Firefighters attend state’s first behavioral health training

EVERETT — Washington state firefighters gathered at South County Fire’s headquarters in Everett on Friday morning for their first official behavioral health training.

About 50 firefighters from 10 fire departments attended the training, which was the first-ever in Washington state. South County Fire and the director of the University of Washington’s Behavioral Health Crisis Outreach Response and Education program co-led the training.

South County Fire saw a nearly 50% increase in behavioral health calls in the past two years and approximately 1,900 in the last year, South County Fire Capt. Nicole Picknell said. The COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the increase, said Jennifer Stuber, director of the university program.

“There was a perfect storm, coming out of the pandemic, of really high rates of mental health challenges, substance use disorders, mental health crises, opioids and suicidality,” Stuber said. “People have been trained to call 911 when they have emergencies. Since there are firefighters all over the state, sometimes they’re the only ones who can actually respond.”

The training’s title is “COAST: A Roadmap for Fire/EMS,” is a title inspired by the University of Washington program’s framework. Stuber and her team created the acronym “COAST,” which stands for “clearing your filter, observing the scene, actively listening, sharing resources and taking responsibility after the call.”

Instructors from fire departments around the state led sessions on each of these ideas, as well as best practices for opioid overdose calls and suicide prevention.

“Because of the infrastructure of having fire and EMS agencies all across the state, this is a really important opportunity to really start to get training and skills and resources into hands so we can help more people in the community, not just in cities, but in more rural areas as well,” Stuber said.

Historically, the protocol for behavioral health calls is to take the person in crisis to the emergency room. However, emergency rooms may not be able to provide the best behavioral support, Picknell said.

“If we can do it right there in their home, where they’re at in that moment, that can make the difference between them getting the right care and being able to heal and find support, or getting missed and never taking that next step,” Picknell said.

Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.