By Carol DeMare
The Times Union
Copyright 2007 The Hearst Corporation
All Rights Reserved

ALBANY, N.Y. — Tofu or soy won't replace hamburgers on tables at city anytime soon. But healthier meals could be on the menu, along with an emphasis on exercise and regular cardiac testing to ward off heart attacks for firefighters whose jobs are stressful and physically demanding.

Spurred by the February death of Theodore "Teddy" Abriel, a wellness program is under way at the Albany Fire Department. The 44-year-old veteran suffered a massive heart attack while fighting a high-rise apartment fire.

Fire Chief Robert C. Forezzi Sr. said the goal is to "encourage a more proactive and holistic approach to health and fitness among the city's 260 firefighters."

After Abriel's death, Mayor Jerry Jennings approached the chief and asked: "What can we do to prevent this from happening again, and how can we be proactive to try to head off cardiac events?"

Every department member — firefighters and command staff — is attending 90-minute informational sessions that focus on nutrition, physical training and medical screening. All are then on their own as to the extent of their participation in the program.

Sandra Varno, a Cornell University Cooperative Extension nutritionist, is offering alternatives to traditional firehouse menus.

Typically, meals, laden with red meat and dairy, are high in fat and cholesterol. The thinking that it has to be like that to be good must change, Forezzi said.

Varno is "telling them what to avoid, how to cook, what to cook with, what oils, and what a firefighter should eat while on duty," the chief said. "The oils, the fats, bacon, hamburgers, everything is grease, everything is done in a quick fashion because they're coming and going all the time."

Capt. David Tidings who cooks at Engine 11 on New Scotland Avenue said firefighters work hard and eat hard. "We all knew in our hearts we weren't doing the right thing," he said. "We're a meat-and-potatoes bunch of people."

Tidings admits he enjoys a 16-ounce steak, but the nutritionist told those at one of the recent sessions how to cut back. " 'Anything over a deck of cards, you're over the top with your meat' There were a lot of giggles," Tidings said.

More chicken, leafy greens, and smaller meat portions are on the way, Tidings said, and more fiber, too.

"Each year, around 100 firefighters nationwide die in the line of duty and 45 percent of those die from cardiac events," said Forezzi, 53.

"Firefighting is a dangerous and extremely stressful profession," said Forezzi, a veteran of 34 years in the Albany department. "The process of going from sedentary activity — being in a relaxed mode, sitting in the firehouse — to the extreme activity of fighting fires, and the exposure to heat, chemicals and smoke, puts high levels of stress on the entire body. The key to mitigating this stress is better diet and improved fitness along with training."

Firehouses have long had treadmills, stair climbers, elliptical machines, which the union provided. The new program has workout regimens coordinated by the city's fitness director, Ned Norton, at the training facility in the Lincoln Park bathhouse.

The program has been well-received, the chief said. Firefighters union President Sam Fresina agreed but questioned whether all credit should go to the brass.

He said the International Association of Fire Fighters, the umbrella organization for firefighters' unions in the United States and Canada, is in the forefront of wellness and fitness initiatives, and "we've been getting schooled on the union side for a while now."

"We're looking for ways to tweak our diets a little and substitute with healthier ingredients," he added. "We eat on the run a lot."

Next month, as part of a union program for cardiac health, Dr. Michael Dailey, the department's physician, will conduct a study along with Denise Smith, a Skidmore professor with the Department of Exercise Science, Dance and Athletics. A scan will take cross sections of the heart and detect any calcium buildup in the arteries.

"We've been looking to do something like this before," Fresina said, "but Teddy's death certainly hastened our decision. You can be in great shape, and we have a number of guys who run on a regular basis -- we have bike riders, swimmers, members who run marathons -- but that doesn't mean that your heart's in great shape."

The rise in cardiac-related deaths among firefighters is due in part to the 70 pounds of gear they wear and carry, Fresina said.

Stress is also increasing. "We're answering over 20,000 calls a year now," Fresina said. "And that's not counting roughly 15,000 building inspections, and not counting increased training for weapons of mass destruction, hazardous materials training and all of the new dangers out there."

Jennings said the city's "novel initiative" for firefighters gives them "the best opportunities to remain healthy and safe throughout their careers and into retirement."

Forezzi said he knows of no other large department with an approach to wellness that matches Albany's. "We're trudging into the 21st century," he said. "I hope all firehouses blueprint us."