Georgia’s Firefighter, Health & Safety  -  A Change Could Save Your Department Money

July, 2002

Implementation of a “Health & Fitness” Program

Introduction

The Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness/Fitness Initiative was released in 1997.  It has been five years and wellness and fitness has not been implemented in the many of Georgia’s Fire Departments.  “The Jobs Related Almanac” ranks firefighting the most stressful job in the United States. “National Business Employment Weekly” ranks the Firefighter job number two behind the United States President.  In most of Georgia’s Counties, only policemen who rank number eight and state patrol officers are rated twelfth are in the top twenty lists¹ of community servants.

Status and Condition

In many of Georgia’s Fire Departments it is estimated that over 55 % of its firefighters are overweight by 20 pounds or more, in the last ten years many departments report that over 10 % or more of the workforce have had lost time due to coronary artery disease, firefighters are also suffering from tumors related to cancer, medical problems such as seizures, and other conditions.  It is not abnormal for over 35% of a department to smoke. any individuals suffer from sleep apnea – related to being over weight.  Sleep apnea will keep everyone in the bunkroom awake!  There is also an overwhelming number of drug related problems.  The number one drug problem being smoking.  Many other types of drug problems are not even being reported.  More and more firefighters are relieved or taken out of a fire ground situation because of heat related problems or lack of physical conditioning.  These facts, along with the encouragement of organizations such as the American Association for Health Education, The Injury Prevention Organization, NFPA 1700, and others implore that we respond.  We should place a premium on health and wellness.  Having no program in place places our employees and their co-workers at great risk, but it may leave fire departments, the local government, and tax payers with financial liability.  It is the belief that the most beneficial and effective means to prevent injury is “to follow safety procedures and increase the fitness levels through a comprehensive fitness program within the fire service.

Current Work Comp Accidents and Injuries

According to one County’s Personnel Director,  “a Fire Department with just over 100 paid firefighters incurred cost of over $90,312.55 for work comp accidents and injuries in the calendar year 2001.”  Some of these costs include accidents occurring prior to 2001 as employees continued to receive medical treatment.  Over the past 5 years we have seen this cost rise steadily as much of the workforce ages and physical inability has increased because of a lack of an exercise program.  This cost also does not take into account the overtime spent in providing another employee to fill the empty slot while the other employee is out on leave.  That amounts to over three hundred dollars per shift, per employee whom is out because of injury.  Many injuries and health problems may require employees to be out more than 6 months or more.

Plan Implementation

We should look at the “Peer Fitness Training Program” or “The Fitness Files” by Michael Stefano.²  This could work in most fire departments today.  An advisory board should identify and brainstorm, “Why we do not have wellness on board?”  Members of the Fire Department, management, administration, and health officials should become involved or the support needed to implement the program could be doomed for failure.  Health and Wellness benefits all parties, management & labor.  No one wants to get sick and die young.  As the technical committee is formed a qualified wellness coordinator who can relate to the unique work needs of the firefighter should be selected to implement the program.  An evaluation of individuals with risk factors (i.e. Cholesterol, hypertension, smoking, diabetes, obesity, high triglyceride levels, and reduced sensitivity to insulin) and age factors are evaluated.³  In Glynn County it was found that the cost to have this test performed per firefighter translates to $76.00 per firefighter or $8,740.00 for the entire department.  Having the department paramedics perform much of the required testing can minimize some of the cost of these tests.

The Fire Protection Association’s Technical Committee has recommended the following:

•  Firefighters should have mandatory annual medical evaluations to determine their medical ability to perform duties without presenting a significant risk to the safety and health of themselves or others.

• Exercise stress test should be incorporated into the Fire Department’s medical evaluation program.

• Develop a mechanism to ensure compliance with the mandatory wellness/fitness program.

• Provide firefighters with medical evaluations and clearance to wear SCBA, to go into confined space, and work in fire environments.

The Phoenix Fire Department has a health and fitness program, which is basic and similar to what other health and fitness experts recommend.  The program or any program should address health, job performance, and specific job related activities.³ Before participating in any physical activity, a warm-up period to increase the heart rate, blood flow, and respiration should be first.  The result should be an increased level of performance as well as a decreased risk of injury.  The heart rate should be elevated to 100-120 beats per minute.  This should take approx. 5 to 10 minutes.  A stretching exercise should follow dictated by the type of activity to follow.  It should require 5 to 10 minutes to complete at the end of the warm-up and cool-down periods.

When the design for the fitness program is made, muscular, aerobic, flexibility and a person’s lifestyle needs to be approached according to the training experts at the local fitness center.  Aerobic fitness and strength conditioning are the two components that need to be addressed for good physical fitness.

Because of concerns with over-training, mental fatigue, and exhaustion during a possible emergency run, the workout sessions should be held to less than one hour in duration, according to the Los Angelus and Phoenix Fire Departments.  Any appropriate safety equipment as well as partners should be used in any health and fitness program as well.

Possible Department and Community Impact

The impact of any Health & Fitness Program is well documented in the corporate as well as the Emergency Service program as a whole.  In the Phoenix Fire Department, injury frequency came down twenty-six percent. Injury Severity declined forty-two percent, and re-injury went down sharply by seventy-five percent.  The Los-Angelus Fire Department has had similar declines.  Locally, The Brunswick Fire Department saw a decline of loss-time injuries decreased some forty-two per-cent after they began their fitness program in 1991.

These figures indicate an obvious tax savings expenditure for injuries in the work place.  Can we afford not to investigate this further?  Other good news is that in the March 2001 Issue of The Annals of Internal Medicine has revealed that thirty minutes of daily exercise can extend human life.  The training effect lowers blood pressure, cholesterol and triglyceride levels, as well as increases insulin sensitivity.⁴   If, by a health and fitness program we can cut the cost of injury frequency, severity, and re-injury down by just twenty percent we could save over ten thousand dollars. That savings would also reflect the cost of the physicals needed in order to get started.   We would expect the savings to be much greater because it is the norm to cut injuries by a much greater amount, across the board.

As Alan V. Brunacini Chief of the Phoenix Fire Department has said, “we used to take better care of our fire trucks than we did our people.”  Isn’t it time we take better care of our firefighters and watch as we reap the benefits.

Closing Argument

Unfortunately, it often takes a tragedy to bolster an argument or prove a point.  The point is that the statistics are already there.  Many departments have their recorded on-the-job deaths.  Many of our departments know of on-the-job heart attacks within their own ranks.

The Fire Service, by its nature includes risks of disease, exposure, and complications high demand a firefighter perform at their peak capability to prevent the risk of harm to self and others.  A program with a multifaceted approach to fitness, which addresses health, job performance and personal issues by specific activities will not only save taxpayer funds, but will enhance the health and quality of life of individuals involved.  Obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, back and muscle problems can be addressed through following a sensible exercise program.  The right kind of exercise will burn fat, and sculpt our body into lean, high performance machines adding years to life and adding quality years at which will positively reflect on the service we provide to the community.

1 Hardwick, W. J., “Facts Firefighters and EMTs should Know”  Emergency Service News, June, 1993, p 8

2 Stefano, Michael, “The Firefighter’s Workout Book”, 1st ed., Addison Wesley, Reading, MA, 2000

3 Price, Chief Mary, Smith, Captain Mike, “The Phoenix Fire Department Health & Fitness Booklet,” p. 14, 1998

4 Stevens, Frank, “Annals of Internal Medicine”, March 2001, p 22