An american perspective on firefighter health and fitness - Lorem Ipsum Dolor Dan Kerrigan - CFOA Services Limited

Lorem Ipsum Dolor

An american
perspective on       Dan Kerrigan
firefighter health   MS, EFO, CFO, PFT

and fitness

About me

❖   32+ Year Fire Service Veteran
❖   Co-Author of Best-Selling Book Firefighter Functional
    Fitness
❖   At-Large Director, IAFC Safety, Health and Survival
    Section Board of Directors
❖   Certified Peer Fitness Trainer

agenda

❖   Definitions and Statistics
❖   Relevant Research
❖   The Problem
❖   What Are We Doing About it?

definitions

❖   Firefighter (USFA): Firefighter in an organized fire
    department assigned in the 50 states, DC, Virgin Islands,
    Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands
❖   Also includes private, contract, industrial fire brigade
    members, and direct support personnel such as air tanker
    pilots
❖   NFFF adds seasonal and full-time federal employees,
    inmates, an civilian FFs serving on military bases

on duty

❖   USFA: Being involved in operations at the scene of an
    emergency, fire, or non-fire; responding to, returning
    from, other assigned duties, on-stand by (not at home)
❖   FFs who become ill performing duties and have a heart
    attack shortly after returning home may be considered
    “on duty”

line of duty
❖   NFFF: LODD is that which occurs during an activity or
    action where a firefighter is obligated or authorized to
    perform and the action is legally recognized. Documentation
    must show direct link between incident and death
❖   Hometown Heroes Act of 2003: Adds presumption. Heart
    attack or stroke within 24 hours of stressful or strenuous
    activity
❖   NFPA does not recognize Hometown Heroes for the
    purposes of statistics

PSOB

❖   Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Act of 1976: Guarantees a
    one-time financial payment to eligible survivors of PSOs
    whose deaths are considered a direct result of traumatic
    injury sustained in the line of duty. A claim must be
    filed.
❖   As of October 1, 2018, the amount of the benefit is
    $359,316.00

the data

Heart attacks by type of activity -
           A snapshot

❖   1 while burning storm debris
❖   1 while burning flood debris
❖   1 outside abandoned structure fire
❖   1 outside structure fire
❖   1 during odor investigation
❖   2 during search and rescue training
❖   45.7% of overall on-duty deaths categorized as not on scene or not
    incident related due to Hometown heroes act and definitions
❖   Data assimilated by Bill Carey

Heart attacks - who’s having them?

❖   51 heart attacks in 2017 (52 overall in stress/overexertion
    category including strokes)
    ❖   Career: 27
        ❖   Average age: 49 (3 under 40)
    ❖   Volunteer: 24
        ❖   Average age: 58 (6 over 65)

Data assimilated by Bill Carey

The Fire Service
Cardiovascular Epidemic

pushed to the limits

            Source: Dr. Denise Smith

Sudden cardiac Death
      Obesity = 3.1 times
  High Cholesterol = 4.4 times
 Smoking Tobacco = 8.6 times
    Diabetes = 10.2 times
   Hypertension = 12 times
 Age > 45 Years Old = 18 times
  Diagnosis of CHD = 35 times

27%

solutions?

❖   No national mandates for health and fitness in the U.S.
    fire service
❖   Multi-Faceted Approach
    ❖   Individual
    ❖   Company Officer Level
    ❖   Organizational Level

everyone’s responsibility
❖   Individual Accountability
    ❖   You are held to a higher standard!
❖   Company Officer Level
    ❖   What are you going to do today to improve the health and
        fitness of your crew?
❖   Executive Level
    ❖   It’s all about priorities!
    ❖   Chiefs are not exempt from the “shalls”

comprehensive approach
❖   Annual Medical Evaluations
❖   Functional Physical Fitness
❖   Proper Hydration
❖   Sensible Nutrition
❖   Rest and Recovery
❖   Exposure Reduction
❖   Behavioral Health Resources

❖   Incentives
    ❖   Discount on health insurance premiums
    ❖   Gift cards to health stores
    ❖   Extra compensation days
    ❖   Health Savings Account funds
    ❖   Fitness items
        (FitBit, Apple Watch)
    ❖   Paid gym memberships

❖   Fitness Challenges (company and department level)
    ❖   Rowing—meters per month
    ❖   Push-ups
    ❖   Steps (FitBit) or “total stories climbed” on step mill
    ❖   Miles ran
    ❖   Weight or fat loss (%)
    ❖   ???

“Being fit for duty is the most basic
 requirement for every firefighter,
    both career and volunteer.”
         –Dan Kerrigan and Jim Moss

references
❖   Carey, Bill. (2103). On duty & line of duty: What is the difference? FireRescue Magazine.
❖   Federal Emergency Management Agency. Firefighter fatalities in the United States in 2017. Retrieved from: https://
    www.google.com/url?
    sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjn5fW5xc_eAhXvYt8KHZTvAEEQFjABegQIChAC
    &url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usfa.fema.gov%2Fdownloads%2Fpdf%2Fpublications%2Fff_fat17.pdf&usg=AOvVaw2sjeefbCMuL
    xyFcnukLm9Z
❖   International Association of Firefighters (2013). Heart disease in the fire service. Retrieved from: http://www.iaff.org/hs/PDF/
    HeartDiseaseManual_2013.pdf
❖   International Association of Firefighters (2017). The fire service joint labor management wellness-fitness initiative. (4th ed.). Retrieved
    from: https://www.iafc.org/docs/default-source/1safehealthshs/wfi-manual.pdf?sfvrsn=7931df0d_5
❖   Kales, S. et. al. (2007). Emergency duties and deaths from heart disease among firefighters in the United States. Retrieved from: https://
    www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa060357
❖   Kerrigan, D., & Moss, Jim (2016). Firefighter functional fitness: The essential guide to optimal firefighter performance and longevity.
    Firefighter Toolbox.
❖   National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. (2017). Cardiac enlargement in U.S. firefighters. Retrieved from: http://
    www.everyonegoeshome.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/07/cardiac-wp-2017-FINAL.pdf
❖   Smith, D., Liebig, J.P., Steward, N.M., & Fehling, P.C. (2010). Sudden cardiac events in the fire service: Understanding the cause and
    mitigating the risks.