Chief Kanterman’s Journal Entry 69
My good friend, retired Chief Charlie Dickinson said on an early version of the “Everyone Goes Home” DVD program: “This ain’t football folks; we can’t rewind the tape and start over again.” Charlie was right and for this half-time break, there is no show, only discussions on safety, heath and wellness. In case you haven’t been paying attention to our numbers, here’s some information that hopefully you can use at your next company meeting, shift meeting, business meeting, union meeting or chief’s meeting. Once again, we’re heading for a bad year. I took a look at the stats as of July 19 as posted on the U.S. Fire Administration’s Firefighter Fatality web page.
Types of Firefighter Line-of-Duty Death:
Heart Attack/Stroke/Cancer/Illness: 25
Trauma: collapse/trapped/burns: 14
Driving/crashes: 5
Total: 44
If we simply double these numbers, we’re looking at 88 for 2024. We can do much better than this. It’s time to reaffirm our commitment to safety, health, wellness and fitness. It’s time to step back and look at strategy, tactics, command operations, building construction, and all other operations and activities that can bring illness and death on the job. You have got to be tired of hearing all of this day after day and year after year, but we are doomed because we’re repeating history. Career guys with known ailments are still not taking themselves off the line to get their health issues corrected and we’re still allowing volunteers in their 70s and 80s to respond to calls. If you want to stop reading now, I get it, but then go outside and stick your head in the sand. Trust me when I tell you that you won’t find the answers there.
I met a career firefighter 20 years ago in his mid-30s. He looked like an athlete on the outside. He went to the gym, ran, worked out, was lean and all muscle. What he didn’t know was that he had a mechanical malfunction on the inside due to an unhealthy diet. He thought he could exercise a bad diet away. He found out about his condition when he went for a voluntary medical exam and was told he needed cardiac bypass surgery. No one believed it, especially him. He went back to full duty six months after surgery and is still on the job. If your department does not provide an NFPA 1582 physical, go to your doctor every year, get a complete checkup, do blood work, and, for the guys, a PSA test. An annual physical is covered under every personal health plan, no matter what you do for a living.
There comes a time when members of the volunteer fire service need to turn in their pagers. Going to fires and emergencies is work for young people. Firefighting is stressful, hard work, mentally and physically. Senior members know this because they’ve done it for a long time. When your pager goes off at 0300, no matter what your age, 21 or 71, your heart starts to beat rapidly and your respirations go up. Studies have been done (M. Asken, PhD) that show there is an automatic biophysical response to being woken out of a dead sleep knowing there is a pending emergency. It happens to the career firefighters when the alarm lights go on and the dispatcher’s voice shakes them out of their bunks. It’s an involuntary reaction that you can’t stop. When you reach “that age” (and most discussions around the country take it at 62-65 where most career personnel would retire), it’s time to turn your pager in. “But no one is around during the day, and I can still drive.” So, what you’re saying is at 75 or 80, you still believe you can jockey a 25-ton machine safely through town at a high rate of speed? And then, what will you do when you get there if no one is around during the day? Enjoy the 20, 30, or 40 years you put into the company and the service you provided to your community. You paid your dues probably more than once. Stay with the fire company to teach, share, pass on the knowledge you have, support the new officers, greet the new members, tell your stories, and embrace your company’s history. Work on committees, follow legislation, offer history lessons around code changes or fire department standard operating procedures. Do all of that. Continue to contribute. You don’t have to drive or respond or direct traffic at 0400 on a 10° night. Contribute to the fire company and remain an active member. Don’t forget to enjoy your family, grandchildren, and your friends, too. I know many senior members of fire companies all over the country and they have remained active without responding and they are truly enjoying life.
You needn’t listen to me. I’m just a guy who’s been around for a few minutes and have been active with National Fallen Firefighters Foundation for 25 years. Those of us who have been remain close to the LODD issue and monitor the numbers all year round. By the way, we’ve been to too many funerals
This month’s journal entry is not a bash on unhealthy career guys or senior volunteers. It’s an appeal to the American fire service to look inside itself for answers and to know when to say when. We have to shrink our LODD numbers and in turn, shrink the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg. But it’s not about numbers. It’s about real people, good people, like you. Start now because we need all of you to stick around for a while.
Be well, stay well, be safe,
Ronnie K
RON KANTERMAN is the executive inspector of the Bureau of Fire Prevention for the Fire Department of New York. He is a more than four-decade veteran of the fire service and recently retired as chief of the Wilton (CT) Fire Department. He has a B.A. degree in fire administration and two master’s degrees. He’s a contributing author for Fire Engineering, the Fire Engineering Handbook for Firefighter I and II, and the 7th edition of the Fire Chief’s Handbook.
