Counselling set up for Yellow Grass emergency responders

Emergency responders to this week’s suspicious death in Yellow Grass had a chance to access some counselling Saturday night.

The volunteer fire department and Milestone RCMP responded to a house fire on Thursday and discovered a woman’s body.

Experts in Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) were on hand at the Yellow Grass community complex to give responders a chance to talk about their experience.

“It very much is a round-table discussion,” said Will Breen, a volunteer with the Yellow Grass Fire Department.

“A chance for everyone to really to vent and talk about, you know, how they are bothered by what they saw, or what they participated in, and that sort of thing.”

“It’s becoming more and more common. I’m sure you’re familiar with the many news stories that are detailing elevated rates of suicide amongst firefighters, police officers, and paramedics,” said Breen.

“It’s a peer-driven discussion that is guided by mental health professionals, and it is geared to respond to the critical incidents often faced by uniformed emergency response.”

Breen noted that the Saturday session was organized by an umbrella group representing volunteer firefighters.

“We’d like to extend our appreciation to the Saskatchewan Volunteer Firefighters’’ Association for putting this initiative together. I think it’s going to help a lot of people, and I think it’s needed within our industry,” he told Discover Weyburn.