Firefighters Fight PTSD For Each Other

Firefighters battle to change narrative around PTSD
CBC News
By The Early Edition
Posted: Oct 18, 2015

This year alone 30 first responders committed suicide in Canada, two of those were firefighters from Surrey. Both Kevin Hegarty and Ernie Dombrowski were struggling with PTSD.

A number of firefighters attended the memorial service for Kevin Hegarty held in Surrey, B.C. (CBC)

"It hit us hard," said Mike McNamara, president of the Surrey Fire Fighters Association.

City of Nanaimo firefighter captain Mike Rispin responds to a call that changed his mental health. The photo was taken moments after the he knocked down the fire and the person inside the motor home was removed safely. (Mike Rispin)

Post traumatic stress disorder is a dangerous aspect of the job for firefighters. But until recently, it was rarely talked about.

"You always thought you had to be macho and not accept any responsibility for what is going on in your mind," said City of Nanaimo firefighter Captain Mike Rispin.

Rispin responded to a call a few years ago that changed his life.

"I had trouble concentrating, I had difficulty maintaining interest in anything," he said.

The team was short staffed, only he and two other firefighters were available to respond to a call of a major accident involving a car and a motor home.

"One of the bystanders ran up to me at the very start of the call and said you have to help my buddy. He is trapped in the motor home and he is burning alive," he said.

Rispin was able to save the man inside the motor home but the driver of the car died.

He had to take four weeks off after responding to that call.

"I think for all first responders, we always think that any call that we go to we could always do a little better [...] but this one continued to bother me," he said.
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