Firefighter and Paramedic Lt. Tommy Bolin knows the stresses of his job all too well.
“It’s a hard truth that more firefighters and police officers die by suicide than actually in the line of duty,” Bolin said.
Bolin came close to taking his own life in 2019.
“Honestly, my son walked down on me that night and caught me in the act, and he took my guns from me, and honestly, it’s pretty much what saved my life,” Bolin said. “I should probably be a statistic right now.”
Bolin is not a statistic, but the stats do bear out the job-related stresses the 30-year central Ohio firefighting veteran has overcome.
It is estimated that at least 100 firefighters die by suicide each year. According to the “Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders” study, the suicide rate for firefighters is 18 per 100,000. For the general public, the rate is 13 per 100,000.
Another study published in the National Library of Medicine states that the prevalence of PTSD was 57% for firefighters. Bolin said many turn to drugs or alcohol to cope. His choice was alcohol.
“A lot of drinking, gambling, isolation, which is the worst thing you could ever do. I was just kind of detached. I was, you know, when I was home, I wasn’t home,” Bolin said.
Now, the Ohio Division of Emergency Medical Services, part of the Department of Public Safety, is proposing a new, non-disciplinary program. It would evaluate and treat eligible EMS and fire professionals who need help with alcohol and drug dependency or abuse, and other related medical conditions or illnesses.
Participants would have to agree to conditions that include a treatment and therapy plan, participation in a support group, case management, and random testing.
The proposal is in its very early stages. The state just finished taking public comments on it on April 25.
Bolin believes it would make a difference.
“I think this is a step forward and realizing that, hey, there’s a deeper issue here and actually getting people the help that they need,” Bolin said.
Bolin got help several years ago and now helps others. He gives lectures on mental health, is a member of three peer support teams and just wrote a book that will be for sale on May 14. Its title is “Unseen Battles: The Price of Duty in a Life of Trauma and Sacrifice.”
“It’s all these different stories of different first responders telling their story and their message of hope and healing,” Bolin said.
It is another way Bolin is letting firefighters and EMS workers, as well as military members, police officers, nurses, dispatchers and corrections officers struggling with mental health issues know they are not alone
