Every firefighter understands the importance of training.
From the first day in the academy until the day we retire, we train to become faster, smarter, and safer. We stretch hose lines until the movements become instinctive. We practice search and rescue, forcible entry, ventilation, emergency medical care, mayday procedures, and incident command. After significant incidents, we critique our performance, identify lessons learned, and train again.
That commitment to continuous improvement is one of the defining strengths of the fire service.
Recently, FireRescue1 published an article introducing its upcoming 2026 “What Firefighters Want” survey, asking an important question: Are firefighters getting the training they need, and does that training reflect the realities of today’s fire service? Although the survey results have not yet been released, the discussion itself should prompt every fire service leader to reflect on the way we prepare our people.
As I read the article, another question immediately came to mind.
Are we preparing firefighters for what happens after the call is over?
The Emergency Ends. The Experience Doesn’t Always.
Operationally, every incident has an ending.
The fire is extinguished.
The patient is transported.
The report is completed.
The apparatus is back in service.
The next alarm sounds.
Emotionally, however, some calls never truly end.
A child’s death. A line-of-duty death. A fatal motor vehicle crash. A suicide. A patient who reminds you of your own family. A call where, despite doing everything right, the outcome still ends in tragedy.
Those experiences do not disappear simply because the unit clears the scene. Sometimes they remain with us for years.
We Train for Performance. Do We Train for Recovery?
During my career as a firefighter and paramedic, I learned that preparation creates confidence. When firefighters repeatedly train under realistic conditions, they make better decisions when seconds matter.
Today, as a licensed mental health counselor, I see another side of preparation. Psychological readiness deserves the same intentional approach.
We teach firefighters how to recognize flashover conditions. Do we teach them how to recognize cumulative stress before it begins affecting their judgment, sleep, relationships, or physical health?
We prepare officers to read smoke. Do we prepare them to recognize when a firefighter who insists, “I’m fine,” is quietly struggling?
We spend countless hours practicing how to save another firefighter during a mayday. How much time do we spend teaching crews how to help one another after the emotional weight of a difficult call?
These conversations should not begin after someone reaches a crisis. They should begin long before it.
Behavioral Health Is a Skill
Behavioral health is often treated as a separate subject from operational readiness. It shouldn’t be.
Just as firefighters learn size-up, communications, scene management, and patient assessment, they can also learn practical behavioral health skills.
Company officers can learn how to check on a crew member after a difficult incident without making the conversation feel forced. Firefighters can learn how to recognize changes in themselves and their peers before those changes become significant problems. Departments can make behavioral health resources familiar instead of mysterious.
When firefighters understand how confidentiality works, what peer support provides, and what counseling actually looks like, asking for help becomes far less intimidating.
That isn’t lowering the standard. It’s strengthening it.
If We Measure Tactical Performance, We Should Measure This Too
Every fire department evaluates operational training. Did we accomplish the objective? Did communications work? Were assignments clear? What should we improve before the next incident?
Behavioral health training deserves the same level of accountability.
Attendance records tell us who sat through the class. They do not tell us whether firefighters trust the resources available to them. They do not tell us whether an officer feels confident initiating a difficult conversation. They do not tell us whether a firefighter would recognize when a peer needs help. Most importantly, they do not tell us whether someone will ask for help before a small problem becomes a life-changing one.
If we truly believe behavioral health is important, we should evaluate it with the same seriousness we apply to every other aspect of firefighter readiness.
Leadership Creates Culture
Fire service culture has never changed because of a policy manual. It changes because leaders consistently model what matters.
When officers make behavioral health conversations normal instead of uncomfortable, firefighters notice. When chiefs openly support peer support programs, counseling resources, and family wellness initiatives, firefighters notice. When experienced firefighters check on one another after difficult calls instead of pretending nothing happened, firefighters notice.
Culture is built through repeated actions. Not annual presentations.
Preparing the Whole Firefighter
The question raised by FireRescue1 extends beyond tactics. Does our training reflect the work firefighters actually do?
If the answer is yes, then our training must also reflect the emotional realities of the profession.
Firefighters do more than fight fires. They witness tragedy. They make life-and-death decisions. They comfort strangers on their worst days. They carry memories that often stay long after the apparatus returns to quarters.
Preparing firefighters means preparing the whole firefighter. Not only for the emergency. But for everything that follows.
Because completing the call does not always mean the firefighter has finished carrying it.
The strongest departments recognize that readiness is more than physical. It is tactical. It is emotional. It is relational. It is lifelong.
Train the skills. Practice the conversations. Evaluate both with the same commitment to excellence.
Because when we prepare firefighters for what comes after the call, we are not just protecting careers. We are protecting families, preserving lives, and strengthening the future of the fire service.
Dr. John A. Davis III, PhD, LMHC
Retired Firefighter Captain/Paramedic
Author · Licensed Mental Health Counselor · Speaker