Our goal is to provide support and wellness to our fellow firefighters and their families though the process of listening, referral and support.
The Peer Team member’s role is one of support and allowing the Professional Provider to facilitate the peer’s reactions to a critical incident, job related stress or personal crisis.
OUR MISSION
suicide and crisis LIFELINE
call or text 988
FIRE & EMS HELPLINE
1-888-731-3473
crisis text line
741741
Your Orlando Firefighters' Benevolent Association would like to invite you, and your family, to the 2026 Annual Benevolent Picnic. All are welcome, you don't have to be a member to attend! Come join your fellow OFD families and enjoy the live music, games, food, ice cream, bounce houses, waterslides, trampolines, face painting and more! Once again the event will be held at the FOP lodge on Little Lake Conway, so bring your ski, boat and bathing suit to enjoy the water activities. Admission is $30 per family or $15 for singles and helps offset the cost of the event. Don't forget to take advantage of the raffles/silent auctions and treat yourself/family to some great prizes.
The Orlando FireFighters Benevolent Association
Your Orlando Firefighters Peer Support team is supported and funded through the Orlando Firefighters Benevolent Association. The OFFBA aids with physical and financial contributions to active and retired Firefighters and families with regard to distressed situations and contributions and fundraisers to other related charities. Assisting Firefighters and their families in emergency situations. All members of the OFFBA and PST volunteer their time and efforts and receive no compensation. 100% of the money donated goes directly back to the first responder families. The Peer Support Team could not function without the support of the OFFBA.
Please consider giving a donation to this phenomenal organization.
Cumulative Trauma
Situations that first responders are generally faced with are inherently challenging, complex, and dangerous. They are typically the first to arrive on the scene of events involving injuries and loss of life, are confronted with circumstances where their lives are seriously threatened, and likely need to provide emotional as well as physical support to traumatized survivors.
First responders have many vulnerabilities because of their constant exposure to death and destruction. There are other risk factors for them and others who are experiencing cumulative stress that put them at higher risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Those vulnerable to PTSD are individuals who have experienced prior trauma, are exposed to trauma as children, are female, experienced a high level of physical and psychological hyper-arousal in the period immediately following a traumatic event, had dissociative symptoms and psychic numbing at the time of a traumatic event, presented with depressive symptoms in the initial weeks after the traumatic event, and had Acute Stress Disorder.
First responders must continue to respond despite their level of disturbance, even after concerted effort is put in where they may have “failed” or achieved “unsuccessful” results. This cycle is repeated over many years of service. Some even witness their friends and colleagues being hurt or killed after working in similar ways and situations that they personally do.
Stress varies from person to person. All the symptoms related to stress carry the connotation of unreasonable demands being placed on the individual psychologically, emotionally, and/or physiologically. Stressors can be physical, emotional or both.
Physical and emotional stress often elicit physiological responses that are mediated through the autonomic nervous system. Stress is present in individuals in two major ways through momentary stress and cumulative stress. Momentary stress appears regularly in everyday life.
The prolonged accumulation of momentary stress leads to an increase in long-term cumulative stress and impact on overall health. It is now widely accepted in the scientific and medical communities that chronic stress can have a detrimental effect on mental and physical well-being.
For first responders or any individual that is experiencing cumulative stress, if left untreated, the level of psychological distress can destroy relationships, ruin personal health, and deprive a person of living a fulfilling life.
Michelle P. Maidenberg Ph.D., MPH, LCSW-R, CGP
Psychology Today
"The Expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it, is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water and not get wet."
Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.
Post Traumatic Growth
Where do we go from here?
Posttraumatic Growth is a positive psychological transformation that can happen after trauma. The science of PTG demonstrates that when we’re forced to reflect on our lives and make sense of the destruction caused by trauma, our struggles can become a catalyst for change.
Trauma does not have to be the end of the road, rather it can be the path to a new beginning!
What is the difference between PTSD and PTG?
PTSD and PTG can both arise from psychological struggle with a highly stressful or traumatic event. PTSD is a diagnosis marked by the experience of multiple trauma-related symptoms, to include re-experiencing the trauma (intrusive thoughts, memories, flashbacks, or nightmares), avoidance behaviors (avoiding people and situations that remind us of trauma), cognitive distortions (loss of memory, counterproductive ideas about life and what happened, persistent negative mood), and increased arousal (irritability, aggressive behavior, hypervigilance, startling easily, sleep problems).
Posttraumatic growth is a process whereby we transform our struggle into a new path, and an outcome where we experience positive changes because of the struggle in the aftermath of trauma. Some people experience symptoms of PTSD and posttraumatic growth at the same time.
SHIFT LEAD
Tony Ramos 305-282-0061
BJ Shanks 407-808-9471
Jason Hooper 407-949-2514
Tyler Gaddy 407-446-6362
Mike Oubre 407-462-2128
Kyle Bolton 407-579-5260
Leon Poke Jr. 407-766-3716
A Shift Peers
SHIFT LEAD
Jimmy Reyes 407-399-3708
Brian Stilwell 863-409-3101
Lori McDonald 407-383-2642
Jeff Orrange 407-902-5544
Colleen Walsh 407-947-2912
Terra Hutcheson 813-478-2329
Kyle Dupont 407-760-0979
B Shift Peers
SHIFT LEAD
Curt Searcy 407-463-7361
Nickolas Tuten 407-493-7026
Tim Capps 407-716-1786
Andre Smith 407-535-3663
Ed Maerkl 321-446-0840
Pat Kelly 321-303-7772
Freddie Poke 407-860-0444
Steven Negedly 386-795-4820
C Shift Peers
Lead
Izzy Pellot 407-690-3258
Jade Chisholm 904-610-8570
Civilian Paramedic Peers
Dale Reynolds 321-229-2091
Rick Jeffery 407-222-0924
Joe McCluan 321-438-5321
Pat Martin 407-920-8341
Eli Dejesus 407-402-5248
Jimmy Madriaga 407-929-2702
Ray Cordero 407-383-0973
Geoff Corah 321-303-1095
Ken Rinaldi 321-436-7944
Retiree Peers
Lead
Jennifer Fayson 407-470-9176
Felicia Jones 702-354-1393
Communications Peers
Orlando FD Chaplain
Lonnie Crawford 407-312-5312
Reedy Creek FD Chaplain
Rick Spence 407-595-4579
Arnold Palmer Hospital Chaplain
John Rowe 407-462-1255
Chaplains
Self Assessments and Tips
Experienced a traumatic event?
What is my Work Life Balance?
Do I have Compassion Fatigue?
What is my Stress Size Up?
What kind of stress do I have?
How do I find the right Clinician?
Am I an Alcoholic?
How to cope with Firefighter Suicide?
How to talk about Firefighter Suicide?
Coping with Grief?
Tips for talking to a Healthcare Provider
I'm So Stressed Out!
Do I need help?
How to cope when a loved one is depressed, suicidal, or manic
What's So unique about 911 Stress?
911 Dispatcher burnout?
One Call, 3 kinds of stress
Dispatcher Stress, how to recognize it and support a colleague
Raising Mental Health Awareness During the Holiday Season
How to Help Veterans During the Holidays
50 Tips for Coping With Loneliness During the Holidays
A Behavioral Health Access Program, or a BHAP for short, is a comprehensive and operationalized plan which clearly specifies the mental health services first responders and their families may need, where those services are available within their communities, and levels and standards of care that are expected from these services. Its purpose is to ensure education, support, assessment, and intervention for members who may be affected by behavioral health issues. The BHAP has been recognized by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation as a best practice and is becoming a world standard of behavioral healthcare for first responders.
BHAP toolkit NOW AVAILABLE
In-patient facilities
With COnfidential intake
Spouse and Family FAQs
COE Digital Brochure
COE Clinical Guide
Telling your kids you're going to Rehab
Peer Support Team Development
Peer Support for First Responders
Statute 111.09
The "PTSD" Bill
Statute 112.1815
