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Panel backs study of firefighter suicide prevention and peer‑support programs
Summary
House Bill 1593 would direct the Texas Commission on Fire Protection to form an advisory committee of fire service and mental‑health professionals to study suicide prevention and peer‑support programs; firefighters' union testified on the need for coordinated resources and the bill was left pending.
Senator Cook explained House Bill 1593 to the Committee on Local Government, saying the bill would create an advisory committee to study suicide prevention and peer support programs for fire departments.
"House Bill 1593 directs the Texas Commission on Fire Protection to establish an advisory committee made up of fire service representatives and mental health professionals," Cook said, describing a committee that would report to the governor and legislature by Sept. 1, 2026.
Trevor Stokes of the Texas State Association of Fire Fighters told the committee that since 2011 "firefighters' leading cause of death is by their own hands, suicide," and described a patchwork of services across departments.
"All we're asking is for an advisory committee so that we can study," Stokes said. He and members of the committee emphasized cultural and practical barriers that keep firefighters from seeking help and said an industrywide study could produce shared resources departments can use.
Public testimony was limited to invited witnesses. The committee closed public comment and left House Bill 1593 pending subject to call of the chair.
