Wellbeing initiative for firefighters
Concerns about the mental health of firefighters has sparked a new wellbeing initiative in Te Anau.
Te Anau volunteer fire brigade chief fire officer Graeme Moffat said he and the brigade were starting a project called K10 to Te Anau in a bid to support its service men and women.
K10 is a radio code meaning recommissioning.
‘‘The way things are going, there’s a lot of mental health issues,’’ Moffat said.
‘‘I know the challenges my guys and girls here face, and myself, it’s not a good place to be.
‘‘The old school attitude of ‘‘just take a concrete pill and harden up’’ doesn’t cut it anymore.
‘‘With the ever increasingly traumatic incidents firefighters are confronted with, it only stands to reason that their mental health suffers, often going unnoticed. I should know, I’ve been there myself,’’ he said.
The project is about rallying the community to support firefighters who are struggling with mental health, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Moffat said.
Collection boxes will be placed around town with money raised being used to support firefighters, whether it be shouting a cup of coffee or a weekend trip away.
Businesses had also offered services
‘‘The old school attitude of ‘just take a concrete pill and harden up’ doesn’t cut it anymore.’’
Te Anau volunteer fire brigade chief fire officer Graeme Moffat
including accommodation and massages and were encouraged to donate products or services to the cause.
The idea is to bring a firefighter, who may be struggling, and their partner on an all-expenses-paid trip. They would remain anonymous, with the idea being they can come and ‘‘relax and rejuvenate’’.
Often people struggling did not realise it themselves, so Moffat encouraged partners, work colleagues and friends to nominate firefighters for a trip.
‘‘I have a particular interest in mental health and wellbeing, especially in the fire service, and I have been trying to think of a way, we as a brigade, can make a difference.
‘‘We don’t want people suffering in silence.
‘‘When you attend a major incident it can trigger depression or PTSD then it runs around in your head. If we take them away we can let them clear their head.’’
Even if one person was helped it would be worth it, he said.
Moffat announced the beginning of the project yesterday on Facebook and he said he had received an overwhelming amount of feedback in the first couple of hours.
Moffat hoped brigades throughout the country would start their own similar project.
He had already been contacted by people in Dunedin, Canterbury and the North Island who were interested.
‘‘It’s looking really, really positive. I’m rapt with the response.’’
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said ‘‘we take all aspects of the health of our staff and volunteers seriously’’. ‘‘We have a Safety, Health and Wellbeing Strategy of which psychological wellbeing is one of three critical areas.’’
The other two are physical safety and work-related health.