Advocating a Cultural Change in Fire Service Safety

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chris Fleming on June 2, 2008 at 5:21pm

Another excellent question! It's very easy to blame the chief or the city for not getting us the proper tools, staffing, and training to keep us safe, but we can't control what they do. We can, however, control our own actions in the two biggest areas of firefighter deaths; heart disease and traffic accidents. Taking care of one's self physically and mentally help lessen one's risk factors for heart disease. Getting regular physicals, regular exercise and having a proper diet all help. As someone with a family history of heart disease, I try and engage myself in all three of those activities to give my self the best chance possible to avoid heart disease.

As far as traffic safety, I always wear my seat belt and make sure the folks I'm working with wear theirs. I remind the people I work with that they are just as much of a risk to everyone else in the cab if they are unrestrained, and that though we are safe drivers we can't control the other folks on the road. Fire apparatus are not cars and don't handle like them either. We have to go slow and cautious because "Physics always wins."