The Fire Watch, Northeast Florida’s community-based initiative to end veteran suicide, announces the launch of the new Watch Stander program.
More than 6,000 U.S. veterans take their lives each year. More than 500 of those occur in Florida annually. The Fire Watch was founded in late 2019 on the belief that the more opportunities a community can provide to steer a veteran off a course toward suicide, the lower that community’s rate of veteran suicide will be.
The Watch Stander program will mobilize and train the Northeast Florida community about the concerns of veterans, to watch out for risk signs in veterans, and to direct veterans in crisis to the help or support they need.
Anyone can volunteer to be a Watch Stander. Required training includes a commitment to watch a selection of videos and to take a pledge to “stand watch” for veterans. Registration and training take 60 minutes. Watch Standers are then asked to get involved in the community – whether on social media, in networking groups, or, if feasible, in person – to be vigilant to the concerns of veterans and to save lives.
“The Watch Stander program will be a true milestone in the fight against veteran suicide,” said Nick Howland, The Fire Watch executive director. “To our knowledge, there is no program like it anywhere in the nation. We have over 150,000 veterans here in Northeast Florida. They are family members, friends, coworkers and neighbors. They are heroes who have written blank checks, up to and including their lives, to protect our community. The least our community can do is work together to protect them.”
The steps to become a Watch Stander are go to www.thefirewatch.org, or download The Fire Watch app on iOS or Android, click on “Watch Stander,” complete the steps assigned, sign the pledge to become a Watch Stander, and attend three veteran events each year.
June 15, 2026
