Firefighting stations have to deal with multiple issues whether it’s their employees or ongoing crises that may occur in their neighborhood. Occasionally, firefighting stations might have to deal with their firefighters struggling with alcohol abuse. The National Institutes of Health reported that alcoholism affects more than 6% of adults in the U.S. It is an alarming statistic, but it’s even more troubling when because this number is likely higher amongst public servants such as firefighters. Likewise, it’s easy to see why firefighters often grapple with the trauma associated with their job. Additionally, they deal with the stress of their family life, and the public’s expectations. These factors can create a perfect storm for substance abuse, and fire departments must take action.
The Response from Firefighting Stations
If you are a supervisor in the fire department, consider the following four steps to preventing alcohol and substance abuse in your station.
Create a Safe Space to Talk
Many factors can fuel alcohol abuse. Alternatively, one of the most common is a perceived inability to talk about trauma, emotions, and other tough subjects. Talking about feelings may be stigmatized or even discouraged. However, this suppression can easily create conditions in which alcoholism thrives. To combat this, you should facilitate opportunities for firefighters to discuss stress, trauma, and other essential topics.
Hold Firefighters Accountable
Of course, sometimes alcoholism is caused by other issues — and it’s often outside your control if one of your team members is struggling. It can be challenging to accept this — much less address it — but you must do so to protect the rest of your team. To this end, if you’ve observed that a firefighter is struggling with alcoholism or substance abuse, you should take steps to hold them accountable. It may involve disciplinary action, a formal warning, or other intervention measures before the problem worsens.
Don’t Downplay Potential Incidents
Sometimes, alcoholism may become apparent due to an incident on the job or in the fire station. It can be tempting to downplay such instances and avoid accountability, but it’s essential to resist this urge. Letting your firefighters off the hook for indiscretions will only encourage the behavior to escalate. It’s crucial to take incidents seriously and address any code of conduct violation.
Connect Firefighters to Resources
Finally, if you’ve had to confront a firefighter struggling with alcohol abuse, it’s essential to act rehabilitatively, not punitive. You care for all of your team members, and you don’t want to see them struggle. Then, it’s important to let them know that. Be sure to connect troubled firefighters with the resources they need to overcome their addiction, confront their issues, and reclaim their lives from alcoholism.
About Provident Fire Plus
At Provident Fire Plus, we offer custom-tailored packages to best protect firefighters and volunteer firefighters. We understand the risks that emergency response teams are subjected to on a daily basis, and have worked to serve these dedicated professionals for over 87 years. For more information about our products and policies, we invite you to contact our experts today at (855) 201-8880.