Hillsborough County Fire Rescue training provides insights into the challenges firefighters face and helps spouses build a support network
No matter what you do for a living, a day at work can leave you drained. Talking to family about your daily challenges can help alleviate stress. However, for some, such as first responders, rehashing the day's details is not always an option.
Just like many others who work in emergency services, some firefighters build an emotional barrier to keep work life separate from home life. It's a means to protect oneself and their family from the often harrowing trials endured on the job.
So how do spouses of firefighters relate to their partners' work and stress? Hillsborough County Fire Rescue (HCFR) has developed a unique program to educate those closest to firefighters.
The Spouse Academy is a one-day training program that provides insight into the daily work Fire Rescue personnel face, as well as practical tips for supporting and communicating with their loved ones.
This class is not an easy A
The HCFR Spouse Academy started in July 2024 and has proven to be both engaging and incredibly effective at educating Fire Rescue spouses. The full day of instruction, developed and led by HCFR staff, begins at 7 a.m. and lasts until 5 p.m.
The first section covers the physical and mental health aspects of working in Fire Rescue. Topics include how to promote heart and lung health, as well as cancer prevention tips. Unknown and overlooked by many is the fact that cancer, due to high carcinogen exposure on the job, is the leading cause of death for those in the fire service field.
The course also reviews how to support firefighters' mental health and identify substance abuse. This is crucial since Fire Rescue staff encounter intensely stressful situations daily. Incidents involving children, violence, and the inherent dangers of firefighting can have a cumulative, traumatic effect on even the most experienced rescue personnel. Spouses are the first line of defense when it comes to spotting addiction and supporting recovery.
General resources available to the fire rescue community are another critical topic covered in the course. Information pertaining to networking, Fire Rescue events, and ways to build a support network for firefighter spouses helps ensure class participants know where to turn when in need.
Hands on training
The second half of the day turns intense as the class heads outside to HCFR's training facility. Class participants are outfitted in full structural firefighting gear. From head to toe, spouses are encased in helmets, hoods, eye protection, jackets, trousers, gloves, and boots. Once a self-contained breathing apparatus is added, students wear at least 70 pounds of protective gear at once.
From there, the fashion show gets hot. Students, decked in full gear, then work through simulated rescue scenarios. Once the training facility's burn building is clouded with smoke, evoking a fire, participants find and "rescue" a 180-pound mannequin.
Other hands-on training includes auto extrications using tools to rip apart cars, resuscitation efforts on a pediatric mannequin, and walking through the process of notifying family members when life-saving measures are no longer being performed on their loved one.
Invaluable lessons
The Spouse Academy receives nothing but positive reviews from participants. According to Division Chief of Health and Safety Kimberle Owens Rogers, many partners complete the training with a deeper understanding and appreciation for what their spouses work through, shift after shift. For many, it's intensely eye-opening.
Chief Rogers highlights the fact that for most, a person's family is their foundation. When a firefighter's home life supports their work, it contributes to their resiliency and success on the job. This in turn makes the Fire Rescue department stronger, more unified, and better prepared to meet the challenges in their work serving Hillsborough County residents.