A new debriefing protocol is ensuring local firefighters get the mental health supports they need after dealing with disaster situations like Fort McMurray.
The Rest Information Transition Services, RITS for short, is being implemented by the St. Albert Fire Department for the first time since it was developed.
Immediately after a team returns from the scene of a disaster, in this case Fort McMurray, a senior officer is present to chat with them about what they witnessed.
The conversation lasts only about 20 minutes, but sets the tone for the next 24 to 72 hours.
“It’s to let them know that they’re being cared for,” said deputy fire chief Bernd Gretzinger.
It also gives the RITS lead, typically the senior officer on the floor that shift, the opportunity to spot potential signs of distress and allows the department to proactively follow up with staff if deemed appropriate.
Gretzinger said the senior officer is looking to see if staff are down, quiet or reserved, and is there to encourage open discussion about feelings of stress, anxiety or trauma. He explained that longer-term effects of stress, like a change in eating or sleeping patterns likely wouldn’t have manifested yet.
The protocol was developed after the Slave Lake fire and is used in response to big events.
As the closest full-time fire service, St. Albert sent an eight-person crew and three trucks to the scene of the 2011 blaze. Crews were rotated through the 10-day effort, much like they are currently are with the Fort McMurray wildfire.
Responding to a disaster of that magnitude was far from a normal day on the job. Firefighting staff at the time described the scenes as “gruesome” and a “360-degree panorama” of flames.
“We prepare for the things we go through in and around the city, but to see a whole city burn like that is definitely unique,” said Gretzinger.
He said so far firefighters are receptive to the initiative – happy to have someone at the other end of a long drive that is there to listen and talk.
“I’ve been in the field for almost 30 years now; you can never prepare for something you’ve never gone through,” said Gretzinger. “You hear about it, you read about it, you train for it, but until you’re actually there you never know how you’re going to react. That’s why I think a program like this is so important.”
St. Albert deployed 77 of its firefighters to Fort McMurray as of May 18, as well as nine other city workers to assist in the Emergency Operations Centre.
