SCSFA Joins Efforts to Focus on Responder Health and Safety

May 28, 2013

South Carolina State Firefighters’ Association Joins International Effort to Focus on Responder Health and Safety, June 16-22

About International Fire/EMS Safety and Health Week Safety and Health Week is a collaborative program embraced by more than 20 national and international fire and emergency-service organizations, with sponsorship provided by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) and the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC). The event is coordinated by the IAFC Safety, Health and Survival Section (SHS) and the NVFC's Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program. Learn more and participate at www.safetandhealthweek.org . Our Involvement The S.C. State Firefighters’ Association encourages all member departments to allow their personnel to participate in Safety and Health Week by focusing their training and administrative time on safety and health issues, while continuing emergency response functions as usual. As firefighters, it has been ingrained in our minds that our mission is to save lives and protect property. In the more recent years, this has been slightly modified to imply “savable lives” and “savable property”. But, the question remains: what are we doing personally, to keep ourselves safe? Nearly every day, we respond to calls and make conscious efforts to protect the public's health and well-being, but what about our own health and well-being? What are we doing to improve our health and well-being? We talk about taking care of our own, but are we really taking care of ourselves? The number of line-of-duty deaths in the United States has declined in recent years, in part because of awareness and improved training programs. However, according to data collected by the National Fire Protection Association, stress, exertion, and other medical-related issues, which usually result in heart attacks or other sudden cardiac events, continue to account for the largest number of firefighter fatalities. A Focus on Improvement The major focus of the international campaign is on behavioral health issues, a topic that many still see as taboo in the hard-charging world of emergency response. This international effort is aimed towards capturing the importance of responders taking responsibility for their own and looking out for each other’s mental and physical well-being. “Our responders are under unprecedented pressure,” said IAFC President Hank Clemmensen. “It’s time we have some unprecedented conversations about how that impacts our health.” “The mental and emotional well-being of our first responders is as important as their physical health,” said NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg. “It is time we recognize that these issues have a critical impact on health and safety, and ignoring this puts our personnel at risk. The fire service community needs to understand these issues and remove the barriers to meeting the behavioral health needs of personnel.Your Association has implemented a Firefighter Assistant Support Team (FAST) consisting of trained personnel to help counsel and/or direct members needing professional assistance in dealing with stress, financial, relationships, mental/physical issues, etc. For more information on FAST, contact your Association office or visit their webpage. Your challenge during Safety and Health Week is to begin developing a healthier lifestyle that may enable you to better serve your family, your department, and your community. For more information go to the Safety and Health page on our website, or check out www.healthy-firefighter.org.