BATON ROUGE - Officials say they are monitoring the condition of local firefighters after fires resulted in the deaths of nine people in the East Baton Rouge through the first week of 2018.

As crews responded to the latest deadly fire Friday morning, which claimed the life of a grandmother and two of her grandchildren, the Baton Rouge Fire Department confirmed that a critical stress management team had been called in to monitor its firefighters. Spokesperson Curt Monte says the team will help the crews cope with possible trauma they may be facing during the sudden spike in fire-related deaths.

After dealing with yet another tragedy, BRFD tells me the critical stress management team has been called to keep an eye on how firefighters are holding up.

— Brandi B. Harris (@BrandiBHarrisTV) January 5, 2018

In a press conference Thursday, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said East Baton Rouge saw a total of seven fire-related deaths in 2017. That number has already been eclipsed in 2018, with nine reported deaths as of Jan. 5.