Fourmile Canyon Firefighters at Risk for PTSD

If you are a firefighter, no matter where you are or how long you've been one, if you have a hard time "getting over it" then go for help to talk things over and get it all out. You need professional help for one simple reason. People are not trained to listen to what you may need to say anymore than they are trained to know what to say to you in return. Talking about the event and how you feel about it helps you to heal. Don't put it off. The sooner you get help for what you went through, the better.

September 15, 2010
Fourmile Canyon Firefighters at Risk
BOULDER, Colo. - Many of the firefighters at the Fourmile Canyon Fire lived in the mountain canyons outside of Boulder, where the flames scorched more than 6,000 acres. Experts say that close personal connection to the fire could put them at risk for post traumatic stress disorder - PTSD. Dr. Neil Weiner, director of Clinical Services at the University of Colorado Depression Center explains.

"I think loss of those kinds of personal affects, of memories, potential financial losses all can congeal and really increase the risk of post traumatic stress disorder."

Weiner says some depression or stress for a few weeks after this sort of event is normal, including flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, or insomnia. He notes if symptoms linger for more than three months that can be a sign that PTSD has developed, and the individual should seek help.
read more here
Fourmile Canyon Firefighters at Risk