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Tucson Fire Foundation


The following message was sent on April 21, 2017, to the Greater Tucson Firefighting community from Mike McKendrick, Chair of the Tucson Fire Foundation:

Dear Friends,

It’s been a challenging few weeks within our firefighting family. The loss of one of our own at his own hand – and the injury and death of two others also at his hand – evoked deep sorrow and pain for all involved.

But it also prompted many of us to wonder what we could have done to stop this tragedy. Was there a change in our friend’s behavior that we missed? Did we see something, but were afraid to say something? Are there Fire Foundation programs that could have helped him through his crisis?

And do we, as a firefighting family and community, make it “okay” for our brothers and sisters to seek help when they do need it without stigma?

The Tucson Fire Foundation offers what amounts to free counseling and support services for all firefighters, first responders, and their families. But we also understand that it’s not always easy to ask for help.

In light of the recent events, we are establishing a dedicated email, phone line, and online website access that will make it simpler for our members to confidentially access our support services at any time. We’ll update you shortly with the details.

Our hearts are with the members of the Scott and Bair families. They need to know we all stand with them and that we’re proactively working to help prevent tragedies such as this in the future.

Sincerely,

Mike McKendrick,
Chair, Tucson Fire Foundation