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I hope I can find the information I need. Is there any physical requirements that concern a persons weight. All I have been able to find is that as long as a person is considered by a physician to be healthy enough to engage in firefighting activities they are cleared. Not to be misunderstood, I know that the less fat one has the better, but is there a cut off as far as the Body Mass Index (BMI) is concerned? I have looked in OSHA and NFPA and can not find anything relating to the BMI.
Here is the problem, all of the sudden there is a push to get rid of the overweight firefighters. After years of passing the annual physical and performing firefighting activities, the powers that be, suddenly feel that overweight firefighters need to go. They say that there are standards that need to be meet. Never mind that there has been no true physical fitness program adopted. Gym time is afforded and as a part of the daily schedule all firefighters have to go to the gym. However, there is nothing that states that firefighters need to follow a certain program. Nor is there anything said of some firefighters who do nothing at all.
For instance, recently during a drill a firefighter began to suffer from heat exhaustion. He was sent to the hospital to be checked out. During the tests that he was given by doctors it was discovered he has asthma. Now it is being said that he no longer can be employed as a firefighter. He has not been back to work since. The drill was conducted in a homemade so called confined space trainer, on one of the hottest and most humid days of the year. I myself, and I am not saying I am in the best shape I can be, was unable to completly finish the trainer the next day. The day had the same heat and humidity. The difference it seems was that I was not sent to a hospital to be checked. My BP was a bit high at the time but after some oxygen, fluids and rest I was fine.
Sorry that this was so long. I am a bit ticked that there is no push to assist firefighters in improving their health, and just punishing you because of it. It seems that the head haunchos only pick the standards they want to follow when it suits them. And as I said I can find nothing that can serve as a guideline as long as the person is cleared by a doctor. Even a person with asthma can be cleared as long as it is treatable. I am not against a well thought out program and would encourage it to help myself as well as others to get into better shape. So any help in this area would be welcome.
Here is the problem, all of the sudden there is a push to get rid of the overweight firefighters. After years of passing the annual physical and performing firefighting activities, the powers that be, suddenly feel that overweight firefighters need to go. They say that there are standards that need to be meet. Never mind that there has been no true physical fitness program adopted. Gym time is afforded and as a part of the daily schedule all firefighters have to go to the gym. However, there is nothing that states that firefighters need to follow a certain program. Nor is there anything said of some firefighters who do nothing at all.
For instance, recently during a drill a firefighter began to suffer from heat exhaustion. He was sent to the hospital to be checked out. During the tests that he was given by doctors it was discovered he has asthma. Now it is being said that he no longer can be employed as a firefighter. He has not been back to work since. The drill was conducted in a homemade so called confined space trainer, on one of the hottest and most humid days of the year. I myself, and I am not saying I am in the best shape I can be, was unable to completly finish the trainer the next day. The day had the same heat and humidity. The difference it seems was that I was not sent to a hospital to be checked. My BP was a bit high at the time but after some oxygen, fluids and rest I was fine.
Sorry that this was so long. I am a bit ticked that there is no push to assist firefighters in improving their health, and just punishing you because of it. It seems that the head haunchos only pick the standards they want to follow when it suits them. And as I said I can find nothing that can serve as a guideline as long as the person is cleared by a doctor. Even a person with asthma can be cleared as long as it is treatable. I am not against a well thought out program and would encourage it to help myself as well as others to get into better shape. So any help in this area would be welcome.
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