NIOSH Alert: Preventing Fire Fighter Fatalities Due to Heart Attacks and Other Sudden Cardiovascular Events

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Preventing firefighter fatalities due to heart attacks and other sudden cardiovascular events
• Journal Article:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Fire fighters with medical conditions presenting a risk for sudden incapacitation pose a hazard to themselves, their co-workers, and civilians. Medical evaluations can diagnose these medical conditions. The fire service recommends medical evaluations and participation in comprehensive fitness and wellness programs to reduce the number of on-duty CVD fatalities. Findings from the NIOSH Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program have documented that few fire departments experiencing on-duty cardiac-related deaths of fire fighters have implemented member medical evaluation programs. Few have followed published guidelines regarding medical clearance for return-to-work. In addition, few have developed and encouraged participation in comprehensive fitness and wellness programs. These NIOSH findings were consistent with a subsequent USFA survey that report 76% of fire departments lacked programs to maintain basic fire fighter fitness and health [USFA 2006]. Obvious barriers to implementing these programs are costs, job security issues, and (for voluntary fire departments) maintaining a critical number of members. Additional research is needed to identify factors that can lower these barriers, thereby reducing the number of on-duty fire fighter fatalities due to CVD. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Cardiovascular Diseases Cardiovascular System Death, Sudden, Cardiac Emergencies Firefighters Fires Myocardial Infarction Occupational Health Preventive Medicine Safety

  More +
• Keywords:
  Cardiovascular-disease; Cardiovascular-function; Cardiovascular-system-disorders; Cardiovascular-system-disease; Cardiovascular-function-tests; Medical-examinations; Fire-fighters; Preventive-medicine
• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2007-133, 2007 Jun; :1-26 ; Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2007-133, 2007 Jun; :1-26
• Series:
  NIOSH Numbered Publications   ; NIOSH Numbered Publications  
• Subseries:
  Alert ; Alert
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Report ; Report
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Pages in Document:
  32 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20032194
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB2007-112578
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2007
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services ; Public Safety ; Services ; Public Safety
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:89df580b19fea2d41bc0b80d2d88cb226042a398da98aa1dcd33f1a53d66a56bdd1626cc78aba328eb5dc32c84da472320e36a392adb4cfc18cc0df5aa2d32af
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/11451/cdc_11451_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 19.65 MB ]