Watching someone burn in a fire, commit suicide with a gun or any incident involving a child are among the toughest calls for Essex-Windsor EMS paramedic Ian Nash.
"It stays in your mind and doesn't go away," he says.
On Tuesday the province unanimously passed legislation recognizing post traumatic stress disorder as a work-related illness for paramedics, police officers and firefighters. Previously first responders had to prove their PTSD symptoms were work-related.
Nash is also the president of Cupe Local 2974, which represents Essex-Windsor EMS paramedics. He says the stress of the job takes a toll on everyone, even their families, because the stress is brought home.
"Years ago when I first started most employers told you to suck it up and go back to work," Nash says. "First responders see things everyday that people should not be seeing. It's just like being a soldier during the war."
It may even seem like an internal war for some, a battle that ends in many first responders across Canada taking their own lives as a result of PTSD.
"We got to get this under control," Nash says.
He believes because it was difficult to get coverage or many were embarrassed to talk about it, PTSD sometimes went untreated.
The symptoms can go away over time. At least they did for Nash, but that's not the case for everyone.
"Some people it doesn't happen. I mean, you get it day after day, after day, after day continuously -- there comes a point in time where your body and your mind aren't going to take it anymore," Nash says.
The new legislation also applies to 911 dispatchers, emergency response teams, some correctional workers and certain secure youth justice employees.
