Firefighters on a mullets mission
Invercargill firefighters are growing mullets to highlight mental health, an issue close to the brigade.
The brigade had raised more than $3000, with other brigades in Dunedin, Masterton and Christchurch getting behind the cause.
Invercargill fire brigade senior firefighter Waka Miller says the firefighters were discussing what they could do to raise awareness and funds for mental health when someone came up with the mullets idea, as it was something visible and would grab attention.
Mental health is an issue within the brigade since the service began dealing with more medical callouts, he says.
After the change, the number of fatality calls increased dramatically, and this started to affect firefighters, Miller says.
Going to callouts for events such as cot deaths are traumatic for firefighters who had young families, he says.
Many of the callouts are suicide cases, so the call for advocacy around mental health extends beyond firefighters.
A few senior members had decided to retire after attending a few medical calls, as they had spent their entire career dealing with fires and road accidents, he says.
Fire and Emergency Southland Area commander Julian Tohiariki says the organisation has ramped
up its support services since it started taking medical calls.
This included peer support and access to psychologists, which also involved partners because it was important to acknowledge home and work life are intertwined.
Recently retired firefighter John Cox has spent the last 10 years advocating for more mental health support in the Invercargill brigade.
When he started in 1974, unwinding at the end of a shift meant a cigarette or a beer, but times have changed.
Firefighters are attending a higher number of medical calls and dealing with trauma that most people wouldn’t see, he says.
There was a sense among older firefighters that they didn’t sign up to be part of the ambulance service, while young firefighters have accepted it was part of the job.
Cox hoped that one day, firefighters would visit psychologists in the same way as they went to the dentist.
‘‘We talk about health and safety but we also need to talk about mental health and safety.’’
The brigade’s goal is to raise $10,000 for the Mental Health Foundation.