Welcome to the Summer Fall Issue of our on line e newsletter.

Many events have taken place in 2008 which brings us to the subject that I am talking about here. Under section 13 of the "Everyone Goes Home Life Initiative" we have access to psychological and counselling services.

This is a Vital component to the life initiatives that are being brought forward to reduce the loss of life on the front lines. The article was submitted to the United States Fallen Fire Fighter Foundation for inclusion in their newsletter.

Straight talk for hard working people who are on the "emotional front lines of firefighting" in America. Enjoy the read and feel free to send your comments and feedback on this or any other subject. If you have something you would like to post drop us an email to firefighterveteran@hotmail.com Shannon H. Pennington Editor

"Everyone Goes Home Life Initiative" Section 13 "Mental Health and Wellness" in the Fire Fighter. Stress, Job Stress, Job Burn Out, Acute Stress Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress. What is it? What can we do about it? What can be done to reduce it's impact on our physical as well as emotional outlook?

We need to begin the run and manage ourselves through active service careers and balance out the negative impact stress has on us. To full time professional or volunteer fire fighters the "s" word happens quite often on the front lines. (Thanks Forrest Gump...we needed that). The other word that begins with "s" that is ever present is called "STRESS". What does it mean to family and friends who support our efforts on the front lines of America? How can we help ourselves and how can we help others to understand the "drama and the trauma" of the psychological consequences involved with "the most dangerous of professions?"

There is help currently being developed along with an active information highway which is available about the subject of stress in the American Fire Service. The United States Fallen Fire Fighters Foundation has partnered with North American Fire Fighter Veterans Network to get the stress message out. firefighterveteran.com web site is designed to address the educational component of the Everyone Goes Home Life Initiative Mental Health and Wellness inclusive of prevention before a stress exposure triggers traumatic wounding in you, the firefighter on the front lines.

It is true that firefighters can kick locomotives off the track, and jump over tall buildings when they roll out onto the street but, the "aftermath of serious traumatic exposure" can cause emotional shock waves that can take the fight out of the firefighter. Any time you step into your bunker gear and strap on an airpack you have the potential to be exposed to the smoke heat and gasses formed from an "Emotional Backdraft". It can flashover in the memory of the event and take you out of the front lines and put you into a downward spiral away from the job. Getting connected and staying connected to not just the physical but, the mental health and wellness, the other fitness needed for the "toughest job in the world is, vital. It will give you, the "Front Line Fire Fighter" the staying power to keep fighting the good fight for all the right reasons. Connection to the information is here, it is now, it is on line, it is for you and your family. Having a pre plan when, not if, stress invades your bunker gear and penetrates your p.p.e. to the basement of your heart and soul, makes sound.................. " firefighter common sense".

firefighterveteran.com as a web site is designed to be a "go to resource" for the firefighter as well as any family member who wants information on how to cope with the aftermath of stress. The web site is available like you, on line 24/7/365. On the front page you will find a message for all "First Responders" from a Canadian Lt. Governor who himself carries the scars from childhood polio. His message is that.................. "Not All Wounds are Visible". There is a video link to former FDNY Firefighterveteran "Jimmy Brown" who survived with emotional wounding on 911 along with his message about the "REAL MEN REAL DEPRESSION" campaign from NIMH. The spring 2008 on line e newsletter talks about "suicide of a firefighter veteran" and what to look for. The winter newsletter talks about what stress is for us from a former firefighter in Germany who we asked to write about his experience as a volunteer and how he looks at stress in the fire service. " F.I.R.S.T. S.T.E.P. H.O.P.E." is one of many tools on the web site you can use to help you through the drama and trauma of sorting out the who, what, when, where, why and how portion of " your positive or negative reactions".

In the future, education about fire fighter stress will start to reduce the negative impact it has on us and we will start to change the outcome. It will require vigilance, patience and wisdom by listening to those who have lived the life and the lifestyle of the profession. We will begin to use all of the tools in the tool box including regular updates as information becomes current. In closing I can see being out there on the speakers rounds on a dedicated bus tour to talk with as many of you as possible. We need to open up the inch and a half between our heads and our hearts and reduce the back pressure that negative stress causes us to experience.

Dialogue and education as well as collaborative effort is going to change the outcomes . Lets all get on the bus and move it forward on the information highway. Think about it. "Everyone Goes Home". When you get home remember to take your boots off before you walk in the door. If you carry the job with you through that door, decon as soon as you can. Your family and friends are your refuge and re hab zone.

Keep yourself and those you care about safe.

Additional information beyond this web site is available by going to the links page.

NAFFVN strongly encourages your journey into understanding front line stress by reading the book: CopShock 2nd Edition Surviving Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) by author Allen R. Kates. See our write up on www.amazon.com as well as the write up on our links page section 6.