DALLAS — A firefighter's shift is unpredictable. After calls, they can physically clean off debris. But the things they see can often leave a mental stain.
According to Dallas Fire-Rescue, six Dallas firefighters have attempted suicide since 2018.
Four of them died.
In their honor, the department and union are pushing for improved mental health resources.
"We don't know what's going on inside people's heads," said Jim McDade, President of the Dallas Fire Fighters Association. "One of the members of the department that committed suicide was my best friend."
He remembers Nov. 13, 2021, when Capt. Kenny Crutcher took his own life. McDade talked to him that day, and everything seemed normal.
"With Kenny -- with a lot of these guys -- we didn't see it coming," McDade said.
After Crutcher's death, McDade and Dallas Fire Chief Dominique Artis stood in Crutcher's house.
"It's a gut check," Artis said. "It's like getting kicked in the stomach, and you didn't know it was coming. It knocks the wind out of you. It also -- mentally -- it makes you feel like what could I have done more?"
Since Crutcher’s death, two Dallas more firefighters killed themselves, and another two others attempted suicide.
There are likely more unreported instances within the department's ranks.
"The number two killer of firefighters right now is suicide, and it’s a scary thought," said McDade.
According to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, suicide is three times more likely to happen to firefighters than a line-of-duty death.
Every year in Dallas, the call volume increases for Dallas Fire-Rescue by four percent, the department said.
"We make over 300,000 calls a year," said Assistant Chief Bret Stidham said.
That high bolume of calls can be overwhelming for the 2,000 firefighters in the department.
"We see multi-fatality accidents, we see shootings with multiple people involved, we see children, we see older adults," Stidham said "Pretty much anything you can imagine, our men and women go through on a daily basis."
Together, Dallas Fire-Rescue and the Dallas Fire Fighters Association are pushing to prevent suicide and promote mental health awareness.
Through their efforts, here's what the department now offers its firefighters
- Peer support is available with 60 to 70 trained peers
- DFFA offers three free months of counseling
- Paid mental health leave through the City of Dallas
- Single-function paramedics are hired to reduce the call volume for firefighter-paramedics
- A psychologist is on staff (the goal is to eventually have three psychologists total for the department)
- A resiliency coordinator is available
- The chaplaincy program is available
All these efforts are to honor those they've lost to suicide.
"It affects us all," said Artis. "It's just not something you can get over. You know, it's something that you carry with you, but you grow from."