34 - Sunday. October 7, 1990 - North Shore News ER 7-13, 1990 Emergency workers battle stress IF MEN aren’t supposed to cry, then it’s unthinkable that firemen would. They are, after all, machismo in- carnate. Our society’s supermen. Right? By Peggy Trendell-Whittaker News Reporter Wrong. Fortunately, as our views of the roles of men and women change, so too do our ex- pectations that men be ‘‘strong and silent’? when it comes to deal- ing with their emotions. Correspondingly, there has been a growing recognition in the maie-dominated emergency service agencies that workers need sup- port in handling an emotional load that sometimes becomes overwhelming. Chief Training Officer Bruce Ramsay of the North Vancouver District Fire Department is the ac- ting chairman of the non-profit Critical Incident Stress Associa- tion of B.C. He and other members of the organization cater to the emotional needs of emergency workers who have been faced with traumatic incidents. Recently, the association responded to the fatal truck acci- dent at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal, “The people who responded first were from the ferry corpora- tion,’’ notes Ramsay. ‘“‘They cer- tainly underwent a critical inci- dent.” Often the counselling is done by a trained colleague. ‘*The greatest good seems to be done by the peers in these ses- Accordingly, a group ‘‘debrief- ing’? was held shortly after the in- which many ferry employees attended. Think About It! We all feel a lot safer know- ing that our families are pro- tected, 24 hours a day, regarding the horrors of fire. Our fire departments are always ready to respond to our needs and trained to be We salute the: District of North Vancouver Fire Department City of North Vancouver Fire Department District of West Vancouver Fire Department THE VOICE OF NORTH AND WEST VANCOUVEH ‘Macho’ firemen must learn to accept counselling help NEWS photo Mike Wakefield CHIEF TRAINING Officer Bruce Ramsay of the North Vancouver District Fire Department is the ac- ting chairman of the Critical Incident Stress Association of B.C. sions,’’ says Ramsay. ‘‘They seem to have the most profound effect on the people.” Emphasis is placed on reassur- ing emergency workers that it's normal for them to experience appetite loss, flashbacks, nightmares and depression follow- ing a critical incident. About three weeks after a debriefing, counsellors try to re-assemble the same group to do a follow-up on participants’ feelings and reac- tions. While Ramsay says he has got unequivocally positive feedback from people who have actually taken part in debriefings or other counselling sessions, he says he still gets resistance from firefighters and other emergency workers hung up on the ‘macho image’’ associated with their pro- fession. “It’s a major hurdie,’’ lamented Ramsay. ‘‘They say, ‘! don’t need this. [t's my job, I can handle it. I'm not going to sit around and hold hands with somebody.’ ” Such people, however, would be well advised to keep an open mind to the work of the Critical Inci- dent Stress Association. Not only do emergency workers experience the shock and trauma associated with horrifying accidents, the ac- cumulated stress of their job takes its gradual toll. “"My feeling is there's been a lot of burn-out, because we've never dealt with these things before,’’ says Ramsay, noting the high divorce rate of emergency services workers. {n their attempts to maximize the mental health of the on-site emergency workers, Ramsay says the CIS counsellors must be careful siot to put too much stress on themselves. “TL turned some (debriefings) down this year,’? says Ramsay, who has ied five debriefings to~ date this year. ‘‘I felt okay, but I didn’t want to push my luck.’’ Ramsay’s goal is to contact people who have been doing simi- lar work within the field on an in- formal basis so he can add them to the CIS network. For more in- formation about the association, call Ramsay at 980-7575, NEPTUNE TERMINALS SUPPORTS A SAFER COMMUNITY PARTICIPATE IN FIRE PREVENTION WEEK 1990 NEPTUNE BULK TERMINALS (CANADA) LTD. 1001 Low Level Road North Vancouver, B.C. October 28.