ORLANDO, Fla. — Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 4, led by Orlando District Fire Chief Spencer Bashinski, was deployed to Texas following deadly flooding that caused significant devastation.
Texas experienced more devastation than Bashinski anticipated. “The devastation was probably more than I envisioned going in,” Bashinski said. His team spent days searching for missing people in the debris, “Things like complete houses knocked away, trees knocked over, large debris fields that were 100 feet high and several hundred feet wide,” he described.
When asked what he discovered during the search, Bashinski became emotional. “I don’t know how to answer that.” What he and other first responders went through highlights why mental health support for first responders is more important than ever.
Dr. Deborah Beidel is the Director of UCF RESTORES, a clinic that treats trauma in first responders. “Our search and rescue teams are out there really going through and seeing some things that sometimes no one should have to see,” she said.
UCF RESTORES recently launched a mobile unit, designed to travel with teams, like Task Force 4, to provide mental health care on the ground. “We wanted to have a place of respite for them where they could come get peer support,” Beidel explained.
That type of support is key for Bashinski, “Every night we debriefed together around dinner... focused on the things that went well,” he said.
UCF RESTORES has trained more than 2,700 peer support specialists, offering patients empathy. “So not only have they been in the same situations, but they know how to ask the same questions to help people process what they’ve been seeing all day,” Beidel said.
The care also continues long after the emergency ends, as about 10% of first responders experience PTSD. UCF RESTORES uses exposure therapy to treat it, which includes recreating the triggers that can cause anxiety attacks, nightmares, and flashbacks.
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