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Emotional 1st Aid - Education & Training

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Engine House 87, a non-profit 501c3 organization, was formed to provide education and support for anyone who may find themselves in the position of dealing with after-incident trauma and emotional first aid. We are now engaged in a fund-raising effort to implement the publication of children’s books, emotional first aid guides and training materials to be distributed thru fire departments and first responders.

When something bad happens, we react emotionally. The closeness of the event geographically and personally dictates the level of that emotional reaction. Have you been dumped by a loved one, lost a parent, lost a child? Have you experienced the loss of a home due to a fire or flood?

A year or so ago Engine House 87 published a limited number of a children’s book, “Fire On Cory and Haley’s Street.” The book foreshadows the experiences and actions to which children would be exposed when a fire or medical emergency occurs in their neighborhood. Children internalize their fears even when witnessing traumatic events. The book softens the anxiety of the unknown. It is like applying emotional first aid in advance.  After witnessing the acceptance of the book with limited distribution we now wish to do a second printing and begin distributing the book at no cost to some 21,000 volunteer fire departments throughout the United States.

Whether a 1st responder, neighbor, friend or relative, you may be the one called upon to react and provide support. Support in the form of “emotional first aid”.  What would you say if a neighbor’s baby suddenly died? What would you do if a friend’s husband or wife unexpectedly died?

When a fire or death of a friend or loved one strikes, the trauma of such a catastrophic event can be overwhelming.  “Crisis victims” experience confusion, panic, grief and anger. Words seem so shallow, but the strength of your presence and your support slows the emotional bleeding. 

For the past three years, Engine House 87 has actively engaged in providing the tools to supplement the empathetic response to the emotional needs of someone in crisis.  These tools have taken the form of books, guides, lesson plans and social media blogs. The scope of the effort has been limited due to out of pocket funding and the associated start-up costs. It is time to step up the level of publishing and distribution activity. 

The second goal of our fund-raising campaign is to finance the publication of “What to Say…What To Do!” a basic guide to Emotional First Aid.  Again, this will be distributed to churches and volunteer fire departments throughout the country as part of a movement to set up Crisis Response units within smaller fire departments and rural communities.

A 4th generation firefighter I came up through the ranks of a suburban New Jersey fire department to become its training officer and chief of it Fire Prevention and Public Education efforts. Some years later valuable insight into the realm of trauma and crisis management was acquired as a volunteer Team Leader of a Crisis Response unit for a very active Phoenix Arizona suburban department.

A sampling of the content to be contained in “What To Say .. What To Do!” can be viewed in the Chaplain’s Corner of the Engine House 87 web site.https://enginehouse87.com/chaplains-corner/ 

Engine House 87 is an Arizona Not-For-Profit Corporation and enjoys official 501C3 status with the IRS. Donations are tax deductible.

Organizer

Ward Adams
Organizer
Surprise, AZ

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