Massachusetts has a network of 17 Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) teams staffed by specially trained public safety volunteers and clinicians. They are coordinated through the Massachusetts Peer Support Network (MPSN) and can be activated 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
Get CISM Help 24/7
Firefighters see tragedy everyday and the effect can be immediate or cumulative. CISM teams are designed to provide crisis intervention to help keep public safety personnel working and safe and to suggest referrals to clinicians where appropriate.
Massachusetts has a network of 17 Critical Incident Stress Management Teams that can be activated to support the fire service in the Commonwealth 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can contact a team member directly or through the Mass. Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) at (508) 820-2000.
Anyone can reach out to a team because what is traumatic for one person or one department may not be for the next, but here’s a list of ten of the top reasons to call in a CISM team that may be helpful to keep in mind:
- Line of duty death
- Suicide of a colleague
- Injury or death of a child
- Victim known to the responder
- Discharge of a firearm
- Prolonged failed rescue
- Mass casualty incident
- Excessive media coverage of incident
- Administrative betrayal
- Personal safety
For more information about CISM programs at the Department of Fire Services, contact Justine Potter at (978) 567-3722 or Justine.Potter@State.ma.us.
Peer Support Network
The teams are staffed by specially trained public safety volunteers and clinicians. They are coordinated through the Massachusetts Peer Support Network (MPSN) . They provide peer assistance to all emergency service personnel within the Commonwealth before, during or after a critical incident, regardless of race, gender or age. The Department of Fire Services contracts with the Massachusetts Peer Support Network to provide funding for training and some operational needs, but all the members are volunteers.
Download the flyer below for MPSN contact information.
Additional Resources
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Open PDF file, 300.71 KB, Emergency Resource Activation - CISM (English, PDF 300.71 KB)
Fire Chaplains
The Massachusetts Corps of Fire Chaplains can be activated to support the fire service in the Commonwealth 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If your fire department has an appointed chaplain, contact your chaplain directly. If your department does not have an appointed chaplain, of if your chaplain is not available, contact the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) at 508-820-2000. You will be asked for the nature of the incident, city or town of the incident, street address, and contact name/number. Once a response has been activated, the requesting agency will be contacted with an estimated time of arrival (ETA). For further information or a scheduled event, visit www.massfirechaplains.com.
Regional contacts:
The Rev. Bruce Arbour, Chief Chaplain
- 413-883-3051 (Cell)
- 413-584-5935 (Office)
- afdchaplain@juno.com
The Rev. Peter-Michael Preble, Assistant Chief Chaplain
- 508-864-8095 (Cell/office)
- rev.peter.preble@gmail.com
The Rev. Gary Blume, Deputy Chief Chaplain, Southeast
- 508-326-9173 (Cell)
- 781-335-1686 (Office)
- revgblume@yahoo.com
The Rev. Matthew Wissell, Deputy Chief Chaplain, Northeast
- 978-430-2749 (Cell)
- mjwissell@gmail.com
The Rev. Dr. Susan Suchocki Brown, Deputy Chief Chaplain, Central
- 978-833-0916 (Cell)
- revsusanuu1@verizon.net
Suicide Awareness - What to do if you are Concerned about Someone
If you are concerned that someone may be suicidal, learn the warning signs and know what to do. If you personally feel hopeless and sad, know help is available.
- Samaritans Statewide Hotline: 1-877-870-HOPE (4673)
- 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 9-8-8, Press # 1 if you are a veteran.