The Brief
- Following a tragic incident in Idaho, Pacific Northwest organizations stress the importance of mental health care for first responders.
- Support 7 and the Seattle Fire Department are offering crisis response, peer support, and mental health programs to manage emotional strain.
- Experts highlight the compounded trauma first responders face and the need for ongoing support and resources.
SEATTLE – After a tragic incident in Idaho left two firefighters dead and another hurt, organizations across the Pacific Northwest are emphasizing the critical importance of mental health care for first responders.
Shannon Sessions, executive director of Support 7, a nonprofit organization of volunteers who have served South Snohomish County for nearly 45 years, helping victims, survivors and their families cope with crisis and trauma. Sessions spoke with FOX 13 Seattle about the emotional burden first responders carry throughout their careers — one traumatic call at a time.
“Every day, they’re putting different rocks in their packs,” Sessions said. “They work through it, they have their different ways of grieving together and dealing with it and coping together, but really they still go home with that pack, and every time there’s a new incident, it’s added to that pack and on their back.”…