Firefighters learn how minimize on-the-job injuries via IAFF program

Moving properly and strengthening certain muscle groups is an important part of the training program

February 17, 2017 03:21 PM

By Stuart Hirsch
The Herald Bulletin

ANDERSON, Ind. — About a dozen Anderson firefighters, joined by colleagues from Muncie and Jeffersonville, spent this week learning how to minimize on-the-job injuries through a physical training program developed specifically for firefighters.

The program, called Peer Fitness Training, is offered by the International Association of firefighters. The weeklong workshop is designed to train the firefighters who attended to bring the program back to their firehouses.

It’s one more element of Chief Dave Cravens’ efforts to improve the health and wellness of members of the department.

“I learned a lot this week,” said Cravens.

The most common injuries firefighters sustain on the job affect their knees, back and shoulders, said Sue Shepherd, a career Indianapolis firefighter who co-led the training with Greg Wood, a firefighter from Fairfax County, Virginia.

From stepping off a rig, to dragging hoses and crawling through buildings, doing cleanup and overhaul work, there are lots of ways injuries can occur, Cravens said.

Moving properly and strengthening certain muscle groups is an important part of the training program.

“They are teaching us the mechanics to do those movements right so we don’t have on the job injuries,” Cravens said. “I’m an old school guy where I run in and do what I’ve got to do, and this has made me more mindful of how I’m stepping, how I’m pulling, and how I’m twisting.”

“We don’t want guys getting worn out after 15 minutes at a fire,” Cravens said. “Most of our fires are a few hours on the ground.”

With more than 22,000 runs per year, of which 13,000 to 14,000 are medical, Anderson’s numbers are comparable to Albany, New York, he added.

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Shepherd said the program isn’t intended to overwhelm firefighters with a long regimen that might be hard to maintain.

“Small steps can lead to big changes,” that can improve the quality of firefighter lives not just during work, but at home as well, she said. “We’re trying to look at this holistically, taking a more comprehensive look at a firefighter.”

Cody Leever, president of Anderson Fire Fighters Local 1262, said he was impressed with the training program and thinks it will be embraced by firefighters.

“We’re hoping it becomes contagious,” he said.