Aurora Fire Rescue’s Post

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 2023 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, veteran suicide deaths continue to disproportionally involve firearms. Firearms were involved in 73.4% of male veteran suicide deaths in 2021 compared to 57.2% of non-veteran male suicide deaths and in 51.7% of women veterans’ suicides in 2021 compared to 34.6% for non-veteran women. S. 4929, the Lethal Means Safe Storage for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act, would create a grant program for certain organizations to provide a gun safe and/or firearm lock box for veterans who request one. The bill would also require the VA and it’s Community Care Network medical providers to undergo annual training on suicide prevention and the importance of storing guns safely. Currently, the VA requires all its providers to complete a one-time Lethal Means Safety Education and Counseling for Providers Course, but providers in the VA’s Community Care Network are not required to take this training. Increasing the frequency of this training and requiring it annually for both VHA providers and Community Care providers would ensure that, if a veteran raises mental health concerns during a non-mental health appointment, providers can still offer some basic level of support. Finally, the bill would require the VA to coordinate with veterans service organizations to carry out public education campaigns for veterans related to lethal means safety and safe gun storage options. According to experts, suicide risk is significantly reduced when guns and ammunition are stored separately. Safe gun storage is a firearm that is locked in a case, unloaded and stored separately from ammunition when not in use. This can allow time and space for reflection during a mental health crisis, which can save a veteran’s life. DAV supports this bill in accordance with DAV Resolution 584, which calls for equity in quality of care from the VA and its community care program providers and DAV Resolution 224, which supports program improvement and enhanced resources for mental health and suicide prevention. Please urge your Senators to co-sponsor S. 4929, the Lethal Means Safe Storage for Veteran Suicide Prevention Act. Thank you for continued advocacy on behalf of our nation’s service-disabled veterans. https://lnkd.in/dMDguuya

Grateful to partner with friend and colleague Tony Montalto—the President of Stand with Parkland who turned his unspeakable tragedy to unbelievable impact—on this op-ed on the Columbia Protocol as the standard method for threat assessment, de-escalation, and protection strategies for the prevention of suicide and violence. "According to Stand With Parkland, this is one of the things to interrupt the pathway to violence." “Every day last year, 118 people died from gun-related violence in our country. That is almost five people an hour. More than half of those deaths were not violent crimes; they were suicides — and they were entirely preventable. There is a simple solution: combine firearm safety and suicide prevention efforts. The Columbia Protocol, also known as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), is a system used in every state in the country and around the world to screen for suicide risk through a series of six simple questions that anyone can ask. 80% of mass shooters are suicidal. Sometimes those folks acquire a gun with the intention of harming others, looking to share their pain or hoping they themselves will be killed in a shoot-out. C-SSRS would help detect those who are suicidal earlier — and prevent harm. It’s no coincidence eight states with the lowest suicide rates have red flag laws in place. Combining the tool with proper laws would allow loved ones and law enforcement to act on their instincts in a safe and responsible way. Sometimes all a person has to do is ask a question. It might just save a life.” Ryan Petty

*SAPD - (SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE DEPARTMENT): DO NOT BE THOUGHT OUT OF YOUR HOME UNARMED FOR NO REASON - PLEASE SHARE.*Cities/towns/farms/plots - the same principles apply everywhere:■ Don't go out to your "power-box" to see what happens when your power goes off - first get help from outside!!■ Don't go out to check why there is water leaking from your taps or in your garden - the taps cannot open by themselves - get help from outside first!!■ Do not go out if someone arrives at your home to "call for help" or "wounded" - call the necessary emergency units such as police, ambulance, security response unit, Neighborhood watch etc!!■ Also do not open goods for the "police".. Contact your nearest police station and first confirm all details!!■ Don't storm out if your vehicle(s) alarm goes off - there must be a (possibly dangerous) reason for it !!■ Don't storm out to see why your dogs bark urgently and persistently - there must be a (dangerous) reason for that !!■ Don't go and see why "there is a baby crying" at your bedroom window or at your gate - the "Sister Theresa feeling" can cost your life ■ Don't go out if little dogs are put down on your porch or by your front door. Then rather call your security response unit, Neighborhood Guard or DBV to come out please. Looks to me this is the new Modus Operandi these days. Criminals sit little dogs at night near your house doors and wait for you to come out. Do NOT fall for it!■ Do not respond to "call for help" from your workers at night - make an alternative arrangement with them - in a medical emergency, for example, they can call you and you can arrange an ambulance !!■ Don't fall for "sales tricks" or "repair tricks" or "recording tricks" or "work searching tricks" - if they can't make an appointment with you, then they can't see you !!■ Do not allow NO strangers at or near your home (day or night).. Always treat this as a possible robbery/farm assault if strangers arrive by vehicle or foot - call for help from outside immediately before they approach you!!■ Arrange all these emergency drills also with your neighbors around you - talk to each other, even if it is 3 o'clock in the night and help each other so protect from all these slinkse tricks !!■ Get ALL the emergency services, SAPS, Neighborhood guards, Security response unit, etc. Say emergency numbers on your cell phones and ALWAYS call for OUTSIDE assistance FIRST to secure your property BEFORE you storm yourself!!■ We are entitled to privacy and a "safe space" around us - do not let that right be intruded - enforce it very strictly !!■ ALWAYS trust your "6th sense", the "voice" that warns you or "that feeling" - it's usually right !!*SAPD*

September is national Preparedness Month, which traces its roots back to the tragic events of September 11, 2001. The 2024 theme is “Start a conversation.” For local governments, one critical area of growing risk is preparedness for mass shootings and other critical incidents. Sarah C Peck, Director of United on Guns and its resources for mayors to prepare for and respond to mass shootings, has some new resources and information for mayors to share this month, including: Peck’s August 2024 article for ICMA, Uvalde Failures Underscore the Importance of Preparedness, shares learning lessons for local governments from the tragedy at Uvalde, including enhanced training and planning protocols for law enforcement, planning for rapid response in the wake of tragedy, and preparing local leaders to respond effectively. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gc6ppYn6. United on Guns released a new edition of its Mass Shootings Preparedness Checklist, covering critical needs for everything from a communications plan to victim services. It includes resources for starting the conversation locally, for example by hosting a “tabletop exercise” that can help local stakeholders identify gaps in knowledge, training, and preparedness. View the checklist: https://lnkd.in/gf_6z3HC.

These are eye-popping statistics 28,829 ShotSpotter alerts, 73% without a 911 call. 143 victims who received immediate first aid. 29,000+ shell casings recovered 470 guns taken off the street. 451 arrests made. All attributed to ShotSpotter. These are all good things. Chicago may have 143 extra homicide victims if not for immediate first aid. That would put Chicago at nearly 600 homicides if all 143 died. If even half of those died, Chicago would be well over 500 so far. How many of those gun recoveries prevented a shooting, a robbery, a murder, a carjacking? These things matter. A look at avg. response times, according to the ShotSpotter/CPD data dashboard: ShotSpotter alert ONLY: 11.9 mins With 911 call ONLY: 14.3 mins According to data compiled by the city, there have been approx. 99 misses/mislocates since Jan. 1, for a more than 99% efficacy rate

Did you know that three-digit numbers were designed for quick and easy recall? Just like 911 for life-threatening emergencies and in-progress crimes, there are other critical numbers too. Here's a quick guide:

Lexipol & Cordico – Sad to see this growing trend in violence against First Responders. Here are some tips that can help you when encountering such an incident https://binged.it/3VCzsbc Or attend this webinar https://bit.ly/4cisq0M on Violence Against Fire and EMS - Understanding and Mitigating Risks.

So sorry to hear of this incident at Zaffer Qasim's department. -ER staff instinct is to help, sometimes risking their own safety. Though safety was taught as one of the 'priorities' in the pre-prehospital arena (was in all BLS courses). Sometimes however we are not sufficiently 'observant' about our own environments. When I was at Sheikh Khalifa General Hospital I campaigned for several changes enhancing safety. - One was to campaign to install bollards at the entrance door of the ER to prevent panicked drivers endangering visitors and staff. After much effort and adding this to our 'risk register' yearly, it too a 'near miss' to make it happen. I tried to do the same when I was at alQassimi hospital in Sharjah but as I was only there for one year and also clinical lead for an 'out-source' company InterHealth Canada, I did not manage to achieve the same. - Working with the ER unit manager Caitriona Chew we were also successful in limiting access to the ER for people passing by or passing through. - A second achievement I am proud of was to add a section in the Cadiac Arrest CPG on 'off-site' Cardiac arrest as I realized there was was a lack of clear instructions and guidance for the hospital Cardiac Arrest team responding to an arrest in common areas and on miscellaneous areas of the hospital like the various car parks and out-buildings. These are just some examples of ways in which 'out-of-box' thinking leading to innovative changes in one of the newer and smaller hospitals in Umm Al Quwain emirate of the UAE.

These are eye-popping statistics 28,829 ShotSpotter alerts, 73% without a 911 call. 143 victims who received immediate first aid. 29,000+ shell casings recovered 470 guns taken off the street. 451 arrests made. All attributed to ShotSpotter. These are all good things. Chicago may have 143 extra homicide victims if not for immediate first aid. That would put Chicago at nearly 600 homicides if all 143 died. If even half of those died, Chicago would be well over 500 so far. How many of those gun recoveries prevented a shooting, a robbery, a murder, a carjacking? These things matter. A look at avg. response times, according to the ShotSpotter/CPD data dashboard: ShotSpotter alert ONLY: 11.9 mins With 911 call ONLY: 14.3 mins According to data compiled by the city, there have been approx. 99 misses/mislocates since Jan. 1, for a more than 99% efficacy rate

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. There’s so much each of us can do to support those in our lives who might be struggling. One key is ensuring that their environment is safe. “According to scientific research into suicide prevention, putting time and distance between a person who is thinking of suicide and the method they are thinking of using to end their life can be lifesaving.” Check out this great piece by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Ryan Price on the key to firearm suicide prevention: https://lnkd.in/gQNadAad