Fighting Fires Together campaign raises awareness
and helps address mental health challenges of wildland
firefighting
SEATTLE, May 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Weyerhaeuser
Company (NYSE: WY) and Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance
(FBHA) today announced the launch of Fighting Fires Together, a
campaign designed to increase awareness around the importance of
mental health support for wildland firefighters and their families.
Now in its third year, the partnership between Weyerhaeuser and
FBHA provides specialized support and mental health resources for
wildland firefighters.
Through a free online resource hub, first responders can find
specially designed content, including videos on the topics of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety and suicide
prevention, along with mental health tips, educational articles and
contacts for occupationally aware support groups and counselors in
Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.
As wildfire seasons grow longer in the Pacific Northwest, the
need for resources that recognize the mental and physical
challenges of this work has never been more critical. "It's a big
step just to have a conversation about firefighting and mental
health," says Niko Monaco, a trained
wildland firefighter and silviculture forester at Weyerhaeuser's
Springfield tree farm in
Oregon. "No one was really talking
about it until just a couple years ago, and it's refreshing to get
it out in the open."
The partnership serves as an extension of FBHA's mission to
collaborate, develop and implement behavioral health awareness,
prevention and post-crisis strategies, and to provide wildland
firefighters with an easily accessible and confidential source of
information.
"We are honored to partner with Weyerhaeuser for a third year of
Fighting Fires Together," says Jeff
Dill, founder of FBHA. "Providing these resources along
with a community of support is critical to the health of our
firefighting brothers and sisters."
The campaign kicks off this month to commemorate Mental Health
Awareness Month and Wildfire Awareness Month. Learn more
at www.wy.com/fightingfirestogether.
ABOUT WEYERHAEUSER
Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the
world's largest private owners of timberlands, began operations in
1900 and today owns or controls approximately 10.5 million acres of
timberlands in the U.S., as well as 14 million acres of timberlands
managed under long-term licenses in Canada. Weyerhaeuser has been a global leader
in sustainability for more than a century and manages 100 percent
of its timberlands on a fully sustainable basis in compliance with
internationally recognized sustainable forestry standards.
Weyerhaeuser is also one of the largest manufacturers of wood
products in North America and
operates additional business lines around real estate, climate
solutions, energy and natural resources, among others. In 2023, the
company generated $7.7 billion in net
sales and employed approximately 9,300 people who serve customers
worldwide. Operated as a real estate investment trust,
Weyerhaeuser's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol WY. Learn more at www.weyerhaeuser.com.
ABOUT FIREFIGHTER BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALLIANCE
Founded
in 2010 by Jeff Dill, the
Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance (FBHA) offers educational
workshops to firefighters and EMTs across the globe, along with
their families. These workshops address behavioral health issues,
suicide warning signs, and how to cope after retirement. FBHA is
also focused on training medical professionals, EAP organizations,
and chaplains about fire and EMS culture in order to provide a
better treatment plan for firefighters and EMTs. Learn more at
www.ffbha.org.
For more information contact:
Weyerhaeuser
Analysts – Andy Taylor, 206-539-3907
Media – Nancy Thompson,
919-861-0342
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SOURCE Weyerhaeuser Company