The East Rutherford Fire Department has started a committee to help protect the health and physical safety of its volunteer force. The Health and Wellness Committee, consisting of several officers from each of the stations in town, was started in the beginning of this year by Fire Chief Alan DeRosa.
"Our big thing is to help people stay healthy," said David Winston, third assistant to the fire chief and a member of the committee. Winston was actively involved in writing a grant proposal to obtain around $100,000 from the federal government to help pay for exercise equipment and annual physicals for East Rutherford’s department.
"We’d like to see that everyone gets an evaluation every year," said Winston. The department should find out whether they’ll be getting the grant by sometime in the fall.
Currently most firefighters in the borough are only required to take an initial physical before entering the department. The only exceptions are the department’s Hazmat technicians who are required by state law to receive annual exams.
Chief DeRosa said the department also used to have a further physical fitness entry exam in which future fire- fighters would have to perform a series of rigorous tests such as dragging a life-sized human dummy, climbing ladders and crawling and running while in full gear. Lately, however, the department has lately had to stop the exams due to expense.
The importance of firefighters’ health maintenance came to light when Stephen Dembski, a fireman from Ridgefield Park, died of a heart attack several hours after responding to a three-alarm fire in Bogota.
Heart disease causes 45 percent of the deaths of on-duty fire fighters, according to the New England Journal of Medicine (NJEM). Firefighters who were actively engaged in fire suppression were 12 to 136 times more likely to die of coronary heart disease than they were during non-emergency duties. Another NEJM study points out volunteer firefighters are particularly at risk since they tend to serve longer into their later years than professional firemen.
Firefighters are particularly at risk for cardiovascular problems not just because of the extreme exertion often required in emergency situations but also because of stress and exposure to carbon monoxide and other toxins in the smoke generated by the any number of burning materials.
Dennis Monks, East Rutherford’s Fire Safety Officer, said he has first-hand experience with the risk coronary problems can pose for firemen. Thirteen years ago when he was Carlstadt Fire Department’s Fire Chief, one of the on duty officers suffered a fatal heart attack.
"We’re so fast to go out and help others but we don’t help ourselves," said Monks.
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