EVERETT — South County Fire and University of Washington experts will direct the state’s first-ever behavioral health training for fire/EMS first responders Friday.
Certified instructors from South County Fire will teach about 50 firefighters and EMS staff from nine Washington state departments about crisis response skills, follow-up services, behavioral signs and symptoms, and call response strategies for opioid overdoses and suicides. The training will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at South County Fire headquarters in Everett.
“For years, we have been responding to individuals in mental health crises without any formal behavioral health training,” South County Fire Capt. Nicole Picknell said in a press release. “We are excited about this groundbreaking training that will be provided to all Fire & EMS agencies.”
South County Fire will lead the training along with the program director at Behavioral Health Crisis Outreach Response and Education at the University of Washington. The new program provides training and research to address the rising number of frontline workers answering behavior health calls.
“Fire and EMS respond to behavioral health emergencies in the community and (are) saving lives due to drug overdoses,” said program director Jennifer Stuber in the press release. “They’d like for these calls to run more smoothly. Right now, they don’t feel prepared. We are seeking to change that with our training to navigate calls for service to individuals with behavioral health needs in Washington State.”
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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