简体中文
Retired firefighters from across the country have reported mental health problems despite not even attending the Grenfell fire disaster.
The Fire Fighters Charity revealed that the harrowing TV images alone had been enough to trigger mental health episodes and force retirees outside London to seek their help.
It comes as the charity launches a new video to highlight the scale of mental health problems for firefighters after dealing with extreme and repeated traumatic situations.
A recent report by the Chief Fire Officers' Association found 41,000 shifts a year were lost in England and Wales due to mental health issues suffered by firefighters.
Dr Jill Tolfrey, of The Fire Fighter's Charity, told Sky News: "These are invisible injuries, often carried by firefighters in silence."
"However, they can have far reaching, long term consequences, affecting families and family life and, if ignored, potentially leading to depression, self-harm or even suicide."
The chief executive added that the Grenfell Tower inferno has had an enormous impact beyond the London Fire Brigade.
She said: "We had retired firefighters telephoning us, saying the events they had seen on television had stirred memories from when they were working... so the memories they take with them in their firefighting career actually go into retirement as well."
The new video features former station commander Roger Moore who served for 30 years in Coventry.
He told Sky News how a month after he had retired it hit him: "I was sitting with friends in the pub having a leisurely drink and from nowhere I just burst into tears, uncontrollable sobbing."
He says "a complete screen-show shot across the front of my eyes of nearly every dead person I had ever dealt with".
After further episodes he was diagnosed with PTSD and went on to receive psychological treatment through the Fire Fighters Charity as well as private care - because the wait for help via the NHS was just too long.
The married father-of-two described his decision to go public and make the video as his version of "coming out" and said finding the right help saved his life.
"I would definitely be self-harming now and there's a reasonably good chance I would have committed suicide" he added.
(SKYNEWS)
