A quarter of the nation's firefighters live with PTSD, and more than a third of fire and EMS professionals say they've thought about suicide, yet until now there has been no federal program built specifically to address it, the kind of dedicated support law enforcement officers already have. A new bipartisan bill in Congress aims to close that gap.
What the bill would do
U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR) introduced the Lifeline for First Responders Act on August 18, co-led by Reps. Gabe Evans (R-CO), Sharice Davids (D-KS), and Thomas Kean Jr. (R-NJ). The legislation would create the first federal grant program dedicated to mental health care for firefighters, paramedics, EMS staff, and 911 dispatchers, according to Salinas's press release.
The bill would establish an EMS and First Responder Wellness Grant Program administered through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Emergency Medical Services, authorizing $7.5 million a year through 2032 for counseling, suicide prevention, peer support, family services, and training, EMS1 reports.
Why first responders say it's overdue
The bill was announced at a press conference hosted by Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue in Oregon, one of the agencies backing the measure. As Salinas put it in her release, up to a quarter of firefighters suffer from PTSD, and 37 percent of fire and EMS professionals have contemplated suicide, "yet there is no federal program to address it, the way there is for law enforcement."
A companion bill in the Senate is being led by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Josh Hawley (R-MO), giving the effort support on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers, according to Firehouse. The legislation is also backed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, per local coverage from Salem Reporter.
What happens next
Like any bill, the Lifeline for First Responders Act still has to clear committee, a floor vote in the House, and a matching path in the Senate before it could become law, so there's real work ahead before any grant dollars reach a fire department or ambulance service. But the fact that it has co-sponsors from both parties, in both chambers, and endorsements from the country's largest fire service and suicide-prevention organizations is a meaningful signal that first responder mental health is finally getting the same federal attention long directed at active-duty service members and veterans.
At Operation WarriorFit, we see this every day in the community we serve. Firefighters, paramedics, dispatchers, and police officers carry a version of the same weight our veterans carry, and a training goal, a race on the calendar, and a team that expects you to show up can be part of what gets someone through a hard stretch. If you're a current or retired first responder, check your eligibility for a free race entry, and see what's on the calendar in your state at our races page.