Later that morning, Emily Avin called 911 from her home in Aiken to report a suicide.<\/p>\n
She then picked up a gun, walked outside and pulled the trigger before anyone could reach her. She was 26.<\/p>\n
Scrolling through her daughter\u2019s phone in the following days, Sue Ann Avin found a prophetic cartoon. It depicted an EMS worker illustrated to resemble a ticking time bomb, saying, \u201cTraumatic calls, burn out, compassion fatigue \u2014 that stuff never gets to me.\u201d The paramedic wore a badge that said \u201cdenial.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suicides such as Emily Avin\u2019s were once overlooked by firefighters and paramedics eager to maintain an image of bravery and invincibility. But that\u2019s changing as the profession acknowledges a deadly scourge that claims more lives than the perils firefighters face in the line of duty.<\/p>\n
Long a taboo topic in firehouses, suicide was recently labeled by the U.S. Fire Administration as a \u201ccritical\u201d issue that\u2019s being \u201cfaced more squarely by the fire service.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n #Firefighter<\/a> #suicides<\/a> outnumber line-of-duty deaths. How S.C. first responders are trying to save their own–heartbreaking front page story #1stresponders<\/a> #death<\/a> #SouthCarolina<\/a> #suicide<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/3QzdFAR7sL<\/a><\/p>\n — Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 18, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n