Crews fighting traumatic fires may experience psychological impacts, including PTSD

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – As the battle to control the Fort McMurray wildfire enters another week, we are getting some insight into what first responders are going through.

Vancouver Fire Captain Jonathan Gormick says in a situation like this, the psychological effects can continue long after the fire is out and the experience may lead to post-traumatic stress disorder in some cases.

He adds first responders often push themselves harder than they should, which can be good and bad.

“They just want to work and push and work and push and we really have to be careful about giving our teams sufficient rest periods, not just physically but psychologically. They need time to get away from the action, decompress and get rest because these kinds of events can be fairly drawn out and we’re going to need them again and again. It’s being able to work with and utilize, but not fall victim to that push of adrenaline and desire to work yourself continuously until collapse.”

He describes those on the frontlines as brave as they persevere to try and save a community that’s been shattered. “It’s being able to keep their heads in the game and focus on the task at hand while not getting distracted by the fact that they could be losing property, their neighbours could be losing property and they’ve shown incredible bravery.”

He adds this experience may be scarring for some.

“It’s probably something that is going to stay with them for a lifetime. It’s only been in the recent past that we’ve started to address the stresses that occur and realize that kind of thing erodes away at a person’s ability to function and what we need to do is to address it early on.”

Gormick feels with an incident like this the key will be for those affected is recognizing early signs of psychological illness while trying to prevent it from developing into something worse.

“What we need to do is address it early on and with an incident like this it’s going to be early intervention, debriefing but then continued care and it’s something we’re implementing, at least, in the City of Vancouver.”

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