PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — We call police, fire and EMS on our worst days. They respond and help, but who helps them when they need it?
The answer to that, and the answers to first responders' worst days, often comes from people like Karen Bucca-Lee, director of the Philadelphia Fire Department's Employee Assistance Program.
Bucca-Lee said her nurturing nature was fostered in childhood. It grew while she worked as a medic. And it comes to the forefront now in her current position.
She says members see and have to process a lot of difficult things. Sometimes it can be aired around the fire house table, but not always.
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"You know you have this stigma, you can't be weak. You can't show people that things bother you. So you kind of keep it in," said Bucca-Lee. "Then you go home. If the partner is not in the fire department and doesn't know what we go through, it is kind of hard to explain it to them."
This is why Bucca-Lee says she encourages members to be honest with their partners and to be clear that it's not about them. "That it was a bad day, a bad call, and you love them very much. You just need them to support you," Bucca-Lee explains.
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"A lot of marriages end in divorce or separation when you take things home and you don't communicate. Obviously, the other person is going to think it is about them."
Over the years, all the calls and bad days can add up for a first responder. It takes a toll.
EAP offers confidential help and can steer people to the services they need.
Any member of the Philadelphia Fire Department can always reach out.