Critical incident debriefing - Definition

(a) As used in this section, "critical incident" means an event that has a stressful impact sufficient to overwhelm a person's usually effective coping skills, including an event that falls outside the range of ordinary human experience. (b) A local government that maintains a fire department shall adopt a policy that: (1) Shall make available to a firefighter who has been involved in a critical incident the opportunity to participate in a debriefing by a mental health professional or a certified peer support member as defined under § 16-40-106 ; and (2) Shall require the fire department to assist a firefighter who has been involved in a critical incident in obtaining additional services that may assist the firefighter in recovering from psychological effects resulting from the critical incident. Added by Act 2021, No. 921,§ 1, eff. 7/28/2021. (a) As used in this section, "critical incident" means an event that has a stressful impact sufficient to overwhelm a person's usually effective coping skills, including an event that falls outside the range of ordinary human experience. (b) A local government that maintains a fire department shall adopt a policy that: (1) Shall make available to a firefighter who has been involved in a critical incident the opportunity to participate in a debriefing by a mental health professional or a certified peer support member as defined under § 16-40-106 ; and (2) Shall require the fire department to assist a firefighter who has been involved in a critical incident in obtaining additional services that may assist the firefighter in recovering from psychological effects resulting from the critical incident. (1) Shall make available to a firefighter who has been involved in a critical incident the opportunity to participate in a debriefing by a mental health professional or a certified peer support member as defined under § 16-40-106 ; and (2) Shall require the fire department to assist a firefighter who has been involved in a critical incident in obtaining additional services that may assist the firefighter in recovering from psychological effects resulting from the critical incident. Added by Act 2021, No. 921,§ 1, eff. 7/28/2021.