NUMBERS DON’T LIE… FAILURE TO TAKE ACTION
This is a blog post from 2017 which I wrote for another website I use to run, FFStrength. Still revenant today as we are failing to address health and wellness on a national level in the fire service.
Every year, the United Stated Fire Administration and National Fire Protection Association publishes their annual line of duty deaths (LODD). Typically, the statistics are paired with a pie chart color coded to illustrate the severity of each category. Although this can be used as justification and representation of the issues facing the fire service, we also need to account for bigger picture issue regarding health and wellness in the fire service. Each year we see less than 100 firefighters die each year, with approximately 60% from overexertion/ stress or medical causes. You may ask, "What is the Bigger Picture?".
We need to consider the hundred and thousands of firefighters in this profession, volunteer or career, who awaiting to be another statistic. We need to educate based on the current statistic of the risk factors and create usable data. The National Volunteer Fire Council published a great report titled' "Addressing the Epidemic of Obesity in the United States Fire Service". This report had several great statistics and research, which raised awareness for the health concerns for the fire service. In their report they stated the following:
· "Rates of overweight and obese individuals in the fire service are higher than those found in the general public, ranging from 73 percent to 88 percent of firefighters."
· "Overweight and obese individuals are at increased risk for metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and sleep disorders"
· "Overweight and obese firefighters are less fit to perform their jobs and cost fire departments significantly more than firefighters with a healthy weight"
These are significant findings, which should raise some eyebrows. The fire service as a reputation of having fit and capable personnel, who show up to your house to perform strenuous work to save life and property. Is this really the case? If we have rates of obesity and overweight of greater than half the fire service, what asset are we to the community? At what point do we become a liability?
In their report, the NVFC went on to make recommendations:
· "Firefighters should eat natural, whole foods and avoid processed foods, fast foods, and sugar"
· "High Intensity Training is an effective, time-efficient form of exercise which is ideally suited for firefighters."
· "Fire departments should consider conducting annual fitness assessments"
· "Minimal fitness recommendations for all firefighters should be a priority"
· "An effective fitness program can be implemented by fire departments at minimal cost and using existing facilities."
This study brought reliable research to the industry and should raise a lot of questions from both an administrative aspect, but also a individual aspect.
In the "Heart to Heart" publication by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation looked into CVD in the fire service. They concluded, ">50% of firefighters with prehypertension" and about "20% of firefighters with hypertension", "Firefighter fatality studies have shown that uncontrolled hypertension is associated with approximately a 12-fold increase in death".
Job-related Consequences of Obesity
≈300% increase: Workers compensation claim (21) 60‒90% increase: Disability risk (compared with normal BMI) (32) ≈300% increase: Non-CHD retirement (14)
*Heart to Heart NFFF
The health in the American fire service is concerning with much effort coming from national resources to change this trend. The IAFF, NVFC, NFPA, among other organizations have increased their research into the health and wellness of our profession. Out of these research projects, we have gained many great programs and recommendations to improve out health as an industry. Implementing a health and wellness program is vital to the success of any departments' pursuit to improve health and performance within the department, but we still see many of the organizations in the United States are still lacking any type of program.
The NFPA conducted a study throughout the US regarding training, staffing and other criteria. Under training was the category of Fitness and Health. The graph above is their findings. We can see in 2001, only 20% of the Fire Departments in the United States had a fitness and health program. They continued to track these trends every 5 years and the most recent numbers show, within the 15 years NFPA has been tracking this data, we have only improved 7%; 73% of the fire departments within the United States are lacking any type of health and fitness program.
These types of programs invest into the single most expensive resource the fire service has. We check our million dollar apparatus daily, verify operations, and complete routine maintenance to prevent mechanical failure; but the most significant line item in any budget, our personnel, we do nothing to ensure they can physically perform the job or prevent against injuries or medical events.
Each firefighter needs to partake in a self evaluation of their physical capabilities and ask themselves,