ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the some observations, with the understanding that they are derived from a rather homogeneous and unique population, in the aftermath of an extraordinary series of events. Anticipating the transmission of trauma, the Counseling Services Unit extended its services to the families and loved ones of New York City Fire Department members. The collapse of the World Trade Center produced trauma for the firefighters in any number of ways. Firefighters are loath to discuss the gruesome details and the emotional impact of their work with wives, girlfriends, or children, believing that their proper role is to protect the family from these fears and horrors. In addition to personal danger, traumatic grief, conversations with traumatized firefighters suggest another important source of psychic stress-one that has perhaps been underestimated in trauma studies. Some firefighters reacted to their trauma by having affairs, perhaps trying to counteract their own distress or to cope with their wives' inability to respond constructively.
