Killeen Council approves funding mental health clinician for local firefighters

Killeen Daily Herald
By Kevin Limiti | Herald
eptember 27, 2023

First responders deal with trauma as part of their job so much so that suicide has become a potential job hazard for firefighters.

But Killeen Fire Chief James Kubinski said the Killeen Fire Department took a huge step forward when the Killeen City Council approved funding for a mental health clinician specifically for the fire department.

The resolution, which passed 6-0 Tuesday, awards $45,000 annually for a mental health clinician, a new position which will soon join the staff of 238 firefighters, paramedics and other employees who make up the fire department.

“We know we’re going to see situations and things that most human beings typically don’t see,” Kubinski said Wednesday in a phone call with the Herald. “So we’re prepared for it to a certain extent but it doesn’t change the human element from seeing things like that.”

He said one of the things the fire department has been trying to do is reduce the stigma around mental health issues, something which he said wasn’t common for fire departments in the past.

“The fire department in general has changed over the years. We jokingly talk about 200 years of progress impeded by tradition,” he said. “Especially when it comes to mental health and wellness, the culture of the department is: Yeah, you’re going to see some terrible things and move on. Don’t talk about it.“

But he said attitudes toward mental health wellness are changing as suicide rates from the fire departments reach high levels among firefighters.

According to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, there are between 100 and 200 deaths by suicide of firefighters every year, which is twice the rate of the general population.

“Every human being is different and every human being processes trauma differently,” Kubinski said, explaining that most firefighters sign up for the job because they like to help people. “We’re helping people, but meanwhile we forget about ourselves.”

Kubinski said he has worked very hard throughout his career to destigmatize mental health issues.

During last week’s Killeen City Council meeting, he appeared to show emotion while addressing the council on the mental health of his colleagues.

“Just this last weekend,” he said during that meeting. “I was in Colorado Springs to put fire rescue officer Patrick Bergman’s name on the fallen firefighter wall.”

Bergman, a Killeen firefighter, died from cancer at the age of 37 in March 2021.

He said deaths of firefighters “are not the hero things you see on TV where things are on fire.”

He told the council that most firefighter deaths are caused by cancer and suicide.

“I think there’s always more that can be done with any program,” he said Wednesday, but explained that having a mental health clinician was not common for a fire department this size.

Kubinski said the Killeen Police Department officers can also utilize the mental health clinician until KPD adds one for its police department.

MUTUAL AID

Another item that was passed Tuesday at the council meeting regarding fire departments was an agreement for mutual aid between the cities of Killeen and Nolanville.

Nolanville has been using the Central Bell Fire and Rescue for fire services, but that contract ends on Oct. 1.

Kubinski said mutual aid agreements between different fire departments have been around for a long time — at least 30 years.

“We have (mutual aid agreements) with numerous fire departments across the county,” he said. “What’s most important to citizens when they get help is not what’s on the shirt but getting the closest station to help them as fast as possible ... and we return the favor as well.”

He said mutual aid agreements are highly beneficial tools which allow fire departments to respond to emergencies as quickly as possibly, regardless of the capability of small, rural fire departments.

“Fires triple in size every minute so obviously getting there quickly gets us to a point where we can put the fire out with not much damage,” Kubinski said.