ROSEVILLE, Calif. — May is Mental Health Awareness Month and discussions about the need for first responder mental health resources are growing.
They are on the frontlines of our community's most difficult days. Firefighters step in when they get the call and save lives while risking their own.
"Our guys may work 24 hours, up to 96 hours," said Angel Mota with Roseville Firefighters Local 1592.
After the sirens stop blaring and the gear goes back in the locker, sometimes what they've just seen still remains.
"You see houses burn, you see some pretty tragic events," Mota said.
Dealing with the trauma left behind after responding to tragedy can be a silent battle for some.
A firefighter of 25 years, Battalion Chief Jamie Pepin with Roseville Fire Department says mental health wasn't always at the forefront in his early years.
"You were taught to tough it out. You didn't talk about those things and we realized that that wasn't working for us anymore as the number of firefighters dying by suicide exceeded those that were dying in the line of duty," Pepin said.
The Roseville Fire Department lost one of its own to suicide.
“At that time, we didn’t have any of these programs for mental health in place,” Pepin said.
Pepin says once the International Association of Fire Fighters made mental health a priority, things started to shift in changing the stigma.
Over the years, Roseville Fire Department added new programs and peer support to help members cope with the stress of the job.
“It’s a really good feeling now in his honor that we have a lot of these programs in place so that we don't have that sort of circumstance again,” Pepin said.
Now, a new recruit is helping reinforce the mission of making mental health a priority and lending four paws to the cause. Roseville Fire Department recently brought on a trained therapy dog named Blaze to help firefighters decompress after responding to emergencies. The two-year-old labradoodle goes from station to station greeting firefighters and helping them cope with the stresses of the job.
"Blaze has been here a little over a year now," said Daniel Salois, Blaze's handler. "He comes to work with me. He'll do 24-48 hours, whatever it happens to be with me. We'll move station to station, but when he goes home, he's a dog and he runs around and gets muddy and does everything that dogs do."
Blaze's placement was made possible through Folsom-based nonprofit Hearts 4 Heroes. They focus on supporting first responders' mental health and wellness.
“Just petting a dog really lifts your spirit," said Shelley Martell, Executive Director of Hearts 4 Heroes. "You don’t have to say anything, they know exactly how to react to exactly what is going on with you.”
The organization said PTSD among first responders is at its highest rate in decades. They are hoping through raising awareness and wellness programs, like Blaze's, they can help change that.
"I just want to make sure that all the other members of the fire service know that we are all here for each other, and know that you will be taken care of and you'll be supported, and loved," said James Kornweibel, Vice President of Roseville Firefighters Local 1592.
Hearts 4 Heroes is expanding its reach. The executive director said they're going into five states this year.
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