Photos courtesy of Violet Township
According to National Fire Protection Agency statistics, more than 65,880 firefighters were injured in the line of duty in 2013.
Of those injured, more than 50 percent suffered sprains, strains or muscular pain. In the same year, 97 firefighters lost their lives in the line of duty.
Nearly one-third of these deaths were directly related to medical issues such as heart attacks or strokes. Close to 80 percent of those killed were between the ages of 41 and 65.
Firefighters are athletes of a different nature than the typical sports athlete. The job places undue stress on the body because alarms are never planned. They have to be ready to go at a moment’s notice, whether it is 3 p.m. or 3 a.m. Firefighters’ bodies must be in the best physical and mental shape, just like sports athletes’.
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This is accomplished at Violet Township Fire Department with the Health and Wellness Committee, founded under the leadership of retired Chief John Eisel. Line firefighters, officers and our staff physical therapist are included in the committee. Since its formation, the committee has accomplished much through the following tasks:
- Worked to provide each station with fitness equipment so crews can exercise daily.
- Assisted personnel in developing a personalized workout routine.
- Encouraged the chief staff to allow the duty crews to set aside two hours each day for personnel to exercise.
- Introduced outside personal trainers to work with our personnel in addition to sending select staff to become certified as personal peer trainers.
- Invited nutritionists into the stations to teach personnel how to select and prepare healthful food.
- Researched the benefits of contracting with a physical therapist so personnel have direct access to treatment if injured.
- In conjunction with Mount Carmel Health and a local physician, developed annual department physicals that include cardiac stress tests, lab work, spirometry, hearing tests and chest X-rays.
- Developed a “Return to Work” testing procedure for personnel who are off for an extended period due to injuries or illness.
With these efforts, the department has seen a decrease in injuries and illness of personnel. The annual physicals have helped members identify potentially dangerous medical issues that otherwise may not have been discovered in such a timely fashion.
The committee has recently been in contact with The Ohio State University to begin researching cancer rates specific to the Violet Township Fire Department. Unfortunately, firefighters are exposed to many different carcinogens over the course of their careers, and the cancer rates for firefighters are much higher than those of the general public. The hope is to find ways to lessen this exposure and therefore decrease the incidence of cancer.
The Violet Township Fire Department is committed to keeping our personnel safe, healthy and well. It is our duty to support this committee, as its work has made a tremendous difference for the department. As the fire chief, I am proud to share the work that has been done to keep our firefighters on the job. Keeping firefighters healthy and limiting injuries allows us to serve our community with the continued high level of service you expect and deserve.
If you have questions about our service or strategic plan, or just need information, please feel free to contact us at 614-837-4123, see what we are posting on Facebook and Twitter, or visit www.violet.oh.us.
By Michael Little, Township Fire Chief
