Firefighters drill on safety rules
Published 10:31 am Friday, June 27, 2008
EVERETT — When fire ripped through a title company in Everett on Wednesday night, firefighter safety already was top of mind for the crews battling the blaze.
Firefighters around Snohomish County and the United States are participating in Fire/EMS Safety, Health and Survival Week, a week of safety training.
Each day, firefighters work to provide safety to the community, said Don Schwab, the safety officer for the Everett Fire Department.
“This week is about safety for the firefighters,” he said.
Each year, about 125 firefighters die in the line of duty, said Billy Goldfeder, an Ohio firefighter and chairman of the International Association of Fire Chief’s safety, health and survival section. The group helped develop the safety week training.
“Clearly there are heroic deaths every year,” Goldfeder said. “Who else is going to go into the building and get the kids out?”
Still, most firefighter deaths are caused by health issues, especially heart attacks and strokes, or happen in traffic accidents, he said.
Some firefighters die because they failed to buckle their seat belts while on emergency calls, statistics show.
“It seems like a no-brainer to do it, but sometimes we just don’t remember,” Goldfeder said.
During this week’s training in Everett, firefighters were asked to pledge to buckle up, drink plenty of water, spend 20 minutes stretching tight muscles and eat right, among other safety commitments, Schwab said.
In 2007, most of the reported firefighter injuries in Everett were due to muscle strains, he said. Those occurred mostly lifting patients during medical emergencies.
The second-highest reported complaint was exposure to asbestos.
State officials investigated potential exposure to numerous firefighters during a training exercise in Everett a year ago.
This week’s safety program is an annual event and was not held in response to the asbestos problems, Schwab said.
Firefighters in Monroe also are spending time this week talking about the importance of good nutrition and general wellness.
“You go from a pretty stagnant mode to a pretty active mode very quickly,” Monroe Fire Department training officer Brian Hyatt said. “The more fit we are, the longer we are able to do the job at a higher quality.”
Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.
