PTSD: 81 percent of firefighters fear they will be seen as weak or unfit for duty

Firefighters, including Detroit crews, suffer from PTSD, other mental health issues as result of job
95 percent say they experience critical stress while working
Click On Detriot
By Karen Drew - Reporter/Anchor, Amber Ainsworth
March 15, 2018

The survey also found that 81 percent of firefighters fear they will be seen as weak or unfit for duty if they talk about the emotional toll of their job, and 87 percent said it keeps them from getting the help they need.

DETROIT - A survey conducted by NBC New York and the International Association of Firefighters found that firefighters are battling more than just fires.

Firefighters struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.

"We suffer from the same challenges the general public does -- financial issues, marital issues. Now you compound that with the horror that we see every day, day in and day out. It adds up and eventually takes its toll," Jim Brinkely of the International Association of Firefighters said.

Ninety-five percent of the 7,000 surveyed said they experience critical stress on the job, and three quarters of the the firefighters said it leaves them with unresolved issues. Many of them, 71 percent, have trouble sleeping, and 65 percent of them are constantly haunted by bad memories.

"We're no different than someone on the battlefield [with] the death and the destruction that we witness," Derrick Foxhall, a 20-year-veteran of the Detroit Fire Department, said.
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