Brennan Q&A October 2001

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TOM BRENNAN has more than 35 years of fire service experience having responded to 33,000 fire alarms. His career spans more than 20 years with the Fire Department of New York as well as four years as chief of the Waterbury (Conn.) Fire Department. He has a bachelor of science degree, summa cum laude, John Jay College; Alumnus of the Year Award, John Jay College; chairman of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association and a charter member of the National Fire Protection Association, Fire Service Section. He has delivered courses and seminars throughout the United States and has instructed at the National Fire Academy. He was the editor of Fire Engineering Magazine for eight years, is currently a technical editor, and his column “Random Thoughts,” is a regular monthly feature. He is co-editor of The Fire Chief’s Handbook, Fifth Edition. He is the recipient of the 1998 Fire Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award.

OCTOBER 2001

Question: I am a nurse who takes care of a fire department in Cleveland, Ohio. the department just received a grant of 10,000.00 to update the department with there preventative health care needs. My question is, How can I best utilize this money to protect the fir fighters? I was thinking:

Hepatitis B Vaccines
Yearly TB Testing
Pneumonia vaccines (good for 5 years)
Influenza vaccines
Chest X-rays for ???? lung diseases??
Complete Blood Counts to monitor for increased cholesterol, heart disease
Pulmonary function testing, for safe respirator use, & monitoring of lung problems?

Could You tell me what some of the ailments with which firefighters are plagued with (other than bad back problems)? I want to do a great job for these folks and it is important to me that I not suggest something that would just waste their money.

Thank you in advance for your help. God Bless You, Elissa

Answer: Dear Elissa,
Thanks for writing and, more than that, thanks for your interest in my bothers and sisters. While there are, for sure, great issues that you list, perhaps I can steer you in a direction that may interest you further and create a great program for Cleveland.

I would get in touch with Mr. Richard Duffy, who is Health and Safety director of the International Association of Fire Fighters in Washington, D.C. The executive board of the union in Cleveland should have phone numbers for initial contact.

Why the I.A.F.F.? Well, for years the municipalities have ignored the issues that you raise. Second, the leadership of this vocation abandoned proactive health issues for the membership when it came time to create imaginative and responsible line items in the annual budget for either selfish or political reasons.

There are other instantly meaningful services you could provide, based on the needs of the Cleveland Fire Department. One is annual physical examinations after the secondary impacts of the results are negotiated with the Cleveland Local of IAFF. Another, equally important, is the establishment of a counseling service to the firefighters and their immediate families. This is usually run and staffed by the local hospital and is confidential! The service not only offers paths to recovery from all sorts of abuse problems to mental pressures and economic worries. It also extends to the family of the firefighter member. They also provide all the record keeping and reporting necessary for annual data gathering. When I investigated the matter in Waterbury, I found that such a vital service was about $20 per member per year. The municipality was so thrilled with the service that the Fire Department served as a model for all other municipal agencies.

There are so many directions that you can go, my friend, but I am sure you will be successful in discussions with the local union health and safety committee in conjunction with the input and data received from Mr. Duffy's office.

Good luck and thanks for the genuine interest and caring of our firefighters.

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