Firefighters, medics observe safety week

East Fork firefighters and medics are being encouraged to do 90 minutes of physical training every morning to help prevent line-of-duty deaths caused by health- and fitness-related issues.

"Fit for Duty" is this year's theme for the 2010 Fire and EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week, also known as Safety Week.

Safety Week will run through Saturday and is sponsored by numerous nationwide fire service organizations. It is modeled after the military safety stand downs to provide firefighters an opportunity to reflect and train on the safety risks of firefighting.

"We are looking forward to participating in Safety Week," said Capt. Troy Valenzuela, who is assigned to the districts' safety committee. "To be truly effective in the fire and emergency service today, fire departments must take a genuine interest in the health and well-being of their members, the most important resource in their organizations."

With more than half of firefighter line-of-duty deaths caused by health and fitness-related issues, officials said it is imperative that there be a concentrated effort in implementing wellness and fitness programs.

In addition to East Fork's physical training time, life-safety training continues to be a top priority.

"Our firefighters are well trained in a variety of self-rescue techniques," Valenzuela said. "To accomplish this, we conduct two hours of life-safety training daily while on shift."

Dedicated physical training time has been proven to reduce firefighter injuries and deaths. In addition, physical training encourages awareness of health-related issues, improves morale, and even reduces the cost of health care, officials said. Firefighters and medics are placed in a category of "occupational athlete" due to the intense physical demands of the occupation. They receive annual medical evaluations to ensure their ability to perform their role.

In order to further encourage crews to engage in physical training, crews have issued a "fit for duty challenge."

The challenge includes an air consumption drill to simulate working in a fire environment. East Fork members also have scheduled several trainings on a variety of topics, including

• Food and nutrition

• Fitness

• Hydration

• Fire pump refresher

• Technical rescue hazards

• Infectious diseases

• Review of line of duty death reports from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

The district's safety committee is comprised of two volunteer firefighters, two career firefighters and a chief officer.