Heart problems kill many firefighters while on duty

[Just Plain Ruff]

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/health...970/detail.html

Discuss:

[CodeBlueEMT]

The article linked doesn't surprise me at all. I've been reading line of duty death reports for several years. Firefighters dropping dead ( or dying enroute to the hospital ) from heart attacks is nothing new. It's just making the spotlight now, which is a good thing. This is a growing concern among paid and volunteer firefighters.

Fighting fire is an inherently dangerous job. It's a very physically demanding job. There's nothing "lightweight" when dealing with equipment and tools. Put on your turnout gear ( boots, pants, coat, hood, helmet, gloves ) and you're almost ready. Now grab your SCBA ( Scott Air-Pak ) and you're ready to fight some fire.

Here's where I might hurt a feeling or two. Bubba already weighs over 250 pounds. Let's give him another 60 or so pounds to carry. Not to mention the tools and/or hoseline he might be dragging. Now Bubba's strong as an ox. He can fight fire with the best of them. Runs through doors, swings an axe, and handles a Hurst tool like nobody's business. Bubba's been fightin' fire since he was 18. Now Bubba's in his 30's. Been eatin' mama's good cookin' all his life. Never been sick a day in his life. Who needs doctors or annual physicals? Gets all the exercise he needs fightin' fire.

Bubba dropped dead of a heart attack right there in Mrs. Johnson's front yard. He was responding to a "possible gas leak".

Made it 10 feet from the truck when he went down. At least the insurance money will be good since he died in the line of duty.

I made Bubba up. He ain't real. Or is he?

Not picking on firefighters here. I've been a volunteer for over 7 years. We've got some "big boys" on our roster. Hopefully I'll never have to perform CPR on ole Bubba. Or worse, try to drag Bubba out of an actual structure fire.

EMT's, don't think you're off the hook. I've seen some pretty big "good ole boys and gals" around these parts.

I guess we need to take better care of ourselves. Me included. I'm 46 years old, smoke a pack a day, get my exercise running calls, and doing my "honey do" list at home. Love that red meat and hate doctors.

Bottom line: If we don't take care of ourselves, how the hell are we going to take care of someone else?

The other thing killing firefighters (especially volunteers) is MVA's responding to calls. POV's and department apparatus. Think about it.

Shayne

[MedicNorth]

I can't add anything much to that - great post, Shayne. Now if we only take it to heart and DO something.....

[kevkei]

The question that I have with this, how much factor is related to the job and how much factor is related to underlying health?

The way I see it, poor underlying health is exacerbated by strenuous activity and catecholamine response. With this information, we know that the vast majority of job related deaths are related to cardiac events. Then, truly is firefighting that deadly of a job? I mean, if you are 10 times more likely to die of a massive MI than from a flashover, falling debris, etc, it's not the job itself, it's poor health. Yes, doing the job contributes, but if you have 90% occlusion of your LAD due to poor lifestyle choices, maybe you shouldn't be fighting fires.

[Laura Anne]

At the ripe old age of 31, I have health issues, including a bad heart. Not only a bad diet can contribute to these deaths, but perhaps underlying ailments that they never had diagnosed? I guess I am a lucky one because I had my first real episode when I was 19yrs old. I have had undiagnosed problems which are just medical conditions I was born with but never knew I had. My diet is't always great, but I do try to take care of myself by eatting well and trying to work out.

There are so many out of shape persons in this field that it makes me cringe when I see people complaining about how tired and out of breath they are. HELLO....take care of yourselves and stop putting blame on the stressors of the job! Put the burger down..... put out the cigarettes..... no more beer..... ok, well, maybe ONE beer..... :roll: How many of us have seen the firefighters lighting up a cigarette after exiting a house and taking their air packs off? Or how about that good ol' firehouse chili and other yummies? Get a group of aging men who sit around doing nothing who have to suddenly jump up and answer a 911 call? A bad diet, no exercise, obesity, and acute physical and mental stressors = heart attack.

[CBEMT]

The last firefighter who dropped on a scene around here had a cyanide level of 66. ER got him back and he's currently in rehab.

So maybe it's not always lifestyle. Most of the time I'm sure it is, don't get me wrong. But I think there's a subset of patients who go down for reasons that are chalked up to overall health but aren't.

[kevkei]

The last firefighter who dropped on a scene around here had a cyanide level of 66. ER got him back and he's currently in rehab.

So maybe it's not always lifestyle. Most of the time I'm sure it is, don't get me wrong. But I think there's a subset of patients who go down for reasons that are chalked up to overall health but aren't.

Had he been wearing a B.A, this wouldn't have been an issue. Again, it's not the dangers of the job itself.

[CodeBlueEMT]

Fire tactics and strategies have been fine tuned to make the job safer. It's still a dangerous job. Don't think for a minute it isn't.

Unfortunately, proper nutrition, cardiovascular health, and physical conditioning haven't evolved as quickly.

Shayne

[kevkei]

Fire tactics and strategies have been fine tuned to make the job safer. It's still a dangerous job. Don't think for a minute it isn't.

Unfortunately, proper nutrition, cardiovascular health, and physical conditioning haven't evolved as quickly.

Shayne

Shayne, I agree that it is still a dangerous job. What I think I (we) am saying is that it typically isn't the dangers of the job itself. Failure to use PPE won't protect you from many of those dangers while PPE in others makes no difference.

On the flip side, many of those dangers are avoidable and you can mitigate others (those tactics and strategies). There will always be the unavoidable and unpredictable events.

[CBEMT]

Had he been wearing a B.A, this wouldn't have been an issue. Again, it's not the dangers of the job itself.

He was outside, running the pump.

Don't assume you know the situation.