VIDEO: The Henderson Fire Department is grieving the loss of not one but two of their own.
The department says one of their firefighters took his life due to post-traumatic stress from his job, and just four months prior, his father -- a retired firefighter from the department -- also took his life.
Fire Chief Shawn White says his department is grieving the loss of Robbie Pettingill, and he wants to address the issue head-on and start a dialogue about mental health.
"Historically it’s something that we don’t typically talk about. Matter of fact, when we started in the late 80s you just didn’t talk about this. You just sucked it up," says Chief White.
He says his goal is to create more resources to address mental health and make it a more acceptable conversation. He wants addressing mental health problems to be as accessible as addressing a physical injury, like a broken bone.