BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Brownsburg firefighter Jason Stumm, in the industry for more than 20 years, says each day is unpredictable.
“There are days, weeks and months sometimes that you go on runs and it’s not really stressful. It’s a daily event, but then you have that one run in the middle of the month that you remember. There’s never one that is the same,” Stumm said. “At the end of the day, somebody’s life is in the balance, and you are trying to help them out.”
Firefighters like Stumm are constantly faced with new challenges, and like many industries, are also dealing with changes and stress from the pandemic.
Earlier this year, 13News spoke with two Brownsburg paramedics who were feeling that same fatigue.
"We all have reached the point where we are just so burnt out and we are tired, and it's really hard because we are still trying to take care of people,” said Ashli LaLond, a paramedic for Brownsburg Fire Territory.
"We're exhausted. I mean, we are. We are exhausted. We are doing more with less,” said Jessica Hudson, another paramedic for Brownsburg.
It’s why the department just launched a wellness app for its more than 90 employees through a partnership with Cordico. It gives them physical, mental and behavioral health resources that are confidential.
Danny Brock, health and safety officer for Brownsburg Fire Territory, said it allows employees to have access to help 24/7 right at their fingertips.
“At every building, we have the EAP number and all of our resources. Not everybody knows to go look there, no matter how many times you train them to, because when they are having that moment, they don’t want to think back to a training. They want the answer now and, in a world where everything has to be at your fingertips and immediate, we want to provide that,” Brock said.
The app tackles topics like suicide risk reduction, behavioral health tools, insomnia, anger management, cancer education, chaplain support, PEER support contacts, critical incident 24/7 contact number, physical fitness and many more topics.
“Those are the things that pay for the app immediately if they are used one time," Brock said. "There’s no price on that."
Brownsburg is the first fire department in the state to offer the app to its employees.
“It covers everything, not just mental health, but nutrition, physical health, financial health and it addresses family as well,” Brock said.
The department is hoping the app will lead to more conversation and support among first responders dealing with the difficulties of the demanding job.
“No run gets easier. It doesn’t matter. People can say that, but it doesn’t. You have to learn to talk to people. Even if it’s just your crewmates or somebody close. You have to talk about things,” Stumm said.