Grant provides support for Minnesota firefighters

Between 2018 and 2019, the Minnesota Firefighter Initiative was about to train about 8,000 firefighter.

Especially to help identify asymptomatic new on daybreak.

The non?

"*profit, "minnesota fire fighters initiative" provides firefighters all across the state with resources they need to deal with issues like, cardiac disease, emotional trauma and cancer.

Kimt news 3's madelyne watkins joins us live to tell us about a recent grant they just received to expand those resources.

Good morning, madelyne./// tyler.

There are about 20 thousand firefighters in minnesota... and 93 percent of them are either part?

"* time or volunteer firefighters.

That includes right here at the rochester fire department.

So that means a lot of these men and women don't have access to a lot of the built?

"*in institutional support when things happen.

I'm going to give you a little background first of the minnesota firefighter initiative.

The non?

"*profit has been around fr almost five years now after a handful of firefighters realized how many funerals of their colleagues they were attending.

This year... they received a 400 thousand dollar grant from the state of minnesota to up the quality of training they provide to fire departments... with the main focus being on issues with cancer, cardiac disease and ptsd.

The president, george esbensen, tells me firefighters die by suicide at about two times the rate of the general population.

He says the more fire departments that get trained with these main pillars... the better chance they have at preventing "they respond to other people's very worst days and that's where you get this cumulative effect.

Then you have a culture of don't talk about it and then you have organizations that can't or won't support them when they're having difficulties and sometimes the culture of the fire service doesn't promote that.

Yes, then on top of that, covid has not helped mental health in this country or any country at all."

The main take away that i got during my interview with him is that if the men and women in these walls here and the other fire departments don't have the resources they need to stay healthy both mentally and physically... then they can't do their job effectively ?

"*?

"* which is of course hel out the community.

Live in rochester.

Madelyne watkins kimt thank you madelyne.

Between 2018 and 2019... the minnesota firefighter initiative was able to train about eight thousand firefighters