PTSD - Firefighter shares story of journey to realisation about cost to volunteers

Times journalist WARREN HATELY provides a personal insight into the hidden costs facing volunteer fire fighters.

Volunteering is a journey fuelled by an unyielding spirit of selflessness and altruism. Volunteers embody the essence of compassion, making positive contributions to our community that defy easy quantification.

Services we often take for granted, such as St John Ambulance and Fire and Rescue, stand as testaments to the dedication of volunteers.

They are not merely reliant on volunteers, they are sustained by them.

Yet there exists a hidden cost — a challenge faced by volunteers as well as their professional counterparts.

Volunteers, like their paid counterparts, prioritise community service, bearing an emotional toll often magnified by their intimate ties to the local community.

In the South West, the prevalence of compassion fatigue, burnout, and the accumulation of mental trauma stemming from repeated exposure to traumatic events surpasses that experienced by their paid counterparts.

As a volunteer, I embarked on a journey propelled by compassion and a sincere desire to make a difference in my community.

Little did I anticipate the profound impact that repeated exposure to trauma would have on my wellbeing, my family life and those around me.

Underlying tension pervaded my daily interactions accompanied by a profound weariness. Hyper-alertness and a perpetual sense of impending doom all became my constant companions.

It took two years for me to realise I had unintentionally become a silent victim of every trauma witnessed.

Every job I attended was like gathering clouds of a storm, slowly building and accumulating the emotions and stressors that eventually broke into a tempest that overwhelmed my mind.

Repeated exposure to trauma affects not only the first responder, but also their immediate family and community.

The refusal by State leaders to extend presumptive PTSD legislation to our volunteer communities sends a clear message.

They do not value the services provided.

There is no line in the sand that says exposure to trauma as a volunteer is less likely to result in PTSD than if you are a paid first responder.

It is unfathomable that our State Government has made this distinction and the message to the volunteers is clear: “Suck it up.”

Our compassionate and dedicated volunteers deserve better, and it’s time the Government recognised the invaluable contribution they make to our regional communities.”