strategicplan2019-final - Flipbook - Page 18
GOAL 3 - ENSURE HEALTH
AND SAFETY
Every Department employee must be afforded access to appropriate mental and
physical health care opportunities. The long and intense deployments of CAL FIRE
employees to emergency incidents makes it difficult and at times nearly impossible to get to these types of services through their regular health care providers
or the State Employee Assistance Program (EAP). It is critical that the Department
expand its use of peer support through the Employee Support Services (ESS) and
solidify a physical fitness culture across all levels and classifications.
The exposures and stressors to Department employees, especially firefighters,
are complex and often involve environmental and physiological components.
Although personal protective equipment (PPE) reduces firefighter exposure to
excessive heat, smoke, and high levels of toxic contaminants, these exposures
remain hazards of the profession. Emergency response places significant stressors on the firefighter’s body. These environmental factors compounded with the
severe mental stress of the profession can manifest in serious health and safety
implications for firefighters, including elevated incidents of cancer, cardiac and
respiratory issues, post-traumatic stress and other health issues, and in some cases
suicide.
Research shows that:
• One in five American adults have experienced a behavioral health issue.
• Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. The sad truth is
that in 2017, more firefighters died from suicide than in the line of duty. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are among the reasons for elevated rate of suicide.
• First responders experience PTSD and depression at a level five times that of the
civilian population.
• Long deployments on emergency incidents are now being compared to military
deployments, in terms of the health effects of longer and more intensive and
successive wildfire seasons.
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