Exploring Firefighters' Views about Personal Impact

Firefighters in the United States are at risk for developing a range of concerns given the
physical and psychological risks of their job duties (Farnsworth & Sewell, 2011; Lourel,
Abdellaoui, Chevaleyre, Paltrier, & Gana, 2008; McFarlane & Bryant, 2007; Wagner, McFee, &
Martin, 2010). Additionally, the risk for suicide may be higher in this population than the
general population (Savia, 2008). This phenomenological qualitative research study aimed to related crises, including how they were
impacted across domains (e.g., emotional, cognitive, physical, relational), how they coped in the
aftermath, and their use of social support. Therefore, 10 professional, active firefighters were
interviewed in order to gain insights into their experiences. Additionally, an online survey was
used as a sampling strategy, and to gain information on the types of events they experienced and
those they find most distressing. The survey yielded a total of 132 completed responses with an
additional 18 partial responses. The findings of this study included the identification of 11
cluster themes related to impact, coping strategies, and social support. Impact cluster themes
included: different types of negative impact, different types of positive impact, circumstances of
event, and cumulative impact of event. The themes related to coping strategies included:
emotion-focused coping skills, problem-focused coping skills, and factors that are unhelpful to
coping with an event. Lastly, social support themes included: types of support utilized,
differences in support from firefighters and non-firefighters, barriers to using social support, and
attitudes towards professional mental health services.