Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is sometimes called the invisible wound. PTSD represents one illness that has varying degrees of symptoms. Most firefighters and other first responders are susceptible to getting PTSD because it’s caused by a stressful, frightening, or distressful event, or prolonged exposure to traumatic experiences. All people have various levels of emotional resilience, which is why some firefighters are more susceptible to acquiring PTSD than some other firefighters. Just as military personnel may have little or no exposure to trauma depending on their job assignments, firefighters also have disparate levels of resilience based on their level of ...
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Firefighter Wellness Radio’s guest tonight is Dan Kerrigan & Jim Moss who are the co-authors of Firefighter Functional Fitness. It is the essential guide to optimal firefighter performance and longevity. It provides all firefighters with the knowledge, tools, and mindset to maximize their fireground performance, reduce their risk of injury and line-of-duty death, and have long, healthy careers and retirements. Website: FirefighterFunctionalFitness.com, Twitter: @FirefighterFFit, Facebook: @FirefighterFFit Instagram: @FirefighterFunctionalFitness Your host Mark W Lamplugh Jr is a 4th generation firefighter and former Captain with Lower Chichester Fire Company(PA). Mark has been instrumental in the creation of several addiction and PTSD programs throughout the United States over ...
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Frontline’s (www.frontlinerehab.com)Very Own Mark Lamplugh kicks off his first show of “Firefighter Wellness Radio” for Fire Engineering Blog Talk. Mark Lamplugh is a fourth-generation firefighter and former captain with the Lower Chichester (PA) Fire Company. He was the Chief Executive Officer of 360 Wellness Inc. (http://www.360wellness.org/) and is currently the Vice President with Advanced Health & Education (www.advhealth.com) and their Frontline Program (www.frontlinerehab.com). Lamplugh is also nationally recognized in Crisis Stress Intervention through the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress. He has helped hundreds of firefighters, police officers, veterans, EMS personnel, and civilians nationwide find help for addiction, alcoholism, PTSD, and ...
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As a fourth generation firefighter, I was practically raised in a firehouse. The firehouse was and will always be one big family. There is a code and a bond that all firefighters live for each day. We run towards danger. We save lives. We are invincible. Except we are not invincible. The physical and emotional demands that we put ourselves thru bring a toll. Ignoring this problem is like allowing a forest fire to burn unattended. It is only going to get worse. It’s time we adopt a culture that makes it okay for a firefighter to ask for help. ...
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It may be surprising to learn that firefighting makes the top ten list of jobs that provides a good life/work balance. According to Glassdoor, a jobs and recruiting site, their 2014 report shows that firefighting ranks just under occupations like a group fitness instructor, user experience designer, and corporate communications as one of the jobs that provides the best work/life balance. By contrast, just one year later, firefighting doesn’t even make the top 25 Glassdoor occupations for work/life balance in 2015. The discrepancy from one year to the next may have something to do with the fact that firefighting does ...
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Firefighter Stress: Manage It so It Doesn’t Manage You 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. Firefighting: The Second Most Stressful Career When comparing vocations with the highest stress levels, those that top the list involve some kind of personal danger. CareerCast (The Most Stressful Jobs of 2016, n.d.) studied stress factors with regard ...
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