Thanks to the efforts of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation we have made great strides since the development of the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives at the 2004 Firefighter Life Safety Summit in Tampa, Florida. There has been a tremendous reduction of fireground line of duty deaths in all categories except one. We are still dropping dead of sudden cardiac arrest, the #1 cause of line-of-duty deaths since NFPA began tracking trends in 1977. For 2018 it represents 39% of the LODD deaths.
Cardiac Health
Reducing this source of line-of-duty-death requires attention to off-the-job factors including weight, diet, medical history, physical capacity, and lifestyle habits. A 2017 study of Colorado firefighters showed that about 10% of the 1,023 Colorado firefighters surveyed had metabolic syndrome and nearly half had insufficient cardiorespiratory fitness.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. These conditions include increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels.
Had a Cardiac Event? Share Your Experience with the IAFC.
IAFC President Gary Ludwig is rolling out “If You Don’t Feel Well – Don’t Make It Your Farewell” in February 2020. Some of you can make an important contribution NOW by participating in a survey:
Jim Phillips, IAFC Assistant Director of Strategic Communications, explains what they need to survey:
If you have ever experienced a cardiac incident, please take a moment to complete this survey. If you have not experienced an incident yourself, but know of others who have, please encourage them to complete the survey. The results will help us identify the tools, information and resources necessary to assist members and fire departments providing immediate medical care and eliminating life-ending cardiac events.
Behavioral Health
We have been struggling with the situation that firefighter suicides are higher than line-of-duty-deaths. The path to improving cardiac health is brightly illuminated using evidence-based practices and guidelines. In looking at suicide prevention we are a bit like the NFPA was in 1976 when they decided to document every firefighter line-of-duty-death. More questions than answers.
Job stress is likely the largest contributing factor. Suicide is the result of mental illness, like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Police and firefighters experience near-constant exposure to death and destruction. PTSD and depression rates among firefighters and police officers are nearly five times higher than the civilian population. Even when suicide doesn’t happen, untreated mental illness can lead to poor physical health and impaired decision-making.
Mike Taigman has been studying resilience. In an October interview with JEMS.com he provides this working definition:
… resilience is the ability to advance despite adversity. When I step back and think about it, the benefits of increasing resilience for frontline folks is two-fold.
On the one hand it is protective, kind of inoculating you: you’re less likely to be depressed, to suffer from anxiety, to acquire PTSD, and less likely to be suicidal. The other side is that people who are resilient tend to be more able to adapt to changes in the world, whether it’s having a baby or getting divorced… and they are less likely to be thrown off by little things, like getting cut off in traffic or dropping your phone in the toilet.
They tend to be braver and more willing to take reasonable risks, therefore they accomplish more. And they’re much more effective at achieving goals they set for themselves. Whether it’s to go to graduate school, buy the big house on the hill—whatever their goals happen to be. And they’re likely to be happier and healthier.
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Everybody Goes Home (2004) Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives. Crofton, MD: National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
K. Li, T. Lipsey, H. J. Leach, T. L. Nelson, Cardiac health and fitness of Colorado male/female firefighters, Occupational Medicine, Volume 67, Issue 4, June 2017, Pages 268–273, https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqx033
Phillips, Jim (2019 December 4) Cardiac Incident? Share Your Story and Save Others. Chantilly, VA: International Association of Fire Chiefs. https://www.iafc.org/blogs/blog/iafc/2019/12/04/cardiac-incident-share-your-story-and-save-others
Hayman, M., J. Dill and R. Douglas (2018). The Ruderman White Paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders. Boston, MA: Ruderman Family Foundation.
Fahy., R. F., LeBlanc, P. R. and Molis, J. L. (2007) What’s Changed Over the Past 30 Years? Quincy, MA: National Fire Protection Association.
USFA (2019 August 08) Preventing Suicide Among First Responders. Infogram. Emmitsburg, MD: United States Fire Administration. https://www.usfa.fema.gov/operations/infograms/080819.html
Staff (2019 October 14) How Improving Resilience Can Make You Healthier, Happier and More Effective. JEMS.com. Trumbull, CT: Clarion UX. https://www.jems.com/2019/10/14/improving-resilience-healthier-happier-effective/