White House Changes Condolence Letter Policy On July 5, the White House reversed its longstanding policy of not sending condolence letters to the families of service members who die by suicide while deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zones. AFSP would like to commend President Obama on his decision. Over the past two years,...Read More
Another sad story that reflects theurgency to reach out to our fellow firefighters as well as the magnitude of theproblem that we face as emergency workers as it applies to mental health. What are you doing about it personally and professionally? Please Keep the Dickerson family, bothimmediate and fire department family in your prayers.Read More
REPRODUCED FROM THE SECRETLIST June 27, 2011 NOTE: ——————————————————————————————————————————————————- Hey, As you read yesterday, Philadelphia Firefighter John “Jack”Slivinski Jr. lost his life to suicide. A beloved Firefighter,he had followed his father into PFD’s Rescue 1, but on Saturday, theformer Marine was found dead. He was found, reportedly, by hisfather, Jack Sr, who is still an active Firefighter. JackSr also had served in Rescue...Read More
Please takethe time to read this very heartfelt article by a young man who finally realizesthat golden moment of ascending to a chief officer position only to have itbombarded by negative feeling because the promotion came about as a result of losing a friend who committed suicide.Would your department be sensitive to these same issues?...Read More
A survey by the International Fire Chiefs Association almost 5 years ago asked this very question and found that 98.6% of all departments surveyed did not include any evaluation of the firefighter’s mental health. I am of the opinion from my brief travels that the percentage has not witnessed a measureable change in the ensuing...Read More
This 30-minute program from the Firefighters Support Foundation covers the topic in depth. It is presented by Dr. Anne Bisek, a psychologist practicing in Fremont, California. Dr. Bisek is the mental health professional on the San Mateo CISD team and provides debriefings for the California Highway Patrol. Most public safety professionals have been given very...Read More
