Deadly Trelawny crashes taking toll on firefighters' mental health

 

Firefighters in Trelawny say the recent surge in deadly motor vehicle crashes in the parish is taking a toll on their mental wellness.

 

Roland Walters, a firefighter attached to the Trelawny division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, says there is growing concern about the mental health of first responders who are exposed to trauma and lost almost daily.

 

"We have been having accidents almost every day. And yes, it is a concern to us as firefighters because we have something that we call post-traumatic stress that the firefighters have to deal with having to handle mangled bodies. So our concern is that the persons are not taking due regard or due care whilst they are traversing the roadway. It's the holidays now, so people are going to party. But what I'm asking drivers to do is to have a designated person to drive," he pleaded.

 

Just two weeks ago, five people were killed after the driver lost control of a minibus and slammed into several trees along the Salt Marsh main road in the parish.

 

Seven others were injured.

 

Teams from the Trelawny Fire Brigade and Falmouth Hospital were called to render support to the injured. 

 

To date, Trelawny has recorded 14 fatalities from nine crashes.

 

Mr. Walters said the brigade has engaged support services to assist with traumatic situations. 

 

"We have to be engaging counsellors. We always, after each incident, we always have a stress debriefing session. So we try and identify those persons who can't handle the stressful situation out there, things that we have to face - we try to identify them as quickly as possible and try and get some help for them. We have a chaplaincy unit in the Jamaica Fire Brigade. We utilise the chaplaincy unit. We utilise the minister's fraternity in Trelawny to get help for firefighters," said Walters.