MANAGING SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN THE PEORIA FIRE DEPARTMENT: TOUGH LOVE OR TOUGH LUCK
COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION
By: Scott Ferguson, Operations Chief Peoria Fire Department Peoria, Arizona
An applied research project submitted to the National Fire Academy as part of the Executive Fire Officer Program September 2004
2 CERTIFICATION STATEMENT I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where the language of others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate credit is given where I have used the language, ideas, expressions, or writings of another.
Signed: ______________________________
3 ABSTRACT The problem is that the City of Peoria's employee substance abuse program (SAP) is largely considered ineffective by the uniformed members of the Peoria Fire Department (PFD). None of the contracted clinicians available through the City's health care plan had been trained to understand or manage the stressors unique to fire service culture. Despite a welldocumented demand for counseling services, this, and a perceived lack of confidentiality, has rendered the program unsuccessful. The purpose of this research is to analyze four key factors necessary to create a comprehensive SAP. The following questions were addressed using a descriptive research methodology: 1. What risk factors are related to substance abuse and firefighters 2. What role(s) should the Fire Department "family" play in managing an effective SAP 3. What methods of alcohol or drug intervention and treatment are the most practical for the PFD membership 4. What measures can be taken to insure that a renovated SAP would instill both trust and confidence among the PFD membership, while remaining practical from an administrative standpoint The procedures included administering an employee survey to determine the impact that substance abuse has had on the organization. Subsequently, a literature review was conducted to identify any correlation between the new data and those experiences of other resources. Results indicated that, while some firefighters have admitted to being impacted by work related substance abuse, they were not inclined to follow established procedures. The surveys also confirmed a lack of trust and disinterest in the current SAP process. However, should the

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