CINCINNATI (WKRC) – First responders are trained to save others while putting their own lives on the line.
Many of the challenges they face after a call are often hidden from the public eye.
“You see things that I would describe as unimaginable,” said Colerain Township Fire DepartmentChief Allen Walls.
The different scenes that first responders arrive to can be some of the most devastating.
“They say that in a lifetime a civilian will be exposed to a small level of trauma. As firefighters, we can see repeated trauma in a 24-hour shift. Then multiply that by an entire career,” said Walls.
Chief Walls knows the toll of that trauma firsthand.
“I can say in the course of my career that I’ve been there. We had a double line-of-duty death in 2008. I was at that incident, and there was a period of time where it was all I thought about, over and over and over,” said Walls.
In 2023, the National Fire Protection Association reported 89 line-of-duty deaths. That’s on top of the reported 79 firefighter suicides, according to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance. This is a number that Chief Walls worries is underreported.
“We want to break that stigma and we want to change that culture. It’s okay to say you’re not okay,” said Chief Walls.
“Our mission is to build peer support in departments,” said Amy Foley, with the Tri-State Peer Support Team.
Amy Foley travels across the Tri-State, working with departments of all shapes and sizes. Her goal is to build up a culture that allows first responders to talk about the challenges of the job. This type of peer support is something that Colerain has been doing for the past six years.
“I’m proud that we have the program we have and that we are making a difference in people’s lives,” said Walls.
The month of September is National Suicide Prevention Month and Foley is on a mission. Through their Red Alert Suicide Awareness Campaign, they want to host 250 suicide awareness classes by the end of September.
“Trauma is going to effect everybody differently, and our goal is to make people aware of how they might be affected. If they’re aware, then they can get help,” said Foley.
They’re working to break the stigma one day at a time.
“Be that warm hand or heart that’s going to reach out to them and say, ‘Let me help you, and if you do, I’m going to walk alongside you so you can feel better,'” said Foley.
If you would like more information on the group or how they’re working to break the stigma, click here.