Serious injury or death of a co-worker, particularly in the line of duty, during training, en route to serve or shortly after serving.
Suicide or unexpected death of a co-worker.
Violence or death to a child.
Serious injury or death of a civilian.
Death after a prolonged failed rescue.
Incidents attracting strong or unwanted media coverage.
Personal identification with the victim or his circumstances.
Incident where sights, smells, or sounds produce an immediate or delayed reaction.
Multi-casualty events.
Personal safety is jeopardized.
You have experienced a traumatic event, or a critical incident. A critical incident is an event that evokes unusually strong emotional reactions, which have the potential to interfere with your ability to function, either immediately or oftentimes after the conclusion of such an event. Though the event may be over, you may now be experiencing or may experience later some strong emotional or physical reactions. It is very common, in fact quite normal, for people to experience emotional aftershocks when they have been involved with a tragic event that has affected them or people they are close to. Very often, communities, be they home, work or school, may feel the depth of a crisis as a whole. Thus, enabling community peers to have a built in support network is critical.
Sometimes the emotional aftershocks, or stress reactions, appear immediately after the traumatic event. Sometimes they may appear a few hours or days later. There are some cases where weeks and months may go by before stress reactions appear.
The signs and symptoms of a stress reaction may last a few days, a few weeks or a few months and occasionally longer depending upon the severity of the traumatic event. With understanding and support of loved ones, friends and fellow workers, the stress reactions usually pass more quickly. There are occasions when the traumatic event is so painful that professional assistance from a counselor may be necessary. This does not imply craziness or weakness. It simply indicates that the particular event was overwhelming.
Critical incident stress effects up to 87% of all emergency services personnel exposed to a critical incident.