Psychological Health and Safety and Peer Support Program

This program protects members’ minds with the same seriousness the department gives their lungs. It is built on the National Standard of Canada for psychological health and safety in the workplace (CSA Z1003-13) and the emergency-service version of it written for paramedic organizations (CSA Z1003.1:18), which is the closest published model for a fire department, and it fits inside an ISO 45001-style management system through the guidance on psychosocial risk (ISO 45003:2021). When it is working, the department has assessed its own psychosocial hazards and is acting on them; every member has been trained to recognize distress in themselves and others; a trained, supervised peer support team is the first call after a hard one; a clinician who understands first responders is available within days; critical incident response follows the evidence, which means voluntary options and no mandatory single-session debriefing (Rose et al., 2002)DOI; the short after-the-call learning review is a normal part of every significant call and doubles as a mental health intervention; a member in crisis knows exactly who to call at 0300; families are included; a member with a psychological injury has the same return-to-work support as one with a broken leg; and the department can say, from aggregate numbers, whether any of it is working.

Required for every department with operational members. Program Profile Worksheet Part C item 7 (“Any operational members: Required”). The program covers career, volunteer and paid-on-call members, dispatchers and communications staff, fire investigators, mechanics and administrative staff, chaplains and auxiliary members, and, for the family program and the employee and family assistance program, members’ families. Volunteers are never excluded on the ground that they are not employees.

Consistent with 06 Glossary and Acronyms.

• Critical incident: an event with the potential to overwhelm a member’s usual coping, such as a death or serious injury of a child or a colleague, a mayday, a mass-casualty event, or an event with personal meaning to the member.
• Critical incident stress debriefing (CISD): a single-session structured group intervention after a traumatic event; not supported as a mandatory intervention by the evidence (Rose et al., 2002)DOI.
• Employee and family assistance program (EFAP): a contracted confidential counselling and referral service for members and their families.
• Learning firewall: the written commitment that information gathered for learning is never used for discipline (The Human Factor, 2026a).
• Peer support: structured, confidential support given by trained members to colleagues, within defined limits, with clinical supervision (MHCC, 2013).
• Post-vention: the planned organizational response after a suicide or suicide attempt.
• Psychological first aid: a supportive, practical, non-clinical response to a person in distress immediately after an event.
• Psychological health: the member’s own mental health; protected through the 13 psychosocial factors of CAN/CSA-Z1003 (CSA Z1003-13).
• Psychological injury: a diagnosed mental disorder arising from work, including post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Psychological safety: the shared belief in a team that it is safe to speak up, ask, admit error and challenge (Edmondson, 1999)DOI; an organizational condition created by leaders’ behaviour, meeting norms and the response to reports.
• Psychosocial hazard: an aspect of the design, organization or management of work, or its social context, that can cause psychological or physical harm (ISO 45003:2021).
• Stigma: the attitudes and behaviours that make a member hide distress rather than seek help.

Only the differences from 01 Roles and Responsibilities. Owning team: Psychological Health and Peer Support Program Improvement Team (peer team lead plus clinical adviser; 06 Program Improvement Teams), with a joint governance committee as in 5.2.

Requirement. A signed psychological health and safety policy (Policy - Psychological Health and Safety) commits the department to the National Standard, to confidentiality, to non-reprisal, and to resourcing (CSA Z1003-13, cl. 4). (S1)

Minimum method. The policy is signed by the fire chief and endorsed by the municipality, posted in every station, and reviewed at 12 months and then every three years. It states plainly the distinction that this whole program depends on. Psychological health is the member’s own mental health, and the department protects it through the 13 factors and the supports in this program. Psychological safety is a property of the crew and the organization: whether it is safe to speak up, to say “that call got to me”, to challenge an officer or to admit a mistake (Edmondson, 1999)DOI. The second is created or destroyed by leaders’ daily behaviour and by what happened to the last person who spoke. Nearly every support in this program is reached by a member speaking up, so the department measures and builds psychological safety as a condition of the program working, not as a nice-to-have.

Evidence. Signed policy; posted; review dates.

Requirement. A joint committee governs the program: management, the union and the volunteer association, the peer team lead, the clinical adviser, a dispatch representative, with a link to the JOHSC (CSA Z1003-13, cl. 4; CSA Z1003.1:18). (S1)

Minimum method. The Psychological Health and Peer Support Program Improvement Team is the working body; the joint committee meets at least quarterly, minutes on file, reports to the JOHSC at each JOHSC meeting, and brings safety-sensitive changes to formal JOHSC consultation (06 Program Improvement Teams section 6).

Evidence. Charter; minutes; JOHSC record.

Requirement. The department assesses its psychosocial hazards at least every two years and acts on the results (CSA Z1003-13, cl. 4.3; ISO 45003:2021, cl. 6). (S1 first assessment; S2 cycle)

Minimum method. The 13 psychosocial factors of the National Standard (CSA Z1003-13): psychological support; organizational culture; clear leadership and expectations; civility and respect; psychological demands; growth and development; recognition and reward; involvement and influence; workload management; engagement; balance; psychological protection; and protection of physical safety. To them the emergency-service model adds the operational exposures (CSA Z1003.1:18): critical incidents and cumulative exposure; dispatch and call-taking stress; shift work and sleep; harassment and bullying; moral injury; organizational stress (discipline, investigations, media); and the particular stress of volunteers who respond in their own community. The assessment uses a validated survey (Guarding Minds at Work, the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, or the instrument chosen in 05 Safety Culture Baseline) with results segmented by station, platoon, career and volunteer, and dispatch, reported at cell sizes of 10 or more, fed back to every station within 30 days, and turned into an action plan with owners and dates. The department’s self-assessment worksheet is in the toolkit (section 17.2).

Evidence. Survey results (aggregate); action plan; feedback record.

Requirement. Every member, including dispatchers and volunteers, completes a recognized mental health literacy and resilience program at recruit level and every three years; officers complete the leader version; peer supporters, chaplains and family program volunteers complete their own training (CSA Z1003.1:18; CIPSRT, n.d.). (S1 for all members over three years; S2 complete)

Minimum method. A mental-health-continuum program designed for first responders (The Working Mind First Responders or its equivalent) or a proactive group program with published evidence; the leader module for every company officer and above; suicide awareness (safeTALK or equivalent) for all members and gatekeeper training (ASIST or equivalent) for peer supporters and officers; harassment prevention training to the applicable requirement (J27 Workplace Harassment); psychological first aid for officers; learning-review facilitation for officers (Incident Investigation and Learning Program).

Evidence. Training records; section 6.

Requirement. A peer support team selected by criteria, trained to a recognized standard, supervised by a clinician, operating within written scope and confidentiality limits, keeping minimal records outside the HR and incident systems (MHCC, 2013; CIPSRT, n.d.). (S1)

Minimum method.

Structure. A peer team lead (an operational member in good standing with the longest peer training) and an understudy; a clinical adviser (registered psychologist, psychiatrist or clinical social worker with first-responder competence) who supervises the team; a roster of trained peer supporters covering every platoon and district, including volunteer stations and dispatch; a target of one peer supporter per 20 to 25 members (a local default; no published ratio was found) and never fewer than six for a team to cover leave and self-care; a 24-hour activation path through dispatch or a duty phone.

Selection. Open call; nomination by peers or self; criteria: at least {{Years}} years’ service, good standing, demonstrated trustworthiness, ability to listen without fixing, willingness to seek help themselves, no conflict with a supervisory role over the people they support where avoidable; an interview with the team lead, the clinical adviser and a labour or association representative; a signed confidentiality agreement and code of conduct; a probationary year. Popularity is not a criterion.

Training standard. A core course of at least two days aligned with the national peer support competencies and the public safety personnel guidelines (MHCC, 2013; CIPSRT, n.d.), covering active listening, the mental health continuum, psychological first aid, boundaries and scope, confidentiality and its limits, suicide intervention (ASIST or equivalent), substance use, moral injury, referral, self-care and record-keeping; annual refresher of at least one day; optional certification through Peer Support Canada (n.d.). The health and safety standard now sets its own expectations for a fire department peer support program, including the training content, annual continuing education for peer supporters, and a behavioural health check-in for peer supporters themselves with a licensed mental health provider (NFPA 1550, 2024, ch. 14); the department’s charter (toolkit 17.4) is written to meet them.

Supervision. Group supervision with the clinical adviser at least quarterly and individual supervision on request; debriefing of peer supporters after a heavy activation; a rule that a peer supporter stands down for self-care without explanation or penalty.

Scope and limits. Peer supporters listen, support, normalize, help a member find the right resource, and follow up. They do not diagnose, treat, counsel, investigate, advise on discipline or claims, or decide fitness for duty. Confidentiality is complete except for: imminent risk of harm to self or others; disclosure of abuse of a child or vulnerable person; a court order; and the member’s own written consent. These limits are told to every member at the start of every contact.

Records. Minimal: a contact count, the type of contact, whether a referral was made, and the time from incident to first contact, kept by the team lead outside the HR and records management systems and reported only in aggregate (Form - Peer Support Activity Log (Aggregate)). No names, no content, no notes about what was said.

Evidence. Charter; roster; training records; supervision log; the aggregate activity log.

Requirement. A pre-vetted network of clinicians with first-responder competence, reachable for a first appointment within five business days, and an EFAP that covers members, volunteers and families with sessions, addiction pathways, and financial and legal counselling. (S1)

Minimum method. The clinical adviser and the program manager vet clinicians (training in trauma-focused therapies with evidence for PTSD such as cognitive processing therapy, prolonged exposure, EMDR and cognitive behavioural therapy; experience with public safety personnel); the department holds the list and publishes it to members; wait time to first appointment is sampled quarterly. EFAP design: a contract that names volunteers and families as covered, a session count that allows a course of treatment rather than three visits, a direct path to the vetted network, addiction treatment pathways, and aggregate utilization reporting to the department (utilization is a success measure: the target is higher, not lower). Free, therapist-guided internet cognitive behavioural therapy for public safety personnel (PSPNET) exists in several provinces and is listed with the resources (CIPSRT, n.d.). Operational stress injury clinics may accept first responders in some provinces. A workers’ compensation psychological injury claim is supported by HR and the navigator in the same way as a cancer claim, whether or not a presumption applies in the department’s jurisdiction (J32 Workers' Compensation and Firefighter Presumptions).

Evidence. Clinician list; EFAP contract; wait-time samples; aggregate utilization.

Requirement. A written critical incident response procedure that offers psychological first aid, peer contact, an optional group session, and individual referral, and that states plainly that attendance at any session is voluntary and that mandatory single-session debriefing is not used (Rose et al., 2002DOI; CSA Z1003.1:18). (S1)

Minimum method. Activation triggers (any one): a line-of-duty death or serious injury; a death or serious injury of a child; a mass-casualty event; a mayday or a near miss with potential for death; a death or injury of someone known to a member; an event with unusual media attention; a request by any member or officer; dispatcher involvement in any of these. On activation: the company officer checks on the crew before they leave the scene or the station (the hot debrief and the welfare check are separate things and both happen); the peer team is called by the officer, dispatch or the member; a peer supporter makes contact within 24 hours, in person where possible; the officer runs the Tier 1 after-the-call learning review within 72 hours (5.8); a voluntary group session (a structured, peer-led, clinician-supported conversation about reactions and resources, not a reconstruction of the event) is offered at three to seven days; individual referral to the vetted network is offered to anyone who wants it, and follow-up contact is made at two to four weeks. Families are told what to expect. Dispatchers are included. The officer’s checklist is in the toolkit (section 17.3). Multi-component critical incident stress management programs have mixed evidence; trained peer support, psychological first aid, early access to evidence-based therapy, and the organizational factors (leadership, stigma, workload) are what the evidence supports (Rose et al., 2002DOI; CIPSRT, n.d.).

Evidence. Activation records (count, type, time to first contact); the officer checklist.

Requirement. The company officer holds a short, non-blaming after-action review within 24 to 72 hours of every significant call, structured around what happened, what we expected, what we learned and what we change, and it is kept separate from discipline and from the formal investigation (The Human Factor, 2026a). (S1)

Minimum method. The review’s four questions are the ones in Incident Investigation and Learning Program (Tier 1). The officer is trained to recognize distress during it and to hand off to peer support rather than turn the review into a counselling session. The review normalizes talking about the call, surfaces distress without a clinical frame, and shows that mistakes are treated as system learning, which is exactly the “civility and respect” and “psychological protection” factors of the National Standard in practice (CSA Z1003-13; Edmondson, 1999DOI). It is a learning event; peer support and psychological first aid are offered independently of it.

Evidence. Reviews logged (count per working fire or significant call); officer training.

Requirement. A suicide prevention and post-vention protocol, exercised, with crisis contacts posted at every station. (S1)

Minimum method. Gatekeeper training (section 5.4); a means-safety conversation in peer and clinical contacts (personal firearms and medications; service firearms do not apply in a fire department); crisis line numbers posted in every station and on every peer supporter’s card (the national 9-8-8 line and the provincial or territorial crisis line listed in J28 Psychological Health and Safety); a rule that any member who learns of a suicidal statement calls the peer team lead or the clinical adviser the same day; a post-vention plan with the clinical adviser that sets who tells the crews, how the family is supported, how the funeral and memorial are handled, how contagion risk is managed, and how the department supports the crew in the following months; a tabletop exercise of the plan every two years.

Evidence. Protocol; exercise record; posted contacts.

Requirement. A policy that treats substance use as a health matter with a confidential pathway to help, and a separate fitness-for-duty rule on impairment at work managed under CSA Z1008 principles (CSA Z1008:21). (S2; EFAP addiction pathway at S1)

Minimum method. Alcohol is a common form of unhelpful coping among public safety personnel (CIPSRT, n.d.); the EFAP therefore includes addiction treatment pathways. A member who seeks help voluntarily is supported, accommodated and protected from discipline for having sought it. Impairment at work is a safety matter: the officer removes the member from duty, arranges a safe way home, and the matter follows the impairment policy, which requires assessment, support and a return-to-work plan rather than automatic discipline, while reserving the conduct process for safety-critical cases. The two paths are documented separately and the member is told which path they are on.

Evidence. Policy; EFAP addiction pathway; aggregate counts.

Requirement. Families are oriented, supported and included; chaplains, where the department has them, work within the peer team’s rules. (S2; EFAP family coverage at S1)

Minimum method. A family orientation at recruit graduation and annually (what the job does to sleep, mood and availability; what the supports are; the crisis numbers); a spouse and partner peer network where there is interest; EFAP for dependants; family-focused internet CBT where available (CIPSRT, n.d.); a line-of-duty-death family support plan with the national foundation and the federal memorial grant program; chaplains, multi-faith and non-faith, trained in confidentiality and boundaries, with terms of reference that make them part of the peer and crisis team, not a separate channel.

Evidence. Terms of reference; orientation records.

Requirement. A graduated return-to-work pathway for psychological injury on the same system as physical injury, planned with the treating clinician (CSA Z1011:20; CSA Z1011.1:22). (S2)

Minimum method. The workflow in Medical, Fitness and Wellness Program section 17.6, with graduated exposure to operational duty (station duties, then non-hazard-zone roles, then full duty) planned with the clinician; a named contact who checks in weekly; confidentiality held by the clinician; the department receiving only the fitness determination and the plan.

Evidence. Plans (count); aggregate outcomes.

Requirement. The department holds no clinical or peer-support content; clinicians and the EFAP provider are the custodians; a written information-sharing protocol names what crosses the line. (S1)

Minimum method. The custodian rule in Medical, Fitness and Wellness Program section 17.9 applies. Peer-support records are minimal and held by the team lead outside the HR and records management systems. The only information that crosses to the department is: a fitness-for-duty determination; imminent risk to self or others to the extent the law permits; and anything the member consents to in writing. Aggregate reporting uses cell sizes of 10 or more. All records are written expecting access-to-information disclosure (see Policy - Records, Privacy and Health Information).

Evidence. Protocol; audit of where peer records live.

Requirement. The program measures itself with aggregate indicators only, including the learning-system measures that show whether psychological safety is present, and evaluates annually (CSA Z1003-13, cl. 6; CPSE, 2019, criterion 11B.6). (S2; baseline at S1)

Minimum method. Section 10. Six learning-system constructs from The Human Factor’s NextCall Readiness Index are used as learning-system measures: reporting and near misses; triage and tiering; analysis quality; learning firewall and just culture; recommendations and follow-through; leadership and labour partnership (The Human Factor, 2026h). Parts 1 and 4 are the psychological safety measures. What they are not: they are not a safety climate survey, not a compliance audit, not a clinical instrument, and not validated; they measure the organization’s learning system, not any individual’s competence or health, and the bands and cut points are design choices (The Human Factor, 2026h). They sit beside, not instead of, the psychosocial survey in 5.3.

Evidence. Annual evaluation report to the JOHSC and the fire chief.

(a) Work-as-done. Before the peer team’s procedures, the critical incident response or the after-the-call review are written or changed, the learning team describes how members actually cope now: who they talk to after a bad call (usually the crew, in the bay, that night), what stops them calling the peer line (not knowing the person, worrying it goes on a record, the volunteer who has to be at work at 0700), what officers actually do when a crew member goes quiet, how dispatchers hear about the outcome of a call they took, what the last “debrief” felt like, and what happened the last time someone admitted they were not okay. Volunteers and dispatch are in the room or in their own session.

(b) Capacity and margins. Members cope most days because crews look after each other, officers notice, the next call is routine, and there is sleep between tours. That capacity erodes under cumulative exposure with no space to process it, short staffing that removes the quiet hour after a call, an officer who models silence, a harassment problem nobody names, and stigma from the top. The program protects the margin by making the after-the-call review routine, by giving officers a checklist and permission to stand a crew down, by giving the peer team a 24-hour path and real training, and by measuring the organizational factors rather than only counting referrals.

(c) Just culture. A member who drank too much after a run of bad calls, snapped at a colleague, or missed training because they could not face the hall is showing the system’s load, not a character flaw. The response is the health pathway (5.10) and a conversation about what the system can change. The learning firewall applies to everything said in learning reviews, learning teams and peer contacts. Conduct concerns (violence, harassment, impairment on the fireground after help was offered and refused) go to a separate process run by different people, and the member is told which process they are in.

(d) Psychological safety. A member speaks up by saying “That one got to me” to the officer, or “I’m not right to go back on the truck tonight”, or “The way that was handled was wrong.” The officer’s reply is fixed: thank them, act (stand them down, call the peer team, stop the behaviour), and never make it a story at the next shift. The officer reviews the pattern later with the program manager for learning. Leaders show it is safe by telling their own stories where they can, by using the peer team and saying so, by attending the training with the crews, and by responding to every concern within 10 working days and saying what changed. Because the behaviour of the company officer is one of the strongest levers on whether a crew speaks up, the program treats the officer as the unit of intervention (Edmondson, 1999)DOI.

(e) Learning link. Any suicide or attempt, any psychological injury claim, any critical incident activation and any harassment finding is reviewed at Tier 2 as a system learning event, with no identifying detail and with the member’s consent where the member is identifiable; a line-of-duty death is Tier 3 (The Human Factor, 2026a). Every significant call is a Tier 1 After-Action Review (5.8) with the four learning questions and two welfare questions the officer asks separately: “Is anyone carrying this one?” “Who do we need to check on tomorrow, including dispatch?” Method: Incident Investigation and Learning Program; tiers: Manual 02 - The Three Tiers and Event Triage.

• The critical incident response and the post-critical-incident officer checklist (toolkit 17.3) sit within this program as procedures; the after-the-call review procedure is owned by Incident Investigation and Learning Program.
• Related: Policy - Workplace Violence and Harassment and Workplace Violence Program.

• Form - Peer Support Activity Log (Aggregate)
• Z1003 self-assessment worksheet for the department (toolkit 17.2)
• Post-critical-incident checklist for officers (toolkit 17.3)
• Peer support team charter, confidentiality agreement and code of conduct (toolkit 17.4)
• Clinician network list; EFAP contract; information-sharing protocol
• Training records; supervision log; post-vention exercise record
• Retention: aggregate logs and evaluation reports per 05 Document Control and Records; no clinical or peer content held by the department

All indicators are aggregate; cell sizes of 10 or more; no names anywhere.

Loop test. A dispatcher tells a peer supporter on Monday that after Saturday’s fatal collision nobody from the department checked on the communications centre, and that the last two times this happened the same thing occurred. By Tuesday the peer team lead has made contact with the dispatchers on shift, the program manager has logged the gap in the register with dispatch inclusion as the action, and the dispatcher has heard back. Within the quarter the critical incident checklist has a dispatch line, the dispatch supervisors have been trained on the activation path, and the quarterly update reports dispatch activations separately so they cannot be missed again.

Checklist: Checklist - Psychological Health and Peer Support. Accreditation crosswalk: this program answers CPSE (2019), criterion 11B.4 (an assistance program with timely access to critical incident stress support, peer support, counselling and other behavioural health resources; this program meets it with evidence-based voluntary options rather than mandatory debriefing), the behavioural health screening element of criterion 11B.5 (through the mental-health screen in the annual medical), and criterion 11B.6 (annual appraisal). The five questions an auditor asks first:

1. Show me the signed policy and the last psychosocial survey results, and show me what changed because of them.
2. Who are the peer supporters covering this station and dispatch, what training do they hold, and when was the last clinical supervision?
3. Where do peer support records live? (The right answer is: outside HR and the records management system, with no content.)
4. Show me the critical incident procedure: where does it say attendance is voluntary and single-session mandatory debriefing is not used?
5. Pick the last critical incident: what was the time to first peer contact, was the after-the-call review held, and were dispatchers included?

• The program is an EFAP number on a poster. Nobody uses a number they do not trust. The peer team, the vetted network and the leaders’ behaviour answer it.
• Mandatory debriefing after every bad call, no individual follow-up. Not supported by the evidence and possibly harmful (Rose et al., 2002)DOI. The voluntary, multi-option response answers it.
• Peer team chosen by popularity, untrained, unsupervised, notes in HR. The selection criteria, training standard, supervision and record rules answer it.
• Clinicians with no first-responder competence and six-week waits. The vetted network and the five-day sample answer it.
• Volunteers excluded from EFAP because they are not employees. The contract language answers it.
• Stigma from the top. Leaders’ behaviour is one of the strongest influences on whether members seek help; the emergency-service standard and the public safety guidance both put leadership first (CSA Z1003.1:18; CIPSRT, n.d.). The owner row answers it.
• Dispatchers and mechanics forgotten. The applicability clause and the loop test answer it.
• No psychosocial hazard assessment, so harassment is never named. The 13-factor survey answers it.
• No metrics, so nobody can say whether anything works. Section 10 answers it.
• Learning reviews conflated with discipline, so people go silent. The learning firewall answers it.
• PTSD claims unsupported because exposure and incident history is undocumented. The exposure record and the critical incident activation log answer it.

Stage 1 minimum (first 12 months).

• Policy signed and posted.
• Joint committee chartered; link to the JOHSC.
• First psychosocial survey done and fed back.
• Peer support team selected, core-trained, with a clinical adviser and a 24-hour activation path, covering every district and dispatch.
• Critical incident response procedure with voluntary options; officer checklist in every cab.
• EFAP covering volunteers and families, with an addiction pathway; crisis contacts posted.
• Clinician list started; wait time sampled.
• After-the-call review in use by officers.
• Suicide prevention contacts posted; post-vention plan drafted.
• Resilience training started (all members within three years).

Cost (order of magnitude; confirm locally).

• Peer support training: core course per supporter plus annual refresher; six to {{Number}} supporters at Stage 1; time credited for volunteers.
• Clinical adviser: a retainer for supervision and critical incident support.
• EFAP: a per-member annual fee; volunteers and families included.
• Resilience training: licensed program delivery per cohort, or trainer certification for in-house delivery.
• Survey: a licensed instrument or a free one; staff time for feedback sessions.
• Program manager and peer team lead time: about six hours a month each at Stage 1.

Record the figures in the team’s budget worksheet (06 Program Improvement Teams section 11).

This chapter relies on the following legal requirements, which differ by province and territory. Check your jurisdiction’s section on each topic page before adopting it.

Full form: Form - Peer Support Activity Log (Aggregate). Monthly, kept by the peer team lead, no names: contacts by type (post-incident, self-referral, officer referral, family, follow-up); contacts by segment (career, volunteer, dispatch, other) at cell sizes of 10 or more; critical incident activations (count, incident type, hours to first contact); referrals made (count, destination type); group sessions offered and held (count); peer supporter self-care stand-downs (count); supervision sessions held; notes on resource gaps.

Score each factor 0 to 3 (0 not addressed; 1 recognized, no action; 2 action under way; 3 in place and measured), with evidence and an action (CSA Z1003-13).

AT THE SCENE OR BEFORE THE CREW LEAVES
[ ] Crew welfare check: look at each member; ask "How are you doing with this one?"
[ ] Anyone showing acute distress: stay with them; do not send them to drive.
[ ] Dispatch included: ask the dispatch supervisor to check on the call-taker.
[ ] Call the peer team (duty phone / dispatch) if any trigger applies or anyone asks.

BACK AT THE STATION (same shift)
[ ] Hot debrief (operational, five minutes) is separate from the welfare check.
[ ] Tell the crew what will happen next: peer contact within 24 h, optional group
    session at 3 to 7 days, individual support any time, all voluntary.
[ ] Consider standing the crew or a member down for the rest of the shift; arrange
    relief. Nobody drives home who should not.
[ ] Give every member the crisis and peer contacts (card).
[ ] Tell the platoon or district chief; log the activation (count only).

WITHIN 72 HOURS
[ ] Hold the Tier 1 after-the-call learning review (four questions). Keep it about
    the system. If distress surfaces, pause and hand off to peer support.
[ ] Ask separately: "Is anyone carrying this one?" "Who do we check on tomorrow?"
[ ] Confirm the peer team made contact. If not, call the team lead.

AT 2 TO 4 WEEKS
[ ] Check in with each member, one to one, briefly. Notice sleep, mood, drinking,
    withdrawal, irritability. Offer the resources again.
[ ] Tell the program manager anything the system should learn (no names).

NEVER
[ ] Make attendance at any session mandatory.
[ ] Repeat what a member told you to anyone but the peer team or clinician, unless
    there is imminent risk.
[ ] Make the call a story at the next shift change.

Team name:                 {{Department}} Peer Support Team
Purpose:                   Confidential peer support for members, volunteers, dispatch
                           and families within defined limits; first contact after
                           critical incidents; link to clinical care.
Program manager:           {{Role}}
Team lead / understudy:    {{Role}} / {{Role}}
Clinical adviser:          {{Role}}, registered {{Profession}}, first-responder competence
Members:                   One per 20 to 25 members; minimum six; every district,
                           every platoon, dispatch, volunteer stations
Selection:                 Criteria in section 5.5; interview; confidentiality agreement;
                           probationary year
Training:                  Core course >= 2 days aligned with MHCC (2013) and
                           CIPSRT (n.d.); ASIST or equivalent; annual refresher
                           >= 1 day
Supervision:               Group supervision quarterly; individual on request; debrief
                           after heavy activations
Scope:                     Listen, support, normalize, refer, follow up. Not: diagnose,
                           treat, counsel, investigate, advise on claims or discipline,
                           decide fitness for duty.
Confidentiality limits:    Imminent risk to self or others; abuse of a child or vulnerable
                           person; court order; member's written consent. Stated at every
                           contact.
Records:                   Counts and types only; no names, no content; held by the team
                           lead outside HR and RMS; aggregate reporting at cell size >= 10
Activation:                Duty phone {{Phone number}}; via dispatch; any member or officer may call
Self-care:                 Any supporter may stand down without explanation or penalty
Reporting:                 Monthly aggregate log to the program manager; quarterly update
Approved:                  Fire chief (role), date; JOHSC consulted, date; union and
                           association consulted, date

Canadian Institute for Public Safety Research and Treatment [CIPSRT]. (n.d.). Resources for public safety personnel: Peer support guidelines, moral injury guide and PSPNET [Web page]. https://www.cipsrt-icrtsp.ca/en/

Peer Support Canada. (n.d.). Peer supporter certification [Web page]. https://peersupportcanada.ca/