FCFRD News Blog : Training For The Mental Mayday

Fairfax Station VA

18 March, 2022

7:30 PM

Description

Press release from the FCFRD News Blog: March 17, 2022 By: Battalion Chief Rocco AlvaroProfessional DevelopmentFairfax County Fire and Rescue Academy During a recent Fire Officer I certification course, the Professional Development Section invited Lieutenant (Lt.) Adam Bartman to present a training program he developed entitled "The Mental Mayday". This class provides a real-world Incident Command System (ICS) approach to managing mental health injuries both on and off duty. It addresses rank-specific challenges to identifying, mitigating, and providing needed resources during a behavioral health crisis. This unique training program has been broken down by rank – from recruit firefighter up to the chief officer level. The presentation closely follows the same principles as our Rapid Intervention Team Manual (RIT) with a focus on identification (RIT Recon), mitigation (RIT Rescue), and providing needed resources (RIT Relief). In the case of mental health injuries, when to call a mayday, as well as the awareness of the associated dangers, is often recognized too late. Often the strategy taken in addressing mental health issues is dependent on the person that is requesting the assistance. The Mental Mayday program provides a structured approach towards the recognition and proactive steps needed to successfully assist a firefighter experiencing a behavioral health crisis. It reviews our current behavioral health support system and identifies strategies, key players, and the coordination needed to support one of our personnel whether on duty or off. This program is the result of a collaborative effort between the departments Behavioral Health and Professional Development Sections, and the personal experiences of Lt. Bartman. The program is currently being taught as part of our officer certification courses and has been included as part of the curriculum for recruit training. This press release was produced by the FCFRD News Blog. The views expressed here are the author's own.