This paper provides a case study to address two themes - the impacts on emergency services personnel who are personally affected by the disaster and; how agencies can prepare and/or support personnel to cope in these situations and the provision of ongoing welfare support to emergency services personnel post significant disasters.

On 22 February 2011 a major earthquake hit Christchurch. This was following on from a previous earthquake and subsequently many aftershocks in September 2010 which caused structural damage but no major injuries or deaths. The February earthquake caused extensive building collapse both in the Christchurch CBD and the surrounding areas, with initial reports suggesting hundreds of people may be trapped. The damage to fire stations in Christchurch was also extensive. The eventual loss of life was recorded at 185, there were no fatalities of fire service personnel, paid or volunteer, however three volunteer firefighters lost family members.

The direct and indirect impacts of the earthquake were huge for fire service personnel. This ranged from obvious damage to homes and communities, where in some cases they were unable to stay, through to children and partners, parents, friends and other relatives who were wanting to leave Christchurch. All knew someone who had died or was seriously injured. Firefighters felt it was personal, as it was their home, and wanted to stay and help their city through this disaster.

The paper will described the welfare approach adopted by the NZFS, after 22 February, by considering immediate, medium and long term approaches. It will explore the things that were done very well, but will also reflect on the lessons learned that will help to improve our response if ever called on again in similar circumstances. It will focus on how frontline staff and their families were supported in the early days of the disaster, the little things that helped, and the things that need to be considered for frontline workers and the families to help their recovery. We will describe some of the milestones on the journey and how we continue our work today with strong support from clinical experts.