Post by scannerman5555 on May 29, 2005 18:43:24 GMT -5
City fire department institutes mandatory workouts
Date : Sun, 29 May 2005
By SHANTEE WOODARDS Staff Writer / hometownannapolis.com
Even if he's not battling a raging fire, Annapolis Maryland Firefighter Billy Bingham starts his workday breaking a sweat.
Mr. Bingham spends about 30 minutes on the treadmill and follows it up with weights, squats and leg exercises.
"I'm a garbage can - I'll eat anything," Firefighter Bingham said. "As long as I stay active and fit, I can eat what I want, when I want. I get in the gym and work it off."
But staying in shape isn't just a hobby. It's now mandated as part of the city Fire Department's new fitness policy. The guidelines require annual physical assessments of heart rate, blood pressure, body composition and flexibility.
Emergency staff are required to work out at least once during their shift, typically in weight rooms that are available at the city's three fire stations.
The new policy comes just as research from the National Fire Protection Association released last week showed that heart attacks are the top cause of on-duty deaths of firefighters. In the last 10 years, 440 firefighters who died on the job experienced heart attacks or another heart-related death. That accounted for nearly 44 percent of all firefighter deaths nationwide.
Health screenings and workouts are ways to help prevent that cause of death, officials with the association say.
"(Fire departments) have to look for risk factors and evaluate the risk," said Rita Fahy, who researched the report. "Firefighters who have cardiovascular problems pose a danger to themselves. And the sudden incapacitation of a firefighter while working at an emergency affects not only his own health and safety, but the rest of his crew and the public."
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department requires its firefighters to do at least a 20-minute walk each day. The must also perform stretching exercises to maintain flexibility. The regimen is mandatory, but done on the honor system. The county is looking to improve its policy.
"Everyone starts at a different level of fitness," County Fire Battalion Chief Frank Stamm said. "We have some people who do triathalons and some people that haven't worked out in a few years or done a disciplined workout. There's work being done toward this, but we want to make sure the process is correct once we implement it."
In Annapolis, a fitness program has been discussed since the early 1990s, but the problem was the only available gym was at the Taylor Avenue station and the department didn't have the funding to provide more space or equipment, Fire Chief Michael P. Lonergan said.
In 2002, the department received a $57,000 grant to launch its fitness and wellness program and the city gave a 10 percent match. The money paid for workout equipment at the two other stations, along with the fitness certification of four firefighters through the American Council on Exercise. The coordinators conduct the fitness assessment tests and are available to answer questions.
The Taylor Avenue station workout facility is pretty spartan. The white walls are barren. No motivational posters here. Benches and free weights are placed on rubber matting common to many fitness club facilities. A folding metal table holds a laptop hooked to a device called a Tanita Wizard, which measures such things as body fat, weight, metabolic rate.
So far, the department has stressed workouts geared toward the improving leg strength and cardiovascular health. Since this is the first year for the program, officials can't gauge the impact of the program until a second round of assessment tests next year. But anecdotal evidence is encouraging.
"I'm seeing people here I've never seen work out before," said Lt. Aaron Boston, one of the department's fitness coordinator. "I'm seeing folks carry their tennis shoes and shorts, from the young guys to the old guys. We're telling the new guys coming in that we're going to stay on top of you all."
Having such a program is common sense to Chief Lonergan. He's worked out at least three days a week for the last 30 years and expects his employees to do the same.
"(Working out) is a great start to the day. It makes me feel like a million bucks - some days a hundred bucks," Chief Lonergan said. "I hate to see a firefighter retire in horrible shape and have a physical retirement. We're hoping folks come in here and have good, long firefighting careers and follow them up with a robust retirement."
Date : Sun, 29 May 2005
By SHANTEE WOODARDS Staff Writer / hometownannapolis.com
Even if he's not battling a raging fire, Annapolis Maryland Firefighter Billy Bingham starts his workday breaking a sweat.
Mr. Bingham spends about 30 minutes on the treadmill and follows it up with weights, squats and leg exercises.
"I'm a garbage can - I'll eat anything," Firefighter Bingham said. "As long as I stay active and fit, I can eat what I want, when I want. I get in the gym and work it off."
But staying in shape isn't just a hobby. It's now mandated as part of the city Fire Department's new fitness policy. The guidelines require annual physical assessments of heart rate, blood pressure, body composition and flexibility.
Emergency staff are required to work out at least once during their shift, typically in weight rooms that are available at the city's three fire stations.
The new policy comes just as research from the National Fire Protection Association released last week showed that heart attacks are the top cause of on-duty deaths of firefighters. In the last 10 years, 440 firefighters who died on the job experienced heart attacks or another heart-related death. That accounted for nearly 44 percent of all firefighter deaths nationwide.
Health screenings and workouts are ways to help prevent that cause of death, officials with the association say.
"(Fire departments) have to look for risk factors and evaluate the risk," said Rita Fahy, who researched the report. "Firefighters who have cardiovascular problems pose a danger to themselves. And the sudden incapacitation of a firefighter while working at an emergency affects not only his own health and safety, but the rest of his crew and the public."
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department requires its firefighters to do at least a 20-minute walk each day. The must also perform stretching exercises to maintain flexibility. The regimen is mandatory, but done on the honor system. The county is looking to improve its policy.
"Everyone starts at a different level of fitness," County Fire Battalion Chief Frank Stamm said. "We have some people who do triathalons and some people that haven't worked out in a few years or done a disciplined workout. There's work being done toward this, but we want to make sure the process is correct once we implement it."
In Annapolis, a fitness program has been discussed since the early 1990s, but the problem was the only available gym was at the Taylor Avenue station and the department didn't have the funding to provide more space or equipment, Fire Chief Michael P. Lonergan said.
In 2002, the department received a $57,000 grant to launch its fitness and wellness program and the city gave a 10 percent match. The money paid for workout equipment at the two other stations, along with the fitness certification of four firefighters through the American Council on Exercise. The coordinators conduct the fitness assessment tests and are available to answer questions.
The Taylor Avenue station workout facility is pretty spartan. The white walls are barren. No motivational posters here. Benches and free weights are placed on rubber matting common to many fitness club facilities. A folding metal table holds a laptop hooked to a device called a Tanita Wizard, which measures such things as body fat, weight, metabolic rate.
So far, the department has stressed workouts geared toward the improving leg strength and cardiovascular health. Since this is the first year for the program, officials can't gauge the impact of the program until a second round of assessment tests next year. But anecdotal evidence is encouraging.
"I'm seeing people here I've never seen work out before," said Lt. Aaron Boston, one of the department's fitness coordinator. "I'm seeing folks carry their tennis shoes and shorts, from the young guys to the old guys. We're telling the new guys coming in that we're going to stay on top of you all."
Having such a program is common sense to Chief Lonergan. He's worked out at least three days a week for the last 30 years and expects his employees to do the same.
"(Working out) is a great start to the day. It makes me feel like a million bucks - some days a hundred bucks," Chief Lonergan said. "I hate to see a firefighter retire in horrible shape and have a physical retirement. We're hoping folks come in here and have good, long firefighting careers and follow them up with a robust retirement."