Hillsboro Fire & Rescue personnel who have battled wildfires, pulled workers from trenches and carried victims from burning homes this summer could soon have access to new federal mental health funding under a bipartisan bill announced Monday, Aug. 17.

U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, a Tigard Democrat representing Oregon's 6th Congressional District, introduced the legislation at a Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue station in Lake Oswego. The bill would create a $7.5 million annual grant program for suicide prevention, peer support and counseling for firefighters and EMS workers nationwide, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported.

TVF&R, which shares service territory with Hillsboro Fire & Rescue in Washington County, would be eligible for the grants.

A brutal stretch for local crews

The proposal lands after a punishing summer for Hillsboro firefighters. In July, the department deployed a Type 1 engine crew and a captain to the East Evans Creek Fire near Medford, which grew beyond 11,000 acres, and sent Brush Rig 9 to the Salmon and Olive Butte fires west of Baker City.

Closer to home, a landfill fire on SW Minter Bridge Road sparked a 25-acre brush fire on Aug. 8. One Hillsboro firefighter suffered minor overexertion injuries at that scene. Four days later, on Aug. 12, crews extracted a construction worker who fell roughly 15 feet into a trench near NE Evergreen Road and NW Jackson School Road; Life Flight transported the worker to a hospital.

On June 25, Hillsboro firefighters performed a second-story rescue at a house fire in the 1700 block of SE Oak Street. Both adults pulled from the building later died. The department said public safety chaplains were made available to support responding personnel.

'Not good at asking for help'

TVF&R Deputy Chief of Strategic Services Patrick Fale told the Monday press conference that first responders at TVF&R experience roughly 500 traumatic events over a 30-year career.

"We're really good at showing up when the tones go off, but we're not good at asking for help when we need it," TVF&R Lt. Erik Peterson said at the event.

Peterson called the legislation "a lifeline for members who are struggling with mental health issues."

The bill would also fund family services and training to identify mental health crises among firefighting and EMS staff. It would be administered through the Office of Emergency Medical Services under the U.S. Department of Transportation, modeled on a 2017 law that directed the Department of Justice to fund similar programs for law enforcement.

Co-sponsors include U.S. Reps. Gabe Evans (R-Colorado), Sharice Davids (D-Kansas) and Tom Kean (R-New Jersey). No committee hearing date has been announced.

If you are having suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.