Smoke detectors really do save lives.

Chief Derek Robinson began as a Firefighter/Paramedic in Westerville, Ohio where he rose to the ranks of Deputy Fire Chief. In October of 2019, he took on the role of Fire Chief for the Madison Township Fire Department in Ohio.

Recently, his job has been extra stressful with the difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. He is the person his firefighters look to when they ask ‘How do we handle COVID calls?,’ ‘How do we protect ourselves?,’ and other questions that aren’t covered in the latest edition of How to Be a Fire Chief.

He has seen an uptick in the stress levels on firefighters in recent months due to COVID-19. Handling that stress remains to be a significant issue facing the fire service.

Chief Robinson goes on to say, “We aren’t robots — we’re human and we experience emotions. We need to come together and we need the support of the community.”

“For years, first responders have internalized things and we haven’t let our guard down.“

For this reason, it is crucial that trustees, counselors, and senators keep the best interests of firefighters in mind when making decisions.

Chief Robinson’s words to firefighters are simple and powerful:

“It’s okay to not be okay.”

There are times when firefighters need to realize that they’re not okay and need to talk with someone about what they’re going through. It doesn’t have to be a psychologist or psychiatrist that they talk to; it could be a colleague, a family member, or a supervisor. Chief Robinson urges his peers to ‘just talk to someone.’

“The days of being a macho, tough firefighter and suppressing feelings have to be gone. It doesn’t make you any less of a firefighter to talk about emotions.” Chief Robinson drove this point home.

One way to create a safer environment for firefighters is for clinicians and doctors to join the firefighters for ride time. This helps them experience what goes on at the station, see the things firefighters see, and hear the things firefighters hear. Not only does that inform the other medical professionals, but it helps the firefighters feel more comfortable speaking with them.

The power of mutual understanding was unavoidably evident when firefighters at Chief Robinson’s previous fire department needed psychological help after a call they responded to. Two police officers were killed in shooting in Westerville and the firefighters who responded were battling the stressors that come along with responding to that type of call. Two firefighter peer mentors and one professional psychiatrist came to provide support. Every single firefighter chose to go to the peer mentors and none of them felt comfortable sharing their difficulties with the psychiatrist. This could change with a better mutual understanding among firefighters and other medical professionals.

There are many resources available to help firefighters who may be struggling with stress and anxiety. We’ve compiled a short list below to share some of these resources.

• NFFF Center for Excellence
• International Association of Fire Chiefs
• NVFC Fire/EMS Helpline
• Save a Warrior
• Local firefighter unions
• 3rd party Organizations (ex: Netcare)

Chief Robinson is very passionate about two main things: mental health and the importance of smoke detectors.

Smoke detectors save lives.

“It’s cliche, but I learned the truth of this statement when I had the unfortunate task of responding to call at a house without working smoke detectors,” Chief Robinson recalled.

He shared a story of how a smoke detector could have saved someone’s life.

A teenager was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom with the door open when a fire started on the first floor. The house did not have any working smoke detectors so they were not made aware of the fire that was quickly traveling up the stairs towards the bedroom.

With the bedroom door open, the fire entered the room with ease before the young individual was able to evacuate. Without the warning of a smoke detector, they had no chance of making it out of the house alive.

As the crew pulled the teenager’s body from the charred building, Chief Robinson couldn’t help but think about how the situation would have been different if the home had functioning smoke detectors.

“There was a loss of young life because the teenager wasn’t notified of the fire.”

BONUS STORY: A previous Featured Firefighter shared another story with us about the importance of smoke detectors. We felt it was important to include, so here you go…

Two brothers shared a room where they slept in bunk beds. One night, they both fell asleep with their desk lamp on. The incandescent bulb was positioned close to the sheets of the bottom bunk which hung off the older brother’s bed.

After hours of direct exposure to the hot light bulb, the sheets burst into flames. The brothers remained in a deep sleep while the fire built, sending smoke to the ceiling.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP! The hallway smoke detector woke up Dad down the hall while the boys continued to sleep. Dad rushed into their room and yanked his sons out of bed before it was too late. Everyone came out unscathed.

Minutes later would have been a very different story. It’s thanks to the smoke detector that the dad still has his two boys and that the brothers have their entire lives in front of them.

It may be a cliche, but there’s a reason for that. Smoke detectors really do save lives.