色花堂

Highlights

• Working with the Florida Department of Health and Florida Division of State Fire Marshal, has helped create the state鈥檚 most comprehensive view of data related to suicide among firefighters, who are at greater risk for PTSD and other mental health challenges.

• Across 307 recorded deaths, cases were most concentrated among fire service members ages 35-54 years and firearms were linked to 66.4% fatalities. The study also found suicide is more common among non-active firefighters, potentially linked to the loss of community in and identity through the profession, researchers say.

• The findings help inform how sustained support can help protect them throughout their careers and into retirement, including the newly launched Florida State Fire Marshal鈥檚 Zero Suicide Prevention Framework.

Florida firefighters routinely respond to people enduring the worst moments of their lives. But understanding when those experiences 鈥� along with the professional and personal stresses firefighters face 鈥� place the responders themselves at risk has historically been difficult.

Now researchers at UCF RESTORES r have created one of the clearest statewide pictures yet of suicide among Florida fire service members, identifying 307 deaths between 1999 and March 2026 by linking nearly three decades of state records.

Founded in 2011, UCF RESTORES provides its evidence-based clinical treatment services to individuals experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other trauma-related concerns 鈥� with 76% of first responders no longer meeting the criteria for PTSD after treatment.

The research was led by , Ph.D., UCF RESTORES deputy executive director and research associate professor, and , Ph.D., a postdoctoral research fellow and licensed clinical psychologist at the clinic. Working with the Florida Department of Health and Florida Division of State Fire Marshal, they connected previously separate state datasets to identify patterns that could help inform suicide prevention efforts throughout firefighters鈥� careers and beyond.

鈥淭he driving factor was to have a more reliable and valid mechanism to track suicide in the state,鈥� says O鈥橠are says. 鈥淏ut really to inform prevention efforts because we don鈥檛 want to just quantify the deaths. We want to use the information to be able to help inform what we鈥檙e doing to prevent as many of those losses as we can.鈥�

Building a Clearer Picture

Historically, researchers have lacked a reliable way to track deaths by suicide among first responders. While organizations have attempted to document these deaths, O鈥橠are says available information often relied on self-reporting or other methods that made it difficult to establish a consistent baseline.

Finding a better approach required bringing together information that already existed across different state agencies.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 made it possible? Really, partnerships,鈥� O鈥橠are says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a complex problem, and one person or one group can鈥檛 do it all.鈥�

Researchers linked de-identified vital statistics with firefighter certification and emergency medical services licensure records. Winch then helped clean and analyze the data, allowing the team to examine patterns across age, career status, veteran status and method of death.

鈥淚t’s a complex problem, and one person or one group can’t do it all.鈥濃�擪ellie O’Dare, deputy executive director 色花堂 RESTORES

The findings revealed several potential areas for prevention. Deaths were most concentrated among fire service members ages 35-54 years, while nearly one-third occurred among those 55 and older. More than a third of members with known licensure status were inactive at the time of death, and firearms accounted for 66.4% of the deaths identified. Veterans also represented 30.5% of cases with known veteran status.

According to an earlier study by O鈥橠are and Winch, annual counts were lower in earlier years but increased around 2009 and continued trending upward after 2014, including 21 deaths in 2024 and 18 in 2025. To better understand this increase, the researchers are examining factors such as changes in workforce size, credentialing, occupational conditions and data collection methods.

The researchers emphasize that the findings represent descriptive counts rather than rates and cannot determine why any individual death occurred. Instead, the patterns provide a foundation for identifying questions and opportunities for further research and prevention.

Supporting Firefighters Throughout Their Careers

For O鈥橠are, one particularly important finding was the number of people who were no longer active in the fire service when they died.

Leaving a department can mean losing access to the relationships and sense of community that can become an important source of support for firefighters throughout their careers.

鈥淭he fire service culture is incredibly important,鈥� O鈥橠are says. 鈥淭he kitchen table at the firehouse is an incredibly important component of social support.鈥�

That transition can also happen relatively early. O鈥橠are says firefighters may retire in their 40s or 50s and then face the challenge of adjusting to life outside a profession that provided a strong sense of identity and purpose.

The findings point toward the importance of viewing behavioral health as something that should be supported throughout a firefighter鈥檚 career 鈥� not only after someone reaches a crisis.

For Winch, that also means recognizing that behavioral health among first responders extends beyond PTSD.

鈥淧TSD, I always like to say, is part of the picture, but it鈥檚 not the whole picture,鈥� Winch says. 鈥淯nfortunately, there is this misrepresentation that trauma equals PTSD, and that鈥檚 not necessarily true.鈥�

Repeated exposure to traumatic and high-stress situations can intersect with anxiety, depression, substance misuse, occupational pressures and challenges at home. At the same time, Winch says firefighters may hesitate to seek treatment because of stigma or concerns about what acknowledging a behavioral health problem could mean for their careers.

Building trust, she says, requires more than simply making resources available.

鈥淵ou have to show up and you have to make yourself known to these departments so that stigma gets reduced,鈥� Winch says.

Moving From Response to Prevention

The findings come alongside the rollout of the Florida State Fire Marshal鈥檚 Zero Suicide Prevention Framework, which adopts the nationally recognized Zero Suicide model for Florida鈥檚 fire service.

Rather than relying on isolated mental health or suicide prevention trainings, the framework is designed to integrate prevention into leadership, training, access to care and department operations throughout firefighters鈥� entire careers. It鈥檚 seven interconnected elements 鈥� Lead, Train, Identify, Engage, Treat, Transition and Improve 鈥� provide a structure for departments to build sustained behavioral health support.

Ultimately, O鈥橠are says she hopes the work helps continue a cultural shift away from viewing behavioral health only through illness or crisis and toward treating wellness, resilience and readiness as parts of a firefighter鈥檚 entire career.

Winch hopes the findings can help accelerate that change before another department experiences a loss.

鈥淚 would love for this report to be a wake-up call without needing more devastation,鈥� Winch says. 鈥淭here are plenty of agencies that fully buy into having more prevention, but we need that to be statewide.鈥�

UCF RESTORES is now conducting related research to move from these descriptive findings toward more advanced analyses of relative risk, geographic distribution, protective factors and prevention opportunities.

Support and treatment are available to those in need. UCF RESTORES provides no-cost, evidence-based trauma care, and its鈥�鈥痯eer support network offers firefighters, law enforcement officers, and emergency dispatchers confidential, 24/7 access to peers who understand the realities of the job. Learn more at鈥�. If you are in crisis, please call, text, or chat with the鈥�Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988, or contact the鈥�Crisis Text Line鈥痓y texting鈥�TALK to 741741.