chaplainsdesk

Why do we use this symbol?

The Story of the Maltese Cross
The badge of a fireman is
the Maltese Cross. This
Maltese Cross is a symbol of
protection and a badge of
honor. Its story is hundreds
of years old.

When a courageous band of crusaders,
the Knights of St. John, fought the
Saracens for possession of the Holy
Lands, they were faced with a new
device of war – fire.

As the crusaders advanced on
Jerusalem, the Saracens pelted them
with glass bombs full of naphtha and
then threw down flaming torches.
Hundreds of knights were burned alive
while others risked their lives to save
their kinsmen from painful deaths. Thus
these became the first firefighters.
Their heroic efforts were recognized by
fellow crusaders who awarded them
with a badge of honor similar to the
cross firefighters wear today.

Since the Knights of St. John lived
nearly four centuries on the island of
Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, the
cross came to be known as the Maltese
Cross. The firefighter who wears this
cross is willing to lay down his life for
others, just as the crusaders sacrificed
their lives for their fellow man so many
years ago.

WEBSOURCE

Copyright © 2005 North Shore Fire
Department, All Rights Reserved

Are You Experiencing
Critical Incident Stress?

Every time the tones drop, each
Emergency Responder has the
potential of encountering, or being
overcome by, critical incident stress.

"Critical Incident Stress" arises from seeing, feeling, emotionally
attaching to, or experiencing personal trauma or trauma inflicted
upon others.   If a responder comes upon a car accident involving
a child, and they have a child or children of similar age at home;
they are more susceptible to critical incident stress. If a
responder makes decisions on the fire ground that he or she later
perceives to have caused, or failed to prevent, the death or injury
of a victim, he or she may suffering critical incident stress.   The
injury or death of a fellow firefighter may bring on critical
incident stress.

Sometimes the emotional after-shocks (or stress reactions) appear
immediately after the traumatic event. Sometimes they may
appear a few hours or a few days later. And, in some cases,
weeks or months may pass before the stress reactions appear.

The signs and symptoms of a stress reaction may last a few days,
a few weeks or a few months and occasionally longer, depending
on the severity of the traumatic event. With understanding and
the support of loved ones, the stress reactions usually pass more
quickly. Occasionally, the traumatic event is so painful that
professional assistance from a counselor may be necessary. This
does not imply craziness or weakness. It simply indicates that the
particular event was just too powerful for the person to manage
by themselves. Here are some very common signs and signals of
a stress reaction:

Symptoms of Critical Incident Stress are as follows:

PHYSICAL:
Fatigue, thirst, headaches, visual difficulties, vomiting, grinding of
teeth, weakness, dizziness, profuse sweating, chills, rapid heart rate,
nausea, muscle tremors, twitches, chest pain, * difficulty breathing,
elevated blood pressures, * shock symptoms, fainting, etc.
(*Indicates the need for medical evaluation).

COGNITIVE:(AFFECTING THOUGHTS):
blaming someone, confusion, poor attention, poor decisions,
heightened or lowered alertness, poor concentration, memory
problems, hyper-vigilance, difficulty identifying familiar
objects/people, increased or decreased awareness of surroundings,
poor problem solving, poor abstract thinking, loss of time, place, or
person orientation, disturbed thinking, nightmares, intrusive
images, etc.

EMOTIONAL:
anxiety, guilt, grief, denial, severe panic (rare), emotional shock,
fear, uncertainty, loss of emotional control, depression,
inappropriate emotional response, apprehension, feeling
overwhelmed, intense anger, irritability, agitation, etc.

BEHAVIORAL:
change in activity, change in speech patterns, withdrawal,
emotional outbursts, suspiciousness, change in usual
communications, loss or increase of appetite, alcohol consumption,
inability to rest, antisocial acts, nonspecific bodily complaints, hyper-
alertness to environment, intensification of startle reflex, pacing,
erratic movements, change in sexual functioning, etc.

What should you do?

YOU YOURSELF:

*          Within the first 24-48 hours, periods of strenuous
physical exercise.

*          Structure your time—keep busy.

*          You are normal and having normal reactions. Don’t
label yourself crazy.

*        Talk to people. Talk is the most healing medicine.

*        Be aware of numbing the pain with overuse of drugs or
alcohol. You don’t need to complicate this with a
substance abuse problem.

*        Reach out—people do care.

*        Maintain as normal a schedule as possible.

*        Spend time with others.

*        Help your co-workers as much as possible by sharing
feelings and checking out how they are doing.

*        Give yourself permission to feel rotten and share your
feeling with others.

*        Keep a journal, write your way through those sleepless
hours.

*        Do things that feel good to you.

*        Realize that those around you are under stress.

*        Don’t make any big life changes.

*        Do make as many daily decisions as possible which will
give you a feeling of control over your life, i.e., if
someone asks you what you want to eat—answer
them, even if you aren’t sure.

*        Get plenty of rest.

*        Recurring thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks are normal—
don’t try to fight them—they’ll decrease over time and
become less painful.

*        Eat well-balanced and regular meals (even if you don’t feel
like it).

FOR FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

1.         Listen carefully and spend time with the person who is
hurting.

2.         Offer your assistance and a listening ear even if they
have not asked for help.

3.         Reassure them that they are safe.

4.         Help them with everyday tasks like cleaning, cooking,
caring for the family, minding children.

5.         Give them some private time.

6.         Don’t take their anger or other feelings personally.

7.         Don’t tell them that they are "lucky it wasn’t worse"
—traumatized people aren’t consoled by that. Tell
them you’re sorry this event has occurred and that
you want to understand and help.

Critical Incident Stress is real and affects first responders in many
different ways.

As firefighters, we should never be too proud to participate in
Critical Stress Debriefings following a death on the fireground or
other traumatic incident. Those few moments of connecting to
one another or saying what you feel can be as critical as the
golden hour in saving a life----YOUR OWN.

WebSource

Drawn from material developed by the Allegheny Crisis
Intervention Team, Pittsburgh, PA, with direct quotes from their
webpage as linked above.

Through Rain or Snow...
Words of Reflection by Rev. Jeff Wargo, Chaplain

I remember that old adage that applies to the postal service:
"Through rain or snow or sleet or hail, the mail must get
through." I have to admit that, until I joined the fire company
and became an EMT, I never thought of that adage applying
to those fields.

The very idea of standing out in the blowing snow or freezing rain and fighting a fire seems a
weird juxtaposition of elements to me. How can one even have a fire if there is blowing snow
or freezing rain? But it does happen.

I've learned two or three times this season what that adage means. Back in January, I stood
with a whole group of our company in the freezing cold and blowing snow, providing mutual
aid and more like moral support to a local company whose truck ran off the road. My feet
were numb by the time those two hours passed. My turnout gear no longer held my warmth.
And yet, there we were becoming snowmen by the minute in order to lend a helping hand.
There's something about sacrifice of self in there...

A few short weeks later, in what was the biggest blizzard of the season so far, the tones
dropped a few times as the snow piled up. I came out of my house to clean off my car to get
to the call and drove my Forester through snow up to the wheel wells in places in order to
make the truck, barely seeing through the windshield and the blinding snow. I made the
truck and we began the call at about 8 miles an hour. Laughingly, the company we were
responding to for mutual aid, called and told us to reduce speed; then recalled us. On the
way back, our Rescue truck got stuck on an icy hill and there we were, standing in more snow
and trying to figure out how to get out of this pickle. Fortunately, everyone got home safe.

Then last week, in the third or fourth storm of the season, I was volunteering as an EMT and
we got tapped out just as darkness was setting in and the snow that had been melting on the
road all day decided now to cover it and drift across it. We traveled into what seemed like no
man's land to me and picked up our patient, traveled to the hospital and began the trek home
in drifting and blowing snow.

Let it be said for the record, that I hate the snow. But I've learned something of myself...I am
willing to risk enduring the very thing I hate in order to provide a service that may prevent
others from having to stand out in that cold in harm's way or my save a life.

There's a Christian scripture that says, "No greater love hath a man than this: to lay down his
life for his friends."

With all of the prayers and hail mary's I've said under my breath in emergency apparatus,
hoping I wasn't going to die to save someone else, I get it now...

Be sure to thank a fireman or an EMT when you see one....they truly do the unthinkable at
times....not to mention running into burning buildings....

Speaking of which...there is a seashore somewhere with a quiet beach and no pagers
calling my name....

Stay safe and blessed out there!