Excerpts from chron.com:

Firefighters experience post-traumatic stress disorder at rates similar to combat veterans, according to a new report released Tuesday by the International Association of Fire Fighters.

While firefighters aren’t surrounded by warfare as combat veterans are, elements of the daily job can be difficult to deal with. The sheer volume of calls, the nature of the job and the possibility of losing a colleague in the line of duty can be difficult to handle, said Alvin White, president of the Houston Fire Fighters Association.

Almost 20 percent of firefighters and paramedics had PTSD, the report said, compared to the general population’s rate of 3.5 percent. Another study found almost half of surveyed firefighters in Florida had considered suicide and 15.5 percent had made attempts.

Firefighters also face a higher risk of dying from cancer compared to the general population, according to the report.

“In fact, the number-one cause of death among firefighters is not from the fire itself, but from the occupational exposures to the toxins and carcinogens at the fire scene and exposure to diesel exhaust,” the report said.

White doesn’t think the rate of PTSD has increased necessarily, but instead thinks awareness of the issue has gotten better, following 9/11. Prior to the terrorist attack in 2001,  PTSD wasn’t something that was tracked efficiently, White said, but rather something handled at the fire station.

Now White and others in the IAFF want to push for new legislation that will let PTSD diagnoses qualify for worker’s compensation benefits. They also want to bring attention to cancer risks among firefighters.

 

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