By Ruth Padawer and Scott Fallon
The Record
Copyright 2007 North Jersey Media Group Inc.,
All Rights Reserved
RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J. — As firefighters from around Bergen County streamed into Ridgefield Park on Monday to honor a fallen comrade, experts said Stephen Dembski’s untimely death underscores the importance of identifying the heart disease that fells so many firefighters.
A state fire marshal met with town officials Monday, customary after a firefighter’s death. County Medical Examiner Mary Ann Clayton said preliminary autopsy results are expected soon. Firefighters told Mayor George Fosdick on Sunday that Dembski appeared to have died of a heart attack, the leading cause of death among on-duty firefighters nationwide.
In New Jersey, 80 percent of firefighter deaths since 2004 have been linked to heart attacks. Firefighters say Dembski, 41, appeared fit and reported no medical problems. Fire Chief Eamonn Radburn was unsure when Dembski had his last complete physical exam. Dembski collapsed Sunday, hours after fighting a fast-moving house fire in Bogota.
The heart attack rate among on-duty firefighters nationwide has remained stubbornly high even as the number of structural fires has steadily dropped. Firefighters are up to 136 times more likely to die of cardiac arrest during or shortly after battling a fire than during non-emergency duties, according to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Firefighting is extremely demanding — involving heavy lifting, stifling clothing and gear, psychological stamina and exposure to airborne toxins. Add to that the surge of adrenaline that goes with the job.
“Most volunteer firefighters spend their days in a sedentary way,” said Glenn Corbett, Waldwick’s first assistant fire chief and an associate professor of fire science at John Jay College. “Then the call comes in and they suddenly go from zero to 100. That can take a real toll on the body, which is why a thorough annual exam is really, really important.”
Waldwick requires complete yearly checkups, half-hour appointments through The Valley Hospital that include cardiac screenings. But most departments require far less. Reports have found that volunteer firefighters — who constitute 70 percent of the nation’s force -- often serve without annual exams or ongoing fitness requirements.
Ridgefield Park requires volunteers to fill out a medical questionnaire to be reviewed by a doctor. If the physician sees something troublesome in the paperwork, the firefighter must undergo further tests, Radburn said.
Two years ago, the National Fire Protection Association concluded fire departments could prevent many cardiac deaths through more aggressive screening.
New Jersey requires firefighters who wear breathing apparatus to have an annual exam to check if their lungs are strong enough to use the gear. State law requires no other medical screenings, yielding to fire departments that have fought the idea of mandatory physicals. Few departments statewide require more exams, even though more than half of the state’s firefighters are 41 or older. In towns that rely on volunteers, older members often pick up the slack because young recruits are scarce.
Larry Rauch, coordinator of safety programs at the Bergen County Fire Academy, said he urges firefighters to have annual medical exams, whether or not their towns require it — advice that often goes unheeded. Some firefighters dodge checkups because they’re afraid to hear bad news. Others fear lousy results will get them thrown out of the department. Still others don’t want to take time off from work, and lose pay, to get an exam.
At 65, Rauch is still fighting fires for Upper Saddle River, and gets annual exams though his town doesn’t require it. “I do it because I want to stay safe, and I want to stay a firefighter,” he said. “The people in the fire service, they’ll go through hell to take care of each other. I stay because I love it. I can’t tell you a single thing I’d rather do.”
After the fateful call came in Sunday, Dembski — a father of sons aged 2 and 11 — led younger firefighters in a search of the house’s second floor. He cut holes in the roof with a chain saw to release smoke.
“He was more or less up there to mentor them,” said Capt. Richard Latour, Dembski’s longtime friend. “We have our younger guys doing the bull work. Of course, Steve can’t just sit back and do nothing. He’s got to get involved in it all.”
Latour said Dembski showed no sign of fatigue. “He went downstairs after all our work, got some water at the truck, came back to the firehouse and we hung up our equipment like we’re supposed to,” Latour said. “We laughed a little bit and then we all went home.”
Dembski, a member of Hook and Ladder Company 2, started off as a junior firefighter when he was 16, going on fire runs and watching from the sidelines. He became a full-fledged firefighter at 18.
Firefighting ran in his family. His father was a volunteer in Fairview. Dembski’s brother-in-law, Andrew Scheidler, is a member of Engine Company 2 in Ridgefield Park. His father-in-law was a former chief of Company 2.
Friends said Dembski helped design specs for the ladder truck the village bought 10 years ago, which his company still uses. He also designed the company’s insignia.
“Everything here is Steve,” Latour said.
“It’s a terrible, terrible loss,” said Chief Radburn, who was Dembski’s assistant chief. “He was my mentor.”
Dembski was chief for two years, but he felt more comfortable as a regular firefighter, said village Fire Marshal Douglas Hansen.
Firefighter Brian Church, a 17-year veteran, said Dembski was always calm and reassuring.
“He would take us into the fire after it was out and he showed us the points of origin, how it started, how it spread, how they put it out,” Church said. “There are so many memories that they all blend into one.”
All six fire companies in town hung black bunting Monday. Flags flew at half-staff. Some 200 firefighters gathered at the firehouse Sunday. A few hours after Dembski died, the company was called out on a water leak. Monday, they responded to a call about a smoky stove.
“We still have to take care of Ridgefield Park,” Church said. “We all still have a job to do.”
SERVICES
• Viewing hours for Ridgefield Park Firefighter Stephen Dembski will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Vorhees Funeral Home, 59 Main St., Ridgefield Park.
• A firefighter’s service will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
• A funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, 115 E. Fort Lee Road, Bogota.
HOW TO HELP
Anyone wishing to donate money to the Dembski family can send a check made out to the Stephen Dembski Memorial Fund, 23 Gordon St., Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660, Attn: Andrew Scheidler.
BY THE NUMBERS
• The odds of dying from heart disease are 12 to 136 times higher during fire suppression than during non-emergency duties. The odds are 3 to 14 times higher during alarm response, 2 to 10 times higher during alarm return, and 3 to 7 times higher during physical training than during non-emergency duties.
• Cardiovascular problems account for 45 percent of deaths nationwide among firefighters on duty. In contrast, they account for 22 percent of deaths among police officers on duty, 11 percent of deaths among on-duty emergency medical services workers, and 15 percent of all deaths that occur on the job.
Source: New England Journal of Medicine