By Laura Chung
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says this season has been emotionally draining, and one of the hardest things he has had to do is attend the scenes where firefighters have died.
Lifeline has launched a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, bushfire helpline to support the thousands of Australians affected by the blazes. The helpline will provide specialised bushfire assistance through on-the-ground support teams and the provision of a new 13 HELP (13 43 57) phone number.
Speaking at the launch of Lifeline’s bushfire helpline on Monday, Mr Fitzsimmons said there had been "dark days and dark moments this fire season".
He said some of the worst days had centred on the deaths of the six firefighters who were killed this season, all of whom will be commemorated at a state memorial on Sunday.
But he said the bushfire season had been traumatic for everybody and that many people had lost their homes, businesses or loved ones.
"Some people are feeling guilty that they’re the ones that have actually gone OK through this fire season, so please don't underestimate the assistance that you might need, that your neighbour might need, your family might need, or a friend might need," he said.
NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says this bushfire season has been particularly hard and urges people to seek help for what they have experienced. Credit: Cole Bennetts
Mr Fitzsimmons said that, when he first joined the service, mental health wasn't discussed. Instead, there was an attitude of "just grow up, man up and move on".
But over the years, attitudes towards mental health had shifted and become more open, he said.
He said he wasn't "ashamed" to say he had reached out for help and that his wife, Lisa, and two children had been a big help.
"I do reach out for help. I am not ashamed at that at all … We are all human, we are all hurt by what’s happened," he said. "It’s OK to cry, it’s OK to hurt."
At a fundraising lunch, Lifeline chairman John Brogden said the 13 HELP helpline would be there for people as long as it was needed.
"I'm asking people who feel under stress, who feel traumatised to pick up the phone and ring 13 HELP," he said. "There's no shame in having a mental illness; there's no shame in being traumatised or stressed."
Since December last year, Lifeline has had a 10 to 14 per cent increase in calls. The increased demand for help has been consistent, which has illustrated the need for a specialised service, Mr Brogden said.
The mental health service has never had such a spike in calls following previous natural disasters.
NSW Transport and Roads Minister Andrew Constance said thousands of people had been traumatised by the "atomic bomb that went off" this fire season.
Mr Constance was forced to defend his South Coast home over the new year's period and said that "life changed forever that day".
"I stand before you as a traumatised person," he said at the fundraising lunch. "No matter where you come from in life, it doesn't matter if you've been a dairy farmer for generations or a young mum or a captain of a bushfire brigade, we all have to go and seek this support."
"There is no shame in [seeking help] whatsoever.
"We've got to stop trauma becoming long-term mental illnesses - I don’t want to see depression being the second scourge of this fire."
On Monday afternoon, the NSW government announced it would donate $500,000 to the service, adding to the federal government’s $1.5 million funding boost.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said rebuilding communities will be a difficult, but the biggest challenge is supporting their emotional well-being.
"As a government we need a multi-faceted approach to ensuring people have access to mental health support where and when they need it," she said. "Supporting Lifeline is an important part of providing this support."
The fundraising lunch raised a further $1.18 million.
But Mr Brogden said more money was needed to provide ongoing support for the months and years to come.
"This wasn't in the budget. We really won’t know how much it will cost until we get up and running at full frame. But this will cost a lot of money to get right and we need to get it right."
❏ Other numbers to call for support: Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636.