VIDEO/PHOTOS: Statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration show that approximately 100 firefighters die by suicide each year. While some platforms are censoring the word suicide because of the stigma it carries, families of those who have taken their own lives are left to deal with the aftermath — and some want suicide to be talked about more, not less. Among those is Corey Opper, whose brother was a firefighter, lifeguard and Marine. Opper shared how his brother’s struggle with mental health ultimately led to his suicide.
A last conversation
Sitting on a barstool in Ink Factory Brewing, a local bar in Jacksonville Beach, Corey Opper shared a bittersweet memory. “This is actually where we had our last conversation,” Corey said of his brother, Garrett, who died by suicide in 2022. “It’s one of those days that live with you forever,” Corey said. “In the back of my mind, I knew it was probably going to happen someday. There was nothing I could do to stop that. But when it happened…you’re just like, ‘Damn.’”
Corey explained that Garrett had attempted suicide before, but family and friends intervened and got his brother help. As he sat with News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee and photojournalist Jesse Hanson, Corey shared Garrett’s story. Garrett was always a servant to his community, working as a lifeguard on Atlantic Beach in his teenage years and then enlisting in the military at 18. Garrett’s mental health began to decline after he joined the Marines and was deployed to Iraq three times.
“His second tour in Iraq, he was part of a mass casualty event where about 10 Marines were killed, and a bunch more were wounded,” Corey said. “He was there during the event. He wasn’t physically harmed, per se.”
The weight of trauma
While Garrett survived physically, the mental scars of what he witnessed in combat lingered. Despite his trauma, he felt an urge to help and protect others, which led him to join the St. Johns County Fire Department. “Well, now you’re taking your existing PTSD, and it’s being compounded,” Corey said. Initially, things were good for Garrett with the department; he loved the job. But over time, Corey noticed the toll it took on his brother.
