BY MIKE WATERS
With today's science and technology, the fire service has learned more about every aspect of firefighting, especially its unique hazards, than our predecessors could ever have imagined. But despite this incredible amount of information, the number of those paying the ultimate price annually is not decreasing comparably. How can we be getting smarter and better equipped but yet still fall short of maintaining a healthy and capable workforce? The number-one killer of firefighters does not change year in and year out; yet, when a firefighter succumbs to a cardiac event, a large number of departmental and family members are always surprised and devastated by the loss. At what point does the responsibility for preventing injuries and line-of-duty deaths (LODDs) pass from the employer to the employee?
As my unit's safety officer, it is my duty to identify preventable accidents and implement control mechanisms to prevent an accident, thus saving the department money from an injury and its related costs and, perhaps more importantly, saving the employee the pain and suffering and possibly work time lost from an injury. One of my goals from day one has been to correct "preventable accidents" whenever I see them and get our employees to focus on their own health and wellness.
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