“If You Don’t Feel Well”

Last fall when Gary Ludwig, the new president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), spoke at the Minnesota Firefighter Memorial Service, he mentioned a new initiative to reduce fatal heart attacks in the fire service. The program is called “If You Don’t Feel Well, Don’t Make it Your Farewell.”

Many of you get the national death notifications of firefighters, and it seems almost weekly we see firefighters suffering a heart attack on a call, shortly after responding to a call, or after training. Those notifications vary in the amount of detail they provide, but many note the firefighter told someone they were not feeling well prior to having the heart attack. Too often the firefighters were allowed to return home or lie down at the fire station, and the result was fatal.

The new initiative to reduce fatal heart attacks promotes an awareness of this issue and calls for an immediate EMS response. In a recent article on the program, Chief Ludwig said, “If you’re a first responder and your body is signaling to you a feeling that you have never experienced before with extreme fatigue and other symptoms, you need to act and those around you need to act.” The action must include an EMS response and evaluation.

I encourage you to bring this program into your department. Introduce the program and make it part of your culture. At the League, we are promoting the program in our Training Safety Officer classes and have added it to the safety briefings and emergency medical plans.

The IAFC has a promotional video that is a good introduction and will get your responders’ attention.

Up next: Answers to COVID-19 Coverage Questions

Stay safe,
Rob