The Grassroots Wildland Firefighters (GWF) group has released information about their latest effort to focus on the issues of mental health and comprehensive well-being of firefighters.
In the summer of 2021, GWF made an anonymous survey available to partners and spouses of federal wildland firefighters. In completing the survey, 1,841 respondents shared their experiences as the loved one of a federal wildland firefighter, shedding light on what it’s like to raise a family, manage a household, and support firefighters battling mental health issues.
The results were astounding, according to the GWF. They revealed that:
- 73.1% of respondents regularly worry about the possibility of a tragic accident on the fireline. And 65.4% lack confidence in the agency to take care of them if something were to happen to their partner while on duty.
- 60.2% report that their partners have been impacted by an incident at work that resulted in mental health challenges. Of those respondents whose partners reached out for help, only 2.8% strongly agreed that the agency’s Employee Assistance Program was helpful.
- Extended absence physically and/or emotionally was the number one stressor reported as “extremely impactful” to respondents.
- For suggested areas of future support, wildland firefighters’ partners indicated that the top three areas they’d rate as “extremely helpful” were: higher pay to reduce financial stress (88.0%), year-round access to health care for seasonal firefighters (80.2%), and access to mental health professionals who understand fire culture (58.3%).
When given the opportunity to comment freely, survey respondents said things like:
- “It is really hard being a partner to a wildland firefighter; his mental health has really deteriorated in the last few years. More stress with his newer roles and very little pay to compensate for it. There really aren’t enough resources for him to find help with the mental health issues he’s been having.”
- “The mental health issues seem to have compounded over time with the nature of the job but also the loss of friends and co-workers to fire related deaths and suicide.”
The GWF said as another fire season begins it is urgent that Congress move forward in the House of Representatives to pass the Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act. (H.R. 5631). The legislation bears the name of a firefighter who died while working on the Eicks Fire in New Mexico in 2021. It would address many of the heartbreaking issues wildland firefighters and their partners face, including raising firefighter pay, creating a wildland firefighter job series, providing health care and mental health services to temporary and permanent wildland firefighters, housing stipends, and other improvements. (More details are in the Wildfire Today article from October 19, 2021.)
“Tim would be humbled and honored to have this legislation be a part of his legacy,” said Smokejumper Tim Hart’s wife Michelle Hart. “These issues were deeply important and personal to him. Wildland firefighters deserve to be recognized and compensated for the grueling conditions in which they work and for putting their lives on the line every day. This legislation is a major step forward in achieving that goal.”
"We've given too much for too little for too long," said one survey respondent.
The video below has more information about the partners and spouses survey.
Upper level DC Land Management agency (all agencies) leadership has no experience in experiencing what we firefighters face day in and day out. Neither do the dept heads. They can’t relate. They don’t understand. They don’t support. They say they do but they don’t.
Nothing will change until we change it all.
Better pay won’t make the hurt or stress go away. That is a fallacy. That is not to say that our entry level FF’s don’t deserve better wages, they do. Access to year round health care for seasonal and contract FF’s? Absolutely. Access to genuine mental health care? Absolutely. Not simply the old gloss over.
As a retired FF, I can genuinely say that my mental health was affected and that it caused problems for my family. I must also add that I accepted this when I chose the profession….comes with the territory. Could my agency have done more? Absolutely. Why didn’t they? Perhaps a combination of $ bottom line, not really caring, and not really having a handle on what needed to be done.
Well said, Big Mike. There are many occupations and professions that are stressful including for marriages and relationships. More money is only a start and won’t fully solve the issue. Better and more qualified managers, leaders and supervisors of the fire agencies is a bigger part of the puzzle. Leaders need to have spent significant and meaningful time at the lower rungs of the ladder before they are promoted to the top; too often this does not happen and it’s a big problem.
Yup it was shut up and dig before cell phones unbelievably tough to manage your family even with cell phones things were not at all convenient or easy it almost made it worse to get hurt your phaq Ed
The asshole penny pictures who made you take a lunch break on the fire line such crap I just retire I don’t miss it at all it was a great experience
To “Rusty Witwer it was very esoteric I’m not sure that was enough
The takeaway?
(And it’s not news).
If you’re considering a career in fire, or you already have one and it’s too late to transition; know that the Agency Does. Not. Give. A. Sh*t. About. You. make peace with that, and hope you’re never badly injured or killed while doing the job. It’s the Faustian bargain we make, minus the riches.
I totally agree!!!
You are so right. After 27 years you come to that conclusion quickly. Upper Management cares about nothing but their careers and their next promotion. As far as mental health issues I can say I never seen any accept when someone passed away and thank God that’s not often. But sorry the ones that suffur most are the families, especially shot crews. Not seeing their parents does affect the kids and spouses, especially the summertime. No one said it was going to be easy.
I’m sorry it took you 27 years.
You are correct and that the agency, any agency, does not actually care about you. You are a number, a case, that’s it. I have been through several injury cases through both doi and usfs both had me extremely worried as to what financial surprises I had in store from an occupational injury. The rest, the family strains, well thats another story. I made it through the gauntlet – so far, but definitely paid a price. If my spouse wasn’t also a firefighter in her past, I’m certain that strain would have been too much. I’ll tell what’s not helping- WO level leadership with degrees not back problems like the rest of us.