Suicide remains a leading cause of death in our society, with lasting impacts on families, colleagues, communities and professions like the fire service. Within this field, there is growing awareness of how occupational stressors, particularly repeated exposure to potentially traumatic events, may increase psychological vulnerability among firefighters and emergency medical personnel.
Yet, without a national database or standardized psychological autopsy program, we are left to piece together an understanding from incomplete information and anecdotal evidence.
The Fire Service Psychology Association has recommended the development of a national database to better understand suicide within the fire service.
One proposal for how this might be implemented is outlined in Firefighter Suicide: A Theoretical Model for a Population-Specific Behavioral Autopsy Program (Vega, et al., 2023), which suggests that firefighter peers conduct psychological autopsies following a suicide.
While the goal of improving insight and prevention is commendable, this particular approach raises important clinical and ethical considerations that warrant further exploration.
Psychological autopsies are complex, forensic tools that require specialized training in psychological theory, assessment methodology and the ability to maintain clinical objectivity in highly emotional circumstances.
Dr Kristen Wheldon
When individuals who are not licensed mental health professionals (such as peer firefighters) are tasked with this work, they may not have the necessary background in clinical evaluation or the psychological distance required to conduct an unbiased, accurate assessment.
Additionally, asking peers to investigate the psychological state of a deceased colleague may expose them to unnecessary emotional distress or moral injury, especially if they share a close personal or professional bond or a perceived shared identity with the individual.
These are important concerns to weigh when considering how best to investigate and learn from suicide in a way that protects both the integrity of the findings and the well-being of those involved.
As we attempt to make sense of suicide within the fire service, it’s also important to examine the broader narratives we hold. A common assumption is that the job itself causes suicide. While work-related trauma and stress may contribute to a person’s psychological framework, they are rarely the only factor.
Human behavior (especially decisions as complex as suicide) arises from a deep interplay of core beliefs, values, thoughts, emotions and context. Suicide often represents an individual’s attempt to escape unbearable psychic pain when other options feel inaccessible or insufficient.
At times, framing suicide solely as the consequence of the job may be a way to protect the legacy of the person who has died or to reduce moral discomfort among those left behind.
Yet this perspective, while compassionate in intent, can inadvertently send a message of helplessness to others in the profession, suggesting that suicidal ideation is an inevitable and uncontrollable consequence of the work.
This belief can be risky, as it may discourage individuals from seeking support or lead them to believe that they don’t have other ways to manage their distress.
In 2022, for example, some fire service leaders proposed categorizing suicide as a line-of-duty death. While this effort was likely meant to show respect and acknowledgment, it occurred without consultation from major stakeholders in psychology, such as psychological or psychiatric associations.
Such decisions carry psychological and cultural implications that deserve careful consideration. When we portray suicide as an expected outcome of occupational stress, we risk reinforcing a narrative that undermines personal agency and inadvertently normalizes the act.
As a psychologist, I often work with individuals who are navigating deep psychological pain, many of whom have experienced trauma or moral injury. In those moments of crisis, suicide may appear to them as a way out of that suffering.
My role is to create a compassionate and nonjudgmental space where individuals can explore their thoughts, reflect on their beliefs and consider new, more adaptive ways of coping. With the right support, many people can shift their perspective, reconnect with meaning and choose to stay.
Moving forward, the fire service has an opportunity to strengthen its suicide prevention efforts by taking a deeper look at the internal belief systems that shape behavior.
Dr Kristen Wheldon
Training programs should extend beyond listing risk and protective factors; they should help individuals understand how their beliefs about themselves, others and the profession influence their interpretation and response to pain.
We should also invest in ways to improve psychological safety, so the culture itself does not contribute as a risk factor. Suicide should be framed not as an unavoidable consequence of the job, but as one possible, yet modifiable, response to suffering.
When a firefighter dies by suicide, we must strive to honor the life they lived without reinforcing the means of their death. It is possible and necessary, to reject the behavior without rejecting the individual.
Just as importantly, we must continue to support those who are struggling by guiding them toward culturally competent mental health professionals.
Dr Kristen Wheldon
These clinicians can help them explore their belief systems, process their pain and cultivate the psychological flexibility needed to move forward in life with clarity, purpose and hope.
APA Citation:
Vega, L., Johnson-DeLeon, C. C., Kohalmi, A., Howell, B., Miller, S., & LeDuc, T. (2023).
Firefighter suicide: a theoretical model for a population-specific behavioral autopsy program. OMEGA-Journal of death and dying, 00302228231151278.
