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\u201cAfter I got into the fire service, I realized that it wasn\u2019t just a job, it was a calling,\u201d he said. \u201cThe career is a good, stable career. But I\u2019ve learned in 26 years that it\u2019s more about helping people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen we get a 911 call, it\u2019s from someone at the end of their rope. Many times, they don\u2019t know who else to call for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s pretty straightforward. They need an ambulance. But other times they just need help trying to figure out how to turn the water off at their house because their basement\u2019s flooding. They call us, and we come and solve their problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That desire to help people, and the fact that he has spent 26 years fulfilling that desire, is why Heffernon is the June recipient of the \u201cBlue KC Answering the Call\u201d award, sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and benefitting The Battle Within. The Battle Within is an organization that helps former military personnel and first responders cope with the sometimes-hidden trauma of their careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heffernon has been a member of the peer-support team at the Overland Park Fire Department and for the Johnson County critical incident stress management team for more than 20 years. Not every wound is visible, and not every emergency involves imminent danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The peer support team, like The Battle Within, helps treat those hidden wounds and brewing dangers deep inside the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heffernon\u2019s job as battalion chief is now more about helping the people he works with every day. He\u2019s responsible for three two-company fire stations, plus an EMS squad house with two people every day. He still serves the public, but also the people who work with and for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe experience a lot of the same things\u2014maybe not to the same level\u2014that the military and police officers experience,\u201d he said. \u201cI have nothing but respect for all of them. But we see a lot of the same things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just responding after the fact, where they may have been involved in the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe all wear this backpack throughout our lives. You fill it up with every incident. You fill it up with one rock at a time, until, if you don\u2019t unload some of it with critical incident stress management or peer support, it can become overwhelming.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After 26 years, Heffernon believes his primary responsibility is to teach those under him the right way to do the job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think I was taught the right way to do the job,\u201d he said, \u201cand that\u2019s to be a servant-leader.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
Blue KC supports the Kansas City community through impactful sports partnership programs<\/h3>
Blue KC Answering the Call Program<\/p> <\/div>\n