BEYOND CISD TO FULL RECOVERY

Introducing the FireLife model to assist all public safety personnel & emergency responders beyond the critical incident stress debriefing session toward full recovery and job readiness.

In Remembrance

The Seattle incident is all too fresh. Do you remember? "Greg: You are my Love and my best friend. And you were right . . . they are taking care of me. I miss you. Love, Karen."

These words were lovingly written to Lt. Greg Shoemaker by his wife, Karen, and shared with the more than ten thousand people who came to honor Greg, Firefighter James Brown, Firefighter Randall Terlicker and Lt. Walter Kilgore in Seattle at the Center Arena on January 11, 1995.

Only six days before, on January 5th, these four men - vibrant, healthy and respected - manned an attack line for the last time. They held deep convictions about duty, they loved the job and they knew the possibilities were always there. And now 10,000 people had come to demonstrate their respect and support for the families of these four fallen servants (see Charles Newcomb's fine article in Firefighter's News, February-March 1995 issue).

But what about the emotional toll? Who was dealing with the smoldering emotional embers after the fire was out? What happened to the men and women who were there alongside these four heroes? What about James Scaggs, Craig Hanada, Gary Overall, Michelle Williams, David Churchill, Raul Angelo and Eric Strochein who were injured at the same incident and were treated and released?

Critical incidents seem to come in waves. We were barely limping along and recovering from the Seattle disaster when another tragedy ripped our emotions open. This time it touched our little ones, our babies - the death and carnage of young lives blown into eternity at 9:02 am on April 19, 1995 at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.

And then just recently there was the tragic TWA Flight 800 and the death angel added another 230 to his record and the emotional toll climbed to a devastatingly high point. And then there was the bomb in Atlanta's Centennial Park, the heart of the 1996 Olympic Games, and the toll meter climbed higher.

Dealing with the EMBERS

Firefighters and emergency responders face incredible tragedies and deal with critical incidents all the time. I spell FIRE = Facing Incidents which Rip the Emotions! How can we deal with our public safety colleagues who face these emotionally ripping incidents as part and parcel of their professional careers?

We need a recovery model which deals with the embers after the fire is out or after the incident is placed under control. We need a model which will take us beyond CISD, beyond Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. We must have a model for full recovery.

Here are the embers I'm concerned about: Emotional damage, Mental fracture, Bothersome thinking patterns, Enthusiasm loss, Rage and anger, and Spiritual questions.

CISD is Crucial

Due in large measure to the pioneering work of Dr. Jeff Mitchell and the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (get in touch @ 410-730-4311), we are making great strides in fulfilling NFPA 1500: "The fire department shall adopt a written policy that establishes a program designed to relieve the stress generated by an incident that could adversely affect the psychological and physical well-being of fire department members." (see the article on Critical Incident Stress by R. Alan Nielsen in Speaking of Fire, Fall 1994).

However, just holding a CISD - a Critical Incident Stress Debriefing - as significant as this is, is certainly not the end of the process nor is it designed to deal with the whole person. We need and we must help move people beyond CISD to full recovery.

The question is of course, how do we do this? What vital role can the department's chaplain or peer encourager program fulfill? What are the steps that any fire department must fulfill in assisting personnel back to full recovery, back to full emotional health and job readiness?

Something Really Incredible is Happening

Since the article on the ABC's of Fire Service Chaplaincy was featured in the Summer 1996 issue of Speaking of Fire, we have been experiencing an explosion of interest from across the United States. During the last twelve months I have personally talked with over 865 fire service people - documented calls and letters from firefighters representing fire departments in every state in the country. Inquiries about our Home Chaplain's Academy and certified distance learning programs for fire chaplains and departments have been at an all-time high. And the calls keep coming in!

What's going on? The flame of interest has been ignited and the time has come for departments to seriously consider the crucial resource and services offered by a local fire chaplain. Firefighters and chaplains are especially encouraged to enroll in the unique departmental mini-course Building an Effective Fire Service Chaplain's Program (details at the end of this article).

Training resources are being published as quickly as we can get them to the presses. The National Academy of Fire Service Chaplains has already released the training textbook The ABC's of Fire Service Chaplaincy (Book 1) and has made available the Professional Certified Fire Service Chaplain training program.

Presenting a practical model for lifestyle ministry for firefighters through the service of fire chaplains and peer encouragers. This strategy can be applied by career & volunteer chaplains as well as peer counselors within the department. The model applies for all faith backgrounds and is designed to be employed well beyond the Critical Incident Stress Debriefing.

The overall goal is to equip men and women who are committed to ministering to fire service personnel and who are available to meet personal and family needs in the community. The service of a fire chaplain or peer encourager most often takes place outside the traditional boundaries of the local church, synagogue or parish.

Introducing the FireLife Model

The practical model is composed of eight steps of ministry. The term "ministry" simply means "service" and can be approached from any faith perspective. Each step in the model is transferable and interrelated. The model introduced in this training is an attempt to clarify and make practical the primary task of the department fire chaplain or peer encourager.

8 steps of impact

F = Friend

I = Identify

R = Respond

E = Encourage

L = Listen

I = Instruct

F = Faith

E = Equip

This model requires excellent people skills. Please keep in mind that no single style or method of ministry is guaranteed to be effective with every firefighter or in every fire department. The key for the fire chaplain or peer encourager is personal adaptation, flexibility and sensitivity in response to the individual(s) involved or the situation encountered.

The significant question we are seeking to answer is this: "How can the fire chaplain or peer encourager effectively minister to the men and women in fire service and help them move toward full recovery?" This practical and adaptable model based on the Bible, and usable for all faiths, provides such a strategy.

It is not my intention to cover everything that a fire chaplain or peer encourager will encounter in dealing with fire personnel in the department. My intention is very simple: to provide an encouraging "jump start" in helping and assisting all public safety personnel & emergency responders beyond the critical incident stress debriefing session toward full recovery and job readiness.

How Can We Get the Job Done?

Why bother with a model or strategy for fire chaplaincy ministry? Because an adequate, biblical model provides direction, stimulates motivation and refines evaluation. When we speak of a model for lifestyle fire chaplaincy, we are referring to an overall procedural sequence or process of training that seeks to meet the goal of the chaplain's program.

To be truly effective, the fire chaplain or peer encourager must not only be skilled in communication and personal sensitivity, but also he/she must be a person who is Creator-centered.

Here is my basic definition of a fire chaplain: A FIRE CHAPLAIN is a minister of God who seeks to meet the life needs of all fire service personnel and their families, who honors all faiths, who maintains strict confidentiality and who is also available to care for community victims impacted by fire or assisted by fire personnel.

A Life Process in 8 Steps

Another way of understanding the dynamic application of the Fire-Life Model is to consider this life process in eight steps, each beginning with the letter T.

F = FRIEND

Step 1: The Key Word is TALK. Establish personal contact & work intentionally toward a genuine friendship based on trust and integrity. This will necessarily involve much talk and interaction toward being a friend and building a friendship.

The key concept is "availability." When the firefighter is called out to help with an emergency, the chaplain or peer encourager can be there too. One of the chaplain's privileged roles is that of assisting on call outs. Each department will develop its own protocol for when and where the chaplain should accompany or meet the fire team.

Having a friend who will listen with attentive ears, a caring heart and a confidential attitude will be a priceless resource for the department. Sometimes, we just need to talk and "blow it off" - express our feelings or vent our concerns. The chaplain or peer encourager who can function as a "doctor of listenology" will greatly assist personnel who need to converse.

Think of this first step as "customer service." Fire departments are called upon daily to provide significant service to the community at large - the community of "customers." Customer Service - providing excellent & cost effective protective services is of utmost importance to every department. This is not just a current fad, but a standing principle of professional fire service.

What better person than to have a chaplain as an additional resource to your department who will provide personalized customer service to the many individuals and families served by the department. But, of first importance in the chaplain's agenda is his/her friendship with those within the department!

I = IDENTIFY

Step 2: The Key Word is TEST. Identify and evaluate personal needs through interaction. The chaplain or peer encourager should take every opportunity to identify with the firefighter, sharing personal stories and incidents in which both can share a mutual understanding.

The chaplain or peer encourager's middle name should be "comfort." Genuine comfort must be given before, during and after a crisis or critical incident. The Living Bible reminds us about this crucial step of ministry.

"What a wonderful God we have - he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us." (quoted from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Tears of Firefighters

Yes, firefighters cry. Whether big and burly, or loud and leathery, or even tough and accustomed to trauma, firefighters need a release point. And that valve is turned on at the eye gate. Tears streaming down the face of an exhausted firefighter fighting a losing battle at a structural fire with casualties, of a department representative who is called upon to bring out the body of a cindered child - tears come normally and flow naturally.

No problem here. None at all. But, what begins to concern me is when I do not see the tears, when I do not feel the sunken face and see the hot splashes on the ground . . . then I start probing for the real person inside, for the one who has just been a line participant helping out in a terrible tragedy

Do tears tell others in the department that a firefighter is weak or not strong enough to take the exposed guts, burned flesh and human carnage? Not on your life! Tears are a part of being truly human; they give real evidence of a warm and beating heart tucked inside the turnouts. I think of the tender care of God as reflected in Psalm 56:8. "Thou hast taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Thy bottle; are they not in Thy book?"

R = RESPOND

Step 3: The Key Word is TREAT. Respond quickly, professionally and sensitively in the most appropriate manner to meet needs. Remember, the chaplain is not personally responsible nor able to meet all personal needs encountered. Get good help, use delegation, let others become helpers and encouragers.

The main advantage of the department fire chaplain or peer encourager is availability - someone to be there who will truly listen and care. If I were to sum up the fire chaplain's key areas of duty it would certainly be characterized by the term CAREgiver. His/Her role in this vital process of full recovery is basic and fundamental - nurturing and nourishing men and women toward personal maturity, integrity and spiritual wholeness.

CAREgiving GOALS

C = Comfort with Compassion

A = Assistance with Affirmation

R = Rescue with Regard

E = Encouragement with Edification

E = ENCOURAGE

Step 4: The Key Word is TRIUMPH. Perhaps the greatest tool in the chaplain's ministry 'tool box' is encouragement. Constantly take every opportunity to encourage firefighters toward maturity, toward integrity, toward spiritual wholeness, toward safety, toward caring for the life needs of others, toward genuine acceptance of other departmental and community personnel.

The fire chaplain or peer encourager is to be known for his/her compassionate heart and not necessarily for the ability to fight fires. The distinguishing mark of the effective chaplain or peer encourager is genuine compassion for others.

For department personnel as well as those served by the department, the chaplain should be a chief source of personal consolation during times of grief or loss. The chaplain or peer encourager's consoling task is never easy, but he/she is called to this kind of personal service. Training does help, but the chaplain or peer encourager with the compassionate and loving heart, especially one who has personally experienced grief and loss, will be in the best position to effectively share and console others.

L = LISTEN

Step 5; The Key Word is TEND. Tend to business & listen with personal intensity. Really hear what is going on in the person's life and family. Listen and listen again. Work hard at eliminating distractions. Work hard at hearing the inner beat.

The chaplain or peer encourager, because of his/her position and relationship with fire personnel, may at times be the very person with whom one would dare to share the most intimate of personal secrets and concerns. The fire chaplain or peer encourager is never encouraged to meddle in the private affairs of another's life. In other words, don't dig for problems!

However, when the relationship with the chaplain or peer encourager is marked by trust and confidence as well as absolute confidentiality, the firefighter may indeed choose to voluntarily share deep personal concerns.

CONFIDENTIALITY is a cardinal principle of chaplaincy and can be stated in plain language: the fire chaplain must carefully guard and maintain strict confidentiality. Period. End of lesson.

"People expect confidentiality when they come to you with an issue. As a representative of God Himself, you owe it to the person and to God to hold their deepest thoughts with the utmost care. This one issue can severely damage one's ministry without even involving sinful intent" (from Scott Crossfield).

"The breaking of confidentiality is a terminal disease, and will cost you a ministry if not corrected. There must be a trust kept with the fire service chaplain or peer encourager, or there will be no confiding in him/her. It is important that the fire chaplain or peer encourager also not be "shocked" by circumstances or the responses of people to various traumas. This trust in God will cause a corresponding confidence to build in those who are observing your ministry" from Mark Ludwick).

The fire chaplain or peer encourager should be one of the most supportive individuals in the department. He/She has a vital role in rallying the troops to be courageous. The Bible often uses the phrase, "Be strong and of good courage" (see such passages as Numbers 13:20, Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1, 2 Samuel 10:12 and Psalm 27:14 to name only a few)

I = INSTRUCT

Step 6: The Key Word is TEACH. Instruct the firefighter on new patterns of behavior, attitudes and perspectives. The chaplain is constantly instructing by the model of his/her life before the department. Formal teaching is one thing, informal instruction changes lives!

F = FAITH

Step 7: The Key Word is TRUTH. Remind the firefighter about the reality of faith. Share the word of hope and faith. Center the person upon the spiritual heritage of his/her choice. If a Christian believer, move the person back to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If a Jewish person, move the individual back to faith in God through the law of God and the Jewish community.

One of those embers we mentioned at the beginning of this article was spiritual questions. Dealing in human trauma day after day, shift after shift, will evoke many questions that touch the very spiritual core of the emergency responder.

How could God allow this tragedy? Where is God when I need Him? What do I say to this family that will provide any measure of hope? How can I strengthen my own spiritual faith so I can be the professional I need to be? And the questions go on and on . .. .

The chaplain has a vital role in providing spiritual guidance. Another way of looking at this resource is to view the chaplain as one who assists people in keeping on target, keeping a mature balance. In short, the chaplain helps keep people spiritually centered. For those who embrace a Christian perspective that centering principle is directly tied to a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.

For those firefighters who have a Jewish heritage, that centering principle is the worship of God through the local synagogue and the family ties linked to all of Judaism.

The centering principle for Catholic adherents is certainly the Eucharist celebration led by the priest in a Catholic Church. Ethnic religions and others have their own centering perspective.

E = EQUIP

Step 8: The Key Word is TRAIN. A vital ingredient in the process of full recovery is to equip the person to reach out to others, to get out of one's "circle of selfishness" and into the lives of other people. Equip through personal modeling of servanthood & loving attention. Equip and outfit others with the tools of human kindness and grace.

No Easy Answers

If you have read these words carefully you will obviously note several important principles. One principle is the personal commitment of time. People take time to heal and it takes a lot of time to help them get to that point!

Another vital principle is that of personal adaptation and flexibility. Please keep in mind that no single style or method of ministry is guaranteed to be effective with every firefighter or in every fire department.

The key for the fire chaplain or peer encourager is personal adaptation, flexibility and sensitivity in response to the individual(s) involved or the situation encountered.

This FireLife model is not any sort of magical panacea nor is it a cold mechanical formula for recovery. It is however, a valuable and practical guide for helping to rebuild lives of emergency responders who have been impacted by accumulated stress and emotional overload.

Where to Get More Information

You may receive further information about the National Academy of Fire Service Chaplains and the Home Chaplain's Academy by calling Chaplain Dr. Jim Devine at 1-800-441-3614 (in Oregon: 503-650-8061). Email your request to: alivemin@teleport.com.

Firefighters and chaplains are especially encouraged to enroll in the unique departmental mini-course Building an Effective Fire Service Chaplain's Program. You can write for a free catalog to Home Chaplain's Academy, PO Box 429, Gladstone, OR 97027.

Chaplain Dr. James Devine is the President and Founder of the National Academy of Fire Service Chaplains and the HOME CHAPLAIN'S ACADEMY.

Mini-Course Enrollment Form (Complete & Mail)

PO Box 429, Gladstone OR 97027

Name of Person Enrolling__________________________________________

Department _____________________________________________________

Mailing Address _________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________

Phone(s) ___________________________________________

PAYMENT

Make Checks Payable to: NAFSC

I am enclosing a total of $39 (US) + mailing expenses for my enrollment and Lesson #1.

Please charge my MasterCard VISA account for the following amount:

$39 (US) + mailing expenses for Lesson #1 or

$195 + mailing expenses for entire mini-course (5 Lessons; each lesson is sent out separately when the previous lesson is completed).

Account # _____________________________________________________

Expiration Date __________________________

Name on Card ________________________________________________

Building an Effective Fire Service Chaplain's Program

A Mini-Course for

Fire Departments & Chaplains

5 Lessons for Your Department

to Build and Develop an

Effective Fire Chaplain's Program

Chaplain Dr. James Devine

President & Professor

Mini-Course Training

5 Home Study Lessons

Vital Principles for Effective 21st Century Fire Chaplains

PREFACE: BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Why Am I Writing This Mini-Training Course?

Syllabus for Mini-Course

Meet the Course Instructor

LESSON 1: LAYING THE FOUNDATION

What Seems to Be the Problem?

What in the World Does a Fire Chaplain Do?

The Need for Fire Chaplains

LESSON 2: BUILDING THE WALLS

Establishing the Chaplain's Advisory Council

Establishing Goals & Duties

Selection, Appointment, On Call

LESSON 3: CONSTRUCTING THE ROOF

An Effective Model for Fire Service Chaplaincy

Implementing the FireLife Model

LESSON 4: PLACING THE WINDOWS

Dealing with Excuses and Diseases of Chaplaincy

Gaining Community Support

LESSON 5: DESIGNING THE LANDSCAPE

Principles for Going and Growing

A Maturing Fire Chaplain

How to Enroll in the Certified Fire Chaplain Training