Oromocto Fire department tackles mental illness

The Oromocto Fire Department's willingness to tackle mental health issues, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, came at a high price.

The suicide of a volunteer fighter and former military sergeant, Paul Martin, in 2011 sent a shock wave through the department.  

Then, more recently, one of the department's full-time members almost succeeded in taking his life. 

Lt. Jerry Poirier is a broad-shouldered, calm-looking firefighter but, just over a year ago, he was falling apart. 

"I just existed. My thoughts weren't clear, my work wasn't efficient, I wasn't myself. I was just here physically, but mentally, I was on the moon," Poirier says.

"It culminated into me ultimately breaking."

Poirier says he had come through a year and half of hyper-vigilance, caused when he resuscitated his six-month-old son who suddenly stopped breathing one night.

He wasn't sleeping for fear something would happen when he wasn't watching. It was the first time he ended up needing help. 

But years later, when other things combined to send him into a mental spiral, he didn't recognize it in himself.  

'Yeah, I'm good'

Poirier attempted suicide but fate intervened and he got help to deal with what he felt was a of problems.

"It's not as if, before I broke, the guys didn't try. My own crew was poking at me, and asking if I was OK, and I kept shoving them aside saying, 'Yeah, I'm good,'" he says.

"No issues here. Just let me be. I hid it from them."

Poirier decided to speak out about his recent struggle. He let his bosses and co-workers know what had happened.

That disclosure prompted the Oromocto Fire Department to start looking for better ways to help its members spot their own, and their co-workers, problems.

Fire Chief Jody Price started searching for the latest methods to help his members.

He ordered an app for cellphones and tablets that visually walked them through breathing techniques.

The department brought in local health professionals for biannual days of mental health training. The training included exercises for reducing stress, and breathing techniques to reduce anxiety.

"One thing we did was kept the groups small. So it wasn't like you were in front of a group of 65 people, laying on exercise ball, breathing," said Richard Cummings, the department's deputy chief.

"There were small groups, and we gave them the background information."

Openness helped

Cummings said about a dozen firefighters in the 50-member department are accessing some form of mental health assistance.

"So, that's a pretty high percentage," he says.

Cummings says because Poirier was open to talking about the mental health care he was getting, they were able to bring in the health-care team to help re-integrate Poirier into his crew just four months later. 

Poirier says he believes that having the fire department deal with mental health issues in an open and up front way has opened the door to a healthier workplace overall.

"The alpha male stigma here is out the door. We are tough. Our first priority is helping you and taking you to a safe place in your moment of need," he says.

"When we come back here, that's when we start to process things for ourselves, and take care of ourselves, and our department has done tremendous things to help us cope with that."

Poirier says the members of the fire department talk  more now and ultimately he believes they are a better department for it.

The Tema Conter Memorial Trust Fund says it knows of 39 first responder suicides in 2015, four so far this year.

It says it gathers its statistics through news reports, and direct reporting to the organization.