Experts: Firefighters’ drug problems illustrate larger-scale need to help first responders

While excessive drinking is still vastly more common in the fire service than drug addiction, the sort of Adderall, marijuana and fentanyl use that allegedly took place in New Britain’s fire department isn’t entirely uncommon, experts say.

Nationwide, as many as 29% of firefighters use alcohol excessively and up to 10% are misusing prescription drugs, according to the federally funded National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

“Firemen are human beings. And in their careers, they’re going to deal with very disturbing stuff. Whether that causes them to turn to something like this, well, some people can handle it better than others,” said Mike Healy, a veteran substance abuse counselor, former Central Nyack, New York, fire chief and retired clinical director of the New York City transit workers union’s member assistance program.

Healy and other fire service authorities last week said a key to preventing — or at least minimizing — alcohol and drug use in the emergency services is to have a capable, genuinely confidential employee assistance program. Another is openly acknowledging that at some point, firefighters, EMTs and police are likely to need help facing extraordinary pressures.

“Our line of work takes a toll on somebody. Over the last five years, talks about mental health and well-being have taken a forefront like cancer screening and prevention,” said Chief Mark Worsman of the New Hartford Fire Department, who is president of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association.

“It’s very critical that we offer services to all (fire department) members. It not only affects the firehouse or the ambulance or the police station, it also affects their family.”

“It seems in the last five to six years that the mental health and well-being of (first) responders had become more of a subject that people are paying attention to, and addiction is part of that,” said Chief Robert Duval of the Atwood Hose Fire Company in Plainfield. “Addiction is an offshoot of people struggling.”

As the immediate past president of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association, Duval said stress among fire responders has risen since early 2020.

“The pandemic didn’t help. The workload has ramped up. For some, it doubled overnight. People are struggling,” Duval said. “They’re asked to do a lot more but don’t have the relief that someone working from home does.”

Firefighters around Connecticut were shaken by news last week that seven veteran New Britain Fire Department members had been demoted and reassigned because of cliques that were allegedly trading drugs — and sometimes using them — at firehouses.

The demotions came after the city fired a lieutenant who it concluded had lied about illegally providing Adderall and other drugs to Firefighter Matt Dizney, who died Jan. 26 of an apparent overdose. Dizney, 36, left two children.

Mayor Erin Stewart was meeting Friday afternoon with union leaders to try to advance a long-stalled policy for mandatory drug testing.

Jeff Dill, director of the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, said that only very recently has the country’s fire service become more willing to talk about drug misuse. Excessive drinking is still vastly more prevalent, he said, and more fire chiefs, city leaders, insurers and others are open to seeing misused prescriptions and illegal drugs as a problem, too.

“I founded this in 2010, and early on we got bashed. People were saying we made up the suicide statistics. They were saying ‘PTSD is only a military thing,’” Dill said, a licensed counselor and retired Illinois fire captain. “I don’t know why this catches people by surprise. In addition to the stressors on the job, firefighters can have stress in the family and personal lives.

“Drugs are not the leading aspect of what we deal with. The number one reason for suicide is marital and family relations, but addictions are in the top 10. Of course there’s alcohol, then you look at gambling or prescription drugs, now heroin or cocaine.

“It all falls back to cultural brainwashing: We’re supposed to act brave, strong, courageous; we don’t seek help; we handle our issues; we don’t let anyone see our pain.”

As chief of the behavioral health service for Las Vegas Fire & Rescue and its 700 firefighters and civilian workers, Dill has concluded that one of the best things a community can do for its fire service is provide a strong EAP and meaningful rehabilitation when people need it.

“We’re starting to see treatment centers specific to first responders. That’s important. We didn’t used to have that,” he said. “I’m a firm believer in rehabs for drugs or alcohol that provide 60 to 90 days. You need that to get them off those addictions.

“If you go in for 30 days, you could need eight to 10 just to detox. That leaves just 20 to get at the problem and change the behaviors. I think we’re setting up our people to fail if we have insurance that only covers 30 days.”

Worsman emphasized that a solid EAP — with guaranteed confidentiality — is also crucial.

“For that system, the expectation has to be that what someone says (to a counselor) doesn’t go out of the room,” Worsman said.

“We want police and fire departments to know they can’t let it build up until someone snaps, causes an accident or something worse. We need to tell our people, ‘We’re here for you. We want to support your brothers and sisters. We have a great organization, but we can’t have it without great people.’”