Bulletin 4 – 20 CRITICAL INCIDENT NOTIFICATION BULLETIN
January 27, 2020
Bulletin 4 – 20
CRITICAL INCIDENT NOTIFICATION BULLETIN
“THE TERRIBLE 10”
Dear UFLAC Members:
The stresses and circumstances faced by firefighters, paramedics and EMTs over the course of their careers can be daunting and are different than those faced in most other professions. Whether it is an incident involving violence or children, the inherent dangers that come along with the firefighting profession can have a cumulative impact on our mental health and overall well-being over time.
While it is true that each person reacts differently to situations and may not have the same response to a traumatic incident, we do know that early intervention is the best way to maintain good physical, behavioral and spiritual well-being. To that end, please notify Peer Support if you, or any of your fellow members witness any of the following 10 incidents (“The Terrible 10”):
- Line-of-Duty Death
- Suicide of a colleague
- Serious line-of-duty injury
- Disaster/multi-casualty incident
- Killing or wounding of an innocent person
- Significant events involving children
- Prolonged incident especially with loss of life
- Personally, threatening situations
- Events with excessive media interest
- Any highly distressing event
Peer Support has Clinicians and resources available to our members who may have experienced any of these “Terrible 10” incidents. For more information, please contact Dr. Steve at (818) 645-9027 or the On-Call Peer Support Team Lead or the On-Call Fire Department Psychologist (see attached On-Call schedule).
Your health and well begin is of paramount importance to us so please reach out today if you need help. Thank you.
In solidarity,
UFLAC Executive Board