
#3: We’re not doing enough to reduce our cancer risk.Ĭhief Frieders shared several real-life examples of firefighters lost to occupational cancer in their 20s and 30s. Jahnke emphasized how much our negative and positive health and wellness behaviors impact those we lead, our families and our friends.
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Really, how many times will we have to hear about getting a full cardiopulmonary work-up so we have a baseline and then setting goals necessary for our survival? Other factors include:

Jahnke laid out the factors that are right in front of us yet seem to elude capture. The book Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker, PhD, was mentioned by several speakers as required reading for all firefighters.īeyond sleep, Dr. Specifically, she mentioned the need to understand how vital good sleep is to our health. Jahnke, a leader in identifying behaviors that lead to firefighter death, stressed that we each own our health and wellness choices. But it works against us when there are health and wellness issues well within our control.ĭr. That’s not surprising, and in fact it may help us cope with the trauma of the job. Firefighters have a deep fatalistic streak. When we’re not hiding from the medical issues, we’re often consciously ignoring them. #2: We’re failing to take personal responsibility for what’s killing us. And we must work to create a culture where medical issues aren’t shameful and ignoring them isn’t glorified. We must be willing to talk honestly with our medical professionals about our habits and our risks. How many firefighters do you know who won’t go beyond minimum-required medical testing because they’d “rather not know” or they’re worried a diagnosis will put them on light duty? How many officers are reluctant to confront someone on their crew who they know is struggling with cardio fitness, alcohol use, or even just working a second job to the point of fatigue? The fire service has come a long way in addressing fitness, nutrition and illness and injury prevention, but many of us are still afraid to have open, honest conversations about our health. #1: We’re afraid to talk about firefighter health and wellness. There’s a lot to share from this packed day of presentations, but let’s focus on five key themes that emerged as factors contributing to a health and wellness crisis in the fire service - yet largely preventable. Augustine, a medical director with fire and rescue agencies in Georgia, Florida and Ohio, and a member of the EMS Eagles Global Alliance. Kenneth Fent, team lead on the CDC/NIOSH National Firefighter Registry

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Kenny, international speaker and author of Taking the Cape Off: How to Lead Through Mental Illness, Unimaginable Grief and Loss


Firefighting has always been a dangerous job.
