First Responders Cope Following Fatal Crash

The fatal crash this past weekend is taking its toll on more than just those who knew the family personally.
The men and women who arrived at the scene after the crash are also coping with what they experienced.

"Quite honestly, seeing that type of thing is not something that normal people do. Nobody wants to see that. And it's impossible to forget," Crooks Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Harstad said.

Harstad says past experiences can be their best ally when dealing with incidents like this one.

"I don't know that you'll find a volunteer, career firefighter, anybody out there that doesn't have war stories. And those are what prepare us for more stories like this," Harstad said.

Harstad says knowing emergency responders from surrounding areas is also crucial when they only have seconds to try to save those involved.

"It really pays off for this stuff.  When something like this happens, when we need all those agencies and we need them right now. So everything went very, very smoothly.  We got the interstate shut down in pretty short order so that we had a place to land the helicopter. I just certainly wish the outcome could have been better for our call," Harstad said.

One thing the fire chief says can be frustrating are newer HIPPA restrictions on receiving patient information.

"Not only is it that peace of mind of what the rest of that story is, but also a learning tool for us to be able to go back and be able to say, 'OK, maybe we could have done some things differently and better.'  Things like that," Harstad said.

Another thing that can bring the rescue members a little peace is called the "Critical Incident Stress Debriefing."

"We can talk amongst ourselves and be very blunt and very honest about what we saw and what we're feeling. It's an incredible mental health tool that we require out of all of our members," Harstad said.

Harstad says he does keep tabs on his volunteers outside of the meeting to make sure everyone is coping with the crash.