Renewed focus on firefighter wellness in wake of Burnsville tragedy

In the wake of the Feb. 18 tragedy in Burnsville, which claimed the lives of officers Matthew Ruge, Paul Elmstrand, and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, the first responder community is confronting the stark realities of their profession’s inherent dangers.

Amid this somber reflection, George Esbensen, president of the nonprofit Minnesota Firefighter Initiative (MnFIRE) and former Eden Prairie fire chief, is highlighting the critical need for mental health, cancer, and cardiac care resources for firefighters.

“It’s horrible for the people directly involved, but statewide, everyone is thinking about their own vulnerability,” Esbensen said. “And if it’s not the firefighters themselves, there are a lot of family members who are questioning and wondering about what their spouse or their loved one does.”

Reflecting on the nature of firefighting, Esbensen emphasized the unpredictability of emergencies.

“When you’re in the prehospital setting, and you’re going into people’s homes and businesses, you’re in their world, and they hold all the cards,” he said. “You are there to sort things out and hopefully make things better. But frequently, there’s a lot of other stuff going on that may have contributed to the emergency that you’re responding to that you may not be privy to until it comes at you at 100 miles an hour.”

Addressing the complexities encountered by firefighters, he recognized the job’s inherent difficulty.

“I spent 32 years in it, and it’s been the same thing,” he said. “This is the job of prehospital on the front lines. It’s very uncertain, and that’s why MnFIRE exists.

He said the mental health part is one piece.

“But we’re also very focused on cardiac and cancer issues, which are hurting, injuring, and killing firefighters on a regular basis,” he said.

MnFIRE’s mission and legislative support

Esbensen and two others co-founded MnFIRE in 2016 to address the three major threats to firefighters: cancer, cardiac issues, and emotional trauma.

The Eden Prairie resident became the city’s first full-time fire chief in 2002 and retired in 2018. Besides volunteering his time for MnFIRE, he serves as an outreach liaison with Hennepin Healthcare for their trauma services.

“Those are the things that get firefighters off the job and ultimately lead to their early demise in a lot of cases,” said Esbensen, who volunteers his time to champion the nonprofit’s cause. “And so that’s MnFIRE’s mission.”

In 2021, he said the state Legislature passed the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program, which MnFIRE sponsored. The program has a “robust mission” addressing cancer, cardiac issues, and emotional trauma among firefighters. State Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (DFL-49, Eden Prairie) was one of the authors.

He emphasized the program’s commitment to providing firefighters and their families with accessible mental health support, available at no cost. For assistance, individuals are encouraged to contact the helpline at 888-784-6634, which operates 24/7.

“It’s like employee assistance on steroids,” Esbensen said. “We’ve developed a network of over 900 mental health providers statewide who are on call. And we have master’s level trained clinicians that answer the phones at MnFIRE 24/7/365. They can then make referrals for firefighters and their family members to a clinician who is, ideally, no more than an hour’s drive away if they prefer an in-person visit, or they can set up a virtual visit.”

Esbensen said the program offers five visits per firefighter per incident, extending to their family members, including anyone living in their household or their immediate family, even if a child is away at college.

According to Esbensen, this support helps individuals not only navigate through acute and horrific incidents but also manage the “steady drip, drip, drip” of being exposed to chaos and heartache that comes with a career as a firefighter.

Esbensen acknowledged the difficulty in raising awareness about MnFIRE’s crucial work. Amid the sorrow following the Feb. 18 tragedy, here there exists an opportunity for greater public understanding and support for MnFIRE’s mission.

“If the tragedy leads more people to learn about MnFIRE’s impactful work and the free resources available to them, that’s a positive in a very dark moment,” he concluded.