We offer support to all active duty and retired first responders.
Whether you’re new to the job, a veteran, or retired, 6th Alarm provides opportunities to partner with other experienced and trained first responders who can help you through any situation—work-related or personal.
You’ll receive individual, confidential peer support from trained mentors.
We come from a number of local agencies, and we understand the demands, requirements, and silent battles that you face. Our trained mentors can help when you’ve reached a turning point, you're ready to talk, or you need guidance.
You can request first responder group support for a specific situation.
After certain events, an entire shift or crew may need peer support. Our trained mentors provide a supportive and understanding environment for anyone involved or connected. We can arrange for group or individual meetings, depending on the situation.
Our trained volunteers provide confidential peer support to first responders in areas including:
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Working through a call or scene-related event
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Discussing life or family situations
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Identifying and resolving personal challenges such as anger management, substance abuse, sleeping difficulties, and communication issues
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Dealing with work or personal relationships
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When you’re always serving others, it’s easy to push your own needs aside.
We know that many first responders fight through situations alone—we’ve done it, too.
We didn’t reach out because we didn’t want to be labeled as weak and thought that no one would really understand what we were feeling, thinking, or going through. We were wrong, but that’s how we felt.
Click below to learn more about peer support for your line of service.
Firefighters have unique challenges as they are the first to arrive on many scenes and are met with awful living environments, drug overdoses, unwarranted medical runs, and major traumatic events—and we haven't even mentioned fire suppression or fire rescue responsibilities of your profession.
Constant exposure to traumatic, life-threatening situations, as well as the physical strain of working long hours on little to no sleep, can negatively impact many areas of your life.
Our firefighter mentors understand the challenges you face at the station and at home because they’ve been there.
As a police officer, you often see humanity at its worst. Whether it's disrespect, abuse, violence, poverty, drugs, neglect, death, or a dangerous and high-stress call, you’ve responded to everything. It’s understandable that the strain of this responsibility can take its toll.
Our peer mentors understand the requirements, stresses, and daily battles you face and are available to provide comfort, support, and guidance in a confidential environment.
For EMS, long hours, combative patients, and uncooperative family members just come with the territory. However, so does encountering major traumatic events on a regular basis.
Many EMS providers brush these occurrences off as just being part of their profession, but they can take a toll on your sleep, health, and relationships. While not everyone understands the ongoing hardships you may experience, we do.
Our EMS-specific mentors are available when you need to talk to someone who understands the battles you’re forced to fight.
As dispatchers, you often work long hours, have to be at your best on every call, and are the first to encounter the chaos and fear of an emergency situation.
While you pride yourself on staying calm and collected in these situations, sometimes things happen that require you to take a step back, or the demands of the job interfere with your personal life. It’s important to understand that you’re not alone.
We’re here to help you confidentially work through almost any situation.
Most first responders we know are the same way because they:
- Dislike attention
- Don’t want to be reminded they are not fine
- State they are fine when they are not
- Are independent and strong-willed
- Have Type A personalities
- Brush things to the side—especially in any emotional situation
If any of this sounds familiar, we’ve got some good news—you’re not alone. We know what you’re going through and are here to help, not judge. You simply have to pick up the phone or send us an email, and we can find you the support you need based on your unique situation.
of first responders
say stigma is a barrier
to seeking support.
We really get it.
Whether you’re an EMS employee, a dispatcher, a firefighter, or a police officer, it’s a given that you experience dangerous and traumatic situations every day.
While one tragic event can push you beyond your limit, it’s usually a combination of things, built up over time, that end up taking the biggest toll on your work and home life.
Memories, second-guessing yourself, lack of sleep, high stress, disrespectful people, and working long hours affect you far more than others could ever imagine. 6th Alarm was founded to provide peer support for first responder brothers and sisters because we see the toll this line of work takes on people and their families first hand.
Our trained mentors are experienced first responders who can relate to what you’re going through. Led by professional counselors, we are here to provide a judgment-free environment for you to talk about the unique challenges of being an emergency responder.
When you’re ready, it’s easy to find support. Simply connect with us, and we'll match you with a mentor to provide support from someone who understands.
Whether you need guidance, have something to discuss, struggle with substance abuse, or want to talk through a work or personal situation, we’re here to help.
It’s important for you to know that you’re never alone in any battle you face—whether on duty or in life.
Talking to someone who can relate to your experiences will help you move toward a resolution.