Support pouring out for first responders, loved ones impacted in fatal fire

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Fort Wayne’s NBC) - Support is already pouring out for everyone impacted by the tragic fire at the Dupont Estates Mobile Home Park that claimed the lives of four children.

There are support teams working with firefighters and other first responders who witnessed and aided in this morning’s horrible scene. Ken Hendricks, a longtime paramedic, now works with the Critical Incident Stress Management Team to help firefighters, paramedics, and police process traumatic scenes, both professionally and personally. Hendricks said many of these first responders have children of their own and that always seems to make situations like Thursday’s fire even more difficult.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security cites research showing firefighters and police can face PTSD and depression five times as much as the general population. If you’re a first responder who needs someone to talk to, or if you know someone struggling--there is help. You can call 211 to talk to someone with Be Well Indiana.

Also in our community, Erin’s House for Grieving Children helps young people who have experienced a death. Children, teens, and families can go to Erin’s House, regardless of their situation. Cindy Maldonado-Schaefer, the director of operations there, said it’s important to understand everyone grieves differently.

“Think it’s just going to be a mixture of emotions.. And all of those feelings the friends and family are going to have is going to be very normal and I could only hope they’re going to find the support that they need and that someone is going to be able to tell them that all those feelings are normal, regardless of what they’re feeling. It is very possible they may not feel anything at all because it’s just too much to process. One death is hard enough, but the death of four individual children in the same family is really really hard to process,” Maldonado-Schaefer said.

Although Erin’s House specializes in children’s grief, they say they help adults by educating and connecting them so that they can understand children’s grief--that includes recognizing when a child is acting differently. Erin’s House will also help to gather resources for adults working through their grief.

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