First responders are frontline heroes, ready to do whatever it takes to protect lives and property. However, behind their acts of courage are men and women who strive to ensure their teams are not only prepared but also supported in all aspects of their demanding roles.

At the forefront of team development is Sgt. James Peterson of the Macomb Township, Mich., Fire Department. Peterson has set a benchmark for excellence in fire service leadership as it relates to mental health training after completing the National Fire Academy’s Managing Officer Program. The two-year managing officer program supports initiatives that help fire service professionals become effective leaders and promotes safety within the community and fire departments through a better understanding of incident management.

Peterson began the program in 2019, but the pandemic delayed completion until 2023. According to him, the training he went through will allow his department to fill a gap in knowledge and understanding.

“It became apparent that we were lacking mental health education,” he said. “So that’s where I started my work, because of that weakness. And then the second-year classes were focused on how to develop trainings and implement the material into your department: You look at what your department might need as far as more training or more education. And then the last area was the analytical part of it: It relates to the tools you can use to help you track outcomes and analyze them.”

To fulfill program requirements, Peterson completed a peer-reviewed capstone project demonstrating his understanding of the program and its benefits for his fire department.

No stranger to the fire department, he has served his community for about 15 years. He started as a paid-on-call firefighter. Seven years ago, he went full-time and serves as a company officer and C-shift training coordinator at Station 3.

Peterson said the program caught his attention about five years ago during a class at the National Fire Academy, and completion of the program is no small feat. The advanced curriculum gives participants the tools they need to analyze their departments’ current operations, identify areas for improvement and implement meaningful changes. It’s a two-year program that requires officers to attend the National Fire Academy in Maryland for two separate two-week sessions, in addition to completing prerequisites and conducting self-directed research.

One of the cornerstones of the program is its focus on community risk reduction, firefighter safety and mental health awareness – the latter being a subject that Peterson became passionate about.

“It came to my attention that most departments are lacking in this kind of education, even though they’re supporting efforts to change the stigma of mental health in the fire service. We should start talking about it more, because problems like suicide, mental health and drug and alcohol abuse are seldom talked about. Most people think that firefighters can handle everything.”

That aligns with data from the U.S. Fire Administration, which estimates the number of firefighter suicides to be 100 or more annually. According to a recent white paper on mental health and suicide among first responders, the suicide rate for firefighters is 18 per 100,000 compared to 13 per 100,000 for the general public.

That’s why, through his capstone project, Peterson worked closely with his department’s chief and chaplain to design a comprehensive mental health program. It included educational sessions integrated into weekly Monday night trainings and provided avenues for firefighters to access support earlier.

Though Peterson said getting the chief’s buy-in was critical to the program’s success, getting the same results from his crew was even more challenging. But once he did, he said it was well worth the effort.

“Firefighters like to do the hard stuff, like going into the tower and doing fire training,” he said. “So, it was a little difficult to get them interested. But once we started the training and the education, they knew that it was needed. They were just maybe leery of how it was going to be presented. After a while, I actually had some people come up to me and start showing an interest and wanting to be a part of it. So overall, I think it was pretty well received.”

Peterson noted how the program highlighted the fact that departments can use data and analytics to measure the success of the initiatives. By tracking participation, collecting feedback from firefighters and analyzing outcomes, they can ensure the long-term sustainability of mental health programs.

 Peterson credits his family, particularly his wife, for their unwavering support throughout his participation in the initiative.

“My family put up with a lot,” he said. “Not only was I going to work, but there were a lot of days that I’d go to the library and then go back up to the station to work on this programming.”

He’s also grateful for support from leaders like Chief Robert Phillips and Deputy Chief Monro and the chaplain, as well as the willingness of his crew to engage.

He also acknowledged that it takes a village to develop a strong mental health training program. In the early stages, he conferred with area departments and their chaplains, as well as the National Fire Academy, to gain real-world perspectives. This provided a broader context that helped shape the development of his training initiative. He encouraged others to do the same.

“When you talk to them, you get helpful information that helps you see how you can fit it into your department.”

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