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Orono Fire Needs Assessment <br />79 | Page <br /> <br />Annex H – Firefighter Health and Safety Information <br />Ensuring the health and safety of employees should be a high priority in any business or government <br />organization. Many fire service organizations offer proactive health and wellness programs designed to <br />promote and support healthy lifestyles. This program helps to ward off illness and injury. The best <br />practice is to follow NFPA 158222 and International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) / International <br />Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) wellness program23. Firefighters need to be medically fit to meet the <br />strenuous duties associated with fire ground task and emergency response. In addition, state and <br />federal law mandates respiratory medical assessment, clearance and fit testing for anyone required to <br />wear a respirator. CFR 1910.134(e)(1) requires employees obtain a medical clearance from a physician <br />or other licensed health care professional before they can wear a respirator (including N95, N100, P100 <br />and HEPA respirators), and must be fit tested annually. <br />A 10-year review (1994-2004) of firefighter line of duty death statistics revealed that 45 percent were <br />the result of heart disease. In 2010, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) <br />conducted a study of the prevalence of cancer in 30,000 firefighters. NIOSH researchers found that <br />firefighters had a 9% increase in a cancer diagnosis and a 14% increase in cancer related deaths. <br />According to NFPA, more than 68% of all firefighters will develop some form of cancer in their lifetimes. <br />The rate of line of duty deaths from cancer-related illness is increasing rapidly and is on pace to overtake <br />cardiac disease as the leading cause of firefighter deaths nationwide. <br />Ensuring employees are medically cleared to perform rigorous fire ground tasks, along with identifying <br />any pre-existing conditions which may place an employee in jeopardy, is an important screening <br />component in the hiring process and beyond. <br />According to the International Association of Firefighters, more than 12% of all firefighters will develop <br />heart disease at some point in their lives. Even young and healthy firefighters suffer from hardened <br />arteries and impaired heart function after just three hours of prolonged firefighting, according to a 2010 <br />study from the Illinois Fire Service Institute.24 <br /> <br /> <br />22 NFPA1582: Standard on Comprehensive Occupational Medical Program for Fire Departments, NFPA. <br />23 The Fire Service Joint Labor Management Wellness-Fitness Initiative Fourth Edition <br />24 https://mnfireinitiative.com/resources/heart-health/