The bench was placed there by retired Orlando firefighters who have seen too many of their fellow first responders struggle with the after-effects of serving in often-traumatic jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormal people see death a time or two in their lives,\u201d said Joe McCluan. \u201cThat\u2019s 8 a.m. on Monday for us. We can see it multiple times a day.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCluan, a retired district chief, still remembers all too vividly some of his most traumatic calls. Like the time he arrived on the scene of a car crash to find the victim still screaming inside. He helped cut her out, but she still passed away.<\/p>\n
To this day, McCluan can still smell the radiator fluid and diesel fuel that leaked from her car.<\/p>\n
McCluan says he was able to move forward. But not all of his colleagues did. Two took their own lives in the past decade.<\/p>\n
After the second one did just two years ago \u2014 a young, likable firefighter in his early 30s \u2014 McCluan and his buddy, retired firefighter Chris DeMaagd, decided they needed to do something.<\/p>\n
So last year, they debuted \u201cThe Bench 988<\/a>\u201d where firefighters can help each other. Sometimes at the bench. Sometimes on weekly walks. Sometimes by connecting them with trained professionals.<\/p>\n After a suicide, DeMaagd said that friends and loved ones are often plagued by three questions:<\/p>\n \u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat if \u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n And \u201cWhy didn\u2019t they \u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n The Bench attempts to address the \u201cWhat if \u2026 \u201c<\/p>\n What if people who\u2019ve been through similar experiences were there \u2014 whenever needed \u2014 to talk with fellow first responders struggling with personal issues or who maybe just need an ear to bend?<\/p>\n They will meet anyone at the bench who calls or contacts them. (The best way for non-emergencies is to send an email to support@bench988.com<\/a>) And the two also take weekly walks with other retired firefighters at 9 a.m. every Tuesday morning, starting at the Lake Baldwin dog park. Anyone can join them.<\/p>\n This past Tuesday, after a steamy sunrise brought the lake to life, I joined a group of five firefighters for a couple laps around the lake. Over the course of five, sweaty miles, they talked about how some of the calls they get are from firefighters who just want to talk.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t have to be something heavy,\u201d said McCluan.<\/p>\n DeMaagd said he once did three laps around the lake with a young man who just needed a sympathetic ear. \u201cWe walked seven miles, and I probably said two words,\u201d he said. \u201cI just listened.\u201d<\/p>\n And McCluan said he once spent four hours at the bench with someone who told him that he typed the text message and let it sit in his phone for a while before finally mustering the courage to click send. \u201cI told him I\u2019m so glad you did.\u201d<\/p>\n Neither McCluan nor DeMaagd is a mental health professional. They don\u2019t try to be. If someone\u2019s in crisis, they connect them with a trained professional.<\/p>\n And the national 988 suicide and crisis hotline \u2014 which is staffed 24\/7 by trained counselors \u2014 is such a critical part of the mission that the number is part of their organization\u2019s name and written on the bench.<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is: How do we make you safe for the next five minutes? And then the next five hours. And then the next five days,\u201d DeMaagd said.<\/p>\n Another crucial goal to let first responders know it\u2019s OK to ask for help. Both men said that in their early years in the profession, they heard all kinds of \u201ctough guy\u201d advice that, in hindsight, was pretty terrible.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things I used to hear was: Some people are broken. Try not to be one of those people,\u201d DeMaagd said. \u201cThat was just sort of the mentality in fire.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s why other local groups that specialize in mental health say The Bench 988 is such a valuable resource \u2014 because first responders are more likely to reach out to fellow first responders \u201cwho get it.\u201d<\/p>\n Those are the words of Deborah Beidel, who runs one of the most pioneering PTSD clinics in America, UCF RESTORES<\/a>. Beidel\u2019s clinic at the state\u2019s largest university has helped scores of veterans, law enforcement officers and first responders who encountered trauma. But the clinic can\u2019t help those who don\u2019t first ask for it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need every tool in the toolbox to facilitate a first responder\u2019s ability to get the support that they need,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the bench is one very valuable tool.\u201d<\/p>\n Right now, the bench is mostly a grassroots effort of local firefighters supporting each other. But they\u2019re in the process of trying to become a formal nonprofit and working with firefighters in other parts of Central Florida to set up programs as well. Ultimately, they\u2019d like to see benches all across America.<\/p>\n McCluan said he just wants every firefighter to know: \u201cYou\u2019re not walking through life alone. There is someone out there who will sit on the bench with you.\u201d<\/p>\n For more information, visit bench988.com<\/a>. Or send an email to support@bench988.com<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n The burnover that killed three firefighters on the Colorado-Utah border is the deadliest U.S. wildfire incident since the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, where 19 firefighters lost their lives in Arizona\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n A year after two battalion chiefs were killed in an ambush on Canfield Mountain, firefighters, families and the community gathered to honor their lives\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Columbia firefighters rescued the severely burned children after forcing entry through heavy smoke and rapidly deteriorating conditions\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Alexandria officials say morale and recruitment have improved since the department reduced firefighters\u2019 average workweek, with additional staffing gains and a 46-hour schedule planned by 2028\n <\/p>\n June 30, 2026 10:10 AM<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a92026 Orlando Sentinel.![\"Wildland](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1782922870_991_.jpeg\")
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