Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Firefighters

Post-traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) is a mental health condition that some people develop after experiencing and witnessing traumatic events. It is not well understood why some people develop PTSD and some do not. What we do know is that firefighters are at a greater risk of developing PTSD due to constant exposure to multiple “Criteria A” events.

Criteria A events are traumatic events that involve actual or threatened death, serious injury, sexual violence, or are exposed to aversive trauma details in the course of professional duties, particularly first responders, such as firefighters.

Symptoms of PTSD:

• Nightmares, flashbacks, emotional or physical distress after reminders of the trauma

• Avoidance of reminders of the trauma

• Memory and concentration issues

• Hyperarousal or constantly feeling “on edge.”

• Panic, anxiety, anger, irritability

• Sleep problems, isolation, depression

• Blame, guilt

• Impulsive and self- destructive behaviors, increased alcohol use, risk-taking behaviors

The consequences of untreated PTSD are serious. People have difficulty maintaining relationships with their friends and family. People self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. A person suffering from PTSD may also experience suicidal thoughts. PTSD may cause someone to behave in ways that they normally would not and they may lose their job.

The Good News about PTSD

PTSD is treatable. After appropriate treatment, which may include EMDR, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medication, people can and do recover. Many experience what experts refer to as “post-traumatic growth” which is an increase in mental resiliency. However, in order to get better, people must ask for help, which in firefighting culture is not easy. Struggling with mental health is not a weakness. Ending the stigma of seeking help for mental illness will save firefighters’ lives.

PTSD in Workers’ Compensation Law

In 2013, the Minnesota Legislature allowed PTSD to be a compensable injury under the Work Comp Act. For the first time, firefighters could make a workers’ compensation claim for a mental injury. Unfortunately insurers fought and still fight these claims and choose instead to deny firefighters benefits, which in turn makes it more difficult to seek help.

In 2019, the Minnesota Legislature enacted the PTSD First Responder Presumption, which meant for certain occupations, such as firefighting, if a firefighter was diagnosed with PTSD, the injury was presumed to be work-related, shifting the burden of proof onto the insurer to prove that it was not work-related. Still, insurers have systematically denied these cases.

Under the Work Comp Act, firefighters who develop PTSD are entitled to wage loss, medical expenses, rehabilitation services, as well as permanency benefits. If a firefighter passes as a result of their PTSD, their family is also entitled to death and dependency benefits.

What do I do if I think I, my co-worker, friend, or family member is suffering from PTSD?

Encourage them to get help. They are not going to get better on their own. Stress from trauma is an occupational hazard of a firefighter. Firefighters regularly experience traumatic events that us civilians simply don’t, absent expectational circumstances. Our exceptional circumstances are firefighters’ norm.

Contact us for a list of providers that have experience in treating first responders, or contact your Department’s Employee Assistance Program or EAP. If you are a firefighter in a mental health crisis, please call MNFire’s 24- hour peer support hotline at 888-784-6634. If you are struggling with substance abuse, please call AA Intergroup 24 hour helpline at 952-922-0880.