VIDEO: More firefighters died in 2017 by suicide than died in the line of duty. The wife of a firefighter is working to change that. Firefighters spend their entire career responding to traumatic events. Heather Livengood said her husband Rich did it for 20 years and eventually those calls took a toll. “He didn't want to go back to work. That was kind of different because he loved to go to work. Four years ago, Rich took his life after battling PTSD. Now Heather is teaming up with the Omaha Professional Firefighters Association to make sure first responders don't suffer in silence. She said, “It's a shame that people who have devoted their whole lives to helping others, neglect to help themselves and that we as family support often look over it because they are so tough, they are so sometimes hardened by what they see and they appear to be fine."