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This article appeared in The Home News Tribune.
December 22, 2006
Firefighters to Get Healthy:
Fed dollars used for programs
The Associated Press
CRANFORD — Firefighters combat one of nature’s basic elements, but their hearts - not fires - are to blame for many of their deaths on the job. So some fire departments are using federal money to expand programs aimed at getting firefighters healthier. In the northern New Jersey town of Cranford, Fire Chief Leonard Dolan UI has ordered his career firefighters to get medical tests and health advice. He’s using the federal money to pay for it.
“Sudden heart attack is a major cause of death in our business. And to be physically fit so you can go from a resting state to a great deal of physical activity means you need to be in shape,” Dolan said. Last year, 115 firefighters across the country died on the job — 55 from heart attacks, according to a U.S. Fire Administration report. Part of the problem is attributed to the nature of the job: Firefighters spend a lot of down time in firehouses, and their adrenaline skyrockets when the alarms sound and they race off to an emergency. Many fire departments have been taking the health of their workers more seriously in recent years, and much is due to the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grants. Awarded since 2001, many grants have gone toward new facilities and equipment, but some departments also use them for fitness programs. The grants “haven’t just improved health. They’ve saved lives through medical screenings,” said Pat Morrison, health and safety director for the Washington, D.C. - based International Association of Fire Fighters.
In Cranford, Dolan has matched more than $190,000 in federal fluids with about $20,000 in local money to pay for the department’s 29 career firefighters, including himself, to go through a gamut of tests arranged through Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Rahway. Some of ‘the department’s volunteers also are taking part. The hospital also has sent a nutritionist to the station to hold sessions on healthy eating. Each firefighter will get a private meeting with the nutritionist. The station’s fitness equipment also is getting an upgrade and a personal trainer iä expected to start visiting soon to design more regimented workout routines for the firefighters.
So far, about 10 of them, including the 49year-old Dolan. have gone through the testing. Dolan says he’s already learned something.
“My cholesterol, it was a little up,” Dolan said sheepishly, adding that he’s started drinking milk with less fat. Fire Lt. Frank Genova, 37, of Cranford, said he thought the testing was good because of the stress and adrenaline rush that comes with rushing out of the station to fight a fire. “You can be sitting in the station watching the news. And next thing you know, you’re in the news,” Genova said.
Dan Thorn, 49, a fire inspector who also heads the station’s union local, acknowledged that health hasn’t always been a top priority, He recalled common dinners on the job: pizza, Chinese takeout and “firehouse chili” flavored with bacon. But lately, firefighters have been cooking up healthier options in the struggle to keep fit. “We grilled some chicken breasts out back, had a little salad,” Thorn said. “But then, one of the guys pulled out some blue cheese dressing.”
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