VIDEO: First responders are on the front line of New Hampshire's drug epidemic every day, and the trauma they experience dealing with the victims often follows them home.
Manchester police, firefighters and EMTs described the consequences of compassion fatigue Tuesday to U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan.
"Certainly in my 35 years on the job, I've never seen this much death," Manchester Fire Chief Dan Goonan said.
During a roundtable discussion, officials told Hassan that their fight against the opioid crisis is taking a toll.
"The impact of this epidemic on children, that is what's bothering these first responders the most, because having parents with addiction has become the norm for some of them," Hassan said.
Officials with American Medical Response said they had to deal with the suicide of one of their own in December. They said it's a reminder that the trauma first responders deal with at work doesn't stay there.