
If there's something strange in your neighborhood, Who you gonna call? Police department! If there's something weird and it don't look good, Who you gonna call?! Ambulance! If there's something on fire that you can't control, Who you gonna call? Fire department! These men and women, known as first responders are much more valuable and pertinent than some may realize.

First responders are defined as being the people who are trained to respond and assist at scenes of emergencies, also known as EMTs, paramedics, firefighters and police officers. Often, the importance of these jobs are overlooked by those who are not directly affected by them every day. If people would take a few minutes to contemplate what they would do if they fell down in their house, couldn't get up and needed to be transported to the hospital or their house with possible family members and precious belongings were up in a blaze or if they had feelings of danger in their homes or neighborhoods, it would be easy to realize the personal and global importance of first responders. There are a select few people who are brave enough and have the training and capabilities to assist with the situations that they deal with every day. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the aid of first responders lead to helping with the escape of approximately 15,000 people in the terrorist attack of 9/11. Similar to other professionals in the world, this group of people have a specific set of skills that require extensive training and education. Shockingly, on top of all of this, most of these people volunteer for this and this speaks volumes to their devotion and drive. According to the Department of Homeland Security, of the 1 million firefighters in the United Stated, approximately 750,000 of those are volunteers which means they reap absolutely no monetary benefits of their time and labor. 

Firefighters and first responders in general face a series of monetary-related issues nationwide which need to be addressed and changed. Federal support for this community has "lacked a comprehensive and cohesive strategy since the first large-scale program of financial and train assistance was authorized by Congress in 1996" (Scardaville, para. 2). This has detrimental effects on the community. Issues revolve around mental health and physical health whereas the departments as a whole face these issues as well as money and resources for proper equipment and training. In order to be proactive about these issues, first responder departments need more resources, whether they are monetary or not, in order to effectively carry out their unique jobs. 

Argument

One of the biggest problems facing first responders in this nation is mental illnesses and suicide. The reason for this is the typically awful, gruesome and difficult things they must see on a nearly day to day basis and the inability to sometimes make sense out of these events and deal with them in a healthy manner. Some possible occurrences could be giving someone CPR and declaring them deceased as their family stands around watching and crying, to watching your long-time partner get shot in the head, to going into a burning building and having to save people that are on fire while staying composed and professional. Even just reading that sentence most likely invokes feelings of discomfort and this is why these brave men and women need more resources because no matter how brave someone is, these occurrences take a toll on anyone and effective continuation of their jobs requires that they be able to deal with these occurrences. Along with this, the jobs come with inherent stresses which are not always common in other professions. Mistakes in this profession can cause loss of life for the patient, the responders themselves or one of their partners. In fact, firefighting was voted the most stressful job of 2015 (Lanplugh). Chicago's fire department made the conclusion that members had a risk of suicide that was 25 times those of others in the population. In Canada it was also reported that 27%-28% of their paramedics had considered, at some point, ending their lives. The worst problem which can arise from this profession is PTSD, but a variety of other problems such as: "personal anxiety and poor healthy, family problems, abuse of alcohol and drugs, withdrawal, depression and burnout" are also cited as common mental issues which may arise. One of the problems is the social stigma to "man up" and "get over it" and because of this, many first responders, do in fact, try to just let go of things due to a variety of causes. A licensed counselor who runs the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, Jeff Dill says, 

"Once we put this uniform on, we're expected to act a certain way: Be strong. Don't show weakness. Don't be the weak link of the company -- we can handle problems on our own. Then when things go wrong, either on the job or because of the things we see or what's going on in our personal lives, we try to handle everything on our own. That can include things like stress, anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress. We forget we're human beings first, and it becomes quite overwhelming."

Some further shocking statistics include a survey conducted in Toronto which consisted of anonymous questions for medics 24 hours after emergency calls and concluded that about 87% of them reported a form of critical-incident stress. Around the world, 16% of paramedic trainees in South Africa meet criteria for PTSD as well as 22% of emergency responders in the UK, all in comparison to the American Psychiatric Association's identified general public rate of 3.6% (Erich). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is described by the National Institute of Mental Health as negative and powerful associations or emotional experiences to a traumatic event which persist far past the event and can occur at any age for a multitude of reasons. The Institute also cites "seeking support from friends and family, finding a support group after a traumatic event, having a positive coping strategy, and being able to act and respond effectively despite feeling fear" as significant factors which can reduce the risks of PTSD (National, para. 1 &2). 

Since it is clear that mental illness is in fact an issue among this population and that there are possible ways to help which have been shown to be effective, why is change not obvious? One of the first things that fire departments need is training to reduce the stigma around needing help for problems. Pride is a word that rings loud and true among these people and something not taken lightly. Therefore, a clear boundary needs to be drawn between pride in work and strength, but also pride in acknowledging and fixing a problem rather than looking at it as a weakness. With these shocking statistics, it is impossible to confidently say that first responders are getting the resources that they need and the environment that is necessary. 

In continuation with the health of first responders, the health of firefighters is a significant issue which needs to be addressed and improved. Running in to burning buildings obviously poses great health risks. When firefighters go into these building, everything is on fire no matter how unhealthy it may be and these men and women are exposed to these awful toxins every time they go to these fires. Firefighters are more susceptible to cancers of the brain, kidney, bladder, colon and lungs. They are constantly exposed to carcinogenic toxins which take a grave toll on them. On top of this, regardless of carcinogens, the job comes with an extreme amount of stress. Heart attacks have extremely high risk during fighting a fire due to heavy work, carbon monoxide and stress during the fire (International, para. 3 & 4). This is an aspect of first responder health which needs to be addressed and attempted to be made safer in order to keep our firefighters strong, safe and healthy for the time even after they can no longer fight fires. 

From an equipment funding standpoint the issue still stands. Maintaining safe and functional equipment that meets safety standards is extremely costly. Running the Annapolis, MD fire department is approximately $14,092,500.00 and this is not even the largest department and does not include the costs of other first responders. By having departments that are completely volunteers the Dover, DE fire department saves taxpayers well over $12,500,00.00 annually. This brings about the conflict of people are so passionate about what they do that they are willing to volunteer, but in turn are not afforded the opportunities to join a paid department if they wanted to unless they go through an extremely rigorous process which may or may not take them. The cost of turnout gear (a full set of firefighting clothing consisting of: gloves, eye protection, nomex hood, boots, bunker pants, jacket and a helmet) is just over $2,600 per firefighter and adding the cost of a complete SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus), it comes to a whopping total of just over $7,000. On top of this, the cost of other equipment can range even more greatly from $550,000.00 for a pumper truck with $150,000 worth of equipment for it to a platform aerial ladder which is $930,000.00 (Dover). It is clear with the importance of these jobs and people as well as the extravagant costs of their professions that they should be receiving noteworthy funding; this is not the case.   

All over the country, departments are facing budget cuts and struggling to have the proper money and resources in order to operate properly. According to the National Fire Protection Association in 2011 in the Third Needs Assessment of the US Fire Service, 

"51% of all fire departments do not have enough portable radios to equip all emergency responders on a shift", "51% of all fire departments cannot equip all firefighters on a shift with self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)", and "Two out of five (39%) fire departments do not have enough personal alert safety system devices (PASS) to equip all emergency responders on a shift" (Cody's, para. 1). 

All of this equipment is critical to proper firefighter work and safety. On top of this, the budget plan for 2014 by Obama included a cut of 10 million dollars from two programs which are available in order to aid fire departments in purchasing new equipment. On top of this, Firehouse Magazine conducted a poll in 2014 which reported that 46% of participant departments had "put off buying new apparatuses due to economic conditions" (Cody's, para. 1). Another thing to consider is that although fires may not seem as relevant to the general population, firefighters do not deal with merely fires. Any car accident, medical emergency or citizen assist is also handled by firefighters and their equipment and personnel (Mark, para. 2).

Using a report on Delaware Fire Needs Assessment in 2011 it is very clear that significant changes need to be made. In 2011, 30% of Delaware departments did not have enough self-contained breathing apparatus to equip all personnel and 73% of departments did not have enough portable radios. Some stations also currently lack features which meet current standards due to the fact that they were not required when constructed. Years past were even more shocking but some changes were made in some of those categories. Going through other states needs assessment is almost always just as shocking and lacking as this one (Fire). 

The effects of this underfunding has been very clear in two specific instances. The first was on February 22, 2014 when a fire departing was responding to a reported house fire with an 83 year old woman stuck inside. The department that responded to the fire did not have the capability to put out the fire due to budget cuts and their only truck being a brush truck. This event lead to that department having to stand there and watch the house burn while they waited for the next department to arrive. The woman passed away. This is a vital example to illustrate how time and effective equipment are very large and important factors in this profession and how resources can greatly affect these aspects. Another incident similar to this was in Detroit in September 2011 when a truck unequipped to fight the fire responded to the scene of a house fire with a 3 year old girl trapped inside (Cody's, para. 2).

Opposition

Jonathan Walters describes a glorified version of firefighting which is in no way representative of the general firefighter population considering, as stated before, that 75% of firefighters receive no monetary compensation for their work. He discusses in his article that high level officials have turned to fire departments as a community that is sucking up "more than its fair share of municipal resources." He goes on to use San Jose California as his only example of a city in which the highest payed employees are actually members of the fire service. Due to this, the city began making cuts and laying off firefighters. It is common now to view firefighters as "a pampered class  --  well paid with retirement packages that would be the envy of anyone in either the private or public sectors" (Walters, para. 1 &2). This, for the general population, is not the case. Firefighters and first responders are a group of men and women who risk much more than many other professions and therefore deserve to be compensated for these risks through benefits and usually are not. This article portrays a view which is surprisingly quite common among extremely money oriented individuals. Looking at the statistics of needs and costs, it is clear that this is not the case and it is not the case that departments are money guzzlers nationwide.

Conclusion

There are a variety of issues plaguing the first responder nation which are requiring more aid and support from the people of this country and the people of their communities. Shocking statistics on PTSD and suicide go to show that first responders are not in environments in which they feel as though their issues can be recognized and fixed. The statistics also go to show that they do not have the resources to deal with and to fix these mental plagues in a professional and effective manner. First responders, firefighters specifically, also do not have the money and resources in some cases to effectively complete their jobs. The costs of safe and effective firefighting are extremely high but also extremely valuable. First responders are the men and women who will come to your door in a blink of an eye for your cat stuck in a tree, your house burning down, your mother with a broken bone and even a bathtub that won't shut off. Without the proper funding and resources, these men and women are unable to effectively and safely go about their jobs. It is not hard to make small changes which go a long way. In a big picture, the federal government and state governments would provide more funding for these invaluable men and women but, big changes are also possible on small scales. Participating in or hosting fundraising events provide a great solution to funding. On a very individual level, saying a thank you in appreciation to a first responder also goes a long way. Having their work be appreciated is not something which goes unnoticed in this community of honor, respect and family.

