Fire Department Physicals

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by John K. Murphy on May 26, 2010 at 11:10am

Chief

I applaud your efforts to make our profession a safer place to work. With the number of firefighters dying from treatable medical conditions, implementing the NFPA 1582 medical standard provides a great role model to the rest of our profession. Your firefighters see the effort the department is making and will thank you for this program.

Occasionally there will be a medical problem that is discovered during these medical evaluations which is exactly the purpose of these evaluations. The treatment outcomes then become a three legged stool between the employer, the Doctor(s) and the employee.

If your employee has some type of respiratory problem the first question I would ask as an employer is, “how can we get the firefighter treated and in a condition to return to work.” The second question is, “will this place him on a retirement disability or long term light duty status?” The third question is, “do we have a long term light duty position and are we required to provide a reasonable accommodation?” The short answer is, “if your department does not have the capacity for a long term light duty position, then under the law you are not required to “create” a long term light duty position under the “reasonable accommodation” standard. Is there room in your department for a short term light duty position to accommodate a medical disability is a question only you can answer. The problem with these short term positions is they extend to a long term position and if so, they may create a future liability on your department to create and maintain other long term or permanent disability positions.

If there is a treatable medical condition, the issue, treatment and outcome is between the employee and their physician. Many times, the treatment is a medication or surgery or some other therapy that will provide a good outcome; enabling the employee to return to work. You should have a return to work policy to accommodate these individuals returning to work to ensure that they can complete the essential elements of their job.

Occasionally there is a medical condition that requires the employee to retire on a medical and that becomes an issue between the retirement board and the employee. Many states, under worker comp law, resolve these issues. In other states there are pension programs and other long term medical programs that kick into place providing a partial disability payment to the firefighter. I am not sure what your state or department offers but there is probably something.

Finally, the firefighter with a potential disabling medical condition is facing economic uncertainty if they are truly medically disabled and unable to return to work. This is a major problem for them and their families. Why look to the department? The short answer is, you have the money and they (or their attorney) will be looking for a “fault or practice created by your department” that caused their medical condition. There are hundreds more questions to ask but we don’t have the space.

The bottom line is for the remaining 99.999% of your firefighters, annual medical’s can be a life saver and most if not all uncovered medical conditions are treatable.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Bricault (ret) on May 26, 2010 at 11:23am

-It is unfortunate to hear that a firefighter would sue the FD in such a situation as this. It seems his efforts would be better spent trying to get his medical issues under control. And if it turns out that controlling the medical issue is not possible then the member should be happy that the problem was at least discovered in this manner and not on the fire ground where the consequences could be dire.
-Ultimately we are all suffering from a terminal illness called aging and we must understand that we cannot function as firefighters forever.
-Being a firefighter is akin to being an athlete and we must strive to function as such. That is the reason many of us work out arduously daily. In the end firefighting is a young man's business. There are places within the organization for those that are no longer able to actually run in to the fire. Training and mentorship are perfect roles for these members and essential for the survival of the fire service, the membership and the traditions of the service.
-Fortunately for the individual in question we aren't talking about someone loosing their job but rather the level of participation of a volunteer and his perceived role within that organization. I'm certain there is a function or some participation that this individual can fulfill despite 1582 within the VFD.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike France on May 26, 2010 at 11:33am

The person was offered to become a Class c, This person no longer would be able to be a Captain under our present set of By Laws due their status , with being a Class C i offered to make this person in charge of the Adminstrative dutes for the Lines officers, but they choose not to. I agree there are jobs that can be performed they were offered the PIO for the Chiefs office seeing they were a past Asst. Chief.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by John K. Murphy on May 26, 2010 at 11:46am

So, is the issue different position at the same pay? If that is the case then the firefighter needs to make the choice to either accept or decline. if he accepts then no problem, if he declines then where is the legal issue?

John

Chief Mike France said:

The person was offered to become a Class c, This person no longer would be able to be a Captain under our present set of By Laws due their status , with being a Class C i offered to make this person in charge of the Adminstrative dutes for the Lines officers, but they choose not to. I agree there are jobs that can be performed they were offered the PIO for the Chiefs office seeing they were a past Asst. Chief.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike France on May 26, 2010 at 11:58am

We are Volunteer, No pay, but i felt that this person be capable of doing the Job. Seeing it was part of their Duties, Our Bylaws require all Officers to Be Class A Firefighters. this person passed last year just by the skin of their teeth, the warning signs were there, they choose to ignore them., i believe that we have a obilgation to protect our members and our Residents, i say what would happened if i sent them in building with a SCBa and they got hurt or died due to this condition and i allowed it.

John K. Murphy said:

So, is the issue different position at the same pay? If that is the case then the firefighter needs to make the choice to either accept or decline. if he accepts then no problem, if he declines then where is the legal issue?

John

Chief Mike France said:

The person was offered to become a Class c, This person no longer would be able to be a Captain under our present set of By Laws due their status , with being a Class C i offered to make this person in charge of the Adminstrative dutes for the Lines officers, but they choose not to. I agree there are jobs that can be performed they were offered the PIO for the Chiefs office seeing they were a past Asst. Chief.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike France on May 26, 2010 at 12:12pm

Well thats my point , he has no leg to stand on, I am fortunute to have a Commissioner that is a former Paid Fire Chief/ Ex Public Safety Comm. of Utica NY/ Former Director of EMO odf Schenectady County ,he has been very instrumental in dealing with our personel issues and he has tryed very to knock some sense into this person.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Michael Bricault (ret) on May 26, 2010 at 1:50pm

-It is very unfortunate that this person requires "knocking sense" into him as apposed to being informed and educated. It is a sorrowful awakening to discover that one is no longer capable of performing the duties of firefighting. There comes a time when the body betrays us all and the tools are just no longer there.

Chief Mike France said:

Well thats my point , he has no leg to stand on, I am fortunute to have a Commissioner that is a former Paid Fire Chief/ Ex Public Safety Comm. of Utica NY/ Former Director of EMO odf Schenectady County ,he has been very instrumental in dealing with our personel issues and he has tryed very to knock some sense into this person.

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion