When I came on the job, you simply dealt with the stresses of the stuff that you saw: burned bodies (children included) and severe trauma to the human body (including dismemberment and evisceration). It wasn’t always the gory stuff that got to you, either. Children sitting in highchairs with cockroaches crawling through their food, the stench of some homes, or simply the unkind acts committed toward other human beings were also unsettling.
We dealt with this stuff in many ways-humor, exercise, teasing and hazing, getting away from the crew for a little bit, or simply going home and hugging the kids or kicking the dog! Since the end of World War II and the Vietnam War, there have been numerous studies dealing with stress. Much of what was learned was passed to other professions, including the fire service. Is the information we acquired helpful? I don’t know. I don’t know if anyone really knows. In fact, a few recent studies disavow the effectiveness of critical incident stress management (CISM). I’m not ready to give up on it yet.
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