Public safety advocates are sounding the alarm on the increasing number of first responders suffering from post-traumatic stress and mental illness.
In a study by the renowned Ruderman Family Foundation, new data reveals police officers and firefighters are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. Specifically, researchers found there were at least 103 firefighter suicides and 140 police officer suicides in 2017, versus 93 firefighters and 129 police officers losing their lives on the job.
"It seems there's still a lingering of pick up yourself by your bootstraps and get to the next call, tough guy kind of mentality," Michael Rafidi, a Durham County EMS paramedic, lamented to the ABC11 I-Team. "That needs to change society-wise and in our community as well."