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from Department of Molecular Biology. Dr. Masoud has a broad background in Molecular, Cell and Developmental biology as well as mammalian reproductive biology. Her doctoral research focused on identifying factors that underlies cancer metastasis.

Dr. Masoud has joined Illinois Fire Service Institute as the Director of Research in 2019, where she leads numerous research projects concerning the health and safety of firefighters. Prior to joining IFSI, Dr. Masoud was leading large interdisciplinary projects at National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) as a Strategic Research and Proposal Development office and has served as an Interdisciplinary Research Development Officer.

Richard Kesler, Deputy Director of Research Programs, focuses on biomechanics, and physical performance, specifically examining the physiological demands of firefighting activity and the impact of firefighting on the firefighter. Richard serves on the National Fire Protection Association Fundamentals of Fire Control Within a Structure Utilizing Fire Dynamics technical committee. He is also a physical training instructor for the Illinois Fire Service Institute’s Basic Operations Firefighter Academy and teaches in numerous other fire service classes. Richard is a graduate of the University of Illinois with a Master of Science degree in Bioengineering and is currently pursuing his PhD in Kinesiology.
Learn more about Fire-Dex products and services by visiting, www.firedex.com

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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FireDex
Twitter: https://twitter.com/firedex
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Rapid Fire - Addressing Mental Health in the Fire Service

Transcript

TRANSCRIPTS

00:00:04:03 - 00:00:42:16

Battalion Chief Andy Starnes

I think tonight's show will probably be just a mutual therapy session for me and you, but hopefully the listeners will get something out of it and we won't charge anybody a co-pay, so we'll be good. Welcome to Rapid Fire podcast hosted by Firebox, dedicated to sharing best practices and lessons learned in hopes of making firefighting a little bit safer. I'm your host battalion chief Andy Starnes, Captain, Den