Defusing and support within the Fire Service

With any job in the emergency services, there is a chance that you are going to see, feel, smell or witness events and situations of a traumatic nature, that will challenge you personally, and until it happens, you really don’t know how you are going to deal with it.

Some people go through their service without witnessing anything, they are lucky, but others may see many things in their time with the Fire Service, and luckily, at Devon and Somerset, they are well-equipped with regards to defusing and counselling for any such incidents.

In fact, just last year, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) gained a new employee, by the name of ‘Digby’ who was brought in as a therapy dog. He looks like a great cuddly fluffy comforter, I never want to be in the position to meet him operationally, but he does seem a great idea, if you like dogs of course!

So, last year, I was with Harvey, both of us fairly new at Totnes, both ready to wear breathing apparatus (BA) at a shout early one morning. Obviously I cannot give too much detail on the incident, but sadly we both witnessed a victim of smoke inhalation who could not be brought back to life. We carried the casualty out of the building, both knowing that she had passed away a long time before.

We completed our job on site that morning, put away kit, got back to the station and cleaned our BA sets in silence.

By the time we had finished this, the kettle was on and there was someone on site to take us through the defusing procedure. I say procedure, it was a sit down chat to go through openly the events of the morning and how we felt about it. There was occasional dark humour, but I found the whole experience invaluable for my mental well-being going forwards.

It doesn’t end here though.

I did cancel a couple of clients that morning. I drank tea and watched awful daytime tv, cuddled on the sofa covered in my three dogs for a few hours. Dogs are a comfort, and mine seemed to know there was something not quite right with me that day.

A few hours later I was at work and then onto drill night at the station.

When I got to the station that night there was so much support from the rest of the crew, asking how we were, and saying that it’s okay to not be okay about it. I wasn’t okay, but I knew that I could talk to everyone there about it, and eventually the trauma could be processed and I could move on. Talking about what happened, to others, and Harvey, is what helped the most.

I had a few nightmares, but eventually it passed, the scars remain in the background, as you would expect, I’m only human, but the way DSFRS handle situations like this, is second to none.

It’s not something that happens every day, so if you are unsure of how you would cope with this aspect of the job, talk to your local Firefighters, ask them, before deciding if it’s the right career for you, but I certainly wouldn’t see it stopping me doing my job going forward.