By Richard Gazarik
The Tribune-Review
HEMPFIELD, Pa. — Starting next year, 40 Hempfield volunteer firefighters will undergo township-paid physicals to ensure they’re in good health when they respond to emergencies.
Manager Kurt Ferguson said the decision to allot more than $19,000 for the physicals in the 2011 budget was reinforced by the recent death of North Irwin volunteer, James Gumbert, who died of a heart attack Nov. 10 in the fire station as he was preparing to answer a fire call.
Ferguson said he has been discussing the issue with supervisors since last summer.
"(Gumbert’s) death reinforced the need for such an initiative. We made this an initiative back in June that this was something we needed to focus on,” Ferguson said. “Our goal is ... every five years they’ll have a physical. I think our firemen deserve to have that.”
The supervisors agreed.
“This is going to save lives,” said Doug Weimer.
U.S. Fire Administration statistics show the link between firefighting and heart attacks:
•There were 39 heart attack-related deaths among the nation’s firefighters last year.
• Pennsylvania leads the nation in heart attacks deaths, with six so far this year.
• Nationally, half of firefighters’ deaths are due to heart attacks. Most were among volunteers age 60 or older.
Dan Stevens, a spokesman for Westmoreland County Emergency Management, said Hempfield’s “doing the right thing. They need to be applauded for that.”
He said firefighters who serve with the county’s hazardous materials response team get extensive physicals every two years because of the number of firefighters in the state who die from heart-related illnesses.
Hempfield Township, which has no paid firefighters, has a budget surplus and has not raised taxes in 21 years.
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