The Legislature finds that emergency service personnel are potentially placed in a high-risk situation every time they are called upon to respond to an emergency since the extent of the emergency cannot be anticipated and the eventual outcome cannot be predicted. Since the services of emergency service personnel affect the public health, safety, and welfare, the Legislature declares that a critical incident stress management program designed to reduce critical incident stress experienced by such personnel would be in the public interest and would assist such personnel with the demands which occur in their work.