THE CONCERN
     


Emergency services personnel have become increasingly aware of the toll that unique occupation-
related stressors may have on their quality of life. The very nature of emergency service jobs
may expose these individuals routinely, or periodically, to stressful events which they may or
may not be able to work through satisfactorily on their own.

Factors which cause stress to one individual may not be stressful for another. Research has
shown that a very small percentage of emergency service personnel are not actually affected 
by stress. Of those who do demonstrate symptoms related to stress, one-half can resolve these
alone, while the other half continue to be affected.

Responses to stress may be immediate and incident specific, may be delayed for a period of time
after an incident, or may be cumulative, building up after a long period of time and may include
many incidents.

Multiple factors affect an individual's response to stress and include factors specific to the
stressor, such as the individual's personal qualities, past experiences and the resources 
available to him or her. 

It has been demonstrated that certain events, such as the death of a child, the death of a
co-worker, high rise fires or multiple casualty incidents, are particularly stressful for
emergency workers. Any of these events, plus a host of others may cause or contribute to a 
critical incident for an emergency worker or group of emergency workers.
     

          				
     				
							
     				
     				
	
     				
     				
     				          
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