Blog
9-1-1: The Dispatcher Is in Distress Every 9-1-1 call begins exactly the same. The dispatcher answers the call and calmly asks what the emergency is. The response from the caller is usually a frantic, distraught voice of someone who needs help right away. For the length of the call, the emergency dispatcher is the voice of calm that assists the caller in managing the crisis until help arrives. Behind the soothing voice, adrenalin is pumping full force, as the dispatcher struggles to find the balance between hope and fear. A 2014 report by the Office of the Auditor in the ...
Read more
Sleep Deprivation and Poor Diet are common throughout our society. For law enforcement officers, they can be extremely dangerous. Becoming a police officer is not for the faint of heart. Many hours of training are required and the learning curve is steep. Once in the position of a working officer, dealing with everyday issues and the constant stress can wear down even the most devoted employee. Being witness to violence and its aftermath on an everyday basis can shake even the most stalwart of people. But what about the aspects of work schedules and lifestyle habits? How do these factor ...
Read more
No one is guaranteed tomorrow. Actually none of us are even guaranteed the next minute. We take precautions, try to make healthy choices, and make plans on returning home to our loved ones. Car wrecks, acts of crime, and medical emergencies often turn a simple ring of someone’s phone into a life-altering moment. No one expects to hear the words from a stranger that their loved one is gone. But it happens. And some people are in positions that place them in situations that increase the chance of a loved one getting that call. One of those positions is that ...
Read more
When an emergency call comes in, firefighters have no way of knowing the exact kind of danger they will be facing. At the scene, they have to make quick judgements using their training and intuition about how best to mitigate the emergency. Despite extensive training to help others while keeping firefighters safe, firefighters have a high rate of job-related injuries. While medication can help to manage discomfort, it often leads to painkiller addiction. Frequency of Job-Related Injuries A 2011 survey by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) showed that approximately 70,900 firefighter injuries occur in the line of duty. About ...
Read more
There is nothing new under the sun. People are just as cruel now to their fellow human beings as they were thousands of years ago. Yet it seems to be the only thing anyone hears about. The news has become a showcase of “most shocking crime” and “unbelievable horrors”. Headlines scream out the obscenities that mankind commit. Uplifting news is often doubted and viewed with a high degree of suspicion. If the average person makes it a habit to ignore the news because of all the terrible stories of crime and pain, then what does the person do who is ...
Read more
Mitigating Stress in a Chaotic Career BY MARK LAMPLUGH JR. ON AUG 1, 2016 All firefighters can identify a reason that sparked their initial passion for becoming a firefighter—to serve their community, to save people, to work as part of a team, to become part of the station house brotherhood or something else. That reason turns into a passion that supersedes any fear of danger or job-related stress. READ FULL: http://www.firehouse.com/article/12221659/health-wellness-mitigating-stress-in-a-high-stress-career