Clark County firefighters taking part in national suicide awareness event

Clark County Fire District 6 is participating in a national event to recognize a disturbing trend: More firefighters and first responders are dying by suicide than all job-related deaths combined every year.

Tonight, Fire District 6 is taking part in “Those Left Behind.” Fire engines at all of the district’s stations will be positioned outside at 9 p.m., and for one minute all engine and truck lights will be turned on, according to a news release.

“We encourage anyone who wants to participate to join their local firefighters or to simply stand in their driveways with a lit candle to remember the families who are suffering through these preventable losses,” the news release says.

The Journal of Emergency Medical Services reported in a 2015 survey of more than 4,000 first responders that 37 percent had contemplated suicide and almost 7 percent had attempted it. That’s 10 times the rate of the general population.

Two years ago, Fire District 6 established a peer-support team to help employees having difficulty due to stressful calls. Firefighter Scott Meucci, a member of the team, said there is a culture in the profession that leads colleagues to think seeking help for such problems is a weakness.

“People think of us as the rescuers, not that we need rescuing,” Meucci said. “But seeing things like a 2-year-old go into cardiac arrest sticks with you.”

The support team allows people within a department to alert members to a co-worker who may be affected by an event but unable to ask for help themselves. The team speaks with the responder who may need help and guides them toward resources, he said.