Mapleton council has approved implementation of a process to identify post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among local firefighters and provide both peer-driven and professional assistance with treatment. It’s a move that, as Fire Chief Rick Richardson pointed out at the May 24 meeting, is long overdue.
Steps required to deal with the potential for PTSD among all types of emergency responders have recently become more common, as the province has introduced legislation that would create a presumption that PTSD diagnosed in first responders is work-related, in an effort to ensure faster access to resources and treatment.
With mental illness, PTSD and occupational stress injuries on the rise in the fire service province-wide, the move seems timely, although it gives pause to wonder if the number of incidents are truly increasing, or if they are simply more widely reported.
“In the past there’s been kind of a ‘suck it up and take it like a firefighter’ attitude,” Richardson explained in his report to council. Here’s hoping expectations of that nature disappear quickly as more municipalities take the enlightened approach adopted here.
