Fire department wants to add chaplain as staff position to support mental health

LACONIA — A city firefighter appealed to city councilors for funding to continue mental health support from a chaplain during their meeting June 23.

David DiTommaso, a firefighter and paramedic with Laconia Fire, told councilors city funding for the successful existing chaplain program would go a long way. 

“I heard you speak about the investment into mental health, to take care of your firefighters. In today’s day and age, there are things that we see, there are things that we do and there are ways to handle your firefighters and your firefighter’s mental health,” DiTommaso said. “I heard you discuss options about what it would take to have an outside party come in and potentially do counseling service, or something to that effect — a mental health professional.”

Fire Chief Tim Joubert previously told councilors a local chaplain had been working with the city’s firefighters for free, and his efforts are both effective and well-appreciated.

The chaplain is the Rev. John Bethell, owner of Piedmont Print and Frame downtown, and he’s been working with firefighters regularly and, apparently, making a real impact in the firehouse. Firefighters tend to refer to him as "Father John" or “chaps,” a nod to his time in service to the United States Navy.

“There’s something that’s happening right now that’s working. We have a chaplain, you see, and this chaplain has done amazing things for us. He’s helped us come to conclusions and things that we wouldn’t have otherwise come to in our personal lives,” DiTommaso said. “That’s incredibly important, you see, when we show up to work we lay it all on the line and we don’t expect a thank you, that’s not why we show up to work. We do it because we want to, but it takes a toll.”

Joubert, in a budget meeting before city council on May 27, told councilors protecting the mental health of his firefighters was one of his top priorities — 20% of all fire personnel meet the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder during their career, almost three times the rate among the general population, he explained.

The statistics on mental health in the fire service, collected by the International Association of Fire Chiefs, bear that out: 47% reported at one time contemplating suicide, 19% reported planning it, 16% attempted it and, on average, 100 firefighters die by suicide each year.

“The Laconia Fire Department has done an outstanding job of supporting mental health, but the fire service in general is reactive towards it. It’s after something happens that we support that individual and try to make it better,” Joubert said. “I think we need to be more proactive about mental health — first responders see some bad things, they deal with some tough situations. It’s not easy.”

Bethell established an office at the downtown fire station on the third floor, and Joubert said there’s not a day that goes by where he isn’t in there, working with a firefighter.

“There’s people in and out of there all the time,” Joubert said. “It’s different than talking to a peer — you can talk to your friends, but to have somebody that has the ability to listen, to be unbiased, and help you and point you in the right direction just means everything."

“If we’re going to look at things to improve mental health, we should certainly consider funding things that exist and are working now,” Ward 3 Councilor Eric Hoffman said at the budget meeting.

Councilors expressed enthusiasm and support for the volunteer chaplain program at the fire department at the June 23 meeting, and sought to compensate Bethell for his work. They could add funding for his position at $45,000, when the dust settles and the budget process is complete.

“I strongly support the money for the fire department chaplain,” Ward 1 Councilor Bruce Cheney said. 

Ward 6 Councilor Tony Felch said he’s spoken to firefighters who’ve benefitted from working with Bethell, and with Bethell himself, and strongly supports funding it as a position.

“He’s been doing this for a while for nothing, but he needs to be able to make a living, and I’d really like to see that happen,” Felch said.

City Manager Kirk Beattie said he’d ask Joubert to attend the council meeting on Monday, July 14, to discuss funding for the position.

“I think if we’re adding that amount of money to a specific department budget, the department head should be in front of you,” Beattie said. 

Bethell started working with the fire department in February 2022, and he’s helped firefighters work through problems and concerns in their personal lives — ensuring they stay mission-ready — for free the entire time.

Firefighters in Laconia tend to be on the younger side of demographics. Many are still in their 20s or 30s, and deal with the same problems outside work everybody else does. They’re challenged to set aside those struggles and serve the City of Laconia and its residents — in doing so, they confront tragedy all the time. There were two fatalities during this year’s Laconia Motorcycle Week, for example.

Bethell said firefighters “sometimes walk around like [they’re] holding a box” filled with life’s challenges, and his goal is to help them find a shelf for it. Working individually with the men and women of the fire service — who are, by nature, experts in compartmentalization — his goal is to help them address issues one-by-one, rather than allowing stresses to compile over time. 

“They compartmentalize,” Bethell said, in an interview on Friday, noting outside the fire service, firefighters may be going through difficult times in their own relationships, or navigating other challenges like finding somewhere to live. “They’re professionals.”

“I’ve watched them develop their communication skills with their partners,” Bethell said. “The demand has grown, and my relationship to our firefighters has grown.”