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Windom, MN | Something we do here after bad calls is a debriefing. Everyone interested gets together with some debriefing trained current or ex first responders as well as mental health professionals and discusses the call, how it made them feel, and there is support for those who may have mental effects from it.
I know the old school is "we don't talk about it" or cope with offensive or dark jokes. Bury it deep inside. That's the way it was for many years. But people are different and cope differently. I like that the debriefing is voluntary, as some do have a tough time with calls and having an option to talk about it does help. Granted this is also a small area and everyone knows everyone, so those bad calls like auto/farm accidents, a lot of the time the people involved are known.
I've been to two debriefings. One I felt I needed it and the other I didn't feel like I needed it, but was thanked afterward for coming because it helped someone else deal with the call. I was never a responder, worked more on the logistics side as a 911 dispatcher. Did that a little over 10 years, and some of those calls are tough to deal with. Sometimes you sit there feeling helpless, talking on the phone with someone who just watched a loved one either die or actively dying and while you are trying to get them help as fast as you can, you need to ask more questions about what happened and get the right information to get the right people there who can actually help them. Personally there are 4 calls that I will remember forever. I know I did everything right on those calls and did receive support from supervisors, responders and in a couple cases the families of those involved, but they were still hard to listen to and deal with. | |
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Sons firefighter journey- for those interested.
