This blog has been on a standstill, due to two reasons. The main reason is i was very involved in school and the other being during school, i was recovering from a severe heat stroke i suffered in late august. I wasnt planning on writing about it, and i only will to an extent, due to personal feelings surrounding the incident itself regarding events leading up to it. However i saw this article today on firefighter nation and felt an immense connection with Captain Smith.
In late august of 2013, the temperatures were averaging 90-100 degrees on the South Carolina coast with a heat index exceeding far beyond that. I was involved in an intense training regiment similar to that of Captain Smith when during a morning run i suffered a heat stroke and became unresponsive. For two days prior I had been in a state of heat exhaustion but continued to push through the training, in fear of losing my job, despite becoming ill secondary to the heat exhaustion. Water breaks were scarce and not at all readily available as the media made others believe. Full PPE worn all day along with non stop exercise in the heat had already caused several others to fall out and be transported for evaluation.
During the run, i dont remember much, what i do remember is telling my partner that something was wrong, and i noticed my respirations change to wheezing. Thats the last thing i recall. I collapsed 100 yards from the finish and I was immediately carried to the training facility and iced down by my peers (this is later learned from the ER physician was a major contributing factor that saved my life), then rapidly transported to the ER, where along the way became extremely combative, striking the ambulance crew and ripping out my IVs. I slipped back into an unconscious state and awoke roughly 3 hours later in the ER and had no ability to speak. I could think but not speak.
My temperature in the ER after rapid cooling, A/C, and two large bore IVs with cold fluids was 107 F. Doctors say i was most likely closer to 110 F at the time i collapsed. Far beyond the threshold for survival. All for what? Better training? I disagree...
Now this brings me to several incidents, all similar to mine
On May 19th, 2005, a 22 year old male career fire recruit collapsed during a class run, slipping into a coma with a temperature around 108 F and perished over a week later. This young man died on a 3 mile run, again for what? Someone please tell me...
You can read the NIOSH report here:
Florida recruit heatstroke NIOSH report
On April 20th, 2009, a 26 year old recruit suffers a heat stroke, begins to recover, suffers organ failure due to rhabdomyolosis, is put on life support and passes away days later.
Read the report here:
Texas recruit heatstroke NIOSH report
And again on September 16th, 2012 a four year veteran Fire Captain has a heatstroke during a smoke divers training program, goes into cardiac arrest with a temperature of 107.9, and never recovers.
Read the report here:
Texas captan heatstroke report
And the Firefighter nation article here:
Firefighter nation article
When i look at these incidents, i see three (almost four) deaths of our brothers directly due to training. Now i am all for intense, real world, training. But when we are killing our own, shouldnt we take a step back and figure things out? If we are in a situation where we are training in conditions to hot to stay safe arent we defeating the purpose? We go into a hot environment and as quickly as we can cool it down with suppression and ventilation. We come out and hopefully go to an established rehab per NFPA 1584 and OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 requirement 1910.120(g)(5)(x), to cool down and rest after at most 30 minutes of strenuous activity. So why then, are we pushing our bodies (or having our bodies pushed) to the point of death for hours and hours on end? Tell me i am not alone in thinking this is lunacy? Not to mention, when we begin to hit the stage of heat exhaustion i can assure you, you arent learning anything new, you have flipped the switch from beneficial training to sheer survival.
The name of this blog is priority firefighting. Following the three firefighter priorities: Life safety, Incident stabilization, and Property conservation. Life safety refers to: Our safety, our crews safety, and then the citizens safety. To push others to the limit where life safety is in jeopardy is not only going against the grain of what we stand for but in some cases could and should be pursued in a criminal manner.
Our safety in these training evolutions falls in what i believe to be three hands: Yours, your instructors, and your peers.
Obviously you should keep yourself safe and as hydrated as possible, rumors surrounding my incident claimed i was "hopped up on energy drinks" and "not drinking enough water". Both of which are untrue. Hydration is of paramount importance and should not be taken lightly. If you arent feeling yourself and you honestly feel like something is wrong, something most likely is and you ned to act quickly.Your safety secondly falls in the hands of the instructors, training is great, but killing people to do so is the most asinine thing i can think of. Refusing water to students, and blatant disregard for heat index regulations is something that cannot be overlooked. Lastly your peers have somewhat of a responsibility. If you see one of your own with any of the signs or symptoms of heat exhaustion, make sure you take action before it progresses to heat stroke. As first responders we arent limited to the people that call 911, we are responsible for the ones around us. Preventing an injury is much better than having one occur that could have been stopped. These brothers gave their lives and you dont hear much about heat regulation in fire training. Why? Most likely because admitting heat illness as a fireman is a demeaning sign of weakness...but is it really? If we take precautions in the field, why dont we do the same to make sure we make it to the field?
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