Firefighters across the country have been dealing with added stress from the pandemic on top of the normal strains of the job.
Scottsdale Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Eric Valliere said between being understaffed and having staff out from dealing with COVID-19, more firefighters are being exposed to traumatic calls.
“Our leave time has increased from those things and there's times that we actually have to ask people to hold over to work a shift because we have less people available to work,” Valliere said.
The 100 Club of Arizona created an app to help them, and their families, access more resources from the palms of their hands.
The organization typically helps when a first responder is lost in the line of duty but has been putting more emphasis on helping with mental and behavioral health now as well.