BY MICHAEL DellaRocco
Maybe it isn’t obvious enough, but the fire service leadership in this country is in bad shape and, for that matter, so are many company officers and firefighters. Today, firefighters are finally receiving the esteem they deserve, they have better than ever training opportunities, and their professionalism and dedication are without precedent. So what’s the problem? Very simply, many of our nation’s firefighters are fat, unhealthy, and physically unfit.
LOOK IN THE MIRROR
Take an honest look around the next time you attend a professional conference, seminar, trade show, or convention. Better yet, take a sincere look around your own department. If your firefighters are overweight and soft, they are a danger to themselves and a detriment to your department. If they are not actively training for the physically demanding requirements of their job, all their other training is ineffective. If you do not have a policy to reduce and eliminate tobacco use, what measure of personal liability are you willing to accept for your members’ premature mortality rate? Honesty is the key here. If you have personnel who are not truly physically prepared to fight fires and who cannot fit into a confined space, and your department lacks a mandatory wellness and fitness program, the time to get on track is now.
DO THE RIGHT THING
Chiefs can start by setting an example. If you smoke, quit. If you haven’t exercised in years, make a conscious effort to get in shape. Start slowly, but get started! Talk with your personal physician about your new commitment to yourself and to your department, and ask for advice. Get together with your department’s union leadership and form an alliance on this issue with common goals. This partnership will benefit everyone; health and fitness issues are ultimately firefighter safety issues. Establish a workout area with modern equipment in each station, and offer dietary and wellness training. Physically fit firefighters will have fewer injuries and less sick time than their out-of-shape comrades, and morale will climb.
TAKE A LESSON FROM THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF
Many chiefs will remember President John F. Kennedy’s President’s Council on Physical Fitness in which millions of American children participated in a series of physical fitness tests. Some of those who earned a patch during that program when they were growing up may even have become future chief fire officers. Under President Lyndon Johnson, the program was renamed and expanded to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. President Gerald Ford (now 90 years old) played football at Michigan State and was an avid skier. President Bill Clinton was often photographed jogging with Secret Service personnel. President George W. Bush is a known advocate of rigorous exercise and trains daily. Candidate John Kerry rides a bike, windsurfs, jogs, and played lacrosse in his younger days. If these men can find the time to train, so can our nation’s firefighters.
TRAIN AS YOU FIGHT, FIGHT AS YOU TRAIN
Obviously, many firefighters are in excellent physical condition. Competitions like the Firefighter Combat Challenge inspire competition and teamwork at the same time. Those who have participated in the Combat Challenge over the years have learned that completing the rigorous “toughest three minutes in sports” is a reward in itself. Times have improved so much over the history of the competition and participants have so improved their skills that the course is now called “the toughest two minutes.”
Many departments require candidates to complete a mandatory physical test of some sort. At the New York State Fire Training Academy, probationary firefighters do not satisfactorily complete their training until they pass the Candidate Physical Ability Test (CPAT). As a result of the International Association of Fire Fighters/International Association of Fire Chiefs Joint Labor Management Wellness/Fitness Initiative, in New York, Philadelphia, and elsewhere, probies must now pass a similar physical requirement.
MAINTAIN FITNESS PROGRAMS
It is also important to maintain appropriate levels of fitness during a firefighter’s entire career. A National Fire Academy study by Andrew D. Marsh, Frederick County (MD) Department of Fire/Rescue Services, says “that firefighter medical/physical standards must be the same for the incumbents and new hires alike.” A fitness program’s goals must be relevant, achievable, and meaningful.
The Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas, has been well known for many years for physical fitness tests, standards, and programs for law enforcement officers. Cooper’s charts indicate percentile ranking of physical performance in various categories (push-ups, sit-ups, 1.5-mile run, flexibility) based on age and gender. These charts are appropriate individually and comparatively, are easily understood, and may serve as a model for your own fitness program.
TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARD HEALTHIER PERSONELL
We must recognize that physical training and fitness are the means to achieving the goal of wellness and health. By focusing on overall health, not just on losing a certain number of pounds or increasing the size of their biceps, firefighters will be motivated to continue physical training programs as they begin to feel better and improve their self-image. At this point, a successful program will have a synergic effect on your personnel, and others will be motivated to participate.
There is no question that the toughest part is to begin, especially if certain personnel have been inactive and out of shape for a long time. Taking the first step is the most important thing, though. The most effective physical training program would be mandatory but nonpunitive. With the support of fellow department members and following the good example set by smart and strong chief officers, your firefighters will become healthier, safer, and better equipped to do their job. ■
