District 6 Greater Lowell CISM Team Mike Curran / Tom Greenhalgh, Coordinators 1.800.614.CISM District 7 Central Mass CISM Team Bill Bernhard, Coordinator 508.387.0937 District 8 Montachusetts CISM Team Scott Mentzer, Coordinator 508.899.0055 Districts 9,10,11,12 Western MA CISM Team Linda Moriarty, Coordinator 413.586.6065 District 13 Boston Fire-MetroFire CISM Peer Support Team Charlie Popp, Coordinator Dick Ryan, Coordinator 617.343.2880 District 14 Concord/Carlisle CISM David Flannery, Coordinator 978.369.1442 Additional Teams/Groups Serving The Network WINGS CISM Kathy Minehan, Coordinator 617.416.0773 Boston Police CISM/Peer Support Mark Freire Coordinator 617.594.9313 Boston EMS CISM Team Pat Calter, Coordinator 781.831.3223 DCR Dwayne Erickson, Coordinator 617.647.1025 MA Corps Fire Chaplains James Tilbe, Chief Chaplain 774.696.4587 Cambridge Fire CISM Team (City of Cambridge) Emerg. 781.632.0401 David House Pat Haggerty Diane Moran SEMLEC Law Enforcement Team Rob Swartz, Coordinator 508-658-2478 If you need assistance Network members are on-call 24/7 508-820-2000 Our mission is to provide peer assistance to all emergency service personnel within the Commonwealth before, during or after a critical incident, regardless of race, gender or age. Charlie Popp, Coordinator 617-967-4141(c) 24/7 Jim Leary, Coordinator 508-404-7301 (c) David Clemons Operations Section Chief DFS/CISM Liaison 978-567-3179 (office)
What is a Critical Incident? Any event that has the potential to create significant human distress and can overwhelm one’s usual coping mechanisms. This will vary greatly from person to person and may change over time. Some Possible Critical Incidents Line of Duty Death Suicide of a Working Colleague Death / Serious Injury of a Child Discharge of a Firearm Prolonged Failed Rescue Mass Casualty Incidents Victim Known to Responder Personal Safety Jeopardized Excessive Media Coverage How Do We React to These Events? Often reactions to Critical Incidents fall into five categories. It is not unusual for one, or all members of the department to experience some or all of these reactions. Cognitive Reactions Decision making difficulties Confusion Disorientation Concentration Memory loss Unable to perform multiple tasks Flashbacks Behavioral Reactions Sleep Disturbance Withdrawal Family Discord Crying Spells Hyper-vigilance Hyperactivity Alcohol / Drug Use (Change) Physical Reactions Muscle Tremors Headaches Backaches Loss of coordination Nausea Upset stomach Emotional Reactions Anxiety Fear Feeling overwhelmed Feeling detached from reality Anger Resentment Grief Guilt Melancholy Spiritual Reactions Anger at God Withdrawal from Faith-based Community Cessation of Faith-Related Practices The MA Peer Support Network seeks to lessen the impact of such stress reactions through a variety of interventions provided by fully trained peer support personnel. District Teams serve the towns within their fire district. District 1 Cape & Islands CISM Chrystal LaPine, Coordinator 508-563-4200 District 2 Plymouth County CISM Debi Ladd, Coordinator 508.747.1779 Districts 3&4 Bristol/Norfolk Team Keith H. Jackson, Coordinator 508.285.5380 District 5&15 Metro-Boston CISM Melissa Stasiak, Coordinator 617.710.4809 All services are rendered taking the greatest care to maintain the highest levels of personal integrity, confidentiality and to do no harm