Ability to Relate, Communicate Helps Firefighters Save People From Special Populations

A firefighter’s work isn’t just about taming flames, it’s about successfully communicating with the people on the scene. That’s why Bucks County’s fire departments need volunteers who speak languages other than English, know how to sign, or understand how people with cognitive differences, such as autism spectrum disorder, think.

Such abilities can help save lives, said Jerry Barton, who co-chairs the Bucks County Fire Chiefs and Firefighters Association’s Recruitment and Retention Committee.

“If you’re a foreign language teacher, a special education teacher, or you work in international business, we need you to realize that your unique skill set can make a huge difference,” Barton said.

Bucks County Firefighter’s Ability to Speak Spanish Gets Woman The Right Medical Care

A woman in her early 30s lay across a porch floor last year, obviously needing help, but unable to speak.

Her worried mother knew what had just happened, as well as her daughter’s medical history and medications – the important details Emergency Medical Services volunteers needed to give the right medical care quickly. But she does not speak English.

Luckily, Bucks County Firefighter Rosie Torres was among the responders.

“I was able to communicate with her mom about how she ended up on the porch floor, what medications she was on, and that she has seizures, although she hadn’t that day,” remembers Torres, who used her Spanish skills on that 2013 call. Torres, a volunteer with Bristol Fire Department, also speaks Italian and knows American Sign Language.

According to the U.S. Census, more than 10 percent of Bucks County residents speak a language other than English at home.

Even immigrants who speak English well are often able to better communicate in stressful situations with their first language, Torres said. And getting help from someone who understands that language is an enormous sense of comfort, she said.

Growing County Population with Autism Requires Special Skills

Language isn’t the only communication barrier faced by local volunteer firefighters. According to the Bucks County Autism Support Coalition, Bucks County has Pennsylvania’s fifth-highest population of people on the autism spectrum. According to national statistics about 1 in 68 American children have an autism spectrum diagnosis.

“A lot of people don’t even know how to recognize the signs of autism, unfortunately,” said Earl “Rob” Freese, executive director of the Department of Public Safety Training and Certification at Bucks County Community College. With a two-fold increase in the number of autism diagnosis between 2002 and 2010 alone, there’s a nationwide demand for training in how to communicate with people on the spectrum, Freese said.

Willow Grove Fire Chief Brian Focht’s son was diagnosed with autism 10 years ago. Local emergency responders who knew Daniel Focht had autism would often call Focht for real-time advice. That led him to ask firefighter message board participants from around the country if anyone had a training program. No one did. Hundreds asked him to let them know if he found anything. That’s when Focht decided to create a training program.

When a home catches on fire, the first impulse of most people is to get out. But that may not be true for people on the spectrum, Focht said.

They may instead try to hide from firefighters inside, in a special place where they feel safe. Even once found and brought outside to safety, they may try to re-enter, to get back to that space, retrieve a special object, or even try to help put out the fire, he said.

Focht’s son Daniel now helps him teach the program to local firefighters. The course has been offered in Montgomery County, and Focht hopes it will soon be available at Bucks County Community College as well.

In conjunction with Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities and the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council, Focht and other local first responders and their families have also-put together a training video: Autism and First Responders: Seeing Beyond The Smoke.

Focht said he uses his ability to communicate with people on the spectrum regularly. One time, about 18 months ago, he responded to what was thought to be a routine kitchen fire. After talking to a distraught mom, he learned the fire, which was then out, had been set by her son.

The boy was hiding in the spot where he finds comfort. Focht told him he respected his space, and would wait until he was ready to talk, but they had to talk before the chief could leave.

Using his communication skills, Focht gained the young man’s trust. “He opened up,” Focht remembered. The boy told him he had set multiple fires. Knowing that enabled Focht to get him the help he needed.

Whatever You’re Good at, a Bucks County Fires Station Needs You

The ability to communicate with special populations can help save lives even if the person possessing them doesn’t want to run into burning buildings or provide medical assistance. Volunteers are also needed for operations, fire police and community events, for example.

“If you have this type of skill, there’s a place at a Bucks County Fire Station for you,” said Rob Kay, Co-Chair of the Bucks County Fire Chiefs and Firefighters Association Recruitment and Retention Committee. Fire companies do so many different things, however, that many other skill sets are also in demand, Kay added. “Whatever it is your good at, we need it,” he said.

Or as Torres puts it: “It doesn’t matter what languages you have, as long as you have two good hands and are willing to help. Help is the universal language.”

For more information about volunteering please visit www.bucksfire.org, check out the fire association’s page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bucksfire or follow them on Twitter @BucksFireOrg.