2023 | U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control 

Firefighter Mental Health

and Well-being

Impact Areas

Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Program Changes

In 2022, Congress recognized the impact of posttraumatic stress on our nation’s first responders by

passing the Public Safety Officer Support Act (PL 117-

172).3 The legislation expands the Public Safety

Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program to cover public safety

officers who die as a result of suicide under certain

circumstances or are permanently and totally disabled

as a result of traumatic self-inflicted injury. 

Nevertheless, the federal government has a responsibility 

to do more. Congress should establish grant programs

funding peer-supported mental health and wellness

programs within fire departments. Resources should 

be available to health care providers, highlighting best

practices for addressing post-traumatic stress among

public safety officers. Accurate data on the prevalence

and causes of post-traumatic stress and suicide with

the fire service must be collected. According to

evidence-based research, mental health awareness

campaigns provide effective intervention methods. 

Our collective responsibility is to provide those who

serve with the tools they need to help themselves 

and each other. 

Data, Mental Health, and Traumatizing Rescue Work

The FBI launched the Law Enforcement Suicide Data

Collection on January 1, 20224 to help improve

understanding and prevent suicide among law

Provide comprehensive mental health and well-being resources, including those focused on

suicide prevention, for all fire and EMS personnel.

Issue 

An increasing number of firefighters die

by suicide, experiencing mental health

issues such as post-traumatic stress,

contracted from exposures they suffered

while delivering emergency services to

the public. There is a lack of culturally

competent mental health and wellness

specialists to assist firefighters, and local

Employee Assistance Programs are illequipped to assist first responders.

Firefighters and other rescue 

personnel develop post-traumatic

stress at a similar rate to military

service members returning from

combat, according to an August 2016

study from the Journal of Occupational

Health Psychology. It reveals that

approximately 20 percent of

firefighters and paramedics meet the

criteria for post-traumatic stress at

some point during their careers1

compared to a 6.8 percent lifetime 

risk for the general population. The

connection between PTSD and

traumatizing rescue work is clear. 

The number of firefighter suicides is

estimated to be at least 100 per year.

According to the “Ruderman White

Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of

First Responders,” 2 the suicide rate for

firefighters is 18 per 100,000 compared

to 13 per 100,000 for the general public. 
2023 | U.S. Fire Administrator’s Summit on Fire Prevention and Control 

enforcement officers. We applaud this effort, and a similar data collection model is needed at the U.S.

Fire Administration. 

It is our position that we need to provide mental health and wellness resources and suicide prevention

initiatives for all firefighters. Like other injuries, early detection, access to culturally competent mental

health specialists and proper screening can help reduce the effects of post-traumatic stress. Many

insurance providers cap the costs related to mental health and wellness assistance, and treatment

centers for mental health programs are often out of the reach of the average firefighter.

______________________________

1 https://www.iaffrecoverycenter.com/blog/trauma-firefighting-and-ptsd/ 

2 https://rudermanfoundation.org/white_papers/the-ruderman-white-paper-update-on-mental-health-and-suicide-of-first-responders/

3 https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6943/text/

4 https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr/law-enforcement-suicide-data-collectionProvide 

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