Five Ways We Kill Our First Responders

Forgetting those who remember us

Our first responders, which includes EMTs and firefighters as well as law enforcement, are our heroes. They are tough, and they are mighty, and like our soldiers they should also be remembered. Sometimes we forget that the strongest individuals in our lives still need help. And we, as a society and as a homeland security community, have woefully failed to protect the people who protect us. So in the spirit of Ernest Hemingway, who encouraged us to “write hard and clear about what hurts,” here are the top five ways the homeland security community fails to care for their own.

1. Mental health

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is real. Firefighters, police officers, and medics take in horrific events every day. They see strangers die or maimed. They see their friends and family die or maimed. And yet we expect them to just keep on with no help. In case you don’t believe, what should be common sense, look here and here and here.

So what are we doing about it? Frankly, not enough. Bills often are passed to handle PTSD in first responders, but often with no money attached. So employers and budget watch-dogs fight the provisions because covering PTSD will be too costly. Instead the first responder must cover it on his or her own. They must now not only bear the weight of the PTSD and the memories, but also the cost. Shameful.

2. Cancer

Cancer is real. Just watch this video. Please. And Boston is not the only city with a major problem with cancer rates among their firefighters. It’s everywhere.

3. Paying Bills

Financial stress is real. Entry level first responders are paid anywhere from $20,000 — $55,000 a year. In some areas that is a good salary, but in others it is not. One of the main causes for stress on an individual and within a family is financial stress. So first we hire them to do a job that is incredibly stressful, then we send them home to more stress because of financial concerns, and then we make them pay for their own mental health therapy.

4. Poor Equipment

Inadequate resources are real. Budgets are strapped, I get it. But to send our heroes into harm’s way with old gear that may get them killed is unconscionable. Just like our aging infrastructure that often gets ignored in budgets, first responders aging equipment is also ignored. It’s not sexy to fund new fire hoses, but the last time I checked budgets aren’t supposed to be sexy.

5. Suicide

Suicide is real. Our first responders see a lot, and it often drives them to suicide. Imagine staring at the computer screen for hours on end, scrutinizing a photograph that shows a child being raped. Some of our police officers do that daily to build strong cases against child pornographers. And its not just police who have suicide rates, the rate is rising among firefighters as well.