The City of Batavia Fire Union, Local 896, hosted the International Association of Firefighters Peer Support Training sessions this past week at City Centre Council Chambers.
The two-day training assists firefighters in recognizing when other firefighters are in crisis and how to help them connect with resources to help them when they’re in need. Two IAFF instructors, Danny Adams of Baton Rouge, Louisianna and Hugh Doherty of Toronto, Canada, who are Nationally Certified Peer Support Instructors, were in Batavia this past Monday and Tuesday.
City of Batavia Local 896 President Sean Huggins says this training is very important.
“The complexities of our job are unique and the fact that this training is put on by firefighters, I think it’s easier for us to take care of our own so to speak. Other firefighters understand the mental load that sometimes the tasks that we’re asked to do as firefighters,” says Huggins.
The training was open to any professional firefighter in the WNY area. Firefighters from the Rochester area, Niagara Falls, Tonawanda, Henrietta and Jamestown were in attendance. The training was made possible by the NYS Professional Firefighters Association, which represents 18,000 career firefighters in NYS. The training was offered through their Health and Safety Program.
“We’re proud to host it here in the City of Batavia and be able to help our brothers and sisters here in WNY.”
