Archive for May 16th, 2018

Carol Stream Fire District news

May 16

Posted by Admin in Fire Department News | 9 Comments

Excerpts from the dupagepolicyjournal.com:

Without members and taxpayers subsidizing its revenue, Carol Stream FPD Firefighters Pension Fund lost $2,559,792 in 2016, according to a DuPage Policy Journal analysis of the latest data reported to the Illinois Department of Insurance Pension Division. The fund has $34,668,933 in total assets. If the funds annual losses were the same, it would run out of money in 14 years without these subsidies.

The fund lost $835,568 in investment income and other revenue in 2016. At the same time, it paid out $1,724,224 in expenses, according to the 2017 biennial report detailing the health of each of the states pension funds and retirement systems. The difference between the two shows the funds annual loss without subsidies.

Taxpayers added $1,172,985 to the funds revenue last year – an amount that has increased from $1,167,085 five years ago. Members contributed an additional $454,480 – $37,967 more than five years ago.

In all, subsidies amounted to $1,627,465 in 2016.

Carol Stream FPD Firefighters Pension Fund non-subsidy revenue over five years

Year Total non-subsidy revenue Total expenses Outcome without subsidies

2016 -$835,568 $1,724,224 -$2,559,792

2015 $1,383,808 $1,553,330 -$169,522

2014 $3,271,390 $1,334,823 $1,936,567

2013 $4,030,860 $1,210,08 $2,820,778

2012 -$362,552 $983,264 -$1,345,816

Tags: Carol Stream Fire District, Carol Stream FPD Firefighters Pension Fund

Post Traumatic Stress in the fire service

May 16

Posted by Admin in Post Traumatic Stress | Comments off

Excerpts from nbcdfw.com:

Over the next few weeks, Dallas Fire-Rescue will roll out a new program to better help its members seek treatment for post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, and work related mental health issues.

DFR Chief David Coatney said work on the program began last year, with representatives from all three fire associations working with the department to develop the program. The suicide of one of their members in 2017 was among the driving forces behind the program’s creation.

Posters with a phone number for a newly created 24-hour hotline along with a hyperlink and QR code linking to a website will be placed in all DFR firehouses. No matter the method chosen, firefighters and paramedics will be able to quickly access information on treatment options for any mental health issue they might have.

“All of these options insure anonymity for the person who is calling in, which is very important for the audience we are speaking to,” Coatney said.

In previous years, mental health treatment for DFR members was mostly facilitated through the city of Dallas’ employee assistance program or ‘EAP’. DFR members will still have access to those resources but the hope is the new program will do a better job breaking through the stigma that still exists when it comes to mental health treatment among firefighters, especially for older generations.

“Because of those different generations you had the group that would just suck it up and move forward and if you came forward and said that call really bothered me you’d get a response like ‘get over it kid’ but things have changed,” Coatney said.

The department has so far contracted with over a half-dozen local mental health institutions to provide everything from counseling to substance abuse treatment. The department will also soon begin resiliency training for current members of the department. The training has been available for recent cadet classes but had not previously been offered to current members. The training prepares firefighters and paramedics for the emotional trauma they will encounter on the job.

Tags: DFR Chief David Coatney, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress in the fire service