Washington County forming new team to help first responders cope with trauma of job

In the wake of this week's tragedy in Mt. Lebanon, mental health is top of mind, including for first responders.

Leaders in Washington County said they recognized the need for additional support more than a year and a half ago. Now, they're forming a new team to help first responders cope with the job's trauma.

"It's not easy, but sometimes running a call right after a bad call kind of helps a little bit," Chartiers Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief Robert Fetty said. "But it's difficult. Sometimes it takes weeks, months, years."

Fetty said Washington County recognized the desperate need and wanted to act on it quickly.

"A lot of the time there would be a critical incident — a bad call or a situation where it would be overwhelming for the first responder," Fetty said. "And a lot of the times, they didn't know where to go."

Fetty is now the operations director of Washington County's newly formed Critical Incident Stress Management team, a resource for first responders after traumatic incidents.

"We were always taught coming up through those that have longevity in the emergency services that it's not OK to cry. You got to be tough, you got to tough it out. In today's day, we don't do that," Fetty said. 

For generations, first responders were often expected to tough it out rather than talk about what they experienced.

"Years ago, it was part of the job. Get through it, you'll be OK. That's not enough anymore, and the stresses of the job aren't getting any easier. We're not getting more people to come into these fields and take these positions," said Daniel Harvey, deputy director of the Washington County Department of Public Safety.

Harvey recently led group trainings for the new team, which can help police officers, firefighters, emergency medical services personnel and dispatchers. The team has also established a scholarship fund to help cover costs when insurance does not pay for care.

"That goes towards treatment for the responders if their insurance won't cover something. We have a pot of money that we can pull from and send them to treatment," said Harvey.

Agencies across Washington County can call the team for help after a traumatic incident. The team can respond in surrounding counties, and members are being trained to recognize when a fellow first responder may be struggling.

"We'll be able to spot things that are wrong if you're inside the workplace, the police station, in the firehouse, the EMS, at the 911 center, where you can recognize that someone is going through something," Fetty said. 

Fetty said supporting first responders' mental health benefits the entire community.

"If we need the team to come in, it's going to help us to stay strong mentally and emotionally to be able to do our jobs and do it correctly and do it well for the community," the fire chief said. "We can't help others if we're not helping ourselves."

The team will likely reach 40 members. It is expected to be ready to respond after additional peer-to-peer training in late November. Its members will be available to help first responders in Washington County and neighboring communities.