​VANFIRE Wellness

How we adapt on the job

We train to work against some survival reflexes because our job asks for control in chaos. Common on duty adaptations include:

• Task focus and checklists
  

• Crew drills and muscle memory to keep action moving when thinking stalls
  

• Controlled breathing to settle the system enough to think
  

• Clear radio language and hand signals to fight confusion
  

• Scenario practice to build a map in your head before you need it
  

• Brief reset moments behind cover to widen attention again
  

• Peer checks and officer prompts that name the next step out loud
  

• Rotations, nutrition, fluids, and quick resets to manage load across a long shift
  

These are smart and they let us do hard things safely.

Stress and Trauma in the Fire Service

You do a job that asks you to step toward things that we are naturally evolved to step away from. Your brain and body do their best to keep you alive. Sometimes those same systems work against you on scene or at home. This page lays out what is going on and how we can work with it.

​The kinds of trauma we face

Primary trauma
Direct exposure on scene. You were there. You saw the event, immersed in the scene. 

Secondary trauma
You were not the primary responder or you came after. You are still affected by the story, the scene, or the person. This can also show up when you support a coworker who is struggling after a call.

Vicarious trauma and cumulative load
Vicarious trauma builds from repeated exposure to other people’s trauma. Cumulative load is the stack effect over time. One call on its own might be fine. One hundred adds up. It can be just as powerful as if we were there and can equally change how you see and feel about the world

Moral injury
This is when what happened breaks what you believe is right. Maybe you could not act the way your values wanted you to. Maybe systems tied your hands. The wound is to your sense of right and wrong, and it can carry guilt, shame, anger, or grief.

The Home Side of things

The same adaptations that work great on duty can turn into problems at home. This is not a character flaw. It is your work gear showing up in the kitchen.

• Task focus becomes not present
  

• Controlled emotions becomes flat or cold
  

• High alert becomes jumpy or irritable
  

• Dark humor lands wrong
  

• Need for order becomes controlling
  

• Protecting others from hard details becomes secrecy​
  

• Empathic shielding becomes low empathy
  

Family and friends can take this personal. They may think they are the problem. Most of the time they are not. It is the work pattern still running.

 Physical

• Chest pain, difficulty breathing.*
  
  

• Rapid heart rate, rapid breathing.
  
  

• increased blood pressure.
  
  

• dizziness, profuse Sweating.*
  
  

• upset stomach, diarrhea.
  
  

•  feeling uncoordinated.
  
  

• sleep disturbances, headaches.
  ​
  

• tremors (lips, hands).*

this list includes more common symptoms of a stress reaction, but does not detail all cis indicators, if you are concerned about the way you are feeling, speak in confidence to a CISM team peer or professional.

Behavioural

• wanting to limit contact with others.
  
  

• substance abuse, increased smoking.
  
  

• vacant stare.
  
  

• Acting out anger (hitting/kicking the wall).
  ​
  

• Change in appetite.

Thinking

• Slow thinking, confusion.
  
  

• memory problems.
  
  

• re-living the event (flasbacks).
  
  

• Distressing dreams.
  
  

• Difficulty making decisions or problem solving.
  
  

• difficulty focusing or concentrating.
  
  

• disorientation (place/time).

Now that we've identified all of this: what can we do about it? 

Prioritize Wellness and self care: Decompression Page

Take care of your self after significant Calls or events : Bad Call Button Page

Talk To someone who is trained to help you through this : Finding a Mental Health Professional Page 

Set up and maintain a open dialoge with your family support system at home so they know what youre going through : Family Page

Educate yourself on the psychological toll this job can take on you through our:
 Firefighter Occupational Awareness Program

Five common reactions:

These are survival moves. They come online fast. None are good or bad. They are automatic.

Fight
Your body surges. You push hard, take control, get loud or very firm.
Firefighter example: stepping in and taking the nozzle or command voice when things get chaotic.

Flight
Create space, back out, reposition, call for more resources.
Firefighter example: moving the crew to a safer location or switching tactics quickly when conditions change.

Freeze
A pause or stall. Mind goes blank for a beat. Body goes still.
Firefighter example: reaching a doorway and having a one second blank before the next step lands. Often passes fast once someone calls the next task.

Take cover
You turtle down to protect and preserve. Reduce exposure.
Firefighter example: mask check, control your breathing, tighten the circle with your crew, use the rig or a wall for cover while you reset the plan.

Give up or check out
System overload. Autopilot. You do the task but feel detached, or you wait for a direct order because your mind is foggy.
Firefighter example: hands move tools but the head feels far away, then you need a clear prompt to re engage.

Why checking in matters

Firefighters are excellent at shutting the emotional brain and getting the job done. You can look around the bay after a call and think you are the only one feeling it. That is rarely true. People are just wearing the mask. A quick check in lowers isolation and blocks the shame story that says I should be fine because everyone else looks fine.

The survival mode trap

When call volume and life both ramp up, many of us drop our heads and grind. Get through the shift. Get through the week. Then a month goes by. Common signs the tank is running low

• You feel nothing or you feel everything
  

• Sleep is junk or you wake up wired
  

• Short fuse at small things
  

• Hard to enjoy stuff you used to like
  

• Body aches, gut off, headaches​
  

• You avoid calls or you chase them to feel something
  

This is the time to pull your head up. Small resets work. Food. Water. Movement. Sleep basics. One honest talk with someone you trust. If you are stuck in the mud, reach out to a clinician who knows our world.

How you percieve the call can change

You are not broken if these happen. They are common under load.

• Tunnel vision or narrowed attention
  

• Auditory exclusion or sounds seem distant or muted
  

• Time changes feel slow or too fast
  

• Memory gaps or spotty recall​
  

• Task focus so strong you miss other cues nearby

What your body does under stress

This is the built in package. You do not pick it. It just happens.

• Adrenaline and other stress hormones rise
  

• Heart rate and blood pressure climb
  

• Breathing rate changes and can get shallow
  

• Blood shifts toward big muscles and away from skin and gut
  

• Pupils change, sweat increases, fine motor control can drop​
  

• After the surge you can feel shaky, tired, or wired
  

Emotional

• Anxiety, fear, guilt, anger.
  
  

• depression, sadness, irritability.
  
  

• Feeling lost, feeling isolated.
  
  

• worried about others, sense of shock.
  
  

• feeling numb or abandoned.
  ​
  

• exaggerated startle response.

What helps crews and families

On duty

• Quick crew check after tough calls. One sentence each. What landed. What you need.

• Name normal signs so folks do not build shame in silence.​
  

• Simple recovery moves during the rest of the shift. Fluids. Food. Fresh air. Ten slow breaths.
  

• Clear path to peer support and a pro if needed. No drama.
  

At home

• Tell your people the pattern ahead of time. Bring them into the plan.
  

• Simple script. I am home. I might be quiet for a bit. It is not you. I care about you. If I am rough please say pause and I will reset.
  

• Short walk or shower before re entering family space
  

• One small connection ritual every day you are home. Ten minute check in at the table. Phones down.
  

• Sleep basics. Dark cool room. Limit caffeine late.
  

• Watch for alcohol or doom scrolling as a default shut off. Swap in sleep, food, movement, or a call with a trusted peer.
  

• If numb or jumpy sticks around or gets worse, talk to a pro who knows first responder work.