Today’s firefighter is faced with multiple challenges professionally and personally. The volume of information that is thrown at us daily creates a huge stress on our mental and physical wellbeing. What does organizational leadership do to ensure that our firefighters are healthy physically and mentally?
The International Association of Fire Chiefs and the IAFC Volunteer and Combination Officers Section released the “Yellow Ribbon Report – Under the helmet: Performing an internal size-up – A proactive approach to ensuring mental health and wellness,” earlier this year. The report was generated after a meeting in Tampa, Fla. The task group, put together by VCOS Chairman Tim Wall, consisted of 14 people including mental health professionals, suicide survivors, fire chiefs and chaplains. The group met over two days trying to bring this issue together to release a ribbon report.