Dr. Jennifer Taylor, an associate professor in the Drexel University School of Public Health, leads the Firefighter Injury Research & Safety Trends (FIRST) Project to develop a comprehensive national system for capturing firefighter injuries.

In the aftermath of a building collapse last week in Philadelphia that killed six people in a Salvation Army thrift store and injured more than a dozen others, have we considered the impact on first responders who worked at the scene in an extensive effort at rescue and recovery? That’s the question raised by Dr. Jennifer Taylor, an associate professor in Drexel’s School of Public Health who works with firefighters in a research project aiming to reduce injuries in the fire service. Here’s what Taylor had to say:

Often, first responders are not thought of in terms of the psychological first aid and assistance they need after an event such as this building collapse…