BILLINGS — First responders in Billings are working through the emotional impact of responding to a shooting and house fire that killed 8 people on Sunday night, including 4 children. The youngest victim was 7 years old. The suspected shooter also died.
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Days later, many say the images and experiences from the scene are still weighing heavily on them as they process what happened.
The incident began with a 911 call Sunday night. Interim Sheriff Kent O'Donnell says it started as a family disturbance. Dispatchers could hear gunshots in the background of the call around 6 p.m. At the same time, authorities spotted smoke coming from the home. Within minutes, flames were pouring from the structure.
Inside the Billings 9-1-1 Communication Center, teams worked the scene in real time.
"We were working so synonymously in there. It was like a well-oiled machine," Andra Starr, a dispatcher, said Tuesday.
"With Sunday's events, our entire team was working that event," Randi Sanderland said.
Nearly 48 hours after the incident, first responders say the emotional impact of calls like this doesn't end when the scene clears.
"It's very emotional, emotionally taxing. It's hard stuff. It's not normal. Some of the things that we have to listen to," Sanderland said.
Starr said she noticed she would sometimes be on autopilot going into work.
"I had the bad habit of never shutting it off. And it, it caught up to me," Starr said.
That's when she decided to seek help — something she says changed everything.
"It makes me so much more at ease coming back to work because I know that, hey, at the end of the week, if I'm having a tough week, I can go talk about it and release those feelings," Starr said.
The need for support extends beyond dispatchers. Firefighters, too, can become so focused on victims that they neglect their own needs.
"We encourage everybody to have that, as a first responder or military or even in a hospital setting. Making a difference, that they need to take care of themselves as well," Billings Fire Battalion Chief Darrek Mitchell said.
Mitchell says the culture around mental health has shifted — and so has the conversation.
"When I first came on the job, it was not as accepted to say that I need help. It wasn't as accepted, but now we encourage people that it's okay to not be okay. It's just not okay to not ask for help," Mitchell said.
Mitchell says whether through peer support or counseling, asking for help makes responders more effective on the front lines.
"We like seeing that because it means that they're taking care of themselves. And when you're taking care of yourself, that means you're going to be more effective in everything that you're doing," Mitchell said.
For the Billings Fire Department, that commitment to well-being is rooted in its core mission.
"The model for our fire department is our family serving your family," Mitchell said.
