“Anytime a young person is hurt or worse, it hits especially hard,” said Peterborough Fire Department Chief Ed Walker.

The recent accidents that resulted in the deaths of 17-year-old Damien Cronan of Antrim, 21-year-old Devin Lundgren of New Ipswich, 18-year-old James Barna of Sharon and 21-year-old Nolan Trottier of Francestown sent waves of shock and grief through the communities, families and friends of those involved. The first-responders who encountered these scenes also absorbed the images and experiences.

“Obviously, these are things that take a toll on you,” said Dublin Police Chief Tim Suokko. “You see things you can’t unsee.”

On the Monday following the fatal accidents, first-responders gathered in Dublin for a debriefing with the Southern New Hampshire Critical Incident Stress Management team. The CISM team is an organization of first-responders and mental health professionals created to meet the needs of individuals involved in incidents that could be especially stressful and provoke trauma.

“Becoming short-tempered, sleeplessness, overeating or not eating at all are some of the ways some people respond after an incident,” Walker said. “In the old days, you didn’t share your feelings. You were expected to solve it on your own. Folks turned to maladaptive methods, such as alcohol.”

Walker said in the early 2000s, awareness about the mental health of people who respond to calamitous events emerged as a matter that warranted attention. 

“I know that there are people in public safety still because of these debriefings,” he said. 

Dublin Patrolman Stephen Dalterio, who responded to the Dublin accident in which Cronan was killed, said the debriefing was well organized. “It’s different talking in a group where everyone has been involved in it. We keep an eye on each other. If we think something’s off with someone, we check in with them. We’re a pretty solid team in Dublin.”

Walker said the impact of an event is personal.

“If a firefighter has young children at home, it can have more of an impact on him if an incident involves a child,” he said. 

Similarly, the same can be true with an elderly loss if they’re a caregiver.

“You can also be triggered by hearing other calls that come in,” Walker said. “News events elsewhere can trigger recall.”

Suokko said everyone copes differently..

“After 25 years of this work, things always get to you,” he said.

In the wake of an incident, first-responders can also question their efforts at a scene, Walker said.

“They might think ‘Maybe I didn’t do enough,’” he said.

The impact of being party to a major event can reach people beyond the first-responders.

“We get families to understand this,” Walker said. “There’s the opportunity to loop it back into work and seek help there.”

In the case of the accidents last month, not only did four people under the age of 21 die, it happened in approximately 16 hours.

“If it gets cumulative, you can get into PTSD,” Walker said, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder, a mental health condition caused by a very stressful or terrifying event that a person either experiences or witnesses, according to the Mayo Clinic website. “We’re starting to acknowledge it as a byproduct of public safety work.”