Meet Framingham FD's First Crisis Intervention Responder

FRAMINGHAM, MA- Kelly Hagerty has spent her whole life around Framingham firefighters and even briefly considered applying to be one- but she instead joined the department in a different way, serving as the first ever crisis intervention responder.

Hagerty grew up in Framingham and had a step-father who served as a firefighter and a brother who is currently a part of the Framingham fire department. She previously worked as a social worker with the Department of Children and Families in the city and still works with the Public Health Department and Veteran's Department as a community intervention specialist. It was through the public health department and the Framingham Hoarding Task Force that Hagerty saw the acute need for someone with a background in social work to be a part of the fire department.

"Firefighters are the first ones who see it," Hagerty said about hoarding issues. She added that more and more firefighters are being called to varying situations like a potential hoarding site. A mental health call to the fire department about a potential hoarder could open the door to preventing a harmful situation for both the firefighters and residents, Hagerty said.

The current mandate states that the ultimate violation for hoarders is condemnation, leaving the resident homeless. Many hoarders know this, Hagerty said, and won't seek help from officials in the public health or fire department- Hagerty argues that having a crisis intervention specialist would give hoarders a buffer and opportunity to get better.

She was puzzled when her research found that social workers were not a mandatory part of fire departments- the position of crisis intervention responder was virtually nonexistent on the east coast.

Hagerty pitched the idea to the fire department and public health department in September 2018 and the two departments agreed to pilot the program. Hagerty has since been splitting her time between the two. At the end of the fiscal year Hagerty will be added into the fire department's budget

"Fire science has changed," Hagerty said, "The nature of the calls are different." Firefighters are answering mental health calls alongside the traditional fire calls. A model for this pilot program is set in Arizona where crisis intervention responders have been a part of the fire departments for 15 years. Hagerty said she plans on traveling out to Arizona to get the proper training and bring it back to Framingham.

The role of crisis intervention responder works in two ways- to be of assistance to the people on the other end of a call and to assist firefighters. "Dealing with mental health is draining in all ways," Hagerty said pointing out that firefighters can't afford to be drained more than the job already demands.

Since Hagerty joined the department she has already made an impact. She began monitoring repeat calls that were mental health or wellness based and found that one man had been calling at the same time each night. "It turned out, he had a home health aide during the day but he was all alone at night," Hagerty said. She was able to help get the man round the clock care. "We haven't had a call from him since," she said.

The Arizona model for the program calls for responders to work in pairs and answer calls alongside firefighters. Right now, Hagerty is the only crisis intervention responder on staff and not yet trained as an emergency responder. Until she completes her EMT training, the field work will have to wait.

While the program is still new, Hagerty admits she has a million ideas she wants to dive into, including a partnership with local universities for an internship with the program and adding a support service component for the firefighters themselves. But before any of that can be realized, Hagerty has to hunker down in her office and apply for grants to pay for the training in Arizona.

"I realize that a lot of this I'm going to pay for myself, but that's okay because I see the value in it," she said, "Rewards aren't always financial- I do this because it's right."

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