EMS Is Now Part Of Safety Stand Down

Every day, all across America, at the start of every shift, firefighters are busy checking their trucks. They check the oil, water, tires, fuel level, lights and other parts and functions of the trucks they will ride that day. But are those firefighters ready for duty? Are they ready for the rigors that they may face during this workday? Did anybody check their blood pressure or sugar or cholesterol levels? Probably not.

It is amazing! We are quick to make sure our engines and trucks are ready and able to respond, but few fire departments pay attention to the most critical "equipment" in the fire station - the personnel. Starting this year, the main sponsors of the Firefighter Safety Stand Down - the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and the IAFC's Volunteer and Combination Officers Section - and their partners have changed its name to the International Fire and EMS Safety Stand Down. The project will be a week long and run June 17-23.

The Stand Down, themed "Ready to Respond," will focus on proper training and equipage; it will prepare firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians to respond to and mitigate incidents and return home safely. Failure to be cautious can cause routine activities to become hazardous, as has been shown in the many firefighter, paramedic and EMT line-of-duty deaths and injuries.

It is estimated that up to 10,000 fire departments participated in last year's Safety Stand Down, and it is anticipated that the number will increase this year as fire departments realize the importance of this event. However, even with more focus on safety, 105 firefighters died in the line of duty last year.

The important addition of EMS into the Safety Stand Down this year recognizes the vital function that EMS plays in the fire service. The majority of calls that most fire departments respond to involve EMS. And unfortunately, you can get injured or killed on an EMS call. If you do not think so, I encourage you to look at www.EMSclosecalls.com for the latest happenings involving EMS calls where professionals have been killed or injured performing EMS functions. The website is filled with repeated new stories of ambulance crashes, emergency personnel being assaulted, plus a variety of other stories that paint a grim picture of just how dangerous EMS work can be.

Unfortunately, a number of emergency service personnel are killed each year performing EMS. Many die in helicopter crashes, some die in vehicle crashes and others die from a variety of means, including being shot and struck by vehicles on highways while working at accident scenes. And for those who are killed, scores more are injured.

What can your department do during International Fire and EMS Safety Stand Down week? First, not only check the engine and/or truck for fuel, water and oil, but perform health screening checks on the crews. Take the blood pressure of each firefighter, paramedic and EMT at the start of the shift. Take a glucose reading. Take a cholesterol reading. Are any of them out whack or way over the limit? Maybe some of them don't know they have a high blood pressure or high glucose. Maybe it is time for those with high blood pressure to see a doctor to get it under control.

Although there are no written national consensus standards with respect to blood pressure, glucose or cholesterol, any emergency responder's readings that are found to be out of a normal range should see a doctor immediately. These abnormalities are easily treated with a variety of drugs that can be prescribed by a physician.

Keeping responders healthy should extend beyond the once-a-year Safety Stand Down. Pledge to start taking blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol readings of all members in your department once a month. The recent 10-year study by the Harvard Public Health School clearly demonstrated that many firefighter line-of-duty deaths are attributed to cardiac events during fireground operations.

Kudos to the major fire organizations and their partners for recognizing that EMS should be included in the Stand Down. This is tremendous progress toward understanding the vital role that EMS plays in the fire service. More importantly, their recognition of EMS focuses on addressing the most important asset the fire service possesses - its personnel.