FEATURED IN
- Face-Chewing Victim Recovering in Miami
- Day 6: Where in the World (of EMS) is A.J.?
- Search for Survivors in Oklahoma Nearly Complete
- Police Chief: No Charges Likely in Virginia Parade Crash
- Empire State Building Lights Up for EMS Week
- Paramedic Fights Drug Abuse with Electronic Pill Bottle
- Columbus Fire Department Kicks Off EMS Week with Community Challenge
Firefighters take risks every day. Risks are inherent to the job. They’re necessary. Although today’s firefighters are protected by an array of modern, high-tech equipment and life-saving tools, the rate of “line of duty” firefighter deaths is alarming. The number one killer of firefighters is not fire … or building collapse … or explosions. It’s heart attack. And, evidence is mounting that a great contributor to firefighter strokes, heart attacks and heart disease comes from both acute and long-term exposure to carbon monoxide (CO).
CO. You can’t see it. You can’t smell it. Yet it can—and will—kill you. Having almost died from CO exposure myself, I can speak to CO’s insidious killing power. With all the necessary risks firefighters take on a daily basis, CO doesn’t have to be one of them. The greatest safety net a firefighter has on the fire ground is training. Train yourselves to look at CO differently. Education, on-the-job monitoring and regular medical check-ups will go a long way in reducing this unnecessary risk.
Motivate yourself to learn everything you can about CO so you’ll be around longer to do what you were born to do … fight fires and save lives.
