FREE event for all firefighters!
Inaugural Health and Wellness Symposium and Gala
FCSN has been a leader in the battle against occupational cancer for more than a decade. We're marking FCSN's 12th anniversary with some of our partners in the fight. The Health and Wellness Symposium will focus on cancer prevention best practices, behavioral wellness, personal protective equipment research, and navigating through the workers' comp system. See the full agenda.
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EX-TX FIREFIGHTER WHO BATTLED ALCOHOLISM HELPING OTHERS
WFAA, 10/25/2017
Former Dallas firefighter Austin Campbell, who lost his dream job because of his battle with alcoholism, has found a new calling in helping others and is developing a program to help firefighters better cope with the stress and trauma they face on the job.
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A QUIET RISE IN WILDLAND-FIREFIGHTER SUICIDES
THE ATLANTIC, 10/29/2017
Nelda St. Clair keeps an unofficial list: 22 last year, 30 the year before. Sixteen suicides among wildland firefighters this year already, although St. Clair points out there tends to be a spike after fire season, which has dragged on long this year. "Suicide rates have become astronomical," she says. "And those are just the ones we know of."
Over the past decade, there's been a quiet acknowledgement within America's firefighting community that suicide is widespread, and that there are still probably many cases that haven't been reported. As the numbers grow, so too does the concern that the tough, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps wildland firefighters-the men and women who fight fires in vegetation instead of buildings-are at risk. That's why St. Clair, a manager for the Bureau of Land Management wildland-fire department's Critical Incident Stress-Management Program, is keeping track. She believes that quantifying the problem can help people talk about its causes.
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FULL RECOVERY FROM CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES MAY TAKE YEARS
EAST BAY TIMES, 10/29/2017
It will take at least months and likely years to fully recover from devastating wildfires that ripped through Northern California earlier this month, destroying at least 8,900 structures and killing 42 people, Sonoma County officials said Saturday.
"We don't control these things, and it makes you realize how small you are in the world when something like this happens," Sonoma County Sheriff Rob Giordano said. "I don't think we understand the level at which it is going to impact lives, and the community will be different."
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FEELING SCORCHED: BURNOUT, TRAUMATIC STRESS AND THE NEED FOR SELF-CARE
TAYLOR ATWATER, 10/30/2017
In recent months, our nation has witnessed the courage and dedication of hundreds of IAFF members in response to hurricanes in Texas and Florida, a mass casualty shooting in Las Vegas, and raging wildfires in northern California. Whether you're a veteran fire fighter or paramedic, new to the job, or in recruit school, you know what it means to be pushed to your limit.
Burnout in the fire service is an area of growing concern in departments across the nation. Have you been running on empty? Chronic sleep deprivation, repeated or prolonged exposure to disaster zones, or simply neglecting your personal life to work overtime are all scenarios many IAFF members face.
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