CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Responding to traumatic events every day can take its toll.

Take, for instance, the recent fatal crash involving an ambulance and a wrong-way driver that killed all three people on I-464 in Chesapeake. Now, Chesapeake officials want their first responders to know they have someone to turn to.

"When I first started, we were kind of in that, 'Hold it all in, we'll move on to the next call,'” said Battalion Chief Paul Pongratz, a first responder for more than 25 years. In 2016, Chesapeake Fire pushed a new mental health first approach to prevent first responders from holding it all in. But he says, he’s seeing a change. "The younger generation that's coming on now, they're more open about talking with what they've been seeing," Pongratz said. "They reach out to thei

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