ORLANDO, Fla. — Since responding to the June 12, 2016, Pulse nightclub attack, some members of the Orlando Fire Department have criticized the chief for what they call a lack of help dealing with the horrific things they saw that morning.
For the second time in the past few months, an Orlando firefighter has written a letter to the department, blasting administrators for not getting him help in a timely manner after he asked for it.
It has been more than a year since the Pulse attack, which ended with 49 people killed and dozens injured.
The firefighter who wrote the most recent letter said he asked the administration for help two months ago and does not feel it is responding with any urgency or care.
“I am writing you today, at my wits' end, trying for the life of me to understand why you would deny my request for help,” the firefighter wrote. “(Two months) is a very long time for someone going through any issues to sit idle and wait.”
The firefighters’ union, however, said it wasn’t the department’s fault because there were legal hoops the city had to jump through.
The department has an employee assistance program, but in some cases firefighters needed more, officials said.
The University of Central Florida offers an intense program for first responders, but the city had to decide how firefighters would be compensated, and that took some time, the union said.
Other complaints aired about the department following the Pulse attack were that firefighters did not get a debrief afterward.
“I believe this is crucial for us to have closure from that horrific night,” a firefighter who had been on the first line during the Pulse attack said in an April letter.
Firefighters in the department are still waiting for the debriefing.
City leaders decided Monday that the firefighter who has been waiting months for help will get the assistance he needs.
He will attend a three-week treatment program starting Monday, city officials said.
The Orlando Fire Department responded to a request for comment from Channel 9 by providing assistance information, but did not address the allegations made by the firefighter.